I'm a little behind tonight due to a previous commitment, but trying to catch up to the action here.
Bianca Belair vs. Iyo SKY was an odd choice for an opener on a show like this, but credit where credit is due.. the crowd is super into it. Not sure why SKY was by far the fan favorite here, but to their credit, both women went for it. What an exciting match, and I love how they saved the Damage CTRL interference for the very end, instead of starting it early. Really impressive performance by Iyo, and I could absolutely see her getting a solid singles run out of this. Glad that Bianca is now the longest-reigning womens champion of the modern era, but perhaps they could have made a bigger deal out of it before tonight?
Savio Vega? Are you kidding me? So cool!
Seth Rollins vs. Omos was much better than I thought it would be, and so much can be credited to the red-hot crowd. Why don't they have shows in Puerto Rico more often? Omos was fine, but Rollins again proven why's they modern-day version of Bret Hart, able to have an incredible match with just about anyone.
Bronson Reed vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Austin Theory came across as quite underwhelming. Reed had decent moments there, but I can't help but think they're marginalizing Lashley with each loss he has.
Zelina Vega vs. Rhea Ripley didn't do all that much for me as a match, although that post-match ovation for Vega was unbelievable and absolutely has to be considered a career highlight.
Bad Bunny vs. Damien Priest was just SO much fun. Again, the crowd going crazy for Bunny kicked this up a notch, but credit where credit is due to Bad Bunny - this did not look like his first singles match in any way, shape or form. Even his selling of Priest's moves had him come across like a veteran. Priest looked like a rock star himself, and I probably haven't thought since his babyface run more than a year ago. Yes, there was tons of outside interference (Carlito!!!), but it actually didn't detract from the match itself. Such an amazing match, and one of the better celebrity-based matches I've ever seen.
As much as I enjoyed Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn & Matt Riddle vs. Solo Sikoa & The Usos, I can't help but feel that should have been the opening match. The crowd died down a bit after the Bad Bunny spectacle (predictably) and weren't quite as raucous for this one. Yet with the continued story of The Bloodline imploding, it would have been more meaningful at the starting of the show. As it was, this was a decent match and there's probably no way to get a bad match from these six.
Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar more than delivered in the main event. For those who are tired of the "typical" Brock Lesnar match, we got a bit of a variation. Plus the color Brock received was reminiscent of Puerto Rican wrestling from days gone by. But most importantly, Cody got the win that he badly needed on his road to redemption. The story continues!
I enjoyed Backlash a lot more than I thought I would. The crowd was absolutely a big part of that, but there were also a few really good matches to boot.
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