WWE WrestleMania Backlash 2022, held at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Rhode Island, featured a non-title six-man tag match between The Bloodline (Roman Reigns and The Usos) against Drew McIntyre and RK-Bro (Riddle and Randy Orton). WWE had marketed the event as the unification of the WWE Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Championships.
WrestleMania Backlash also featured an “I Quit” Match between Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. Rousey won the bout with a steel chair armbar, becoming the new WWE SmackDown women’s title.
Last week’s broadcast of WWE SmackDown garnered 1.953 million viewers.
WrestleMania Backlash Match Card
Cody Rhodes vs. Seth “Freakin’” Rollins
Bobby Lashley vs. Omos
AJ Styles vs. Edge
Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey
Happy Corbin vs. Madcap Moss
Drew McIntyre and RK-Bro vs. The Bloodline
2022 WWE WrestleMania Backlash results, grades
Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins: To begin the bout, Rhodes and Rollins traded holds, with Rollins often winning the counters. This contributed to the narrative that Rollins has researched his opponent and is better prepared than he was at WrestleMania 38, when Rhodes was a surprise opponent. Rollins was pursued around the ring by Rhodes. Inside the ring, Mr. “Freakin'” cut him off and firmly took charge of the match. Rhodes regained control by pounding Rollins’ face against the corner stairs. It was short-lived, as Rollins flipped Rhodes inside out with a ringside clothesline.
Rhodes recovered from Rollins’ control phase by nailing some signature moves. Rhodes performed a Disaster Kick after popping Rollins in the throat and faceplanting him off a long suplex spot. Rhodes tried the Disaster Kick again and was solidly sent over the ropes and to the outside. Rollins led the dance back into the ring, followed by a Sunset Flip and a handful of near falls.
As the chops and palm blows developed into a full-fledged slap brawl, chaos ensued. Rollins with a midsection spin kick. Rollins was clotheslined out of the ring after Rhodes dodged a punch. Rollins moved out of the way as Rhodes jumped off the rope, and “The American Nightmare” ate the barricade. Rollins attempted a suicide dive but ate his forearm as a result. Rhodes walked into the ring, sprang off the ropes, and smacked Rollins with the Cody Cutter. Rollins countered Rhodes’ pedigree and planted him with a superkick. Rollins has two points.
After the two traded high spots “This is Awesome” chants broke out from the crowd. Rhodes tried to hit another Disaster Kick but Rollins caught him and turned it into a Buckle Bomb followed by a high-elevation Frog Splash led to a near fall. Rollins continued the assault before Rhodes got a reversal into a Cross Rhodes that led to a near-fall with Rollins getting his foot on the ropes.
Rhodes missed a big moonsault and Rollins made him pay with a Pedigree. It was a close count but only two. An irate Rollins repeatedly fed Rhodes his boot. Rollins made the mistake of mimicking Dusty Rhodes’ moveset and Rhodes planted him with a Cross Rhodes. Rhodes transitioned for a second one but Rollins escaped. A chain of transitions followed for each competitor. Rollins rolled up Rhodes with the tights; however, Rhodes rolled through and grabbed the tights for a three-count. A fantastic match, even better than their first. The Cody Rhodes formula is thrilling, but the constant false finishes can diminish the impact of their finishing moves. Nevertheless, a terrific match that could have been an instant classic with higher stakes. Cody Rhodes def. Seth Rollins via pinfall. Grade: A
Bobby Lashley vs. Omos: Lashley jumped right into the battle, hammering Omos with strikes early on. Lashley attempted to run the ropes but was stopped by MVP, his ex-manager. Omos seized command. He pushed Lashley’s head into the corner and stomped on him with his boot. While MVP was talking trash, Omos choked Lashley against the middle rope. Then Lashley went onto Omos’ back and attempted a rear-naked choke, but Omos shook him off. Following Lashley’s spear into the corner, “The Almighty” roped up Omos’ arms and hammered him with unprotected attacks.
