Wrestling’s 3R’s PPV Edition: WWE Backlash 2007
Posted by Larry Csonka on 05.01.2007
A great PPV with two MOTY candidates, this makes me happy.
Introduction!
Welcome back to another PPV edition of WRestling's 3R's! It is time once again to break down the PPV of the past weekend in the 3R's style. We are back for the 3rd of 3 special editions for Wrestling's 3R's. WrestleMania, in the books; Lockdown, in the books. And now we head to Backlash, the annual WrestleMania fall out show. WWE has made the call to go to all tri-brand shows in an effort to gain better buyrates. How were the matches and what did I think of the show as a whole? Let's discuss the 3R's format and break down the show!
How the 3R's of wRestling Work!
Here is a quick explanation of the 3 R's. I will take the 4 main shows (5 if I go RetRo) of the week: TNA Impact, WWE Raw, ECW on Sci-Fi and WWE Smackdown. If we have a PPV, that show will get a special PPV edition of the R's all to its own. I then group my feelings on the shows in various categories: The Right, the wRong and the Ridiculous. The Right is stuff that worked very well: a great promo, a great match and so on. PuRgatoRy is a section between the right and wrong. It shows equal traits from both sides that cannot be ignored and need discussed. It is not a bad place per say, as things can get remedied or go the wrong way the very next week. The wRong is what it sounds like: bad matches, bad or boring promos and so on. The Ridiculous is stuff that had no right on TV: Stupid angles, Diva searches and so on. And there is always a possibility of a 5th R, which is as bad as they come, unless you are TNA. They have a special R all of their own, the 6th R; the Russo-FN-Riffic~!
This column is supposed to be analytical, and at the right time very critical of the shows, it was the whole reason it was created. This is not a "mark" column, nor a "smark" column, I cannot speak for Geoff, but my goal is to analyze the show from many different fronts, reward the good and call out the bad. There are also occasions where I will bring out a 4th, 5th or even a 6th R to the column, so beware of those~! I will not apologize for my opinions, they are as they are, whether very positive or negative.
WWE BACKLASH 2007~!:
The Matches:
WWE WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: The Hardy's defeated Cade and Murdoch @ 15:13 via pin **½
WWE WOMEN'S TITLE MATCH: Melina defeated Mickie James @ 9:10 via pin **¾
US TITLE MATCH: Chris Benoit defeated MVP @ 12:45 via pin ***¼
ECW TITLE HANDICAP MATCH: DOO-RAG VINCE McMAHON won the ECW TITLE @ 15:30 via pin * Trash of the Night
LAST MAN STANDING WORLD TITLE MATCH: The Undertaker and Batista fought to a Draw @ 20:30 ****¼ Co-Match of the Night
WWE TITLE MATCH: John Cena defeated Randy Orton, HBK and Edge 18:55 via pin ****¼ Co-Match of the Night
The Right:
The Hardy's vs. Cade and Murdoch - The show kicked off with the tag title match, featuring the Hardy's and my boys the Redneck Whirling Dervish! They had a fine little match, basically this was a quality opener. Not a ton of stuff to make it a "great" match, but the fact is that the job of the opening match is to pop the crowd and make them happy to be there, not steal the show. The Hardy's got that Rock Star reaction, thankfully they didn't trash any hotel rooms. This was a solidly worked simple match. The faces were flashy and made the crowd happy, the heels cheated, took control of the match and looked for any chance to steal the titles away from the happy go lucky faces. In the end the Hardy's out smarted them, Jeff got a swanton and Matt got the pin. I figure they will go on with this, and I could see a title change eventually as FINALLY the crowd is getting into Cade and Murdoch, since they are against the Hardy's and finally being booked effectively.
PS: Trevor, STOP doing that shitty ass Code Red. Nobody popped when you did it, nobody popped for Matt when he kicked out. It doesn't mean jack shit dude, you might kill someone, so stop it and never do it again.
PSS: Cade WILL be a singles star kids. Just watch this match as he gets some time for once. The kid is young, has skills and size. He'll make it.
