WWE BACKLASH ENTHRALLS FRENCH CROWD

If Wrestlemania is the “Christmas” of the wrestling calendar, then Backlash has to be New Year’s. Many of the storylines and matches provide a fresh start for the superstars as they try to position themselves as best as they can within the company for the year ahead. This year, Backlash emanated from Lyon, France.   

WWE’s experiment with PLE’s in foreign countries has proven to be wildly successful, not just with big gates, but electric crowds. For these WWE fans, seeing the action live is an opportunity they don’t get to experience very often, so they make the most of it. Puerto Rico, Wales, Australia, and now France have been huge hits filled with raucous audiences. 

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Kevin Owens and Randy Orton vs Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga

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The first match of the night saw Kevin Owens and Randy Orton taking on Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga. Before the bell even sounded, a brawl broke out between the four wrestlers. Wisely, Nick Aldis came out and made it a street fight, much to the delight of the crowd. Orton and Solo brawled up the stairs as Owens and Tama fought into the crowd on the floor. The chaos and mayhem got the crowd to a fever pitch, a perfect way to start the show. 

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It didn’t take long before the weapons came out. Stairs, kendo sticks, trash cans, and tables all made an appearance in short order. (Side note: who knew France has domed trash can lids? You learn something new every day.) The match started out a mile a minute and rarely slowed down. Even when Solo and Tama took control midway through, the action kept going at a good pace.

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As the match was reaching its conclusion, Orton did his greatest hits and appeared to have the match won after an RKO to Tama, but Solo broke up the pin to make the save. Solo then went for a spike on the announcers table, but Orton countered into another RKO, leaving Owens and Tama alone in the ring. After a few chair shots, KO set up a “table of chairs” in the middle of the ring. He hit a fisherman buster and appeared to have the match won until Tama Tonga’s brother, Tanga Loa appeared, making the save and helping the Bloodline get the win. 

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We’ve seen this finish in many Roman Reigns matches in the past, so it was appropriate to have  that continue now with Solo (temporarily) in charge. Bloodline 2.0 continues to grow, and while many thought it might be Jacob Fatu making his debut, Tanga Loa was a logical choice. The Bloodline stands tall and Paul Heyman continues to support out of fear. 

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Bayley vs Naomi vs Tiffany Stratton

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Next up was the triple threat match for the Women’s World Championship. As it started, the crowd was taking turns chanting for all three of these women, and the chanting didn't let up for the whole match. 

After a frantic start, the match settled into a standard triple threat match, with one woman spending a lot of time on the outside so the other two could get their spots in. 

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Big spots, including a blockbuster off of the barricade from Naomi, and then dual Alabama slams by Tiffany Stratton onto the announcers table proved that the women were prepared to get just as physical as the men. A well deserved “this is awesome” chant busted out. 

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Earlier on in the match, Bayley, Tiffany, and Naomi all went for quick pins, which came back to set up the finish perfectly. As Naomi went for a roll up, Bayley reversed it at two, and kept Naomi’s shoulders down for the win. This was a smart finish to the match, as all three women were relatively protected. Naomi lost on a flukey finish, Bayley retained her title, and the newcomer Tiffany didn't have to eat the loss. This was smart booking all around. 

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After the match, Naomi hugged Bayley, showing the crowd that they’re still friends and no heel turn will be happening, which was the right move.

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Jey Uso vs Damian Priest

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Next, Jey Uso challenged Damian Priest for the World Heavyweight Championship. This was Priest’s first defense since successfully cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase at Wrestlemania. 

Uso came out to a hero’s welcome, with 11,000+ fans singing his song and waving their arms up and down in unison. Priest followed, somewhat surprisingly without his Judgment Day entourage. 

Uso spent the early moments of the match playing to the crowd, who was more than happy to “yeet” along with him every step of the way. Once the match began, Priest quickly took control and maintained it for a large portion of the contest. 

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As Jey turned the tide, JD McDonagh came out to assist Damian Priest, much to Priest’s chagrin. Interesting that Priest didn’t want Judgment Day’s help. Perhaps Priest will be making a face turn in the near future. 

McDonagh’s interference proved little help (shocker) for Priest, as Jey was able to super kick him off of the apron and get back to the task at hand. However, once Jey got rolling again, Finn Balor appeared out of the audience, but was also quickly thwarted by Uso. As Uso hit his top rope splash, it looked like he would become the new champion, but McDonagh put Priest’s foot on the rope, saving the match and the championship. 

