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Both main events were good, but tonight Vince McMahon took the last bit of the good ECW and flashed it down the toilet. God knows what Paul Heyman is thinking. At least I have my ECW DVD.
Peter Siddorn
Bristol England
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My name is Mat Rykiel and I'm from Glen Burnie,Maryland. Just finished watching Backlash and this was without a shadow of a doubt one of the best WWE PPV's they've done since The Royal Rumble.
The opener was solid with The Hardys against Cade & Murdoch.Great psychology in a tag match. I have to give this a thumbs up.
Mickie against Melina was a good woman's match. Very surprised how good this was. Another positive for the show.
Benoit/MVP was solid. This match was just starting to get good and Benoit got the pin on MVP. One of MVP's best matches since he came to WWE.
Now the only negative on the PPV was the 3-on-1 handicap match. Just a disgrace to the legacy of ECW having Vince McMahon win the ECW World Title. Very poor match and the only negative about the whole PPV.
I was wondering if Taker/Batista was going to be good and it was a solid match. Some good hardcore spots and all the false 10 counts was good. The finish kind of was too sports-entertainmentish. Sets up a rematch at Judgment Day. These two have had two good matches. Won't mind seeing the WWE continue this rivalry.
The Fatal Four-Way was good. Wasn't surprised that Orton jobbed to Cena because of all his behavioral issues. Good performances by Edge, Orton, HBK and Cena. Sets up a possible iron-man match at Judgment Day between Cena and HBK!!
Overall this was a good PPV and will make TNA's two last PPV's subpar. Hopefully this tri-branded PPV's will help the WWE to increase their PPV buyrate.
Mat Rykiel
**********
I wasted 40 dollars tonight plain and simple I was looking for a half way decent three hours and Blacklash failed, I wasn't looking for 5 stars but at least a decent night. The Hardys vs Cade and Murdoch was ok but came off like it has been mentioned before, who thought Cade and Murdoch were going to win when months ago they were DX's punching bag? The Woman's Championship match was ok but when you're done with the Mickie-Melina program who do you put in there, Harvey Wippleman? Oklahoma? Oh I know, Maria. I thought Benoit vs. MVP was a real good solid wrestling match but if the champion beats the challenger twice and retains his championship logic says this feud is over but they have had good solid matches I wouldn't mind seeing them again in a different sort of match like a ladder match or a cage match. Vince McMahon pissed on ECW's grave, pissed on every man and woman who bled for ECW in the past (1993-2001), and on every fan of the old ECW and it made me sick and for Joey Styles and Tazz to have to call that god awful match I felt for them. Last Man Standing, here we go the standard "lets count both men out so we can set up for Hell in the Cell on Judgment Day". I am sorry I missed this but the Cena-Orton promo did nothing for me because Randy Orton is horrible in promos like he is reading a cue card, it just doesn't have any fire or nothing behind it. Ken Kennedy and Edge had an interesting promo I liked that the winner of Money in the Bank was there making sure Edge knew he could cash in basically at any time. A good 4 way match but I was hoping Mr Kennedy would cash in tonight. Like Buck and Mike would say in their recaps if you didn't order it wait for the DVD or for it to be on 24/7 in a few months. This show is a thumbs down
Cameron
Va Beach
Elite Member of PWInsider
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This turned out to be a really good PPV offering by WWE and it was a lot better than I thought it would be. The wrestling was solid throughout and although some of the finishes left me scratching my head, I give this show two thumbs up. Here are my thoughts on the matches:
The opener with the Hardys vs Cade and Murdoch was a nice opener. Near the end the action seemed to get a bit clumsy but the crowd were really into the Hardys so it didn't hurt the match much. I'm glad the Hardys retained as I'm not big fans of Cade and Murdoch.
Melina vs Mickie James was a fun bout and I liked the leg-split spot. I must say though the finish to this match made no sense to me and I did not like it. Why have the top female heel beat the top female babyface clean in the middle of the ring? In my opinion this hurt Mickie James needlessly. Strange booking.
The Edge/Kennedy segment was interesting but I knew Kennedy's suggestion that he'd play a role later on was just a tease from WWE.
Benoit vs MVP was my favorite match of the evening as it was two guys, without gimmicks, going out there and putting on a great story in the ring. MVP is really impressing me and I liked how he worked over the neck of Benoit. Even when he covered Benoit he put pressure on the neck and I appreciate little things like that which make sense. Benoit sold huge for MVP tonight too and made him look really impressive. This feud has the makings of being the best of 2007 if they keep it going.
The Cena/Orton backstage bit was funny. Was this WWE's attempt at putting Orton in his place?
The handicap match involving Lashley vs Vince, Shane and Umaga was OK. I found it pretty desperate how they tried to put over the fact Vince was the champion as being "the darkest day in ECW history". Actually that was probably making Lashley the champion. A year ago Vince being the champion might have made fans angry but I doubt many will care about it at this moment in time. I know I sure don't.
