source: WWE
This week, Shinsuke gets the upper hand yet again, Miz tries to stir up some trouble, and the women main event in a 6-woman tag match!
source: WWE
Shelton Benjamin and the Miz vs. Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy
Winners: Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton
Miz announces that due to his no-show on MizTV last week, he’s banned from the show. He calls out Seth Rollins, saying he has something of his and he will reclaim it on Sunday at Backlash. He welcomes his guest, Jeff Hardy.
Miz asks Hardy if he’s a better Intercontinental Champion than Rollins, and Hardy tells him that if that were true, he would have won at the Greatest Royal Rumble. Miz brings out Hardy’s Backlash opponent, Randy Orton.
When the Miz tries to stir the pot between Orton and Hardy, Orton says that he doesn’t really have beef with him. He reminds the Viper that he doesn’t play well with others, but Randy and Jeff mutually agree that the only reason that they’re fighting is for the title.
Shelton Benjamin interrupts, saying that if anyone deserves an opportunity at the United States Championship, it’s him, not Orton. Orton goes after Benjamin on the apron, but Miz pulls him away, prompting Miz to receive a Whisper in the Wind from Hardy. A match begins after the commercial.
Highlights:
Hardy delivers a Twist of Fate to Benjamin
Miz distracts Jeff on the top rope, allowing Shelton to knee him in the face
The Miz knocks Hardy off the top turnbuckle and to the floor
Miz hits Jeff Hardy with a couple running dropkicks in the corner
Orton plants Miz and Benjamin face first on the mat with the off the rope DDT
Randy gives Shelton an RKO
Hardy hits Benjamin with a swanton bomb for the victory
Orton hits Jeff with an RKO out of nowhere
Opinion:
I found it pretty funny that Hardy and Orton were so cordial with their match five days away. As much as Miz tried to cause problems, both of them saw through him and made him look stupid. While neither man is a clear-cut babyface in this feud, having Orton RKO Hardy does intensify the competition.
source: WWE
Big Cass assaults a "little" Daniel Bryan
Cass comes out to the ring and trashes Canada, saying that he is better than everyone, including Daniel Bryan. He says that a real superstar doesn’t look like Bryan, but is 7 feet tall and has super strength like himself.
Daniel Bryan’s music hits, and a little person dressed as Bryan comes out. Cass makes jokes about his size and about how he eliminated him at the greatest Royal Rumble. He gives the impersonator a big boot and unloads on him.
Opinion:
I absolutely love the David and Goliath story between Cass and Bryan. Since his retirement, it has been difficult to see him in an underdog position. With Cass delivering a beat-down to Bryan (both little person and real version of him) Bryan week after week, it makes Bryan’s comeback even more special. I hope that this feud draws out past Backlash, because both men can only gain from it.
source: WWE
Shinsuke Nakamura demands an apology from AJ Styles
Renee Young interviews AJ Styles in the ring, and Styles calls Nakamura a coward. AJ says that he’s not going to apologize to Shinsuke, and starts to call him out when he’s interrupted by Samoa Joe.
Joe says that after he puts Roman Reigns down at Backlash, he will come and take AJ’s WWE Championship. Joe’s music plays but it’s interrupted by Nakamura’s music, and as Joe prepares for Shinsuke to come out on the stage, cameras turn to the ring, where Nakamura has delivered another low blow to Styles, following it up with a Kinshasa.
Opinion:
I’m kind of irritated with Samoa Joe lately. He has inserted himself into not one, but two championship storylines that were nowhere from being finished. He’s already facing Roman Reigns in a story that seems unimportant now that Joe is on Smackdown, but now he’s trying to take the WWE Championship in the midst of an enticing storyline between AJ and Shinsuke.
That being said, I think that AJ and Shinsuke’s rivalry can continue for a while without being boring. Shinsuke is getting better and better as a heel.
source: WWE
Sheamus vs. Xavier Woods
Winner: Xavier Woods
Highlights:
Sheamus sends Woods into the bottom rope, sending his head onto the mat
Xavier dodges Sheamus and sends him shoulder first into the post
Woods hits Sheamus with a shining wizard knee
Big E grabs Cesaro but Cesaro sends him running into the steel post
Woods slides through the middle rope and kicks a taunting Cesaro
Xavier rolls up Sheamus for the three count
Opinion:
This was a pretty good match, and I’m excited to see what develops in the story between the Bar and the New Day.
source: WWE
Asuka, Charlotte and Becky Lynch vs. Carmella and the IIconics
Winners: Asuka, Charlotte and Becky Lynch
Highlights:
Billie Kay slaps Asuka, and Asuka responds with a series of strikes
Charlotte hops over the top rope and onto the IIconics on the outside
Billie and Peyton sweep Asuka’s legs from the apron before she gets the tag and send her into the steel steps
Carmella pins Charlotte three teams and throws a fit each time she kicks out
Charlotte delivers a spear to Carmella and moonsaults onto her to the top rope
Peyton Royce taps out to the Asuka Lock
Opinion:
I am happy any time the women main event Raw or Smackdown, and this match was a great showcase of Smackdown’s new women’s division. I’m also glad that Charlotte came out victorious tonight, because I think she’s going to lose at Backlash.