Five weeks have passed since WWE’s last pay-per-view and new challengers have stepped up to champions and rivalries have worsened in that time. Backlash promoted “The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever” in the bout between Edge and Randy Orton in addition to a heated personal conflict among Sheamus and Jeff Hardy.
Andrade vs. Apollo Crews
United States championship match
During the Backlash Kick-Off Show, fresh United States champion Apollo Crews took on the man from whom he took the title. Crews hit a powerbomb to Andrade after Angel Garza’s failed distraction to retain the belt.
The IIconics vs. Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross vs. Sasha Banks and Bayley
Triple threat match for the women’s tag team championship
Bayley, Cross and Kay began the match. Kay was shoved into her corner where Royce fell off the apron. All six women entered the ring and targeted one another in separate corners.
Royce kicked Cross as she tried to run with Banks from her corner. Kay and Bayley rained kicks to Cross as the two yelled for one another to stand back. Bayley and Banks came together to hit a knee to Kay, who was held by the former.
Bliss hot-tagged and slammed Royce to the mat and drop-kicked Bayley. Banks and Bliss fought on the apron, and Royce dove into them, sending the trio into their respective partners in front of the ramp.
Bliss hit a Twisted Bliss to Kay once they returned to the ring. Banks slid in between and rolled up Bliss, stealing the pin and retaining the belts.
Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus
The Celtic Warrior has targeted the personal battles Hardy fought outside the ring. Hardy was framed for the accident where Elias was injured outside the Performance Center, but his urine test came back negative after Sheamus paid for it to be taken.
Hardy rallied the crowd when the bell rang. Sheamus held Hardy in a corner and ripped his opponent’s shirt. Hardy kicked Sheamus off the corner and jumped onto him in front of the announce table from the steel steps.
Hardy removed the top step of the ring stairs, but tossed it down and rolled into the ring. Sheamus lifted Hardy to his shoulders and dropped him on the top of the ringpost. Sheamus tossed Hardy to the mat and jumped from the second step of the turnbuckle for a two-count. He hit several Irish Curse backbreakers and attempted another pin.
Hardy hit a back-suplex but was clotheslined when he tried capitalizing on his momentum. Hardy moved from a flying Sheamus and backflipped onto him after climbing onto the turnbuckle.
The two countered each other’s finishers and Hardy hit a slingblade. Hardy set up Whisper in the Wind but Sheamus knocked him off the turnbuckle, then hit White Noise. The Celtic Warrior said he would remove Hardy’s demons and smacked the chest of Hardy, who was held against the ropes.
Hardy pushed Sheamus into a ringpost and hit a Twist of Fate. He hit a Swanton Bomb and attempted to pin, but Sheamus got a rope break. The two exited the ring and Hardy jumped toward Sheamus, who answered with a Brogue Kick. Sheamus hit a second Brogue Kick inside the ring and pinned Hardy to win.
Nia Jax vs. Asuka
Raw women’s championship match
The champion quickly sprung with strikes but Jax pushed her away. Asuka flipped around her opponent’s body and executed an octopus submission. Jax pulled Asuka against the ropes and hit a spinebuster for a two-count. Asuka continued with an arm submission but Jax lifted her opponent above her and hit a Jaxhammer for another near-fall.
Asuka delivered several kicks before a pin attempt, then was caught by Jax who hit a spinebuster for a close pin. Asuka tried an armbar when she perched atop the turnbuckle and the two fell out of the ring.
Jax tried lifting Asuka against the barricade as the referee counted. He eventually reached 10, resulting in a count-out ending and Asuka’s retention of her title.
The Miz and John Morrison vs. Braun Strowman
2-1 handicap match for the Universal Championship
Miz opened the match against Strowman and quickly went for the tag. Morrison eluded Strowman’s charges, and he and Miz made frequent tags to confuse the champion.
Miz kicked Strowman and realized it did nothing, then looked to tag. Strowman tossed his opponents out of the ring and was kicked by Morrison as he climbed atop the apron. Morrison continued with a twisted suicide dive and Miz took control inside the ring.
