411’s Instant Access 04.27.08: WWE Backlash 2008

Hey kids, I’m Scott, and this is 411’s Instant Access: WWE Backlash 2008. Instant Access is a new experiment here at 411 Wrestling that will feature immediate reaction to wrestling pay-per-views. The focus here is going to be on first thoughts and snap judgments instead of play-by-play with the goal of providing you with instant access to one two writers’ thoughts on the show. That’s right, Daniel Wilcox will be joining me tonight, so we’ll be providing coverage from both sides of the pond. Okay kids, enough with the explanations. Let’s get to the wrestling.

United States Championship Match
MVP (Champion) vs. Matt Hardy
Match Result: Matt Hardy defeats MVP with the Twist of Fate.
Match Length: 11:24
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: This match was a great way to open the show. I’m a big fan of opening pay-per-views with either an Intercontinental Championship Match or a United States Championship Match in order to get the crowd involved in the show by featuring upper mid-card Superstars in a meaningful match right at the start. Matt Hardy and MVP have always had great chemistry with each other in the ring, and in this match you really could see the benefits of letting them work with each other for the better part of the year. But what I enjoyed most about this match, and why this match ultimately felt so satisfying, was the classic Matt Hardy sequence at the end. MVP went to work with kicks to head and kicked Hardy all the way to the floor… but Matt Hardy WOULD NOT DIE! Hardy valiantly climbed back into the ring only to have MVP once again pummel him with a vicious series of kicks to the head… but Matt Hardy WOULD NOT DIE! MVP made just one mistake, and that was all Matt Hardy needed to hit the Twist of Fate and win the match. Hardy’s perseverance and absolute refusal to quit have been the hallmarks of his career, and incorporating those traits into the finish of this match made Hardy’s victory all the more memorable. MVP will almost certainly invoke some sort of rematch clause in the near future, but I don’t see him regaining the title from Hardy. A lengthy run with the United States Championship is just what Hardy needs to elevate him to the next stage in his career, and I’d be willing to bet that someday we’ll look back at this match as the beginning of Matt Hardy’s road to a World Championship.
Wilcox: This was a really good choice to start the show as both guys are very over and they both did a really good job of getting the fans into the match. I don’t think they were given the amount of time they should have been but Hardy and MVP managed to cram plenty of action into the time they did get and they gave us a really good opener. I loved the closing sequence with MVP repeatedly booting Hardy in the head only for him to recover and hit the Twist of Fate “out of nowhere.” While I would have liked to have seen MVP pick up a win here and milk the inevitable title change more, this was well done and I’m glad Hardy finally got that big win; I just wish it had been promoted better and made to seem more important. I also have to give credit to Mick Foley for doing a great job on commentary in putting over both men at every oppurtunity. I have a feeling I’m really going to enjoy Foley doing commentary.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: ***½
Wilcox: ***¼

ECW Championship Match
Kane (Champion) vs. Chavo Guerrero
Match Result: Kane defeats Chavo Guerrero with the Choke Slam.
Match Length: 9:48
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: We’ve seen the ECW Championship Match get shafted time and time and time again over the course of the past year, but I’m happy as hell to say that wasn’t the case on this night. Kane and Guerrero were given almost ten minutes, and that gave them the time to put on a surprisingly good big man / little man match. Guerrero has been on a real hot streak since January, and Kane really stepped up his game in order to give one of his better performances in recent memory. I especially loved the Frog Splash into a Choke Slam finishing sequence. I can’t ever remember seeing that specific combination of moves, and it really put over Kane as an absolute beast. Kane seems to have proven himself to be Guerrero’s superior, so it may not be time for him to move on to a new challenge. Fortunately, ECW is full of talented young heels such as John Morrison and Elijah Burke, and I’d love to see Kane give one of ECW’s young guns the chance to be a star.
Wilcox: This was a pleasant surprise. Kane rarely has a good match these days and for the most part, this one wasn’t up to much either but I think that they really picked it up when the hit the home stretch. Chavo looked great in defeat but Kane still looks like a dominant champion which means they did a good job with the booking of this match. I do have to wonder what the point of bringing in Bam Neely was if they’re not going to use him in the match though. And Chavo really needs to work on making his knee attacks look authentic. But other than those two minor details, it was enjoyable and inoffensive.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: ***¼
Wilcox: **¼

