Wow. That was kinda weird, but never mind : The matches!
Women's Title
Trish Stratus (c) vs. Jazz
Whoo! Another round of Trish vs. Jazz. Actually, I don’t mind - the two know their way round a ring, especially in against each other. I wouldn’t totally rule out interference from Psycho-Lady Victoria either, just to keep her in the picture too. Of course, we could have had Trish & Jeff vs. Vicky & Steven... but Jeffy the Rainbow Woyah ain’t here any more... I just had to mention it, sorry!
But, back to the match. Interesting to see they paired Jazz with Rodney Mack and Theodore Long... looks to me like Jazz could be sacrificed as part of Long’s ongoing storyline. Jazz to lose, and all because “whitey” can’t let the blonde with the blue eyes lose... ya feel me?
Winner : Trish Stratus
World Tag Team Titles
RVD & Kane (c) vs. Dudley Boyz
Whoa yeah, can’t wait for this one. Sandwich time folks. Maybe not even a sandwich, possibly some Rice Krispies, or even Cornflakes - Caramel Frosties if possible, but that may be overkill. Oh yeah, you may have noticed the fact that I’m talking about snacks rather than the match shows you my level of interest.
RVD is over, but stale. Kane is over, but boring. Bubba looks in pain every time he takes a bump, and D-Von is... well, D-Von. Since the Rev. D-Von was killed off, he’s been boring. You’d have to think that Morley & Storm will get involved here on behalf of their “employees” the Dudleys, D-Von’s refusal to take their help could well be the spark that fires up the long awaited D-Von vs. Bubba feud...
Winners : RVD & Kane
Six Man Tag
Triple H, Chris Jericho, and Ric Flair vs. HBK, Booker T, and Kevin Nash
OK, people. Lesson 101 in politics. Which of the heel side will take the brunt of Nash and HBK’s offence? If you answered Chris Jericho, pat yourself on the back - like Barry Horowitz does! It’s a shame that the Jericho/HBK feud got put on the back burner following the return of Nash and his hair, but I did kind of expect that.
No way on Earth is Trips going to lose this match himself... I fully expect a Jacknife powerbomb to put away Jericho to take the win on this one. Can we expect Trips & Y2J vs. Nash & HBK next month? Or will Trips lose his belt to Nash? I think we all know the answer there.
Winners : HBK, Booker & Nash
The Rock vs. Bill Goldberg
I for one have enjoyed this feud, despite the majority opinion being strongly against it. Goldberg isn’t the big name to new WWE fans that he once would have been, so it’s nice to see that he’s not been booked as superman - he sold the beatdown from Rock & Christian nicely, I thought. The whole segment with Rock, Gillberg and Goldberg was one of the funniest things I’ve seen on Raw...
I think it’s certain that the Rock will be losing this one, to put over Goldberg and head off to Hollywood again... hey, no bad thing to put a new guy over one of your top stars... be nice if other people took the hint and did the same. The one thing that remains to be seen - has Goldberg got the skills to put on a decent match? That’s the one thing that could define the WWE’s future...
Winner : Goldberg
Sean O'Haire vs. Rikishi
Oh look, Rikishi on PPV - whoopie doo! Remember what I said about putting new guys over? Here’s one that should go in a similar vein. Hopefully, O’Haire can leech some heat and heel stylings from Roddy Piper, and really break out from the pack. Piper’s gut may be the size of Glasgow now, but the heel inside him is still running strong. This is the way to use the “oldies”.
O’Haire has to go over for his sake, but, alas, I fear O’Haire and Rikishi are but mere bit players in the big theatre of Vince’s plans... Wherever a Roddy Piper goes, a Hogan is sure to follow... Mr. America to shoot down Piper, cost O’Haire the match and set up Piper vs. Hogan. Can’t wait.
Winner : Rikishi
Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. The Big Show
Look! Look! It’s a big fat man against a small bouncy man! Let’s all laugh at the mis-match - it’s like Wrestling’s odd couple! I’d love to know what possible good this can do for either man? Rey can only be made to look foolish by the Show, and Show can only lose face if he loses this one. I don’t understand it, and I’m actually quite glad of that!
Will Rey come out on top? Will David knock out Goliath? All The Show has to do for the win is cut a promo in the ring, and Rey will drown in a sea of giant slobber... As it is, I don’t see any put in sacrificing Rey’s momentum for The Show. Obviously meaning that Show is going over folks, but never mind.
Winner : Rey Mysterio
WWE Tag Titles
Team Angle (c) vs. Los Guerreros
They lie! They cheat! They steal! It could almost be a McMahon family motto... This is the match that Team Angle have been waiting for. Put in the ring on their own with two genuine quality ring generals like Los Guerreros - here is where we find out if the hype surrounding them is legit or not.
Hopefully, the match will be longer than the disappointing WrestleMania tag match, and we’ll get to see what the four men can put together. Having said that this is Team Angle’s chance to shine, I don’t think they will win. Team Angle have been on the fast track since they arrived, time to do the job.
Winners : Los Guerreros
WWE Title
Brock Lesnar (c) vs. John Cena
Here’s make or break time for John Cena. I personally think that, good as this feud is, that Cena just isn’t ready for main eventing PPVs. This should have been Benoit vs. Lesnar, and keeping Cena apart from Lesnar for another month, just to get him ready and build the feud more. See, that’s how to make people buy PPVs - build feuds, keep the guys apart and make people desperate to see the payoff match.
Having said that, I really do hope that Cena goes out and tears the house down. He’s shown against Angle and Jericho that he can handle himself in a ring, so that’s not a problem. I can’t see him being handed the title so soon, it’s just not the WWE way. As long as the match is good, Cena will come out smelling of roses. Lesnar could also benefit from a solid match after the SSP debacle!
Winner : Brock Lesnar
So what can we expect from Backlash? Not a lot, to be honest. My expectations for this show aren’t high, so I could well be pleasantly surprised. As long as nothing too horrible goes down, that’s all we can ask for.
Until next time, have fun, go mad.
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