The team hit a double-DDT, but Strowman regained composure and tossed Miz into his corner. Strowman ran into the turnbuckle and Morrison hit two kicks from the ropes.
Miz and Morrison combined for a stomping, skull-crushing finale. Then, Miz pulled Morrison from his pin and the two likely missed an opportunity to dethrone Strowman. The champion hit a running powerslam to Morrison to retain his championship.
Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre
WWE championship match
When McIntyre entered the ring, MVP distracted the champion and allowed Lashley to lock-in a full nelson. Several referees were needed to break the hold prior to the bell. Lashley rushed his opponent into the corner and suplexed the champion.
McIntyre kneed Lashley when the latter charged toward the corner. He hit a Northern Lights suplex and held a pin, then dumped Lashley outside the ring.
Lashley held McIntyre on his shoulders and drove him into the ringpost. McIntyre suplexed Lashley on the floor and hit a flying elbow. Lashley nearly locked a full nelson, but McIntyre hit a reverse Alabama slam.
Lashley countered what appeared to be a tombstone with an ankle lock, then ran for a spear. McIntyre answered the spear attempt with a kimura submission and a superplex. Lashley quickly regained himself and speared McIntyre for a two-count.
Lana entered the arena and walked up the steps. Lashley was pushed into Lana and she fell onto MVP in front of the ramp; McIntyre hit a Claymore and pinned Lashley to win the match.
Edge vs. Randy Orton
The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever
Edge returned from a nine-year retirement to defeat Orton in a last man standing match at WrestleMania 36. WWE used “unique camera angles” and “amplified audio” to broadcast “The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever.”
The two grappled at the bell and Orton slammed Edge to the mat. Edge tossed Orton with several arm drags until The Viper stopped in his tracks. Orton countered a submission attempt with an armbar and scissor hold.
Orton held Edge in a corner and the latter broke free, diving outside the ring and kicking Orton as he followed. Edge pulled an arm drag and targeted Orton’s left arm. Edge tossed Orton outside the ring with head scissors, then climbed atop a turnbuckle.
Orton struck Edge to stop him, then set up a superplex onto the floor. Edge used a headbuster to foil the attempt, and he jumped onto Orton and struck his face. Orton’s face was bleeding after the headbuster.
Edge hit a side-Russian leg sweep and executed a face submission. Orton broke the hold with the rope and hit a modified neckbreaker. The Viper threw Edge into the barricade and slammed him into the ring’s steps. He dropped Edge onto the announcer’s table and whispered into his ear.
Orton used his advantage to hold Edge in submission holds, but had to push Edge into a turnbuckle when The Rated R Superstar fought back. Orton hit two suplexes reminiscent of Eddie Guerrero’s Three Amigos.
Edge slapped the chest of Orton and the latter escaped the ring to push Edge into the ringpost. Orton superplexed Edge from the turnbuckle for a two-count. Edge hit an Edge-cution DDT for his own two-count.
Edge climbed a turnbuckle and landed on Orton, yet secured another near-fall. Orton crashed into Edge, but the latter rolled into a crossface and held the former in the ring as his face turned red. Edge caught Orton for a powerbomb when he saw the running dropkick coming.
Regaining himself, Orton hit a massive DDT then pounded the mat as he prepared for an RKO. Edge noticed what was coming and slammed The Viper into the mat. He turned Orton around for an Unprettier—a move classified by Christian—and earned a near-fall.
Orton stood up and hit a pedigree, then Edge pulled out a rock bottom as classic finishers were utilized. The two continued to grapple and Orton hit an RKO to which Edge kicked out a two. As he understood none of the finishers put away his opponent, Orton ran for a punt kick. Edge speared Orton, then turned and hit a second. The referee nearly hit three.
The two grappled again, and Edge executed a standing submission. Orton dropped low and Edge broke the hold, falling to his knees. Orton punted Edge and covered for the victory.