Melina vs. Mickie - Next up was the ladies match. I actually had some hopes for this as Mickie is very good and Melina is pretty good in her own right. The thing is that since they really do hate each other, they will stiff each other a lot and you will either get a good and hard hitting match or something that looks like shit. These ladies were told to go out there and have a WRESTLING MATCH and they did so. The crowd didn't seem to thrilled to begin with, but again, a simply built and executed match can win over almost any crowd and they did so. The match was good, clean and built all though out like a good story does. They did this cool spot late in the match where Melina trips Mickie into a split, and then Mickie sweeps her into a split and then they brawled from there, that was pretty cool and rather arousing to be honest. Melina, like any good heel does, cheated like a bitch to win with an eye rake and then reverse DDT. This was a really good match and it was because it was simple and they got the time to tell the story. I hope that they can do it again. This was easily the best match, ladies match in WWE since Trish left and gives me a little hope for things. They just need to bring up some more women to make the division worth something because there is a drop off after these two, there's just no depth. Since we are doing tri-branded PPV's make the women's title open for any lady, that way we can work in Jillian Hall and Trinity for now. Bring up Shantell and Angel Williams STAT and we'll be ok for a while.
Benoit vs. MVP - Benoit and MVP faced off again at Backlash. They had a really good WrestleMania match and followed it up on Smackdown. Now it was time to face again for the title, and it looked as if MVP would win the title here. Once again these went out there and had another damn fine wrestling match. They continued to play the story of MVP and his ability to counter Benoit, and the fact that Benoit had never seen someone do this. JBL was tremendous on commentary and is really adding to the development of the MVP persona as a wrestler. They were having a damn fine match, everything was going well, there work was perfect together and then it ended with the Benoit roll up, and I was kind of pissed. They were rocking in this match and it stopped right when it looked as it was kicking into high gear, and I seriously thought we were headed to **** potential here. They easily could have afforded them another 5-minutes to build an even better match, and I believe that if they did the match would have hit **** and would have made this card even better. With that also in mind, in the end I almost put this in Purgatory. I really thought that this would be the time to pull the trigger on the MVP win. But I thought about it, and actually like that they held off. It is a bit different than how they normally do things. Also, the story is that MVP is adapting countering Benoit at every turn and Benoit has to resort to new ways to win, the head butt and now a roll up. It will be a matter of time before MVP wins and when he does it HAS to be a clean win, because with the way they are building him a clean win over Benoit vindicates him and MAKES him in the eyes of everyone. These guys have some damn good chemistry, and MVP looks great lately. But I want to see him against someone else before I blow my load on him like everyone else, sure he looks great in there with Benoit but so could I. If he steps it up like this with others, then he IS the real deal.
The Kennedy Factor… - This was something I liked, at the PPV when Edge was having his interview, and Maria said that she has a she has a question for him from someone. How did he win his first title? He tells us again how he did it again, and asks who asked the question. Maria said it was him. KENNEDY IS HERE~! He wished EDGE luck, and says it will be tough and hellacious. And the winner will be dead tired. "Hope you win Edge **Taps briefcase** I'm just sayin…" This was great as since Kennedy was not on the PPV, it keeps up thinking about him and thinking if he would show up in one of the title matches, and while I didn't think he would, I did wonder and wait for it, so that's what they wanted. The tease was done well, and they didn't blow the load on it already. It really needs to be a surprise when it happens, and when it does it should be great.
Last Man…Holy Shit! - The Undertaker and Batista walked into Backlash trying to live up to what many (I) thought was a very good WrestleMania match. They went into the show for a last Man standing match, which can either be very good or very bland depending on execution and booking. Early on I was worried as Batista almost dropped Taker on a slam try, but thankfully JBL covered it up discussing Taker and Batista's "injuries." But after that all was well. They went at another wild pace for most of the match, not a plodding style you might expect in a match like this. They also had a lot to live up to since just 2-months ago Cena and Umaga had a damn good LMS match. They brawled, they killed each other, Batista bled, Taker put him through the announce table, hit him with steps and the crowd loved every minute of it. While they boo'ed Batista when he stood, they were into his offense, it was an odd dynamic, but also added to the match. Batista caught fire and delivered multiple spinebusters but Taker was still alive. They would eventually brawl up the ramp and tease tossing each other off. Batista finally escapes a slam and speared Taker off the stage and we got EXPLOSIONS, PLUNDAH and shit collapsing! Part of me wants to HATE the ending, and it came off as predictable to many. I hoped they wouldn't do it, but as they brawled up the ramp I had the feeling that the guys in the round table were right. But the way it came off was good as both men battled to no end, and the spear off the set, faux explosions and collapse of the set was enough of a spectacle that the people seemed fine with it. Sometimes these thing work out well, the Cena vs. Umaga match had the clear-cut winner, so this one had the chance to be different. At least they were creative with the double KO spot. I am figuring that this will lead to a HIAC match at Judgment Day, I wonder what Kennedy has planned for that night?
