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Well everyone, it’s both the first post Draft episode of WWE Smackdown and the go home show for Backlash. Seeing as the Draft was about 90% a waste of time let’s hope Backlash is more enjoyable. As it relates to the roster shift, Smackdown lost the LWO and Damage Control, technically they lost Bron Breakker but he barely counted as an official roster member, the Final Testament, and New Catch Republic. That’s actually a fair amount of talent heading off to RAW. In return Smackdown got Shinsuke Nakamura, DIY, Candace LeRae and Indi Hartwell, Chelsea Green and Piper Niven, Blair Davenport, Carmelo Hayes who’s track record for nearly injuring people on Smackdown is around 50%, Giovanni Vinci will try to go it alone on the blue brand, and Tegan Nox will continue getting no reaction over here as well. Andrade is now on Smackdown, which means Poochie will be here once she’s healed up. Sadly we’re also saddled with Nia Jax and Baron Corbin, putting those two on the same show should be a war crime but here we are.

But enough about the Draft, as for the actual event tonight we’ve got a decent little card on paper. Cody Rhodes and AJ Styles will go face to face. . . again. Sorry, I don’t mean to be too down on that but they’ve been face to face every week for the last couple of weeks and I don’t get why hyping that up matters. But those two will battle over the Undisputed WWE title at Backlash and I have moderately high expectations for their match. We’re getting the first RKO show after Randy Orton saved Kevin Owens from an attack by Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga last week, doubtless setting up further that tag team match for Backlash while the countdown is still on to when Jacob Fatu shows up. There will be a tag team title match as A-Town Down Under defend against the Street Profits, and in the final appearance of both teams on Smackdown the Authors of Pain take on New Catch Republic. Carlito got exposed as the man responsible for attacking Dragon Lee last week, and as this will be the LWO’s last time on Smackdown we’ll see if anything comes of that tonight. Asuka and Kairi Sane are set to defend their tag team titles against Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair at Backlash, so we’ll see what interaction those teams have tonight. We also know that Bayley will be taking on both Naomi and Tiffany Stratton at Backlash in a Triple Threat match, though one has to imagine Nia Jax will get involved in the title picture sooner rather than later. This is also the last chance for any roster trades post Draft as the rosters will be locked on Monday, so if anyone else is moving around tonight would be a good time to start that. Can we get Ilja Dragunov over here please? I love that man’s work. Anyway that’s the preamble, let’s get to the action.

Commentary welcomes us to France, because we’re on location for tomorrow’s PPV.

Out first for the episode, Bayley for an 8 person tag team match.

Match #1 – 8-Woman Tag Team Match: Bayley, Naomi, Bianca Belair, and Jade Cargill vs. Tiffany Stratton and Damage Control (Dakota Kai, Asuka, Kairi Sane)

Naomi and Kairi start, Kairi with some slaps early while the crowd does the “Hey Bayley” chants. Naomi fights back and gets the crowd to pay attention to the wrestling with a basement dropkick. Belair tags in and hits the handspring moonsault for a 2 count. Kairi slips away from a slam but gets caught with a suplex. Askua gets sent out of the ring but Kairi cracks Belair with a spinning backfist and Bayley with a blind tag in. Asuka pulls out Belair and they fight on the floor as Tiffany tags in to hit a spinebuster on Bayley and send us to break.

We come back to Asuka and Kairi working over Bayley. Asuka hits a sliding knee for a 2 count. Tiffany tags back in and chokes Bayley then tags in Kai. Kairi tags in then Asuka, Asuka mocks Naomi with a pose then Kairi rams Bayley into Asuka for a 2 count. Tiffany back in and hits a handspring back elbow then the cartwheel Alabama Slam and Naomi has to break up the pin. Tiffany then cheap shots Jade on the apron before slamming Bayley into Naomi, but Bayley fights back with a back suplex. Bayley has only Belair to tag in, and Belair debates reaching out for the tag but Jade shows up to make that easy. Jade with a pump kick, then a chokeslam to Asuka. Catatonic backbreaker to Kairi then a Stinger Splash to Kai before spiking Kai with a powerbomb. Belair had tagged in and Jade slams Belair onto Kai with a Dominator and Kairi has to break up the pin. Things break down so everyone can get their stuff in, ending with Belair hitting the Kiss of Death on Kai to win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill, Bayley, and Naomi won in 10:15

Rating: 2.5 stars
Thoughts: Perfectly acceptable match, and the continued bad blood between Belair and Bayley is a nice touch. Mostly a good overall preview of two different matches for tomorrow.

