WWE Backlash 2016 Review: Results, Analysis, and Grades; Dean Ambrose vs. AJ Styles

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Follow along with our live review of the WWE Backlash pay-per-view.

On Sunday night, WWE SmackDown’s first exclusive pay-per-view will take place with Backlash. This show will emanate from the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, VA. Six matches are scheduled for the show, including four for titles.

The main event of Backlash will see Dean Ambrose defend the WWE World Championship against AJ Styles. This got determined after Styles defeated Dolph Ziggler to become the No. 1 Contender to the belt on the post-SummerSlam SmackDown episode.

The Phenomenal One is riding a wave of momentum. He defeated John Cena at SummerSlam in a fantastic match, which put him over The Face That Runs the Place 2-0 in singles competition. This hardly happens, so Styles has rubbed it in that he’s The New Face That Runs the Place.

As for Ambrose, he has held the WWE world title for nearly three months. He has defeated the likes of Ziggler, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns to retain the belt. Styles may be his toughest test, though. Will we see a title change here?

The new SmackDown Women’s Championship will also be handed out in a Six-Pack Challenge Elimination match. Alexa Bliss, Becky Lynch, Carmella, Naomi, Natalya, and Nikki Bella will compete for this belt. Each woman has shown in some way that they deserve a chance to win, so who will become the inaugural champion?

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The SmackDown Tag Team Championship will also be handed out. The oddity team of Heath Slater and Rhyno have advanced to the final match of the tournament. If they win, Slater walks out of Backlash with a SmackDown contract. If not, then his free agent shtick will continue.

As for who they face, it’s supposed to be American Alpha. However, due to The Usos injuring Chad Gable’s leg, they will be unable to compete. Instead, Jimmy and Jey will face The Hype Bros for the chance to face Slater and Rhyno. The winning duo will become the new SmackDown Tag Team Champions.

The Miz will walk into Backlash with the WWE Intercontinental Championship, but has to get past Dolph Ziggler to retain it. These two have cut some of WWE’s most passionate promos over the past few weeks, including the A-lister’s famous pipe bomb on Talking Smack. Will his talk live up to the hype?

Backlash’s only match without title implications will see Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt go head to head. These two have feuded for the past three weeks, leading to this bout to potentially culminate their feud. Can Orton rebound from his TKO loss to Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam?

Here is a look at the match card for Backlash.

WWE World Championship Match
Dean Ambrose (c) vs. AJ Styles

Six-Pack Challenge Elimination Match for the SmackDown Women’s Championship
Alexa Bliss vs. Becky Lynch vs. Carmella vs. Naomi vs. Natalya vs. Nikki Bella

WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
The Miz (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler

SmackDown Tag Team Championship Tournament Semifinals Match
The Usos vs. The Hype Bros

SmackDown Tag Team Championship Tournament Finals Match
Heath Slater and Rhyno vs. The Usos or The Hype Bros

Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton

Follow along with our coverage of WWE Backlash right here beginning at 7:00 PM ET.

Shane McMahon Promo

Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan opened Backlash introducing the show, and praising the fans for following the SmackDown brand. Bryan talked about the new titles being handed out, including the SmackDown Women’s Championship and the SmackDown Tag Team Championshop. They get right to the former.

Six-Pack Challenge Match for the SmackDown Women’s Championship  Alexa Bliss vs. Becky Lynch vs. Carmella vs. Naomi vs. Natalya vs. Nikki Bella

Result: Becky Lynch last eliminates Carmella to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars

The women kicked off Backlash, and did it justice. They went for the SmackDown Women’s Championship, which was the first time this belt got handed out. The result turned out to be a terrific opening match.

It took a while for someone to be eliminated in this match. Each one of the Superstars got their time to shine, which could be difficult to do in Six-Pack Challenges. However, Natalya had some impressive spots, Naomi flashed her athleticism, Nikki Bella threw some vicious forearms, and Alexa Bliss looked like Harley Quinn.

The result would see Becky Lynch get the victory, though. This is a culmination of her work in WWE, which never saw her win a championship. She had been in the shadows of Charlotte, Bayley, and Sasha Banks, all of whom had won titles within the past two years.

An intriguing question may be who challenges Becky first for the title. We already saw her have a program with Natalya. Could it be Bliss? Maybe a returning Eva Marie?

SmackDown Tag Team Championship ‘2nd Chance’ MatchThe Usos vs. The Hype Bros

Result: The Usos defeat The Hype Bros to advance in the SmackDown Tag Team Tournament.

Rating: 2.75 out of 5 stars

The Usos went after the leg of Zack Ryder’s to get the win, identical to how they injured Chad Gable. This incident took American Alpha out of the SmackDown Tag Team Tournament finals, and now are replaced by the former WWE Tag Team Champions.

The darker version of The Usos debuted in this match, which hadn’t been seen since their early run in WWE. They didn’t come out in their warpaint or do their usual entrance. Instead, Jimmy and Jey walked out like the angriest wrestlers in WWE, and did it with swagger.

Seeing them defeat The Hype Bros can’t be considered shocking. With the recent heel turn, The Usos had momentum, and losing would only curtail this. So, they are moving onto the finals to face Rhyno and Heath Slater, which could be the culmination of their heat if they win the tag titles. Slater and Rhyno are rolling, though, so what could happen?