WWE Title Match - And now we head to the main event of the show. To put this in simple terms the whole match worked. There is always a chance for disaster in a 4-way match, so many things can go wrong in these types of matches, no matter how great the guys involved are. But the fact of the matter is that everything went right and everyone involved should be commended. Cena in particular continues to elevate his game to the point that people should really stop viewing him as the weak link in matches, this past week should be all the evidence that you need. The end of the match was great stuff as they got the tower of doom FU spot, and then it was a finisher buffet. Spear on Orton, FU on Edge and then HBK superkicks Cena and he falls on Orton for the win. Everything was right in the world for John Cena, and HBK was pissed. It really looks as if they will continue to feud and I think that HBK will get a title run sooner than later, and that will also rule. In the end I thought this was just as good as the LMS match, just a different style. The LMS match was a heavyweight slugfest, big hits, big bumps and big finish. This match was more of a dance, everyone had to be in the right place at the right time and they were, and through that execution it was a success. Two back-to-back excellent matches, and an overall great PPV. Maybe HBK vs. Cena III is an Iron Man match, where HBK says he can beat him there. I wonder what Kennedy has planned for that night?
Purgatory:
Nothing of Note
The wRong:
Vince McMahon's Doo-Rag, ECW Champion - Well, I didn't like it, I didn't like it at all. Maybe not at all, but overall I didn't like this whole deal. They had the whole set up for Lashley to lose the title here with the 3 on 1 stipulation and Umaga being with Vince and Shane. They had a match, and it was fine. Shane and Umaga did all the work, Lashley looked like a beast and continually came back and fought off everyone. He would toss around Shane like a little kid, Umaga got tossed around but then they got the heat on Lashley, who is no Ricky Morton. In the end, no one cared. There was almost no heat for this, because people don't care about Lashley and they are apathetic to Vince in situations like this. You would thing that there would be huge heat and a pissed off crowd here, but no, because they do not care about Lashley. Vince gets the pin after Umaga does the damage, and he's the new ECW Champion. Vince McMahon, former WWF and now ECW Champion. Wow. I just don't like this, as it devalues the ECW Title more than it already has been. I mean, if you pull the title change, why couldn't we have gone with Umaga? Why? They have taken a guy that they built beautifully over the last year and pissed that all away in recent months I feel, devalued, not good. So they don't want Umaga to win it, then at least why not Shane? Vince didn't do anything in the match because he is becoming not able to take bumps. Shane would at least defend the title in a wild ECW like match. But no, Vince wins. I don't like it. First Santino and now this, I am not a fan of it. Now MAYBE they can recover from this. Maybe Vince walks into ECW on Tuesday and since he started the whole New Breed basically, maybe he anoints Elijah the new ECW Champion or some shit. I don't know, but they need to do something creative and in turn make Lashley someone people can care about, because while he gets a pop, people apparently don't have that emotional attachment to him, and without that he will never truly be over, and never truly draw money.
The Ridiculous:
An argument… - You know I have to make this argument. It is an argument that people got annoyed with last month, but I will use it again. I am over the fact that they have killed the brand extension, even if they officially haven't said so. But I will say that as someone that paid $50 for WrestleMania I was pissed at this show. WrestleMania is supposed to be the biggest show of the year, and should have that showcase feel to it. Some say that it is not practical to have all the titles defended…Why isn't it practical anymore? In all actuality the titles should be the MOST important thing on the shows and the chasing of the titles is where the money is made. Why was it more important in the early WrestleMania shows but not now? I noticed how many titles there are because I discuss how badly booked that they are. They have three separate shows, they separated the rosters and still can't find time to effectively book the titles. You see, I am sorry, but it bothers me that the IC Title hasn't been defended at a WrestleMania since WrestleMania 18. The last 5- WrestleMania shows that title was not on the line. WWE liked to boast about London and Kendrick being such long running champions, but didn't take the time to have a program for them at WrestleMania, let alone give them a pre-show match. This is the first year that ECW was represented at WrestleMania and the title and champion was an afterthought to Vince. Sure the match and build will and probably drew a lot of buys, but the titles become so secondary, the same with the Cruiserweight title. I just feel that if WM is "The Biggest Show of the Year" that they should have the titles all defended, the only time of the year where you can and could see every WWE/ECW Title on the line. THAT is a showcase. And guess what? It is practical because they gave us SIX FUCKING TITLE MATCHES on this show. 28-days after "the biggest show of the year" and well, THIS came off as the biggest show of the year and was overall a better show. Basically, this show proved my argument, you CAN build up to a show with all of the titles on the line if you…BOOK THE FUCKING SHOWS EFFECTIVELY. Just saying, I was right, eat me.