Austin Theory and Grayson Waller talk in the back, some cheese and wine jokes follow because France. They claim to be the smoke. OK then. That sends us to break.

Jade and Belair talk with Kayla in the back, they’re confident of victory and Belair is ready for closure on Damage Control. She speaks directly at Bayley for a moment to say she’s coming for that title once they’re done with Asuka and Kairi. Jade plays a bit of peacekeeper here.

Next, a recap of Carmelo Hayes and how he nearly injured Cody Rhodes last week.

Elsewhere Hayes talks with Nick Aldis and Hayes is happy to be on Smackdown, he wants to keep his momentum going and wants in King of the Ring. Bobby Lashley shows up and congratulates Hayes on being here, then says if Hayes needs anything to call him. Hayes feels good about where he is, Bobby reminds Hayes that he lost last week so Hayes asks when the last time Bobby even took a shot was. Bobby warns him to be careful who he disrespects.

To the ring and here’s New Catch Republic and we head to break.

Post break another recap of Cody announcing draft picks last week. They look at most of the Draft results, I still say RAW got the better of things generally but they’ve also got 3 hours to fill so that kind of tracks.

To the ring and here come the Authors of Pain.

Match #2 – Tag Team Match: New Catch Republic (Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne) vs. Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar) w/ Karrion Kross, Paul Ellering, and Scarlett

Dunne and Akam start, Akam just shoves Dunne out of the ring. Kick from Dunne then a dropkick back in the ring. More dropkicks from Dunne then he tries for a kimura and Bate tags in to start punching away on Akam. Bate with an uppercut in the corner, then another one but when he tries a third Akam turns him inside out with a clothesline. Rezar tags in and punches Bate down. Bate fights away from a suplex then tries a suplex of his own, but he can’t get Rezar up then switches to a sleeper hold. Dunne tags in and stomps the arm of Rezar. Both Akam and Rezar get sent out of the ring to set up Dunne and Bate for a dive to the outside. Rezar and Bate back in the ring, but Rezar catches Dunne on his shoulders and rams him into a corner to send us to break.

Akam tags in as we come back then he hits a sort of leg drop to Bate. Rezar back in and grabs a bearhug. Bate is able to slip free and hit a dropkick. Akam tags in but Bate punches away at him then hits a rebound clothesline. Dunne gets the hot tag and starts to run wild with kicks then a stomp to the hands of Akam. Standing Shiranui from Dunne gets 2. Dunne up top and misses a moonsault then tags in Bate, Bate punches Akam then picks him up for an Airplane Spin because Bate is a Big Strong Boy. Bate tags out then hits a running Shooting Star Press, Dunne with a Shining Wizard and Rezar has to break up the pin. Dunne and Bate with a double finger snap to Rezar then they send him out of the ring. Scarlett blocks a dive from Dunne but Bate dives onto Rezar. Kross then grabs Bate and launches him on the floor with a modified F5. Dunne walks into a Uranage from Akam. Rezar tags in, Final Chapter from the AOP connects and we’re done.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Authors of Pain won in 10:27

Rating: 2 stars
Thoughts: Bate and Dunne did a lot of work here, but honestly 10 minutes of AOP is probably too much for them at this point.

Next a recap of the Bloodline brawl with Kevin Owens from last week including Randy Orton showing up to help Owens out and set up their tag team match at Backlash.

