WWE BackLash 2018 Recap: The Most Shocking, Controversial, and Downright Jaw-dropping Moments

Seth Rollins entered the Prudential Center with momentum firmly on his side, as “The Architect” successfully defended his Intercontinental Championship against The Miz. But it was no easy feat.

The Miz, who’s held the IC belt on no fewer than eight occasions, dominated the contest in the opening minutes. His strategy seemed to be working when the “Awesome” one dodged Rollins’ knee and sent him straight into the ring post, following up with what looked to be an excruciating Figure-Four Leg Lock. The Miz continued with a savage offence, including a blistering Skull Crushing Finale. Somehow, though, Rollins kicked out on the count of two and stayed in the fight. The Miz continued the onslaught and delivered a second Skull Crushing Finale, this time from the second tope, but Rollins would not be beat. Reversing a pin-fall attempt, Seth blasted The Miz with a thunderous Curb Stomp in order to score the three count, and secure his reign as your Intercontinental Champion.

Jax looked intent on squashing Bliss in the early portion of the match, but despite her size and strength advantage, the Champ had her hands full with the more experienced “Little Miss Bliss.” The challenger rang Jax’s bell by slamming her head against the ring steps, and for a moment it looked like Jax was finished. But the current Champion was able to catch Bliss as she leaped from the top rope. After catching Bliss, Nia crushed her with a Samoan Drop for the victory.

Jeff Hardy is one of the most enigmatic and popular WWE Superstars of all time. So when he dethroned Jinder Mahal for the United States Championship two weeks ago on Monday Night RAW, fans started salivating at the thought of his future U.S. Title defenses. Hardy came to BackLash intent on pinning Randy Orton to prove he’s is still a force to be reckoned with, and that’s exactly what he did.

The match seemed to be going Hardy’s way when he caught Orton with a Whisper in the Wind, but Orton attempted to turn the tide with a patented RKO Outta Nowhere. While Orton managed to follow up and deliver a DDT, he couldn’t get the measure of Hardy, who finally put the “Legend Killer” away with his signature Swanton Bomb from the top rope. Yes: Hardy has returned to form.

Big Cass had a major chip on his shoulder going into his personal clash against Daniel Bryan at BackLash. Feeling jealous that Bryan had hogged the spotlight by returning to the ring from injury at the same time as himself, Cass was all too aware that a victory over the former World Champion would finally tip the limelight his way.

But while Big Cass slowed Bryan down with some clubbing blows and a high-impact offense, he failed to earn the most important win of his career as his legendary opponent proved that we’re all the same size when lying on the mat and tapping out! Cass submitted to the Yes Lock, giving Bryan his first pay-per-view singles victory since 2014. Cass lost the match but he wouldn’t leave the arena until he’d blindsided the conquering hero. It looks like these two are destined to collide again soon.

Charlotte Flair was royally humiliated two days after WrestleMania 34, when Carmella cashed in her Money in the Bank contract and ended Flair’s 278-day reign with the SmackDown Women’s Championship. In the days leading up to their rematch at BackLash, many fans were questioning whether or not “The Princess of Staten Island” could hang with one of the most celebrated female Champions of all time.

Carmella surprised many by slowing down the pace and testing Charlotte by attempting to gain a submission, but few believed that the young pretender would walk away with the Championship intact. As Charlotte performed a backflip from the top rope, she tweaked her knee. That was all it took: Proving that great Champions never miss an opportunity, the Princess pinned the Queen for a shockingly successful Title defense and the biggest win of her career to date.

The charismatic and talented Shinsuke Nakamura failed to keep his cool after failing to beat AJ Styles for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 34. He blasted Styles with a low blow after the match was over in New Orleans, but felt that destiny would bring him the gold in their highly anticipated rematch in Saudi Arabia at the Greatest Royal Rumble. Unfortunately for Nakamura, both men were counted out of the ring, so Styles kept the belt. At BackLash, “The Artist” got one more crack at the WWE Championship, and this time it was sanctioned as a No Disqualification contest.

Throughout this match, both men hit each other with a series of stiff blows, until Nakamura used a steel chair to pile further damage on the defending champ. That chair came into play later on too: As a desperate AJ tried to throw the chair toward Nakamura, it bounced back and hit him square in the face, busting open the Champion. With both warriors spent, they kicked each other right in the crown jewels, resulting in two bodies laying passed out on the canvas, and the match being declared a No Contest due to neither man answering the 10 count. AJ Styles limped away as the retaining WWE Champ, and their feud grinds on.

While Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens are two of WWE’s most talented grapplers, it’s fair to say that neither man had a chance against The Monster and The Dominator at BackLash. Few men are as physically imposing as this newly assembled team—and to Owens and Zayn’s credit, most opposing teams wouldn’t have even shown up for the bout.

Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley had their smaller opponents running scared for much of this Tag Team contest, and the bruising beat-down ended when Lashley pinned Kevin Owens. Of course, Sami Zayn didn’t leave without getting Braun’s hands, as the beast power-slammed him into next week for good measure.

The war of words between Samoa Joe and Roman Reigns escalated before the bell even sounded at BackLash. Joe took the advantage by attacking Reigns from the get-go, slamming him through an announcer’s table and tossing him over a second one before the match officially got under way. By the time the contest got going, Reigns already looked seriously hurt.

Just nine nights removed from his brutal cage match with Brock Lesnar at the Greatest Royal Rumble, Reigns needed to suck it up and get back into the match, and that’s exactly what he did. The “Big Dog” dug deep and weathered Joe’s barrage before retaliating with a Superman Punch and an almost successful pin. Reigns began to lose consciousness when Joe came back with a submission attempt, but Reigns managed to get it together and use the ropes to make a break. In a last ditch effort to silence Joe, Reigns almost broke his larger opponent in half with a thunderous spear, and that was all she wrote. Reigns walked out of BackLash 2018 with the win, and his pride intact. The question now: Will Brock Lesnar give Roman Reigns another shot at the Universal Championship?