It's safe to say that it's been a long two years for Drew McIntyre. In 2018, McIntyre was a dominant force, reigning as WWE Champion for over 200 days, which included title retentions against the likes of Samoa Joe, Brock Lesnar, Rey Mysterio, Daniel Bryan, Sami Zayn and current WWE Champion, Robert Roode. Since then, McIntyre has mostly been embroiled in the tag team scene, before finally breaking back through as a single competitor in January of this year, winning his first Royal Rumble. But even that didn't get him back to his top level, as Johnny Gargano won the right to challenge Roode, leaving McIntyre on the sidelines come WrestleMania. Tonight, though, Drew is center stage once more. Standing in his way is Robert Roode, who has grown significantly as a wrestler throughout his title run. Almost two years ago, at Money in the Bank, Roode was humiliated in a one-sided thrashing of a title challenge. Who walks out of Backlash as WWE Champion?
Backlash 2020 Theme Song- "There's Gonna Be A Fight Tonight"- Danko Jones
Chad Gable vs Mustafa Ali
This was a long and dramatic opener, as two of the best of SmackDown's young crop duked it out with a spot in the Money in the Bank match on the line. They traded some razor thin near falls and incredible spots, like Gable risking it all with a flying elbow drop to the outside. Ali was on the top of his game here, striking from all angles and delivering devastating offense. A sunset flip powerbomb onto the floor nearly spelled the end of Gable's night, but the former Intercontinental Champion persevered, getting his knees up to counter the 054 Splash and hitting a beautiful bridging German suplex for a near fall. Ali also had a big time evasion, landing on his feet to escape the Chaos Theory. In the end, it was "The Prince" who got the job done, knocking Gable loopy with a step-up enziguri and a superkick, before connecting with the 054 on his second attempt.
Winner: Mustafa Ali
The War Raiders(c) vs Demolition- SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match
Erik and Ivar were the most established team in this title match, and that definitely made a significant difference. Braun Strowman and Killian Dain were just worn down by combo maneuvers all match long, though they did show some tag team chemistry of their own, nearly winning the belts after Strowman delivered a powerslam on Ivar which was followed up a standing double foot stomp from Dain. Erik broke that pinfall up, taking down both challengers with kicks before finishing Dain off with Death Rowe.
Winners and still SmackDown Tag Team Champions: The War Raiders
Bayley vs Shayna Baszler- No Holds Barred
This was a no disqualification match with no weapons involved, just an intense, physical fight between two women that absolutely despise each other. Baszler was brutal with her strikes, opening up garish welts all over Bayley's face and arms, though "The Huggable One" gave it right back in kind. Bayley dropped Baszler with a dropkick on the outside, before spiking her on the floor with a hurricanrana and a vicious German suplex. Back in the ring, both women got near falls, Baszler with her gutwrench suplex combo and Bayley with her exploder suplex into the corner. Bayley hit Baszler with a stun gun on the top rope that left "The Queen of Spades" gasping for air, her throat very nearly crushed, and the Bayley to Belly would put her away.
Winner: Bayley
Samoa Joe(c) vs Kofi Kingston- Intercontinental Championship Match
Try as he might, Samoa Joe just can't put Kofi Kingston out with the Coquina Clutch. Three times in this match, the hold was cinched in, but Kofi pulled off a trio of escapes, refusing to be choked out like his brothers in the New Day. Kingston managed to get a rally going late in the match, taking Joe down with a tornado DDT, and it seemed like he might just be closing in on his first piece of singles gold. But an electric sequence saw Joe duck Trouble in Paradise twice, before he reasserted his dominance. Joe hit a German suplex, a Dragon suplex and finished Kingston off with the Chimera-plex to remain champion.
Winner and still Intercontinental Champion: Samoa Joe
The Bar vs Edge and Christian
Cesaro was an absolute beast in this match, wrestling pretty much all of it on his own, and he had both Edge and Christian on their heels. Nothing slowed "The Swiss Cyborg" down, as even with sweat streaming down his face, he still managed to over-power anyone in his way. Christian did manage to eventually weaken Cesaro, but then Sheamus was tagged in, and "The Celtic Warrior" was fresh and hungry to get his own shots in. Christian went down to a trio of Irish Curse backbreakers, and Edge charged in for the Spear only to be easily side-stepped. Sheamus followed up with the Brogue Kick, capitalizing on his partner's gargantuan effort to secure victory in The Bar's first pay-per-view match on SmackDown.
Winners: The Bar
Sasha Banks(c) vs Sonya Deville- SmackDown Women's Championship Match
"The Legit Boss" has been the SmackDown Women's Champion since July of last year, turning back every challenge in her way. Despite that incredible run at the top, we've Sasha in some trouble at points throughout the last 10 months, never more so than tonight. Sonya Deville has started to find her spark in 2020, and was all over the champion in this one. Banks was repeatedly fighting off the back foot, unable to keep up with the speed and ferocity of Deville's attacks, and only surviving the triangle armbar by finding the bottom rope. Deville knocked Banks out to the floor, and it was here that Sasha knew she had to do whatever it took to survive. She jumped all over Sonya on the outside, repeatedly slamming the challenger's face off the floor and the ringpost. Banks then rolled back into the ring, and despite Deville was on wobbly legs, unable to beat the ten count. Sasha now closes in on a year spent as champion, but this was far from a decisive title retention.
Winner and still SmackDown Women's Champion: Sasha Banks
Johnny Gargano vs Kevin Owens
These are the last two losers in WrestleMania main events, though obviously it was Gargano that felt the sting of defeat more deeply, as that was just under two months ago. Though "Johnny Wrestling" was still as fluid in the ring as always, he just wasn't quite able to match the callous brutality of Kevin Owens. KO had Johnny reeling with a couple stiff shots to the jaw, before showing off his power on the Go Home Driver and his athleticism with the flip cannonball in the corner. Owens was closing in on victory as he prepared to deliver the Pop-Up Powerbomb, but someone else had other ideas.
Tommaso Ciampa slid into the ring! Kevin Owens was flabbergasted, staring into the face of the former NXT Champion, as the Memphis crowd went ballistic. The referee stepped in between the two men, a bold move considering the violence we've seen both exhibit, but Ciampa was calmly ushered back out of the ring. It was all just a ruse to distract Kevin, as from behind, Gargano executed a perfect Magistral Cradle to steal a win and secure his spot at Money in the Bank!
Winner: Johnny Gargano
Robert Roode(c) vs Drew McIntyre- WWE Championship Match
This main event was never destined to be a long, epic clash between two resilient warriors, as these two powerhouses instead tossed each other around the ring, each big move taking so much out of them. Roode gave it as good as he got, picking his challenger apart with smart striking and even managing to lift McIntyre on a few occasions. He also managed to retain his gold following a Glorious DDT, but his showboating during the move meant it's impact was lessened and Drew survived. The challenger took back control with two piledrivers, before nailing a headbutt that had Roode on rocky ground. "The Glorious One" kept his title reign intact by dodging the Claymore, but the referee wasn't quite as lucky, taking the full force of one of the most devastating moves in the business. Roode got to this point in his reign by taking full advantage of every opportunity he was given, and this was no exception. He brained McIntyre with his WWE title, before hitting a second, more impactful Glorious DDT to exit another pay-per-view main event as champion.
Winner and still WWE Champion: Robert Roode
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