Paul Heyman finds Nick ALdis in the back, Aldis denies a request from Heyman to have their match tomorrow canceled. Heyman advocates for this to be for Randy and Owens health, but if Aldis wont help them Heyman is happy to let what happens to them at Backlash be on the conscience of Aldis. Aldis asks if that’s by orders of the Tribal Chief and Heyman doesn’t find that funny. Heyman admits he hasn’t spoken to Roman Reigns since WrestleMania. Aldis isn’t happy about this, and Heyman has to clarify that he was the one who pulled Roman out of the Draft. Heyman had no choice in the matter, he couldn’t subject Roman to the Bloodline chaos and he again asks Aldis to keep Randy and Owens away from Solo and Tonga tomorrow. Aldis says Heyman can try to pull them out of that match on the RKO show right after this break.

Post break here comes Randy Orton to host his talk show, and the crowd sings Randy’s theme song which is kind of cool. Kevin Owens comes out after that. Both men have mics and Owens opens with some French then Randy plays with the crowd for a bit. Randy is ready for their tag team match tomorrow. Owens didn’t really want guests for tonight, but eventually the persistence of Paul Heyman wore him down and Heyman apparently has something important to tell us. Randy wants to introduce Heyman to RKO, and here’s Heyman to introduce himself, and even Heyman can’t stop from smiling as the crowd gets into his schtick. Heyman gives himself several titles including that of WWE’s wise man, so tonight he’s here with respect and admiration for Randy and Owens, and of course with wisdom. Randy and Owens joke about how long Randy has to wait to RKO Heyman if he invites him into the ring. Heyman thinks better of getting into the ring and tells the fans there wont be an RKOs this evening, but Randy begs to differ. Owens asks him to get to the point. Heyman knows why people doubt his sincerity, a “we want Roman” chant breaks out and Heyman agrees with that. But Heyman is out here to express his respect for Randy and Owens, they stepped to Roman with the title on the line but the rules for Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga are very different. He asks them to back out of their match tomorrow. Randy asks if the biggest piece of trash in this industry is giving advice? Owens brings up that everything around Heyman is falling apart. Randy has a question for Heyman, he wants to know who the real Tribal Chief is. Heyman admits he’s in a bad position with that one, and says the whole world knows there’s only one Tribal Chief. Cue up Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga with the attacks from behind. The brawl is on, all four men fight around the ringside area until enough officials show up to separate everyone. Several security guards get laid out then Owens dives onto Solo, Tonga, and a pile of security guards so he and Randy can stand tall.

In the back the Street Profits talk about their title shot tonight. They play on getting the tag team titles tonight, and remind us that they want the smoke.

To the ring and here’s LA Knight to another very large pop. After this break Knight will take on Angel of Legado del Fantasma.

Match #3: LA Knight vs. Angel w/ Santos Esocbar, Elektra Lopez, and Humberto

We come back just before the bell rings. They tie up, Knight with a side headlock then a shoulder block. Angel with some strikes but Knight drops him with a clothesline then a swinging neckbreaker. They head to the floor and Knight beats up Angel around there for a bit then they head back into the ring. Angel fails to bump on a clothesline but does go out of the ring then Knight with a diving dropkick to the floor. Into the ring again and Knight retains control then hits a suplex to send us to break.

We come back to Knight laying in strikes but Humberto distracts him so Angel can hit a headbutt. Some rope running then Knight hits a leaping clothesline. Corner offense from Knight then a tilt a whirl powerslam and leaping elbow drop. Knight sets for the Blunt Force Trauma but has to club down Humberto first then spikes Angel with Blunt Force Trauma to get the win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: LA Knight won in 6:43

Rating: 2 stars
Thoughts: A glorified squash, but I’ll take it. Knight and Escobar might make for some fun stuff in the future as this was designed to put them in proximity to each other.

Post match Knight gets a mic and wants to talk to us. He says the same song plays no matter where they go, another dummy dropped on his head and 3 the hard way. Well he’s not going to say this is his ring, he’s going to make this his ring. He’s entering the King of the Ring. Santos Escobar gets a mic and interrupts this, noting how much Knight talks and warns him that he’ll be the one winning King of the Ring. Knight mocks him then admits he does talk a bit too much but the people like it, and you should be happy he talks because when he’s done talking that’s when you get stomped out. Then you find yourself laying on the mat thinking “what in the world was I doing” while the whole world reminds you that this is LA Knight’s game. . . yeah!