WWE Intercontinental Championship MatchThe Miz (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler

Result: The Miz defeats Dolph Ziggler via pinfall to retain the WWE Intercontinental Championship.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars

Miz walked into Backlash with plenty of momentum. It started with his WWE Talking Smack promo, which saw him berate SmackDown GM Daniel Bryan. He then backed down from Ziggler’s challenges in cowardly fashion, but still agreed to the challenge at Backlash.

Well, one again, the A-lister came through.

This match may have been Miz’s best since WWE Extreme Rules. He had a few lackluster pay-per-view bouts over the past few months, but came out looking strong in this one. Shots were taken at Bryan’s wrestling moves, which Miz initiated. He pulled out some new ones from his arsenal, too.

With the win, this keeps the former Tough Enough star’s title reign alive. It began on the night after WrestleMania 32, and has no ending in sight.

As for Ziggler, he’s in trouble. Losses to Dean Ambrose, AJ Styles, and Miz, all with title implications, won’t help his status. Where does he go from here? Is a heel turn in the works after Backlash?

No Holds Barred MatchBray Wyatt vs. Kane

Result: Kane defeats Bray Wyatt via pinfall.

Rating: 2.25 out of 5 stars

Earlier at Backlash, Wyatt injured Randy Orton’s leg, taking him out of their planned match. So, The Eater of Worlds received a new opponent in Kane. This “surprise” is something WWE has gone to on multiple occasions throughout this millennium, and has run its course. It’s disappointing.

Wyatt and Kane’s match didn’t exactly tear the house down, but it served its purpose. No Holds Barred bouts are supposed to get the crowd into some spots and rile them up. It worked in bursts, but a match with no build or reason to it is difficult to get behind.

As for the finish, Orton returning to hit an RKO was a decent surprise, especially since it looked like his night ended early. He cost Wyatt a meaningless match, though.

Orton and Wyatt will probably be pushed to WWE No Mercy on Sunday, October 9. If they can keep the build going for one more month, this should be a fun match.

SmackDown Tag Team Tournament Finals MatchHeath Slater and Rhyno vs. The Usos

Result: Heath Slater and Rhyno defeat The Usos to win the SmackDown Tag Team Championship.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

The Usos battled at Backlash for a second time, but couldn’t come out on top to carry their momentum. Instead, Rhyno and Heath Slater pulled out the victory to win the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. They did so with The Man Beast hitting a gore with the referee not looking. Could this mean a rematch is in store?

Slater also receives a SmackDown contract from this victory. Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan agreed to this before the tournament began in August. The One Man Band had been in an underdog role for months, and remained irrelevant for a while in The Social Outcasts. However, he broke out after the WWE Draft and became a fan-favorite more than ever. The WWE Universe can now chant for SmackDown Tag Team Champion Heath Slater, a title he hasn’t had since his team with Justin Gabriel earlier this decade.

As for The Usos, a feud with American Alpha is happening at some point. It wouldn’t make sense otherwise with what happened on last Tuesday’s SmackDown. If not, then we’ll see what the immediate future is of the Samoan twins.

WWE World Championship MatchDean Ambrose (c) vs. AJ Styles

Result: AJ Styles defeats Dean Ambrose via pinfall to win the WWE World Championship.

Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars

Dean Ambrose and AJ Styles got the chance to headline a WWE PPV, and delivered. There was some pressure with top star Randy Orton not being able to compete, but these two stars put on a main event worthy match.

Styles rode a wave of momentum from SummerSlam, where he defeated John Cena to be 2-0 in their head to head singles matches. Few have done this before, so the moment had to be a special one for AJ Styles the character.

Once a Superstar defeats Cena, then gets added into a title match, how can you not have him go over? It wouldn’t make sense to have The Phenomenal One defeat WWE’s biggest star this decade, lose a championship bout, and fade out of the picture. So, the company cashed in on Styles’ red-hot heel momentum, and made his win over Cena look grander.

On the flip side, Ambrose’s title reign ended at nearly three months. His Money in the Bank cash-in seemed to be what he needed to go from upper mid-card face, to main eventer. However, a chunk of this run felt empty. It felt like this around the time the Dolph Ziggler feud started. Their match had been forgettable at SummerSlam, too.

The Lunatic Fringe also got booed at Backlash. What that can be attributed to is up for debate. It could be Styles’ popularity outshining Ambrose’s. Maybe fans wanted to see Styles win his first title in WWE. An alternate theory could be the former Jon Moxley’s in-ring style, which can be formulaic. His comebacks got booed, along with his typical spots like the dive through the ropes, and the lariat off the ropes.

To give Ambrose credit, though, he became aggressive during this match, seemingly after the boos started building up. He can be at his best in these situations, and flourished, especially when the action went to ringside. It seemed like his matches with Seth Rollins, which has displayed Ambrose’s best work, all over again. If the 2016 Mr. Money in the Bank can replicate this going forward, he might deserve a second world title reign. If he can’t recapture the intensity, then it may be time to leave him as an upper mid-carder.

WWE Backlash 2016 Final Grade: 3.2 out of 5 stars

What did you think of the Backlash PPV? Did it deliver?

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