The Big Show vs. The Great Khali
Match Result: Big Show defeats The Great Khali with the Choke Slam.
Match Length: 8:04
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: Was this a five star mat classic? No. Was this a technical masterpiece? No. But was it at least passable and certainly better than in should have been? Yeah, it really was. The Great Khali can put on a decent match from time to time, but I’ll give the real credit here to the Big Show. Show has been a new man since returning earlier this year, and he pulled just about all we could possibly expect out of Khali. The right man definitely got the win, and it seems like the Big Show is now headed for bigger and better things.
Wilcox: Yeah, the Baltimore crowd pretty much summed this one up with a nice, loud “boring” chant. For the most part they tried to work a normal match and that was never going to work. These guys are physical specimens. That’s what they bring to the table and that’s why they were put together, so for them to being doing stuff like nerve holds is just pointless and inexplicable. With that said, Khali had one of his better performances here and that’s saying something. Big Show made the match watchable with his slam and chokeslam being the obvious highlights. Not the worst match of the year, but not anything you’ll remember later on either.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: **
Wilcox: *

John Cena’s taste in country music is so close… and yet so far. Yes, Merle, Willie, and Waylon should be near the top of the list. But Johnny IS the top of the list, period, end of story.

Shawn Michaels vs. Batista (Special Referee: Chris Jericho)
Match Result: Shawn Michaels defeats Batista with Sweet Chin Music.
Match Length: 15:01
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: It may often seem difficult to remember, but the second “W” in “WWE” still stands for WRESTLING. But Shawn Michaels definitely remembered that tonight, and he certainly did his best to out-WRESTLE Batista. Seriously, the first eight minutes of the match were almost exclusively devoted to Shawn Michaels working over Batista’s left shoulder. When was the last time we saw a WWE match with that much basic, fundamental ring psychology? You have love all the different ways that Michaels found to work on Batista’s shoulder, but you also have to be impressed by the number of ways that Batista found to counter and fight out of Michaels’ offense. Unfortunately, the short-arm scissors sequence was bogged down with a number of problems. First, Michaels couldn’t get the hold properly applied. Then, while Batista was trying to power out of the hold, he literally had Michaels’ shoulder’s pinned to the mat for at least twenty seconds before Jericho realized there was a pinning predicament. However, this was a special referee match, so it’s certainly understandable for Jericho to make a few mistakes that a more experience referee would not. The finish of the match also seemed as though it might have been improvised. If Michaels didn’t legitimately injure his knee when he countered the Batista Bomb, then he seriously does deserve an Oscar for that sell job. But at this point, given Michaels’ history of knee injuries, I’m inclined to believe that the injury was for real, and in that case you have to give credit to all three guys for making the best of a bad situation. Was someone originally supposed to turn heel? Was Jericho originally supposed to screw either Michaels or Batista? We may never know the answer to those questions, but at this point I’m more concerned about Michaels’ knee. Michaels seriously considered retirement after taking a leave of absence last year, and I hope this knee injury isn’t what finally makes him say good-bye. Finally, I’d like to add one more personal comment. You all know how I feel about Chris Benoit and his legacy. So I’d like to thank Shawn Michaels for once again using the Crippler Crossface, as he did at Survivor Series and No Way Out, and doing what he can to pay homage to Benoit.
Wilcox: This is the one that I was looking forward to the most and for me, the quality of the match was always going to depend on 2 things; 1) Chris Jericho’s role and 2) whether not Batista brought his A game, because at WrestleMania, he didn’t. Even though Shawn carried the bulk of the match, Batista did more than his fair share and I enjoyed Jericho’s involvement. The early stages were nothing more than a great display of working a body part from Shawn Michaels (Chavo Guerrero, take notes). Batista would keep coming back into the match with his strength and it worked out well. And even though I saw it coming, I marked out for the crossface. Then they started hitting their signature stuff and it began to get really good. What I didn’t like wa the ending. Although I get what they were going for, I just didn’t think that it was executed properly, and that was evident by the fact that Michaels got absolutely no heat for tricking Batista. But then with the way Michaels was leaving, perhaps it wasn’t a trick? I don’t know, it was a little confusing. But if the latter is true, then it made Batista look like a fool. So it was a really good match, but there are parts that I didn’t like.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: ***½
Wilcox: ***½

