WWE WRESTLEMANIA BACKLASH

Providence, Rhode Island

CODY RHODES vs. SETH ROLLINS (20:45): This was a good match. Considering the WWE audiences have showered Cody with cheers so far, he's probably over the moon with his decision to leave AEW. The WWE is also pushing him so far, giving him two straight wins against Rollins. The other thing I noticed is that Cody's awful neck tattoo doesn't seem as awful and distracting in the WWE as it was in AEW. Maybe because the WWE is a clown house full of supernatural storylines and dumb gimmicks and he fits in as a "character" more than a wrestler? Who knows? I'm still wondering if eventually his good matches in the WWE will peter out once he starts wrestling the by-the-numbers WWE style like everyone else. Time will tell. ***

OMOS vs. BOBBY LASHLEY (8:50): They're still pushing Omos, which is mind boggling to me. The WWE is doing 2 stadium shows in July and 1 in England in September. What's a better main event? Omos vs. Reigns for the title or Lashley vs. Reigns for the title? Exactly. I'm guessing the England main event will be Reigns vs. McIntyre since McIntyre is from Europe. What will the other ones be? Cody vs. Reigns? I suppose they could do Orton vs. Reigns. And who will finally beat Reigns for the title? The WWE has also done a dumb move by unifying the titles. Now at these 3 big stadium shows they can't have 2 men's titles matches. This company is just so fucking stupid sometimes. Pushing Omos, the tall bore, is just one of many idiotic decisions. This match was pretty forgettable though Lashley at least looked halfway decent. *

EDGE vs. AJ STYLES (16:25): Early this match was pretty good, but the longer it went the more obvious it was that these two just don't mesh well for whatever reason. Maybe five or ten years ago if these two had wrestled it would've been off the charts. Oh, well. A masked figure knocked AJ off the top rope leading to him losing. It was revealed to be Rhea Ripley. So she joins the evil group alongside Edge and Damian Priest. So far this evil group hasn't been working. One reason is probably everyone liked Edge and Damian Priest better as good guys. I guess we'll see if it gets any better. *1/2

RONDA ROUSEY vs. CHARLOTTE FLAIR "I QUIT MATCH" (16:35): Ronda came out guns blazing. By the end it turned into a typical weapons type of a match. They used Singapore canes and steel chairs. Eventually Flair said, "I quit," when she was in an armbar through a steel chair. I do love "I Quit" matches simply because I'm always curious how the loser will quit. It has to be something dramatic. Usually it's not. This was better than average but not spectacular or anything, although Rousey looked better than usual. Rousey won the title. **1/2

MADCAP MOSS vs. HAPPY CORBIN (8:40): They broke up this group just to have this match. Which makes you wonder...why break them up? Match was forgettable. Moss is decent but has a horrible gimmick (a bad comedian). I'm guessing the WWE will forget about Moss now and he'll end up in the doghouse chasing the 24/7 title. 1/2*

THE BLOODLINE (ROMAN REIGNS & THE USO'S) vs. DREW McINTYRE & RK-BRO (RANDY ORTON & MATT RIDDLE) (22:20): The second half of this match was excellent. Fast paced, non-stop action, announce table break, hot crowd, near-falls. The first half was kind of slow. The problem was that originally it was supposed to be a tag team match between RK-Bro and The Uso's to unify the tag titles. That would've been a huge match and probably a great one. For no reason they changed it to this, a title-less 6 man that, let's face it, is basically a Smackdown main event. Hopefully they'll do the unified title match at one of the stadium shows. Reigns pinned Riddle, which probably tells you the chances of Riddle ever being a main event, solo star in the company. ***