Backlash 2009
Three weeks after WrestleMania, another PPV event for no reason other than one was scheduled, so they may as well have it, you know? Who cares if there hasn't really been time to come up with compelling stories of any kind? IT'S BACKLASH TIME!
Christian defeated Jack Swagger (C) for the ECW Championship
This was a pretty good match, both guys performing well. After winning, Christian came across Edge backstage, which I was hoping would set up Christian interferring in Edge's match later to help out his friend--to get him back in a way... sadly, that hope just made the let down bigger.
Chris Jericho defeated Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
The first of many "WrestleMania XXV 2" matches of the evening. Three weeks ago, Jericho beat Steamboat, plus two others and then beat up Ric Flair for the hell of it. Steamboat wrestled again the next night in a 10-man tag match and looked good doing it. It seemed like the natural bow-out time. Apparently not, because he showed up here to get beaten again. Why? Because they need SOMETHING. *shrugs* A decent match, but a bit of a head scratcher.
Kane defeated CM Punk
Another "WrestleMania XXV 2" match with both of these men in the Money in the Bank match three weeks ago--which CM Punk won. This match was thrown together for no reason other than they needed to fill out the card a bit more. Maybe this will begin a story where Punk defends the Money in the Bank briefcase as if it were a title belt.
Jeff Hardy defeated Matt Hardy in an "I Quit" match
An "I Quit" match is where two guys wrestle until one says "I quit." Pretty simple. Another "WrestleMania XXV 2" match... actually the second "sequel" for this feud as, after winning at Mania, Matt beat Jeff again on Smackdown a couple of weeks back in a stretcher match (where you win by putting your opponent on a stretcher and wheeling him past the top of the entrance ramp). It looked obvious that Jeff would win this since he'd lost twice and they surely were not going to end this feud with Matt dominating. But I held out hope, because Matt winning is, honestly, more interesting. Jeff won. The ending was interesting with Jeff tying Matt to a table, ready to jump off a ladder onto him until Matt gave up--and then did it anyway. Other than that, a pretty typical match.
Stupid Comedy Bit That's Best Ignored
It wasn't that funny, it was mostly stupid and that they would schedule a comedy segment shows just how few ideas they had for this PPV.
Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, and Ted Dibiase defeated Triple H (C), Batista, and Shane McMahon for the WWE Championship
Yeah, this was a bit of a clusterfuck where they needed a way to get the belt on Randy Orton after failing to have him win it at WrestleMania, because heels don't win at Mania and Triple H had to win at WrestleMania XXV. So, they set up this six-man tag match where the belt was somehow on the line, including a further stipulation that it could be lost via disqualification or countout. It began horribly with the three faces attacking the heels, Rhodes and Dibiase looking like chickenshits and Orton, somehow, detained backstage after being hit a few times. But, they managed to turn that into a decent enough match. Granted, Triple H is almost a caricature at this point where I can ALWAYS call his spots. "Oh, facebuster, which means... spinebuster... *yawn*" Seriously, why would anyone bend over when facing him? HE'S GOING TO DO A FACEBUSTER! HE ALWAYS DOES A FACEBUSTER! We all know this is fiction, but it's so damn formulaic at times... anyway, Orton won by pinning Trips after hitting the RKO and punting him. Trips got distracted when Batista looked ready to hit Rhodes with a chair--that Rhodes had already used behind the ref's back. There was a fuck-up when Trips kicked out after the RKO and they rang the bell anyway. An odd ending, but having Orton pin Trips gives his victory credibility. He won by beating the champ.
Edge defeated John Cena (C) for the World Heavyweight Championship
The ending to this match was so fucking horrible. The match itself was good and, at one point, I thought, "Hey, wouldn't it be cool if Edge won because Christian helped him?" ECW and Smackdown tape together, so appearing together wouldn't be a problem. They were shown talking earlier. Sure, it would turn Christian heel, but in that way where he's helping his friend overcome the one thing that haunts him... hell, with Randy Orton winning his match, it would be like Edge won even bigger with him, Christian, and Orton all as world champs. Edge and his two most famous partners... all at the top of the WWE. That has a certain appeal. (Add to that that, thanks to the draft, Smackdown didn't have a world belt and Cena is going to begin filming his next movie soon and, yeah, Edge was winning. His fifth world title in the last year for those counting.)
But, no, we get the fucking Big Show coming out for no discernable reason to throw John Cena into a giant light. Why? BECAUSE DEUS EX MACHINA THAT'S WHY! Because they couldn't come up with anything better. Because you can't have Edge actually just fucking win clean or do something good. I know that in a week or so, this ending will fade from memory, but it was shit. As well, they had BOTH title matches end with the face former champ needing medical attention, which is just weird. It's like they're saying they REALLY wanted the heels to win at Mania, but the face wins at Mania, so they had to go overboard here.
