AJ Styles is WWE World Champion, Kevin Owens is Universal Champion, Shinsuke Nakamura is NXT Champion and Seth Rollins is face. What a time to be a wrestling fan!

Kevin Steen beat Tyler Black to fill the title vacated by Prince Devitt, while AJ Styles beat Jon Moxley for the other title. And Samoa Joe just dropped the developmental title to Shinsuke Nakamura. It's like some kind of late 2000s fantasy booking gone mad.

Trust me, if you told me in 2010 that AJ Styles would become he wwe champion six years from then, I would have called you crazy. It is great to see him as champ. Overall this was a pretty good event overall, the matches were pretty good and I did not feel like having to leave the room for a while (except for that dolph ziggler kernel sanders vs the miz chicken commercial 😑) so it was a pretty nice show :)

Let's just take a moment to reflect that in less than a year Mr TNA has captured the WWE Championship

Its just me or Alexa was dressed like Harley Quinn??

4:32 Nice reference to Rikishi's Bad Man theme.

You need to do a video about the weirdness of 2016 in wrestling. Imagine if someone told you on January 1st 2016 that: - Matt and Jeff Hardy are the hottest act in wrestling - Shane McMahon came back to fight The Undertaker at Wrestlemania in a Hell in a Cell match - Shane Vs Taker was not the weirdest match at Wrestlemania because The Rock had a match Eric Rowan - AJ Styles feuded with John Cena most of the year - AJ Styles is WWE World champion - Brand split - Both Finn Balor and Kevin Owens became champions of the top brand - Zack Ryder won a title at Wrestlemania - Shinsuke Nakamura is the top guy in NXT - Seth Rollins beat Roman Reigns clean - Dean Ambrose beat both Seth and Roman clean - Roman Reigns is a midcarder(or at least, not a main eventer) - Sheamus had a big role in a major movie - Nya Jax, Carmella, Alexa Bliss, Dana Brooke, Apollo Crewes, Baron Corbin, and Mojo Rawley beat Bayley to the main roster - Heath Slater is a hot act that people want to see - Eva Marie is well booked

I believe the popularity of NXT has paved the way for the direction that WWE is going. On top of these great choices for champions, you have all of those amazing cruiserweights coming to Raw. Perhaps McMahon is listening to the fans or at least seeing the positive reactions that these new stars are getting. All I have to say about that is "Thank you Triple H".

You deserve it! The chant for all the champs right now... Except The Miz!

I don't always agree with you Brian but I'm with you 100% on this one. Every right person won. A grade PPV.

I feel like the Miz and Bryan storylie may lead to a Team Bryan vs Team Miz at Survivor Series where if Team Bryan loses, Bryan will quit being the Smackdown GM.

Lets take a few things in here. AJ Styles is WWE Champion Adam Cole is ROH Champion Kenny Omega is G1 Climax Tournament winner The Bullet Club, rules the Wrestling World.

An interesting storyline theory on the Kane situation is that he is taking orders from Daniel Bryan. The "Milkman" was holding up the show, Bryan sent Kane out to take care of him. Fandango was holding the show up, Bryan sent Kane out to take care of him. Wyatt injured Orton and caused BackLash to be down a match, Bryan sent Kane out to take care of it. This is something that should continue for awhile without acknowledging it on screen. Miz wants his contract renegotiated and paid more. One interesting bit would be for Bryan to add a clause that says Miz has to defend the title whenever Bryan says so and against whomever he (Bryan) chooses. It could eventually lead to a Kane/Miz feud for the IC title. Kane might be a little older, but he showed tonight that he can still go in the ring.

I was at this show with my friend, I live an hour away from Richmond. The pop for Rhino and Slater was much louder in person than what it was on tv the crowd was going nuts

I think this would be the perfect time for CM Punk to consider a return. All the right people are champions. Punk could defintely get over. This is the perfect time. He could definitely restake his claim.

Gotta agree with pretty much everything here. This PPV was much more enjoyable than SummerSlam. I'm really hoping they do something of more significance with Crewes and Corbin after Backlash. Becky winning the belt was so damn good and yep, Naomi and Alexa were the standouts in the match. Alexa is such a natural heel and I think shes going to be great on the main roster. Happy with Slater and Rhyno winning the tag belts too, that promo after the match was hilarious. The Usos are pretty good heels, #Hellsos. Miz vs Dolph was an excellent match and oh my Maryse, killing it in dat outfit. Didn't like the finish but I can see them getting something out of that on Smackdown. Bray vs Kane, I dug it, was nice seeing Kane pick up a notable victory and Wyatt still looked strong in my opinion. Styles VS Ambrose, man, what a good match. I loved Dean's counter to the calf crusher and the slingshot into the super turnbuckle post was sick. AJ winning it was a shocker but a smart move and a great way to capitalize on his momentum after beating Cena. I liked seeing a more serious side of Dean with the title but it'll be fun watching him chase the belt now. I love the current top champs right now (Owens, Styles and Nakamura). Its like someones Universe mode form the WWE Games come to life. After the disappointment that was SummerSlam, it was great to see them knock this first Show Exclusive PPV out the park. I really wish the Backlash stage had the old swing meathooks but I guess that wouldn't be PG.