12 Diva Tag Team Match
Mickie James, Ashley Massaro, Maria Kanellis, Michelle McCool, Cherry, and Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix, Melina Perez, Jillian Hall, Victoria, Natalya, and Layla El.
Match Result: Beth Phoenix defeats Ashley Massaro with the Fisherman’s Suplex.
Match Length: 6:27
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: This match actually wasn’t that bad… until we got to the finishing sequence when each of the Divas got the chance to hit one move… and at least half of them botched their one move. Seriously, that was just painful. But like I said, up until that point, things were actually going fairly well. Michelle, Mickie, Beth, Melina, and Victoria dominated the action for most of the match, and those are definitely the Divas with the best chance of putting on a decent match. So you have to give credit to WWE for letting the right Divas carry the match. But like I said, things just went all to hell at the end when things got crazy sloppy. And I’ll have to go back and check later, but I swear that Mickie James was still the legal face at the end of the match, so hell if I know why the referee let Ashley take the fall. Don’t get me wrong; I absolutely do not believe that Mickie should have done the job here. But I would have liked Ashley to have at least been legal before she got pinned. The fact that Beth scored the victory leads me to believe that she’s earned herself a rematch with Mickie, and that match should be quite good. However, I’m a big fan of both Melina and Jillian, and I would have loved to see one of them pick up the win and transition into a program with Mickie.
Wilcox: I really, really want to say nice things about this match. They did a good job of keeping the most capable performers in the ring for the bulk of the match and even the likes of Kelly Kelly and Maria managed to put in decent cameos. But it was so damn hard to focus on what was happening in the ring when all the other 10 chicks on the outside are screaming “come on, Mickie!” or “Let’s go, Beth!” Seriously, shut the hell up. WWE can try all they want to make Women’s wrestling important, but I can’t view it as such when they don’t know when to shut up. It’s a distraction and it takes away from the match, which was fine. The right woman went over and the Mickie/Beth feud will continue as it should. On an unrelated note, here’s how I ranked them in terms of hotness tonight.

12. Cherry
11. Jillian
10. Natalya
9. Layla
8. Mickie (no thong slip?)
7. Ashley
6. Melina
5. Beth Phoenix
4. Victoria
3. Michelle McCool
2. Maria
1. Kelly Kelly (congrats!)

Match Rating:
Slimmer: *½
Wilcox: *½

World Heavyweight Championship Match
The Undertaker (Champion) vs. Edge
Match Result: The Undertaker defeats Edge with the Gogoplata.
Match Length: 18:20
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: This was a hot match, and I give credit to both the Undertaker and Edge for busting their asses to put on a good show. Much like with the Hardy / MVP match earlier in the night, you could see in this match the benefits that come from having the Undertaker and Edge work an extended program with each other. I’m also extremely glad that Curt Hawkins and Zach Ryder’s interference didn’t actually factor into the finish of the match. And speaking of the finish, the Last Ride / Sunset Flip / Gogoplata sequence was really sweet. And since I haven’t mentioned Mick Foley yet tonight, let me give him some love for FINALLY trying to explain how the Undertaker’s Gogoplata actually works. For months we’ve heard Smackdown’s commentary team speak of the hold in vague and hushed terms, and never once can I remember anyone trying to explain how the hold actually punishes its victim. So much love to Mrs. Foley’s Baby Boy for doing a great job in his new role as a color commentator. Finally, you have to wonder how the Undertaker’s destruction of Edge at the end of the match is going to change the World Heavyweight Championship title scene. If they more-or-less no-sell the injury, then the program seems like it should continue with Edge once again challenging for the title. However, on the other hand, if they treat the injury as serious and put Edge on the shelf for a month or more, then it seems like we’ll need a new Number One Contender.
And if that’s the case, could the Big Show be ready for another run at the title? Will the EPIC Undertaker / Batista feud gain another chapter? Or could the FORMER United States Champion MVP be ready for a shot at the big time?
Wilcox: This match was always going to struggle to top their WrestleMania effort, and while I don’t think they quite managed it, they sure as hell came close. This followed a similar pattern to their Mania match in that it started off slow but really picked up the pace the longer it went on. Edge did a great job of working the back of the champion without the match getting dull while Taker did a tremendous job of selling the beating. Then they started hitting the big moves, exchanging the big right hands and the crowd came alive. Again, much like Mania, Edge was countering everything Taker threw his way and it made for a great match full of false finishes. While the inevitable interference was never going to lead to the win, the fans were buying ino absolutely everything they were doing, even though it was essentially the same stuff we saw a month ago at Mania. They worked another smart finish in order to set up THAT SUBMISSION HOLD~! and Taker retained in another great match. I’d have absolutely no trouble seeing these two men continue to feud for a few more months with the rivalry culminating in Hell in a Cell or a similar environment.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: ****
Wilcox: ****¼

CM Punk is IN THE HOUSE!

