Tim Fiorvanti breaks down every match on Sundays Backlash card, the first SmackDown Live exclusive pay-per-view following WWEs

Posted in IYH Forums by jokergreen0220 at 09:48, Feb 28 2020

Tim Fiorvanti breaks down every match on Sundays Backlash card, the first SmackDown Live exclusive pay-per-view following WWEs recent brand split. Senior stats analyst Sean Coyle offers ratings worth a maximum of five points. Criteria for ratings is based on storytelling, in-ring execution, match?psychology,?timing and innovation -- worth up to one point each.The following was updated in real time.WWE world championshipA.J. Styles?def.?Dean Ambrose?(c)?by pinfall (25:01)For full recap and rating, click here.?WWE SmackDown tag team championshipsHeath Slater?and?Rhyno?def.?The Usos?by pinfall in tournament final (10:02)The crowd was vocally behind Slater and Rhyno in a big way, which speaks to their level of work on SmackDown Live over the past few weeks. They got their offense in early, but their momentum was quickly derailed by double-teaming from The Usos. A tandem suplex into the video turnbuckle post was a nice touch in hobbling Slater, better known of late as wrestlings hottest free agent.With the intent of being truly detestable bad guys from here on out, The Usos couldnt have found a much better target to beat on than Slater, the unlikeliest of breakout stars that the WWE has produced since the brand split. Slater certainly took a lengthy beating, but a mid-ring collision turned the tide in the match.When Rynos initial explosion missed, it appeared the comeback was over. But Slater exploded into an unexpected flurry of offense with neckbreakers and a flying DDT to turn the tide. The Usos once again looked to turn the tide as Slater was pulled out of the ring, but a gore from Rhynon while the referees back was turned ultimately sealed the unlikeliest of victories for the recently paired team.While it seemed like this free agent story could have carried on for weeks or months to come, an opportunity to pull the trigger on a currently popular moment wasnt a bad choice either. Its very likely this becomes a short-term arrangement, however, as The Usos have been too good in embracing their roles as heels to go without the top tag team honor on SmackDown Live for too long.Kane def.?Bray Wyatt?by pinfall (10:55)Despite a big build-up over the past few weeks on SmackDown Live, a showdown between Wyatt and?Randy Orton?wouldnt come to pass at Backlash. In the opening moments of the pay-per-view, a backstage segment saw Wyatt hobble Ortons ankle, leaving him unable to compete in their scheduled?match.After being declared victorious following a 10-count by the referee, Wyatt attempted to leave the ring, only to be informed of an impromptu no-holds-barred match against Kane. After teases of several other weapon and table spots, Wyatt utilized steel chair strikes to hobble Kane. But as you might expect having watched his career, Kane was able to recover and hit some of his signature moves, including a sidewalk slam.Wyatt quickly regained control, however, and went on to land a devastating senton onto Kane, who was laid out on the Spanish announce table. Wyatt took his time getting himself and Kane back into the ring and ended up on the wrong end of a choke slam for his troubles.But after Wyatt landed a Urinagi to Kane on top of a chair, the crowd erupted as Orton limped out to ringside before hitting an RKO on Wyatt. Kane followed with a choke slam on Wyatt to record the pinfall victory -- but to what end? While Orton screwing over Wyatt and causing him to lose makes a certain amount of sense, it would have made more giving that kind of victory to someone on the way up, rather than a guy like Kane, whos in the twilight of his full-time career. This match and the finish ultimately proved to be head-scratchers.WWE Intercontinental championshipThe Miz?(c) def.?Dolph Ziggler?by pinfall (18:00)A quick backstage segment between The Miz and SmackDown Live general manager?Daniel Bryan?added instant importance to this match, with The Miz letting it be known he felt he wasnt being used to his full potential. He delivered it with a?hint of truth that made for a strong promo.?In the ring, The Miz started showing signs of more brutality in the ring. As the match went on, it became clear that the conflict between The Miz and Bryan might lead to a more realistic in-ring style for the Intercontinental champion -- and it only grew from there.Considering the frequency of matches between Ziggler and The Miz over the years, there was a bit of a negative been there, done that feel among fans. The opposite side of that coin is the level of familiarity these two men have, allowing for creative spots throughout the match.?The Miz made it abundantly clear that he was sending a message to Bryan by pulling off a number of his signature moves. Surfboard stretch Romero special submissions were utilized perfectly by The Miz, as was a double stomp to the back of Zigglers knees. The crowning glory of the sequence saw The Miz co-opt Bryans trademark running dropkicks into the corner; each time The Miz ran his way back into the opposite corner in a well-executed mimicking of Bryans motions.A Skull-crushing finale attempt was foiled by Ziggler, allowing him to get his first extended series of offense in the match, but it was fairly clear from the outset that The Mizs title reign was unlikely to end on this night. There were some close calls in near-falls -- running head-first into a superkick got a 2-count that was only interrupted by a foot on the ropes -- but this was not Zigglers night for victory.The combination of the hair spray in the eyes from Maryse and a Skull-crushing finale locked up a continuation to The Mizs Never Ending Intercontinental championship World Tour.The Usos def.?The Hype Bros?by submission, to advance to SmackDown tag team tournament final (10:35)The Usos quite literally embodied their heel turn from their entrance. Instead of their brightly colored get-ups with their WWE-branded T-shirts, they instead wore new all-black ring gear, and abandoned their long-running habit of sporting face paint.Zack Ryder?and?Mojo