AJ Styles is officially the first Wrestler to hold the TNA World Heavyweight Championship before the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Kurt Angle, Mick Foley, Rob Van Dam, & Jeff Hardy all won the WWE Championship before they won the TNA Championship

The next obvious step for Ziggler is to reprise his role as a male cheerleader or just let him milk the Col. Sanders gimmick for all its worth....

Man, two years later and this PPV doesn’t make me any less emotional. :) I think this’ll always be my favorite PPV ever. :)

wwe finally listening to the fans who would of thought AJ Styles as champ

Backlash in one word: Satisfying. Good matches. Good booking. Good night.

Are you going to be doing a special kind of "Who War it Better?" each month by comparing the seperate PPVS or just sum up which did it better at the end of whichever comes second? (In this case Clash of Champions)

congratulations on the KZfaq Awards there Brian

I didn't see it... but I'm glad you enjoyed it as much as you did; makes me proud to know that the WWE has done something that someone, ANYONE, can enjoy fully.

AJ is the greatest in ring performer in WWE since HBK.

Pretty great show. AJ, Becky, Heath wining the titles deserved. Bray's still a top guy no matter what people think, he's always gonna be a major player on Smackdown.

It's crazy, that those three men are the top champions...I've only been a wrestling fan for 3 years now, close to 4, and even I know how insane it is that Nakamura runs NXT, Owens runs RAW and now Styles runs Smackdown. Anyway, love your videos man. The review of John Cena's You Can't See Me will always be my favorite. "Yeah, this shit is hype!" Cracks me up every time. - Sean, The Factory Boys

Love your reviews Brian! Minor nitpick: is there any way you can turn the volume of your vid overall up a little? Just seems a little quiet in comparison to other KZfaq videos when played at the same level. But like I said, minor nitpick, keep up the great work!

Backlash 2016 from my hometown, Richmond, Virginia. My hometown getting some WWE love that night. Very proud.

what's not to get about Orton keeping the best on? the boy likes how he looks

I think you said it best. It's one of the best, most satisfying ppv's I've seen in a while.

just shows how great styles is. he can carry anybody to a classic match

Bray Wyatt needs a win badly. His gimmick is pretty entertaining and dark, and his promos are cool, but he just cannot get a win for some reason. I imagine he would've lost to Orton, and losing to Kane is just bad. It's disappointing seeing such a potentially scary character a la Taker or Kane lose all the time. Other than that though, great PPV, especially the Miz/Ziggler match.

nice reference to rikishi's theme

Dolph Ziggler had a better match with The Miz than with Dean Ambrose. Why does that sound so weird?

Your positive outlook on punk made me happy. I can't explain why but it got me emotional

I initially thought that Alexa Bliss being eliminated first was a bit weird but she did lose while taking, what I thought, was the most impactful move in the whole match, so I did not get that mad that she got eliminated firstly

Zane nice touch with the Post It note on Warrior! Had me dying!

The entire PPV was great with the exception of Bray, instead of (finally) letting him become the monster or the god he always says he is by beating up both Randy and Kane and winning 2 matches on one night they made him look super weak again and let Kane (Kane??) get the pinfall..... it was really bad.

As part of the crowd, yeah this was awesome to see live.

i love wrestling with wregret all the shows so far are awesome

I didn't care about this card at all coming in, and during the show I got crazy invested in each match as it went on. Each match told a great story and was impossible to turn away from. This show really impressed

+Wrestling With Wregret Brian, can you freakin' believe it... Shinsuke Nakamura is NXT Champion, AJ Styles is WWE World Champion, Kevin Owens is WWE Universal Champion, a WWE pay-per-view that was not one of the BIG 4 (Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, Summerslam or Survivor Series) actually gets an 'A' grade? What a time to be alive! What a time to be a wrestling fan. All is right in the world!! You could spray me in the eyes with green mist, kick me in the balls, then roll me up with a handful of tights for the victory and I still couldn't complain about how great things are looking in WWE right now. Seriously, if Bray Wyatt had won his impromptu match against Kane, Backlash would've been a virtually flawless PPV event. After a disappointing Wrestlemania and a long-winded Summerslam, WWE finally got it right with Backlash by doing two things: 1. actually listening to the WWE Universe (smarks are always right) 2. Sending the fans home happy. To sum it all up, WWE Backlash 2016 was the 'feel-good' pay-per-view of the year for the SmackDown Live brand. #YourMoveRaw #ClashOfChampions

Great review man!