WWE Championship Match
Randy Orton (Champion) vs. John Cena vs. Triple H vs. John “Bradshaw” Layfield”
Match Result: Triple H defeats Randy Orton with the Pedigree.
Match Length: 28:11
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: The fact that this was an elimination match went a long way towards making this match feel unique and different from the plethora of Triple Threat and Fatal Four Way Matches we’ve seen in the last few years. I completely expected JBL to be the first man eliminated, but I never thought that the second elimination would come so quickly thereafter. However, eliminating Cena so quickly may have been an incredibly shrewd move. First, it meant that Cena would not be present at the end of the match, and that should help placate some of the Cena-haters and further quite the chorus of voices that say Cena has been monopolizing the WWE title scene. Second, having Orton and Triple H finish the match was a nice homage to their two matches at the dawn of the Age of Orton back at No Mercy. So yeah, I think the first and second eliminations were extremely well booked. Triple H and Randy Orton had a great one-on-one match after that, but I can’t agree with giving the win to Triple H. After WrestleMania, Randy Orton was finally beginning to look like a credible WWE Champion. He was finally beginning to look like a legitimate main event star. The Age of Orton was finally gaining momentum. Defeating Triple H would have further cemented Orton as a top tier talent, but now he’s back to being Triple H’s bitch. I like Triple H, I really do. And I’m not saying that I never wanted to see him win the WWE Championship again. But now wasn’t the time. Triple H’s title win doesn’t significantly elevate his credibility or popularity, but it could be disastrous for Randy Orton. However, questionable booking aside, this was a great match, and it was definitely a solid way to finish the show.
Wilcox: The key benefit of having four guys involved in one match is that it is bound to be non-stop action and that is what this match was. You had four guys who are amazing performers when it comes to wrking a mani event style match and they all worked together tremendously here. And as we’ve come to expect from these men, they worked in some really nice spots; I particularly enjoyed the STFU/Crossface submission sequence involving all four men and of course the obligatory tower of doom spot was good stuff. I think the crowd helped this match too because they were popping for absolutely everything. The sequence leading to JBL’s elimination was amazing, but I didn’t liked Cena’s quick elmination. It just seems to me like since he’s been backing, WWE has been trying to please the haters by never having him get a step ahead. I’m not saying he should be going over, but he’s not being treated like a major player right now either. It came down to Orton and Triple H and just got bette.r These two seem to have an excellent chemistry these days, especially in comparison to the work they were doing three and a half years ago. And Orton gets bonus points for busting out his little pose. What I really liked about this portion of the match was that they slowed the pace down following the first fifteen minutes of action and told a decent story that really allowed Orton to shine. The one thing I really don’t like is the outcome. If you had to do the title change, why not do it at Mania and make a massive moment out of it?
Match Rating:
Slimmer: ****½
Wilcox: ****½

Final Thoughts
Match of the Night:
Slimmer: Randy Orton vs. John Cena vs. Triple H vs. John “Bradshaw” Layfield (****½) This was a great match, and it was certainly the right choice to close the show. I may have issues with the booking and the winner, but I can’t deny how exciting the match was throughout. The four-man action was quite nice (and yes, I do realize how gay that sounds), and the one-on-one match after that was even better. This was almost like two really good matches put together back-to-back, and that leads to one great match that was certainly the match of the night.
Wilcox: Randy Orton vs. John Cena vs. Triple H vs. John “Bradshaw” Layfield (****½)
Trash of the Night:
Slimmer: 12 Diva Tag Team Match (*½) The 12 Diva Tag Team Match earns the dubious distinction of being Trash of the Night for the cringe-worthy finishing sequence in which at least half of the Divas in the match botched their only move of the match. This match would have been much better if had been a three-on-three match, because there was absolutely no reason to throw the extra Divas into the match if they were only going to look foolish as a result. However, all of that being said, I do want to applaud Mickie James, Michelle McCool, Beth Phoenix, Melina Perez, and Victoria for doing all that they could to make the match watchable in spite of the odds being stacked against them.
Wilcox: Big Show vs. Great Khali (*) But keep in mind it could easily have been a lot worse.
Final Analysis:
Slimmer: This pay-per-view made me happy, plain and simple. It built consistently from start to finish, and each match was given the time that it needed. Nothing was over-booked, there we no silly skits, and there was a clean finish in each and every match. Moreover, five of the seven matches broke three stars, and the final two championship matches both broke four stars. This was just a no-frills, match-driven pay-per-view, and WWE would be well served to use this model more frequently.
Wilcox: This show delivered. Even the two inevitably bad matches were better than they should have been and once again, the two main events delivered big time. This show produced two MOTYC and had two big titles changes to make it memorable. Furthermore, the show went the distance and ended at 10:50, something that I know Larry appreciates, so people should feel that they got their money’s worth. Big thumbs up from me for Backlash.
Verdict:
Slimmer: ***¼ (for the show as a whole)
Wilcox: ***¾ (for the show as a whole)