Outside the ring, Lashley ran into MVP. MVP swung his cane, but Lashley ducked. MVP got The Hurt Lock from Lashley. Omos stepped in and grabbed Lashley’s head with his palm. Lashley countered and planted Omos. Lashley locked in The Hurt Lock while Omos was on his knees. Omos appeared to go out but roared to life and pushed Lashley into the corner. That forced the referee to break the hold. Big elbow strikes to Lashley’s dome in the corner. Lashley took back control and landed another spear in the corner. Lashley managed to hoist Omos up and drop him onto his back.
Lashley took off for the match-ending spear but Omos dodged it and MVP struck Lashley with his cane while the referee was distracted. Omos picked up Lashley and dropped him for the pinfall victory. It was a fine match, especially considering Omos’ relative inexperience. Omos def. Bobby Lashley via pinfall. Grade: C+
AJ Styles vs. Edge: Styles immediately jumped on Edge, beating him back to the corner and creaming Edge with a baseball slide followed by an Asai Moonsault to the outside. Styles committed to the Phenomenal Forearm too early and Edge countered with a boot to Styles’ injured shoulder. Edge continued to work on the shoulder, throwing Styles into the ring post. Edge tore the Kinesio tape off his opponent’s shoulder and continued to target the injured body part.
Following extended abuse to the shoulder, Styles managed to duck under one of Edge’s attacks and clock him with the Pele Kick. A double crossbody left both competitors reeling on the floor. “The Phenomenal” one tried for a fireman’s carry but his shoulder did not hold up. Styles found a more creative way to plant his foe. Styles mustered the energy to prop up Edge for the fireman’s carry into a shoulder breaker. Edge responded with a backbreaker variation into a crossface. Styles transitioned into his signature Calf Crusher and Edge managed to reach for the ropes to break the submission.
Styles restarted the action with a german suplex, before Edge held onto the corner turnbuckle pad and it tore it off. Styles dodged a spear and Edge went into the exposed buckle. Styles then got a two-count on the pinfall attempt. Edge slammed Styles. Edge set up for The Spear but Styles countered and planted Edge with the Styles Clash before Damian Priest emerged but remained on the aisle way as he was banned from ringside. Finn Balor appeared and attacked Priest. The chaos allowed a masked assailant to knock Styles off the top rope while the referee was distracted. Edge locked up a chokehold and Styles went unconscious. Rhea Ripley was revealed to be the masked woman, officially aligning with Edge’s Judgement Day stable. Edge and Styles pieced together a solid match. Ripley’s initiation into Edge’s stable plus Balor’s involvement in the feud give the match a half-grade bonus. Edge def. AJ Styles via pinfall. Grade: B+
Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Ronda Rousey — SmackDown women’s championship (“I Quit” match): Flair opened with a clothesline before a brief flurry of offense by Rousey which Flair stopped by spiking Rousey with a German suplex. Rousey countered an early Figure Eight attempt and landed a flying knee. Rousey hunted the armbar but both women fell out of the ring and Flair repeatedly ran Rousey into the barricade before repeated chops by Flair. The two made their way up the ramp where the pair each got a hold of kendo sticks. “The Queen” got her hands on two kendo sticks and struck Rousey in the ribs with the weapons. “Rowdy” then turned the tide and got a hold of two kendo sticks and repeatedly struck Flair.
After making their way back down to the ring, Flair grabbed a video camera from a ringside cameraman and hurled it toward Rousey and their fight boiled over into the crowd. Flair blinded Rousey with a drink to the face and chucked her into another barricade. Flair trapped Rousey between stair railings and locked on a camel clutch. Rousey refused to quit. Flair tried to strike Rousey with a chair but the former UFC champion ripped it from her hands. Flair escaped back to ringside amid “we want tables” chants from the crowd. Flair powerbombed Rousey into the ringside barricade. Rousey won back control but a rake to the eyes snuffed that out.