*Excellent* video Brian! I thought the PPV was a solid *B*...could have been longer, but it was enjoyable. Glad to see Styles and Becky win their respective titles.

+Wrestling with Wregret Thank you for being among the non-douches who include the Winner of the main event in the title of their video along with a Thumbnail of them holding the title. I've had so many PPVs spoiled when I come on KZfaq to check out predictions before watching the event. You rock.

Sacramento School District Spelling Bee Champion. Lmfao

I was actually at the event. I was the dude holding the "REE!" sign. I also got a thumbs up from Booker T :)

I feel ya... over a year ago I would have never thought of seeing AJ Styles in a WWE ring, let alone a champion

Thank you for the "Bad Man" reference! Nobody got it when I mentioned it last week :(

LMAO! Love the nod to Rikishi's "Bad Man" theme!

I love the queen reference actually paused the video and sang the rest of the verse don't Judge me!

The Miz against Dolph really was an amazing match, I loved that Miz actually looked strong, despite the heel ending.

When KANE'S your best choice for anything in 2016 your roster is as thin as Corbin's hair.

Great review!

Being there live with rather low expectations, I found myself really enjoying the show as a whole. Of all the WWF/WWE shows I've been to in my life I've never seen a Coliseum crowd that hot throughout since a random 1998 houseshow that featured Austin vs. Undertaker vs. Mankind vs. Kane as the main event.

With AJ, Kevin, and Shinsuke all having world titles, its like the Warring Triad statues from Final Fantasy 6 in place to restore balance in the world.

How could you not know what Maryse sprayed Dolph with? Isn't that like you're gimmick?

I thought Rowan was going to be Bray's opponent. That would've been so much better for him than losing to Kane.

16 minutes of commentary and no graphic back up (again)! How did you get the plaque from KZfaq? From the amount of videos you have done? By the way did the new fall season start already? BZtv?

Have to agree with you Brian, Backlash was the best WWE PPV in recent memory. Smaller card - which meant longer matches - allowing more better in-ring storytelling, good quality matches and outcomes. I'm hoping sets a trend for the brand exclusive PPVs.

4:36 they want bad women, bad cars, bad hoods, bad dudes. They're makin they're own rules.

Loved the Rikishi reference at 4:32, haha

When I met AJ Friday and went to his panel, I asked a question then told him "When you win Sunday, it will be 'Too Sweet!'" It was no surprise to me the crowd booed Ambrose and cheered AJ. Everyone loved him in Richmond. Also, Alexa Bliss was dressed as Harley Quinn presumably because of the convention there all weekend. WWE had a huge presence there so I would not be shocked if she did that just to kinda pop the local crowd and maybe she thought it would be cute to do that. She was correct.

12:39, My only problem with this theory is that it's heavily reminiscent of something that happened in late 2011-early 2012. Post TLC 2011 Champions: O WWE Champion: CM Punk (Held it until Royal Rumble 2013), Feuded with Undertaker, Lesnar, Heyman, and the Authority. Left company after Royal Rumble 2014. O World Heavyweight Champion: Daniel Bryan (Held it until Wrestlemania 28), Won World Title three more times and IC Title once, retired due to injury February 2016 (ironically on my 21 birthday). O Intercontinental Champion: Cody Rhodes (Held it until Wrestlemania 28), Relegated to midcard until leaving company in Summer 2016. O United States Champion: Zack Ryder (Held it until January), Relegated to jobber status until WM 32, where he won the Intercontinental Championship. He lost the title the next day to the Miz. O Tag Team Champions: Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne (Held it until January), Bourne was suspended in January, injured in March, released in 2014. Kingston won the US, IC, and Tag Titles numerous times afterwards. Currently with the New Day, who won Rolling Stone's WWE Superstar(s) of the Year for 2015 and hold record for longest WWE Tag Title reign (not counting Demolition). O Divas Champion: Beth Phoenix (Held it until April), Left the company in September. Looking at this, the two individuals who actually progressed as superstars after their championship victories were Bryan and Kingston, and Bryan's now retired. It's too early to tell if the scope of WWE really is changing, but as we see it now, the future does look bright for the current champions. Let's just hope it stays that way. Current Champions: WWE Universal Champion: Kevin Owens (14 Days) WWE Champion: AJ Styles (1 Day) NXT Champion: Shinsuke Nakamura (22 Days) Intercontinental Champion: The Miz (161 Days) United States Champion: Rusev (113 Days) WWE Raw Tag Team Champions: The New Day (386 Days) WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champions: Heath Slater and Rhyno (1 Day) NXT Tag Team Champions: The Revival (96 Days) WWE Raw Women's Champion: Charlotte (21 Days) WWE Smackdown Women's Champion: Becky Lynch (1 Day) NXT Women's Champion: Asuka (164 Days) Check back later to see if everything sticks.

although I don't think every match was an A grade I don't think it should take away from this ppv being a A grade as many are saying... you got your women's fun match that show cased them all well, with a great ending. aj vs ambrose was the same , fun and a stellar match. the rest was like brain said , in the right directions ... think anyone expecting all matches to be 10s are getting a bit spoiled by nxt and the cwc... but in any event good ppv and can't wait to see what's next now that we got champions.

