Backlash Thoughts

So the PPV Posse was disbanded this weekend for various reasons, and I ended up being the lone person watching Backlash. I felt like such a loser, but $12 in the theater vs. $30 on PPV seemed like a no-brainer to me. Plus I really wanted to see this show.

Carlito vs. Chris Masters

I think Carlito is going to be pushed into bigger and better things, and this is just the start of it. He didn't put on a spectacular performance, but definitely a few creative spots that actually reminded me of Chris Jericho (damn, do we need him back right about now). And Masters put on a better performance than normal, albeit still pretty awful.

Ric Flair vs. Umaga

I guess, if they're going to make Umaga seem like a major threat, this is the way you do it. Still, it is a bit sad to see it come at Ric Flair's expense. Surely they could have done the same thing with a Heat superstar (Goldust, Viscera, Eugene, SHNITSKY!!!, etc.)


Trish Stratus vs. Mickey James

Another tremendous match in their series, and I didn't even realize that Trish was legit injured (it just seemed like part of the storyline to me). My first (of many) wrong predictions of the night when Trish got the DQ win.

Rob Van Dam vs. Shelton Benjamin

Started off a little slow, but really got cooking in the final five minutes or so. I wouldn't mind seeing a prolonged version of this feud down the road -- RVD/Benjamin could be the new RVD/Lynn in terms of an ongoing competitive rivalry.

Big Show vs. Kane

Dumb. Even by standards of a match involving Big Show and Kane.

Shawn Michaels and The G-Man vs. Vince and Shane McMahon

Enjoyable, and The Spirit Squad spots were great. I'm a little surprised that they went in the direction they did, given Michaels' religious beliefs, but perhaps HBK just wants to get out of his contract already and is prepared to do whatever Vinnie Mac wants. And hey, did anyone else notice: God never ONCE held the tag rope. Geez! You'd figure if anyone out there would be a stickler for rules....

John Cena vs. Triple H vs. Edge

Damn, I was REALLY hoping for a Triple H win here. It felt like the right time for it, plus His Gameness was putting on a tremendous performance there. LOVED the spot where HHH and Cena kept bashing Edge's head into the table. I guess they just want to keep this "most controversial champion ever" theme going for a while with Cena, thus no title switch. I mean, yes I was disappointed with the end result, but the match was quite good, so little reason to complain.

Overall, a better than normal PPV, as Backlash generally tends to be.