Next a recap of Carlito related stuff from last week. That leads us to Byron in the back talking with Carlito. Carlito says he’s been gone for many years, all he wanted was one more WrestleMania moment. When Rey wanted that tag team match he should have picked Carlito as his partner, so Carlito did what he had to do to get his spot. Dragon Lee flies in and brawls with Carlito, sending him running before Rey is able to pull Lee away from the fight.

Back to the ring and here come the Street Profits. The Profits head into the crowd to play around as we head to break.

Post break the champions are making their way to the ring.

Match #4 – WWE Tag Team Title Match: (c) A-Town Down Under (Austin Theory and Grayson Waller) vs. Street Profits (Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins) w/ B-Fab and Bobby Lashley

Waller cheap shots Ford before the bell then they attack Dawkins. Theory stomps Dawkins in the corner then tags in Waller. Waller looks very orange here, like he only tanned the front half of his body though because the back half is a visibly different color. Ford tags in and they attack Waller, Ford with a Rock Bottom. Dawkins up top after a tag, sort of a Swanton Bomb then Waller and Theory powder. Ford tags in and dives onto them because why not. Back in the ring Dawkins tags in and they hit Waller with a double back suplex. Dawkins is in control of Waller as we head to break.

Ford is working over Theory as we come back. Kick from Ford then a top rope back elbow and a back suplex. Dawkins tags in now and Theory flips out of a double back suplex and tags in Waller. Everyone gets some offense in then Waller walks the ropes to hit a cross ring dropkick to Dawkins. Theory tags back in he tries a Rolling dropkick but Dawkins Pounces him then catches Waller with a Sky High. Ford tags in, and a Doomsday Blockbuster connects to Theory but only 2. Dawkins tags back in but Theory crotches him on the top rope. Waller with a rolling Flatliner behind the refs back and that gets the deflating 3 count.

OFFICIAL RESULT: A-Town Down Under retained the titles in 8:04

Rating: 2 stars
Thoughts: Oddly laid out match, the Profits got like 80% of the shown offense only to fall short on a flat finish. This didn’t do either team any favors really. Also this getting less time than AOP and NCR seems like a poor decision overall.

Commentary run down Backlash for us.

AJ Styles heads to the ring, after this break he and Cody Rhodes will face off.

Post break AJ is in the ring and here comes our WWE champion, Cody Rhodes. Both men have mics now, and Cody asks what we want to talk about in French. AJ interrupts and doesn’t care what the crowd wants to talk about because Cody is in the ring with the Phenomenal AJ Styles. The crowd gets loud and interrupts this for a bit. AJ then asks if Cody is focused on him, because the more Cody focuses on the fans the worse this’ll go for him. Cody tries to put over AJ but AJ interrupts, he doesn’t need this crap because while he’s older than AJ AJ is still in his prime. Cody asks who says otherwise, AJ “You didn’t have to!” AJ says they’re nothing alike, Cody’s path was always laid out for him. WWE welcomed Cody with open arms, and Cody loved it here until things got rough and he couldn’t handle it then AJ makes the Stardust hand motion. Cody made the decision to leave. AJ couldn’t get that choice, he was kept out of this place for years then when he did get here he had to fight and crawl to the top and do it all by himself. Unlike Cody, who had hall of famers and legends watching his back at Mania so he could finish that story. Well that was just a bunch of guys AJ has beaten before, and he’s beating Cody the same way at Backlash. At Backlash he’s reminding everyone that he’s Phenomenal. The crowd takes this chance to sing. Cody asks who AJ’s trying to convince? Cody has put him over every time, but don’t you dare run down Cody’s journey. He’s made choices, he’s endured many mistakes, and tomorrow might be a dream match. AJ will always be phenomenal, but tomorrow AJ is just Cody’s first title defense which is too sweet. They both make the Bullet Club sign then AJ slaps Cody and walks off.

In the back Randy and Owens are still fighting with the Bloodline, that bit of chaos ends the episode.