Closing Thoughts:
I really liked this show. Title matches, matches that got time, a PPV that went to about 10:45…lots of things that I complain about and they remedied it here. Good matches to be had, I liked everything but the ECW Title stuff, but that wasn't horrible match wise, I just didn't like it. In the end I will go with a 8.5 out of 10 and you MUST get the replay. Good shit as WWE again goes SIMPLE, simple feuds, builds and match lay outs and what do you know it all worked! You're welcome.
2007 PPV Rankings:
1.WWE Backlash
8.5
2. WWE WM XXIII 8.0
2. WWE Royal Rumble 8.0
4. TNA Final Resolution 7.0
4. TNA Lockdown 7.0
6. WWE New Year's Revolution (RAW) 6.0
6. TNA Against All Odds 6.0
8. TNA Destination X 5.5
9. WWE No Way Out (SD) 4.0
2007 TOP PPV Match Rankings: (WWE Royal Rumble) Last Man Standing WWE Title MATCH: Cena vs. Umaga ****¼ (WWE Backlash) Last Man Standing World Title MATCH: Batista vs. The Undertaker ****¼ (WWE Backlash) WWE Title MATCH: John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Orton vs. Edge ****¼ (WWE Royal Rumble) The Royal Rumble Match **** (WWE WM XXIII) WWE TITLE MATCH: John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels **** (TNA Destination X) NWA Title Match: Christian Cage vs. Samoa Joe **** (TNA Lockdown) Lethal Lockdown (Team Cage vs. Team Angle) **** (WWE WM XXIII) Money in the Bank III ***¾ (TNA Final Resolution) 30-Minute Iron man Match: Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe ***¾
2007 PPV MVP AWARDS: This is a little added deal here, as I feel that there are some other things that should be mentioned from the PPV's. Not every PPV will have one, it just depends on who I think steps up and deserves some extra recognition. Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker: A Rumble to Remember – WWE Royal Rumble JBL: Solo Commentating – WWE No Way Out AJ Styles and Rhino: Elevation X – TNA Destination X Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker: "They still got it!" – WWE WrestleMania XXIII AJ Styles: Almost Dies for his Craft – TNA Lockdown The Main Events: "We can step up." – WWE Backlash
WWE BACKLASH FEEDBACK:
From Jeff -
I don't know...I've got mixed feelings about this one.
First, I really feel they could have added one more match. Six matches is kinda weak for any ppv. However what they did have wasn't bad, so here we go...
Murdoch/Cade v. Hardys - This wasn't too bad of an opener. The obvious result here. One note is Murdoch needs to Stop the Canadian Destroyer thing now before he kills someone.
Rating - **1/2
Mickie James v. Melina - This two ladies stepped up their game here. Each time out, they get a little better. We all know Mickie's reputation, but Melina is steadily improving and provides a good heel nemesis. Perhaps they can turn Victoria face and have both her and Mickie chase the title.
Rating - **3/4
MVP v. Benoit - I really was surprised here. I thought MVP had it tonight, but that was not the case. These two have great chemistry, and MVP continues to get better. I see something developing with this program that many may not see. With both wins, Benoit has defeated MVP by pinfall. MVP, knowing that Benoit has not been able to win with the crossface, should challenge Benoit to a submission match for Judgment Day. We learned tonight that MVP has a few submissions in his arsenal and this would be a great way to finally get over with a win in Benoit's type of match.
Rating - ***1/4
Lashley v. Vince/Shane/Umaga - This was the crap of the night in my opinion. I know they stacked the odds against Lashley, and Bobby fought them well only to succumb in the end, but the way they did it was not right. Vince completely spit in the face of ECW and destroyed the heritage of it. Unless this will lead to one of the Originals or possibly CM Punk winning the belt soon, I don't understand it. From a match standpoint, mildly entertaining, but not great.
Rating - **
Batista v. Taker - Last Man Standing Rules. Going in, these two had a lot to live up two from the previous LMS match between Umaga and Cena at the Rumble. They kinda delivered I feel. What I mean is they sold Batista injury quite well, made both look tough as nails and left the door wide open for a HIAC at Judgment Day. Plus the spot at the end was nicely contrived and a great visual to boot.