Rawley?got a fair bit of offense in at the beginning of the match. That sequence peaked as Ryder hit a missile dropkick from the apron on both?Jimmy?and?Jey Uso,?followed?immediately by?Rawley getting a full head of steam and sending the brothers in different directions into opposite parts of the ring barrier.Things turned in the opposite direction in a somewhat predictable, but well-executed manner. The Usos used a series of underhanded tactics to gain the advantage by beating down Ryder behind the referees back, slowing down the pace and isolating specific body parts.Ryder did well building up to a comeback on several occasions, including hitting a brutal hangmans neckbreaker. But after an extended comeback in which Rawley ran roughshod over both Usos, things fell apart as The Hype Bros set up for their finisher, The Hype Ryder. Rawleys leg was grabbed, and he was ultimately pulled out of the ring. Ryder put up a valiant effort on his own, hitting a Frankensteiner off the top rope, but dealing with both Usos in the ring ultimately proved to be too much.A chop block to Ryders left knee spelled the beginning of the end. It was followed quickly by a jumping superkick to the back of the knee and an arm-trap single-leg crab. Ryder submitted, sending The Usos on to the finals later in the evening.?WWE SmackDown womens championshipBecky Lynch?def.?Alexa Bliss,?Carmella,?Naomi,?Natalya?and?Nikki Bella?in six-pack elimination challenge (14:40)The womens division ultimately needed a prize to fight for on SmackDown Live, making the announcement one month ago of a SmackDown womens championship a welcome breath of fresh air. Mixing together experienced in-ring competitors and newcomers from the blue brand and throwing them into the ring together brought something of an unknown quantity into this championship match.?When it was chosen to open the show at Backlash, expectations rose higher -- and ultimately, helped the match to exceed most expectations by the time a champion was crowned.As youd suspect with six competitors in the ring at the same time, most of the field had to go out of the ring to keep the focus on two or three women at a time. There were some nice spots early on, including a pair of Code Red sunset-flip power bombs from Bliss, and they took advantage of having multiple competitors with two brutal spots involving three women.First there was an increasingly popular spot used by the men in the WWE, with Bella appearing to attempt a superplex on Carmella only for Natalya to get involved and take out both with a power bomb. The second time around, Bliss got hit by a blockbuster/power-bomb combination at the hands of Natalya and Naomi, triggering Bliss elimination after a lengthy opening sequence.After hitting a few big moves, a springboard attempt into the ring by Naomi ended with a massive forearm from Bella and a sharpshooter from Natalya to force Naomi to tap out. The pace of eliminations further increased, as Bella hit her new (as-of-now unnamed) finisher to knock out Natalya, with Carmella getting the quick roll-up on Bella to further escalate their ongoing feud.That left Carmella and Becky Lynch to fight it out for the championship. Lynch, arguably the most capable in-ring performer in the womens division on SmackDown, had spent most of the match on the outside of the ring and slowly climbed back in. Despite a flurry of strikes from Carmella, a pair of Bex-plexes and a Disarmer out of nowhere ultimately led to her victory. Lynch and Bella were the prohibitive favorites to walk away as the inaugural SmackDown womens champion in this match, and it makes all the sense in the world to build around the most promising young performer on the brand.All-in-all, the women came up big under the bright lights of the pay-per-view stage, and set the tone and pace for the rest of the show. https://www.49ersrookiestore.com/49ers-Weston-Richburg-Jersey/" class="TyTxtSmlC">Weston Richburg Super Bowl Jersey . Booth picked up 65 caps after making her national team debut in 2002 at the age of 17. She most recently played for Sky Blue FC of the National Womens Soccer League. 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But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. https://www.49ersrookiestore.com/49ers-Emmanuel-Sanders-Jersey/" class="TyTxtSmlC">Emmanuel Sanders Super Bowl Jersey . Philadelphia is 2-0 against the Senators this season and scored five goals in each victory. The Flyers recorded a 5-0 win in Ottawa on Nov. 12 and then earned a 5-2 home decision on Nov. 19. The Flyers have claimed three straight and four of the last five encounters with the Sens overall and Philly has won two in a row and three of its past four tests in Canadas capital city. NEW ORLEANS -- Lakers guard Nick Young suffered a right Achilles tendon strain in the first quarter of Tuesday nights 105-88 loss to the?New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center and did not return.?Young is expected to undergo an MRI on Wednesday in Chicago, ahead of the Lakers matchup with the Bulls, according to the team.It will be tough, Lakers coach Luke Walton said. Without breaking up that second unit -- the filling in the shooting guard spot while DAngelo [Russell] is already hurt -- well have to get creative.The 31-year-old Young did not put weight on his right leg as he was carried into the locker room on the arms of two teammates after suffering the injury in the first quarter.After contesting a fast-break layup by the Pelicans Tim Frazier with 10:18 tto play in the quarter, Young hopped on his left leg around the baseline before collapsing in front of the scorers table.ddddddddddddTimeout was called as Young grabbed at his right foot in apparent pain. Young was attended to by a member of the Lakers training staff before being carried into the locker room.Young has undergone a mild resurgence in his fourth season with the Lakers. The 10-year veteran has started all 18 games in which he has played and is averaging 14.1 points per game and a career-high 41.8 percent from the 3-point arc in his first season under Walton.ESPNs Baxter Holmes and The Associated Press contributed to this report. ' ' '