Undertaker vs Batista was going really well and would have been my choice for best match of the evening but the finish left me feeling cheated. A draw? No wonder the crowd booed. I think it would have been a better finish if the scaffolding had only fallen on Batista as it would have allowed Taker to retain the belt. A tainted win would have been better than a draw which just pissed people off.
The fatal 4-way match was a very good match with lots of great action. I was unsure about the match at the beginning seeing as how they had to allow two men in the ring and two men on the outside every so often, but it ended up working out as the match went on. The HBK moonsault was a nice touch and at the end the pace was hectic with everyone hitting their big moves. I did enjoy how they booked the ending of this match as it leaves HBK still seeking the gold and Cena still seeking the respect of HBK. This is another feud I hope they continue with as it's intriguing right now.
All in all Backlash was a great event and I'm very pleased I checked it out.
Gerard Doyle, Dublin, Ireland.
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Backlash or backwash? God this PPV was horrible. I was afraid Vince was going to put the ECW title on himself and boy did he. Every single one of us that gave a damn about the original ECW got a huge middle finger in our faces tonight. If this ends with an Original getting the belt, then I'm fine with it but if it goes back to Lashley, the whole backstage vignette with Vince rubbing the ECW title in their faces was just a middle finger, not a storyline.
Trace
Florida State Univeristy
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I was looking forward to this PPV a lot because I thought it would be the end of John Cena's run (finally).
The Hardy-Murdoch/Cade match was entertaining and pretty good. Murdoch/Cade did pretty well, but then again... The Hardy's can carry a match with anyone. The Hardy's won just as I thought because the WWE Creative did a brilliant job building this up (Cade/Murdoch each beating a beating a Hardy on the Raws leading up)
Melina-Mickie James was a surprisingly good match. At least it kept my attention. Mickie's a better wrestler so she should've won but it didn't bother me Melina won.
Edge has a good promo like always. Kennedy comes out and gives the impression he'll do what Edge did at New Year's Resolution in '06. I thought that'd be cool but doubted it'd happen.
Benoit-MVP was decent. MVP doesn't impress me. I thought Benoit was going to lose because he's had his title reign, he won at Wrestlemania and I figured they were going to give MVP a push undeservingly because the Creative has great ideas like that. Anyways, Benoit wins. I'm satisfied with that. BALLIN!! Get a new catchphrase.
The Orton-Cena promo actually got a chuckle out of me. And Ron Simmons' "DAMN!" is still funny to me. But as soon as I saw Orton walk up, I knew Cena would would make some sort of stupid joke dealing with penis' or something. And what do ya know! A gay joke. John Cena rules!!! ..... *sigh*
Lashley-Umaga, Vince, Shane match... didn't know how easy it is to fall asleep sitting until this match came on. They built it up as if it would be a problem to who wins the ECW Championship earlier in the night. That never really turned out. Then once Vince won it seemed like they were going to make Umaga get pissed for him not winning. Nope, instead Umaga would look at Vince mad like he wanted it, then he'd look fine the next... and then repeat again.
Taker-Batista was pretty boring at first. Got somewhat entertaining towards the end. Batista can't wrestle and Taker isn't a fast paced wrestler so it got hard to watch at points. A couple of finishers and both kick out. The spear off the ramp was cool. I felt Taker should've done his Deadman rise when he sits up to win after the spear but instead the WWE Creative leaves us with a draw. I'd be fine with that happening on Smackdown but not a PPV. No person likes a draw on a PPV.
Orton-Edge-Michaels-Cena match was great. Good bumps being taken, their trademark moves, excitement and finishers. They all were pretty entertaining, Michaels was a step above because he can put on a better show than anyone and carry a match if needed (i.e. the 50 minute match with Cena on Raw). I was loving it and all was going well until... Looks like the ref counted to 3... What? "Your time is up my time is now. You can't see me, my time is now". Cena wins. My brother told me the shock on my face was priceless. My mouth was wide open. I wanted to break something for that night I knew for sure Cena would lose. I wanted Edge or Orton because I'm a heel guy and if HBK won I'd be fine because he deserves it. As he celebrated and Shawn was pissed, I prayed and yelled at the TV for Mr. Kennedy to come out and make my night. For that 3-5 minutes of Cena being in glory I was dying for Kennedy to come out. "We'll see you tomorrow night on Raw!" I'm crushed. I go outside in pity and have myself a smoke. One thought comes to my head that would make it worth this night is if they are letting Cena keep the belt till Triple H comes back. Mmmmm, the smell of good wrestler and promo ability.
Overall Grade: C+ due to the boring matches and Cena keeping the belt.
Marc P.
Springboro, Ohio