Rousey tied up Flair in the corner in a Tree of Woe with Flair hanging upside down, facing ringside, while Rousey locked on a deep armbar. Flair repeatedly refused to quit despite having her arm fully extended. Both women fell to the floor. Flair then repeatedly struck Rousey and planted the challenger with a Natural Selection against the chair in the ring. Flair locked in her Figure Eight finishing move. Rousey refused to quit and smashed a nearby chair against Flair’s head. Flair taunted Rousey, wishing her a happy Mother’s Day and then Rousey took advantage of Flair’s arm inside a steel chair and snatched the armbar. Rousey torqued the armbar and Flair screamed “I Quit!” A big improvement on their WrestleMania match with nice spots and good momentum swings. Ronda Rousey def. Charlotte Flair under “I Quit” stipulations to win the SmackDown women’s championship. Grade: A-
Madcap Moss vs. Happy Corbin: A tussle for strength kicked off the match. Moss doubled up on leapfrogs and hip-tossed Corbin. Corbin responded with a high-angle chokeslam. Corbin pummel Moss’ face against the barricade. Corbin with a hard Irish whip into the corner. Corbin flipped Moss onto his back and delivered a senton. Moss took the lead with an explosive spear in the corner and then chucked Corbin with a fallaway slam. Corbin took control and belittled Moss while delivering punches. Moss eventually fought off Corbin on the top rope but missed with aerial offense. Moss ran into the Deep Six but got his shoulder up for the two-count. Moss took advantage of an emotionally-charged Corbin, dodging a clothesline and landing a sunset flip to score the pinfall and celebrated as a frustrated Corbin looked on. A fine match for what it was. Madcap Moss def. Happy Corbin via pinfall. Grade: C+
The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) vs. Drew McIntyre and RK-Bro (Randy Orton and Riddle): Riddle took early control of Jimmy, much like their recent match on SmackDown. McIntyre planted Jimmy with a suplex and called to face Roman Reigns. Paul Heyman insisted that Reigns had nothing to prove, but the undisputed champion tagged in. Reigns faked out McIntyre by immediately tagging in Jey, eliciting boos from the crowd. Jimmy then tagged himself in and the brothers swarmed Riddle. Heyman only implored Reigns to tag in once Jimmy had Riddle in a bad position, which he did.
Reigns beat down on Riddle, clobbering him with an elbow and taunting the crowd. The undisputed WWE universal champion planted Riddle with a ura nage. Riddled dodged Jimmy’s corner splash and nearly tagged in his partners; however, Jey intercepted by blindsiding both Riddle and Orton. A flying kick by Riddle opened the door for a much-needed tag to McIntyre. Reigns, who tagged himself in the ring moments prior, had a look of concern painted on his face. Reigns psyched himself up and met his larger foe in the center of the ring. McIntyre and Reigns exchanged blows. McIntyre took control, tossing Reigns across the ring and landing neck breakers on both McIntyre and Jimmy. A distraction from Jey created an opening for Reigns to land a signature Superman punch.
Reigns wore down McIntyre in the corner with thudding blows as the crowd chanted for Orton to tag in. Reigns cheap-shotted Riddle and antagonized Orton, setting up McIntyre to land the Claymore Kick. The audience roared for Orton, who tagged in and punished The Usos with his signature powerslams. “Vintage Orton” reared its head with a rope-assisted DDT. “The Viper” struck Reigns with an RKO. He ate a superkick by Jimmy Uso but snapped back and scored another RKO. McIntyre set up Jey for the Claymore; however, The Usos caught him with a double superkick.
Riddle and Jey entered the contest, and Riddle exploded. He punished Jey with a variety of maneuvers such as suplexes and sentons. With flying knees, he held Reigns and Jimmy at bay. Riddle delivered his trademark Floating Bro for a near-fall on Jey. Jey connected with a pop-up neckbreaker on Riddle, but Orton broke up the pin attempt.
With a Superman blow, Reigns sprang off the steel stairs and knocked Orton out. McIntyre tried to pass Reigns through the announcers’ table. Reigns used a diversion from Jimmy to uranage McIntyre through the table. Riddle swooped down on Reigns and Jimmy. In the ring, Riddle and Jey traded moves. Riddle hit a top-rope RKO on Jey, but Reigns escaped with a blind tag in the end. An unsuspecting Riddle fell victim to a match-ending spear from Reigns. Great intensity from all participants, good action and solid character work from Reigns and McIntyre. The Bloodline def. Drew McIntyre and RK-Bro via pinfall. Grade: B+