Tim Fiorvanti breaks down every match on Sunday's Backlash card, the first SmackDown Live exclusive pay-per-view following WWE's 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 championship: A.J. Styles def. Dean Ambrose (c) by pinfall (25:01)
For full recap and rating, click here.
WWE SmackDown tag team championships: Heath 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 wrestling's "hottest free agent."
With the intent of being truly detestable bad guys from here on out, The Usos couldn't 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 Ryno's 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 referee's 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 wasn't a bad choice either. It's 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 wouldn't come to pass at Backlash. In the opening moments of the pay-per-view, a backstage segment saw Wyatt hobble Orton's 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, who's in the twilight of his full-time career. This match and the finish ultimately proved to be head-scratchers.
WWE Intercontinental championship: The 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 wasn't 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 Ziggler's knees. The crowning glory of the sequence saw The Miz co-opt Bryan's trademark running dropkicks into the corner; each time The Miz ran his way back into the opposite corner in a well-executed mimicking of Bryan's 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 Miz's 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 Ziggler's 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 Miz's "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 referee's 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 hangman's 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. Rawley's 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 Ryder's 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 women's championship: Becky Lynch def. Alexa Bliss, Carmella, Naomi, Natalya and Nikki Bella in six-pack elimination challenge (14:40)
The women's division ultimately needed a prize to fight for on SmackDown Live, making the announcement one month ago of a SmackDown women's 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 you'd 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 women's 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 women's 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.