Match of the Night
The least surprising part of WWE Backlash was predicting that AJ Styles and Kevin Owens would put on the “Match of the Night.” 21 minutes of action, of reaction and of reversals. The knee and leg of AJ Styles was the primary focus of the match.
From WZ: Owens yells at Styles as he slaps him in the face. Styles hits the Pelé kick. Styles sets Owens on the top rope. Styles attempts a superplex. Owens counters it into a fisherman’s buster off the top rope! Styles still kicks out. Owens climbs up top. Styles rolls out to the apron. Owens follows him. Owens sets up a suplex. Styles reverses it and suplexes Owens on the edge of the ring apron! Owens is on the floor writhing in pain. Styles tries to bring Owens into the ring but Owens throws him into the time keepers area. Owens gets to his feet. Owens turns around and Style hits the phenomenal forearm off the barricade. Styles puts Owens on the table for the Styles clash. Owens sweeps Styles leg and Styles gets his leg trapped in a hole in the announce desk. Styles is trapped in the table and is counted out.
The ending was so smart and creative, keeping the door wide open for another 1-2 months of this feud. AJ Styles is the best. There is not a question about it and his match with Kevin Owens was excellent. Time after time, it seemed as if each transitional move to a finisher would defeat the opponent. Continuous kick outs and two counts gave us more drama than expected. It may have been an anti-climatic ending, but it was perfect. Keep this feud going and keep giving us matches like this. It is hard to argue that this could be the best feud on Smackdown Live heading into June and July. Bravo to both men on a technically sound match with intelligence behind the booking decisions.
Breaking Apart the Main Events
A quick breather that lasted less than ten minutes, as Luke Harper made waste of his former partner. The match was better than expected, with Erick Rowan controlling 75 percent of the match. My biggest problem is that Luke Harper is too good for this type of match. Rowan showed some positives signs in the ring, but Harper has the talent and ability of a Kevin Owens.
The shape that Harper has put himself in looks so much better when he is not wearing a saggy beater. He looks more like a guy that could knock your teeth in and then run circles around you. I really hope this feud either gets an additional person in it or Luke Harper works his way up the ladder.