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Priest was able to finally take advantage of the distractions from his Judgment Day brethren and hit a top rope South of Heaven for the pinfall victory and retained his title. Despite Priest wanting to get the victory on his own, it was clear he needed all the assistance he could get. It’ll be interesting to see how things progress for Judgment Day moving forward. 

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Bianca Bel Air & Jade Cargill vs The Kabuki Warriors

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Next, Bianca Bel Air and Jade Cargill teamed up to challenge Asuka and Kairi Sane, the Kabuki Warriors, for the Women’s Tag Team Championship. 

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Bel Air and Jade showed solidarity by wearing matching ring gear, yet came out to separate entrances. Given that they are a newly formed team, it’s not unsurprising, but it is a sign that this is a team that isn’t in it for the long haul. 

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This was as formulaic of a tag team match as you’ll see, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. After some early excitement from the babyfaces, the heel champions took control and worked the gimmick of any good tag match, the hot tag. Bianca came close many times to tagging in Jade, but Asuka and Kairi repeatedly thwarted her attempts.

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Eventually, Jade was able to make the tag and nearly got the pin on Kairi Sane, but was saved by Asuka. The French crowd chanted “Un! Deux! Simplement Deux!” (Meaning “one, two, only two!”) with each near fall all night, and as an American fan watching at home, it made me smile every time. 

While the referee could have justifiably disqualified the Kabuki Warriors many times for double teaming (which would have saved the titles for the champs), he let the action continue, and the challengers eventually took advantage. Cargill hit Jaded on Kairi. Bianca followed that up with the KOD on Asuka, and just like that we have new Women’s tag team champions. 

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The Kabuki Warriors’ title reign was pretty unremarkable, which is no fault of Asuka or Kairi Sane. The WWE has spent very little time developing the women’s tag division, though now that the titles are held by two of their biggest stars, maybe that’ll change. 

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AJ Styles vs Cody Rhodes

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Finally, the main event saw Cody Rhodes take on AJ Styles for the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship. Styles came out in ring gear inspired by what he was wearing when he beat Cody’s dad, Dusty Rhodes, for the NWA Championship 21 years prior. Little details like that always give a match more meaning. 

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The match started out very even, with both men getting the better of some chain wrestling sequences, and exchanging chops and punches with equal effectiveness, which delighted the crowd. 

Eventually the action spilled to the outside, and after a few shots to the stairs and the announcer’s table, Cody got AJ Styles onto the top rope and went to deliver a delayed superplex. Styles was able to counter, but the strength and balance shown by Cody in that spot was impressive. 

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As the match wore on, Styles was able to slow the pace down and deliver some impressive offense, including a modified brainbuster on the ring apron. Styles got several near falls, but Cody’s resilience was on full display as he continued to kick out of every pinfall attempt. Rhodes took the action back to the floor and was able to powerbomb Styles through the French announce table, causing the crowd to once again lose their collective mind. 

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Near the end of the match, Styles hit the Burning Hammer, a move made famous by Kenta Kobashi. He went for the cover, but Cody kicked out at one and started to “Hulk up.” This would (correctly) be seen as a pretty cheesy and outdated wrestling trope, but again, we’re in an area that doesn’t get to see much live pro wrestling on this level, so the old tired tropes are still fresh for this audience. Cody completed his comeback, first hitting a Cody cutter, then countering several moves by Styles before finally delivering a Cross Rhodes for the victory. It was a pretty basic main event match, but it absolutely delivered. There was no shocking interference or absurdly dangerous high spots, but there didn’t need to be. The crowd just wanted a good match and they got exactly that, leaving singing and happy, just how they arrived. 

It’s worth reiterating just how electric the Lyon crowd was for the entire event. At no point did their enthusiasm waiver. It really highlighted how spoiled we’ve become as American wrestling fans. A live wrestling show should be a party every night. This wasn’t even a particularly stacked card, yet the crowd made it feel like the most important event of the year. 

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If we take anything away from Backlash, it’s that wrestling is supposed to be fun. There’s no reason not to chant and cheer and hoot and holler until your hands are sore and your voice is hoarse. We pay good money to go to the event, and these athletes give it their all, we might as well have a good time while we are there. Thank you to the French crowd, who showed us how fun a pro wrestling event can be, if we learn just let loose a little bit.