Backlash had some decent matches, but was mostly just WrestleMania XXV 2 (all but one match was some variation of what happened at Mania)... Kind of disappointing.
Later
Christian defeated Jack Swagger (C) for the ECW Championship
This was a pretty good match, both guys performing well. After winning, Christian came across Edge backstage, which I was hoping would set up Christian interferring in Edge's match later to help out his friend--to get him back in a way... sadly, that hope just made the let down bigger.
Chris Jericho defeated Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
The first of many "WrestleMania XXV 2" matches of the evening. Three weeks ago, Jericho beat Steamboat, plus two others and then beat up Ric Flair for the hell of it. Steamboat wrestled again the next night in a 10-man tag match and looked good doing it. It seemed like the natural bow-out time. Apparently not, because he showed up here to get beaten again. Why? Because they need SOMETHING. *shrugs* A decent match, but a bit of a head scratcher.
Kane defeated CM Punk
Another "WrestleMania XXV 2" match with both of these men in the Money in the Bank match three weeks ago--which CM Punk won. This match was thrown together for no reason other than they needed to fill out the card a bit more. Maybe this will begin a story where Punk defends the Money in the Bank briefcase as if it were a title belt.
Jeff Hardy defeated Matt Hardy in an "I Quit" match
An "I Quit" match is where two guys wrestle until one says "I quit." Pretty simple. Another "WrestleMania XXV 2" match... actually the second "sequel" for this feud as, after winning at Mania, Matt beat Jeff again on Smackdown a couple of weeks back in a stretcher match (where you win by putting your opponent on a stretcher and wheeling him past the top of the entrance ramp). It looked obvious that Jeff would win this since he'd lost twice and they surely were not going to end this feud with Matt dominating. But I held out hope, because Matt winning is, honestly, more interesting. Jeff won. The ending was interesting with Jeff tying Matt to a table, ready to jump off a ladder onto him until Matt gave up--and then did it anyway. Other than that, a pretty typical match.
Stupid Comedy Bit That's Best Ignored
It wasn't that funny, it was mostly stupid and that they would schedule a comedy segment shows just how few ideas they had for this PPV.
Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, and Ted Dibiase defeated Triple H (C), Batista, and Shane McMahon for the WWE Championship
Yeah, this was a bit of a clusterfuck where they needed a way to get the belt on Randy Orton after failing to have him win it at WrestleMania, because heels don't win at Mania and Triple H had to win at WrestleMania XXV. So, they set up this six-man tag match where the belt was somehow on the line, including a further stipulation that it could be lost via disqualification or countout. It began horribly with the three faces attacking the heels, Rhodes and Dibiase looking like chickenshits and Orton, somehow, detained backstage after being hit a few times. But, they managed to turn that into a decent enough match. Granted, Triple H is almost a caricature at this point where I can ALWAYS call his spots. "Oh, facebuster, which means... spinebuster... *yawn*" Seriously, why would anyone bend over when facing him? HE'S GOING TO DO A FACEBUSTER! HE ALWAYS DOES A FACEBUSTER! We all know this is fiction, but it's so damn formulaic at times... anyway, Orton won by pinning Trips after hitting the RKO and punting him. Trips got distracted when Batista looked ready to hit Rhodes with a chair--that Rhodes had already used behind the ref's back. There was a fuck-up when Trips kicked out after the RKO and they rang the bell anyway. An odd ending, but having Orton pin Trips gives his victory credibility. He won by beating the champ.
Edge defeated John Cena (C) for the World Heavyweight Championship
The ending to this match was so fucking horrible. The match itself was good and, at one point, I thought, "Hey, wouldn't it be cool if Edge won because Christian helped him?" ECW and Smackdown tape together, so appearing together wouldn't be a problem. They were shown talking earlier. Sure, it would turn Christian heel, but in that way where he's helping his friend overcome the one thing that haunts him... hell, with Randy Orton winning his match, it would be like Edge won even bigger with him, Christian, and Orton all as world champs. Edge and his two most famous partners... all at the top of the WWE. That has a certain appeal. (Add to that that, thanks to the draft, Smackdown didn't have a world belt and Cena is going to begin filming his next movie soon and, yeah, Edge was winning. His fifth world title in the last year for those counting.)
But, no, we get the fucking Big Show coming out for no discernable reason to throw John Cena into a giant light. Why? BECAUSE DEUS EX MACHINA THAT'S WHY! Because they couldn't come up with anything better. Because you can't have Edge actually just fucking win clean or do something good. I know that in a week or so, this ending will fade from memory, but it was shit. As well, they had BOTH title matches end with the face former champ needing medical attention, which is just weird. It's like they're saying they REALLY wanted the heels to win at Mania, but the face wins at Mania, so they had to go overboard here.
Backlash had some decent matches, but was mostly just WrestleMania XXV 2 (all but one match was some variation of what happened at Mania)... Kind of disappointing.
Later