Rating - ***1/2
Cena v. HBK v. Edge v. Orton - Match of the Night. All four men busted their asses to tell a story in the ring. For a while, it was a toss up to me. I had the feeling Cena would take it and pin Orton, but I really enjoy the way they did it. All four men gave a great effort and they neatly teased multiple tension. In the end, it showed Cena to be lucky rather than earning it, still giving HBK another claim in the title. It also sets up Edge and Orton for a match at Judgment Day.
Rating - ****
Final Thoughts - It was a fun entertaining show aside from the ECW slap in the face. They call it Backlash as it comes from Mania, but also sets up the Judgment Day next month. IMO, this is what might be on tap for JD:
World Title: Taker vs. Batista - HIAC
WWE Title: Cena vs. HBK - Best-of-3-falls. HBK says Cena can't get that lucky twice in the same night setting this one up
Edge vs. Orton - No stip, just a straight slugfest
MVP vs. Benoit - Submission match. See above
World Tag Titles: Hooligans/Deuce and Domino - They gotta get a rematch sometime, why not here
That's five matches already, with a month to go.
From Nathan -
Tag Team Championship
The Hardys vs. Cade and Murdoch (**3/4)
Women's Championship (Trash Of the Night)
Melina vs. Mickie James (*1/2)
United States Championship
MVP vs. Chris Benoit (***)
ECW Championship
Bobby Lashley vs. Umaga, Shane McMahon, Vince McMahon (**1/2)
World Heavyweight Championship Last Man Standing Match (Match Of The Night)
Batista Vs Undertaker (****)
WWE Championship Fatal Four Way
John Cena vs. Edge vs. Randy Orton vs. Shawn Michaels (***3/4)
I thought that this was a great show overall and I think that it would be in WWE's best interest to continue with the Tri Branded PPV's. My only complaints would be that Cena and Benoit both retained their titles. I despised the ending of the fatal four way match but what are ya gonna do. The last man standing match was a great brawler with some great spots at the end. I am guessing that Judgment Day will be headlined by Taker/Batista Hell In A Cell. I'm not sure what's going to happen over on the Raw or ECW sides of things but I am really interested in finding out. I would give the show an 8/10 and A thumbs up recommendation
And finally from John -
After watching the pay per view tonight, I have one major observation. The wrong people are being kept strong, or made to look weak.
1.) Lashley - You book the 3-1, man against the odds, no chance in hell in winning so that when the underdog pulls out the win, he looks like a world breaker. BUT, I don't think most people thought Vince and Co. would actually win. We have these three on one matches all the time, and the hero very rarely loses. (I think it was in the back of my head as a possibility, but I didn't think the McMahon ego was THAT big!) So Lashely looks like a punk for losing what should have been a sure thing. Plus, I know Umaga is a wild, uncontrollable beast and all (he doesn't understand the concept of a tag, but he has a firm enough grasp of the rules of the ring to keep his hand on the tag rope, figure that out!) But Umaga looks like a dumbass for letting Vince get the pin. So now, your number one face, and the possible future of the company looks weak, and a solid upper card heel looks like an idiot, but Vince isn't finished putting himself over because now it's time to take a crap on the rest of the roster. Vince walks by Dreamer, RVD, Sabu, and Sandman, and essentially hands them a punk card. So 6 people had to take a hit in one 15 minute span just to give McMahon his moment in the sun
2.) Cena - This is something that has bothered me for the last few months, and it reared it's head in the closing moments of the PPV. Cena wins in a fluke, which is great, he fought hard, he got lucky, everyone looks good. Afterwards, HBK gives him a tongue lashing. I understand it, he is pissed and rightly so. The match should have been his. Here is when I have a problem. Cena takes it, and looks shocked and hurt. For the entirety of the HBK Cena fued, Cena has had this same "Why are you doing this, Shawn? I thought we were friends," look on his face. He has eaten super kick after super kick. Shawn has consistently put him down, and he's starting to sound like that ex-girlfriend who you treat like shit, yet still thinks that because you come over at 3 am for a quick drunken hit, you're still in love with her. Shouldn't the WWE Champion be a.) smarter than that, and b.) not so much of a b*tch?
Thanks for joining me for this special edition of the 3R's, and don't forget to check out the regular edition complete with all of the other shows from the week!
