The important lesson Backlash taught us about WWE pay-per-views
Many fans didn't have high expectations for the first brand-exclusive pay-per-view of the WWE's New Era, and with rumors swirling before Sunday's event in Richmond that Randy Orton would not be wrestling, Backlash's tiny match card didn't exactly scream "must-watch."
There were only six scheduled matches for Backlash, which ran for about two hours and 40 minutes - but the card produced one of the best top-to-bottom WWE pay-per-views of the year, and could serve as a model for WWE shows moving forward.
AJ Styles became the new WWE World Champion in a highly entertaining match against Dean Ambrose that stretched nearly a half hour, while The Miz and Dolph Ziggler put in their best performances of the year to steal the show in their Intercontinental Championship match.
What was so different about Backlash? The wrestlers involved were each granted a generous amount of the most valuable commodity in WWE: time. Not counting Bray Wyatt's walkover victory against an injured Randy Orton, the six matches at Backlash had an average length of 14 minutes and 51 seconds.
To compare that to WWE's two most recent PPVs, SummerSlam's nine main card matches had an average length of 13 minutes and 30 seconds (but dragged on forever), while the eight main card matches at Battleground had an average length of 11 minutes and 29 seconds (with four matches under nine minutes).
Backlash struck a perfect balance from start to finish. By not overloading the card, every performer got the time they needed to tell a compelling story in the ring. It's hard to care about storylines like the Usos turning heel if they're in the ring for six minutes at a time, but on Sunday they got a combined 20 minutes over two matches to make an impression. Nothing felt rushed, and nothing felt drawn out (aside from Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan's opening promo).
Can Raw replicate the Backlash model moving forward? It seems unlikely. Raw's larger roster means that there are more stars vying for spots on pay-per-view cards, so unless there are a bunch of 12-person tags (which are generally underwhelming) and Fatal Four Ways, it'd be impossible to limit a Raw pay-per-view to six matches without snubbing a number of people in the locker room.
SmackDown's roster size was originally perceived to be weakness after the brand extension - and the show could still be in trouble if any big stars are knocked out due to injury - but if Backlash is any indication, SmackDown pay-per-views could be the must-watch events of the month for WWE fans.