Backlash was awesome and I highly doubt Clash of Champions can keep up.

I liked it!! it was hella good

Backlash was awesome! I think the subtle booking in recent weeks gave the PPV payoff so much more punch. I was impressed with everyone on the card. No overly long promos! No authority figures! No bullshit! Straight Pro-Wrestling!

are you cool with the fightful guys cause they used one of yor videos for the brawl for all. just curious.

A few thoughts on the show, in list form: 1.) I want more segments where Carmella ambushes Nikki Bella when she's trying to talk. Like, she's out buying stuff and then BAM, Carmella from behind! 2.) Miz is probably the best heel in WWE right now. If nothing else, he has the classic heel formula down to a science. 3.) who the hell were those guys backstage? Like, the ones that were all geared up and ready to wrestle?!

woooooow brian !!!! i didn't know that baron corbin won "Andre the giant memoria"l battle Royal...... you are great btw ....love your videos

Miz vs zigler was literally the same as punk vs gall at UFC 203

Cm punk got his ass whooped bro .

Easily one of the best PPV in a long while

I think this was booked really well with some great matches and the appropriate finishes. When matches end with results like Becky Lynch and Slater & Rhyno and leave me with a genuine smile, they're doing something right.

Thank you! kind sir for ur knowledge

I don't normally take the time to actually comment on videos, though I watch all of them... I just wanted to say it's my personal opinion that Miz and Ziggler was the best match on the card. I enjoyed the show overall but I was really into that one.

Love how you quoted Rikishi's heel theme. That was the only good thing about his heel turn.

Making the Kane vs Bray Wyatt match a no holds barred match was a good idea because it made it fun to watch better than have them fight a regular match

didnt watch the pre show but agree with the main card ppv. was very very good. didnt get bored with any of the matches.

WWE was not ready for Apollo Crews they need to send him back to NXT until they are ready to use him properly.

Yes I was just gonna say shot out to him for the reference to Rikishi's heel theme.

This a good show. Only problem I had was Wyatt not winning, but other than that, this was a good show

I feel that putting the WWE Championship on A.J. Styles is not only great, but at the same time it probably sets up a rivalry between Cena and Styles when Cena returns.

Samoa Joe winning the NXT Championship kinda had the same "A TNA guy winning a WWE title" but AJ winning the WWE belt is just unbelieveable

Another benefit of backlash is that it was only a little over two and a half hours! A welcomed feeling after how damn long was SummerSlam was.

Wow you uploaded this early

We live in WWE where KO, AJ, and Nakamura are champions of their respective brands...let that sink in for a minute.

Brian, its not madness, its SPARTA!

Wow, I chose the right time to pay attention to wwe again

Heath Slater tag match for the title was the best storyline tag team title match since The Shield vs Goldust n Cody w/ Dusty at BattleGround 2013. Jobs on the line for The Rhodes vs the dominating Shield faction

is this real life? is this just fantasy? neither, and both... it's pro wrestling. :)

I definitely enjoyed Backlash. My favorite match was Miz vs. Ziggler, loving the mean streak they're giving Miz.

love how he said the opening line to Bohemian Rhapsody.

Christian also won the Big Gold Belt twice. Once after Edge retired and again a few months later. Sorry, just thought that was a better comparison than the "ECW" title.

I agree with you. the only part I didn't like was Kane. I was hoping Goldberg came out or maybe undertaker.

If you told me a decade ago Rhyno would be a champion in WWE in any capacity, I would have ROFLed for probably a minute.

"It's a new era" -Shane and Daniel Kane wins! WTF

I really enjoyed Backlash I thought it was an excellent show. I was worried when they announced that each show would get exclusive PPVs that Smackdown might be left in the dust just because they have a much smaller roster than Raw but this has proved me wrong. While the whole card was great and I do agree each match ended the way that it should have I thought the main event was excellent. Ambrose busted out moves I have never seen him do ever and Aj Styles was great like he always is. This match also felt like it had everything in it. Big spots, submissions, brawling to the outside. It felt like an epic match. The build to the match was also excellent. Ambrose has been booked really strong as a champion, getting clean wins over top guys. Aj Styles has been booked just as equally strong getting a clean win against John Cena, which for me made this match unpredictable because I honestly didn't know who would win. I figured AJ would be the next champion however I didn't know they would pull the trigger so soon on him.