WWE Backlash PPV Results: 4-29-07 - 2007-04-30 4:50 AM
Results courtesy of PWTorch.com.
Neo-Geo Forum: Official WWE Thread Post #6701 and posts thereafter.
1 -- JEFF HARDY & MATT HARDY vs. CADE & MURDOCH
WINNERS: Hardys in 16:00. Like there was any chance of Murdoch & Cade winning the belts. Good opener with decent action that kept the crowd involved for the most part. Uniting the tag title belts between Raw and Smackdown might be the best option to make the tag division mean anything in the company. (**)
2 -- MELINA vs. MICKIE JAMES -- Women's Title match
WINNER: Melina in 9:00 to retain the Women's Title. That was really starting to get good until they went to the finish. Mickie had some believable nearfalls at the end to show that she could hang with Melina and set up future re-matches. This was the match that should have happened at Mania, and could have been a very good women's match with 3 or 4 more minutes. (**1/4)
3 -- CHRIS BENOIT vs. MVP -- U.S. Title match
WINNER: Benoit in 14:00 to retain the U.S. Title. Again, just when the action was getting good, they went to the finish. I'm surprised by the short length of this match, as I felt MVP really could have had a break-out match with a 20-25 minute match against Benoit. Granted, I feel better critiquing a match for not going long enough than featuring bags-of-tricks and ref bumps and blindfolds and electricity. (**3/4)
4 -- BOBBY LASHLEY vs. VINCE MCMAHN & SHANE MCMAHON & UMAGA -- ECW Title match
WINNER: Vince McMahon in 15:00 to capture the ECW Title. Well, this should make for interesting TV on Tuesday nights. If you haven't figured out what McMahon thinks of the ECW brand by now, this should make the picture pretty clear. (*3/4)
5 -- THE UNDERTAKER vs. BATISTA -- World Hvt. Title match -- Last man standing
WINNER: Double Count Out in 22:00. Great, physical heavyweight-style action leading to the big finish. I'd put the match right on par with their show-stealer at Mania, with possibly more dramatic moments tonight. The finish gives them a ton of material to work with for TV storylines going forward. Since we've seen decisive finishes throughout this PPV, and WWE can get one or two more re-matches out of Batista vs. Taker, I have no problem with the non-finish. (****1/2)
6 -- JOHN CENA vs. SHAWN MICHAELS vs. RANDY ORTON vs. EDGE -- WWE Title match
WINNER: Cena in 20:00 to retain the WWE Title. Wow. Great drama. Great WWE-style main event match. The pacing was spot-on and the teased finishing sequence and final finishing sequence were laid out with amazing precision. I think everyone watching wanted a few more minutes, but it's hard to complain about that when there were few slow moments at any point in the match. Just like with the Smackdown main event, they have so many different options coming out of this match for TV storylines going forward. I have both main events at the same level, as they made it a night to remember showcasing two different WWE main event styles (heavyweight power wrestling and dramatic storytelling). (****1/2)
Neo-Geo Forum: Official WWE Thread Post #6701 and posts thereafter.
1 -- JEFF HARDY & MATT HARDY vs. CADE & MURDOCH
WINNERS: Hardys in 16:00. Like there was any chance of Murdoch & Cade winning the belts. Good opener with decent action that kept the crowd involved for the most part. Uniting the tag title belts between Raw and Smackdown might be the best option to make the tag division mean anything in the company. (**)
2 -- MELINA vs. MICKIE JAMES -- Women's Title match
WINNER: Melina in 9:00 to retain the Women's Title. That was really starting to get good until they went to the finish. Mickie had some believable nearfalls at the end to show that she could hang with Melina and set up future re-matches. This was the match that should have happened at Mania, and could have been a very good women's match with 3 or 4 more minutes. (**1/4)
3 -- CHRIS BENOIT vs. MVP -- U.S. Title match
WINNER: Benoit in 14:00 to retain the U.S. Title. Again, just when the action was getting good, they went to the finish. I'm surprised by the short length of this match, as I felt MVP really could have had a break-out match with a 20-25 minute match against Benoit. Granted, I feel better critiquing a match for not going long enough than featuring bags-of-tricks and ref bumps and blindfolds and electricity. (**3/4)
4 -- BOBBY LASHLEY vs. VINCE MCMAHN & SHANE MCMAHON & UMAGA -- ECW Title match
WINNER: Vince McMahon in 15:00 to capture the ECW Title. Well, this should make for interesting TV on Tuesday nights. If you haven't figured out what McMahon thinks of the ECW brand by now, this should make the picture pretty clear. (*3/4)
5 -- THE UNDERTAKER vs. BATISTA -- World Hvt. Title match -- Last man standing
WINNER: Double Count Out in 22:00. Great, physical heavyweight-style action leading to the big finish. I'd put the match right on par with their show-stealer at Mania, with possibly more dramatic moments tonight. The finish gives them a ton of material to work with for TV storylines going forward. Since we've seen decisive finishes throughout this PPV, and WWE can get one or two more re-matches out of Batista vs. Taker, I have no problem with the non-finish. (****1/2)
6 -- JOHN CENA vs. SHAWN MICHAELS vs. RANDY ORTON vs. EDGE -- WWE Title match
WINNER: Cena in 20:00 to retain the WWE Title. Wow. Great drama. Great WWE-style main event match. The pacing was spot-on and the teased finishing sequence and final finishing sequence were laid out with amazing precision. I think everyone watching wanted a few more minutes, but it's hard to complain about that when there were few slow moments at any point in the match. Just like with the Smackdown main event, they have so many different options coming out of this match for TV storylines going forward. I have both main events at the same level, as they made it a night to remember showcasing two different WWE main event styles (heavyweight power wrestling and dramatic storytelling). (****1/2)
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