Tuesday, March 19, 2024
EditorialWWE Backlash 2017 3-Count Review and Post-Show Recap

WWE Backlash 2017 3-Count Review and Post-Show Recap

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WWE Backlash 2017 is in the bag, which means it’s time for another round of the 3-Count Review and Smack Talk Pay-Per-Viewpoint Post-Show podcast!

As always, click the video at the bottom of this post to check out the podcast breakdown of everything on the show, but before we get into that, I want to focus on three things that standout from my mind in regards to Backlash 2017.

For this edition, let’s talk about the projected future of the three titles which were defended tonight: the United States, SmackDown Tag Team and WWE Championship belts—as, sadly, the SmackDown Women’s Championship was left out of tonight’s programming.

United States Championship

The one title that didn’t budge in any capacity tonight was the United States Championship, as I went into this thinking it was firmly KO’s to hold for a while and I still maintain that, even after his victory over AJ Styles was one to help protect The Phenomenal One rather than solidify Owens as the dominant man.

Sami Zayn and even Tye Dillinger are potential people who could take the belt off Owens, but I have to assume the idea WWE has in mind is for Shinsuke Nakamura to be the next champion in that belt’s lineage.

It would be a strange way for the storyline of “the new face of America” to end with a non-American winning the belt, but who’s to say Owens will still be doing that gimmick by the time these two feud? He could very easily drop that at any point as his actual character hasn’t changed at all to fit that story.

Nakamura defeating Ziggler just cemented this even more to me, and in my mind, it’s just a matter of time before he’s holding the red, white and blue.

SmackDown Tag Team Championship

For years, I’ve been saying Fandango and Tyler Breeze weren’t getting a fair shot and that I would like to see them succeed.

When they were paired up as Breezango, it felt a little forced and like they had nothing for either man, so when they kept jobbing them out for months on end, I wasn’t too surprised.

With this title shot, though, that was shocking to me, and even better than that, the response they’ve received from the crowd and the support for such silly gimmicks is a great sign for their future.

There’s a chance the Fashion Files wears thin very quickly (even though I find them funny) but the way Breeze in particular was able to have fun during this match went over like gangbusters. Surely, WWE noticed the reaction from the crowd, as the mop and dress had bigger pops than anything Luke Harper did, for instance.

At a few moments, it even seemed like Breezango could be the next champions, which is fantastic for their careers. If fans were willing to buy into the idea of them winning and they actually were cheering for it, then WWE will know they can push them a bit harder without receiving—no pun intended—backlash for the decision.

I don’t think that’s where the titles will end up, though, as I feel like this is The New Day all the way, but at least Breezango have taken a step up and are actual contenders instead of enhancement talent.

WWE Championship

By far the most interesting out of these three is what direction the WWE title picture will go from here.

Even earlier throughout the night, I was thinking the game plan was to have Rusev challenge Randy Orton for the title at Money in the Bank, but with Jinder Mahal as the new champion, that goes completely out the window.

Now, I would have to assume we’ll get a rematch between Orton and Mahal at Money in the Bank whereas Rusev will be inserted into the ladder match, possibly winning it in order to become the next person to challenge Orton for the title, should he dethrone Mahal.

Is that even a guarantee, though, or could AJ Styles be the next in line after Jinder?

I can’t imagine Sami Zayn will be the man to do the job, nor do I think WWE will hotshot it to Nakamura or Dillinger, and with Mojo Rawley making no splash whatsoever as of late, it’s certainly not going to be him, so it’s really down to Orton and Styles.

Between those two options, I have to assume a one-month title reign for Jinder Mahal is the most likely scenario and The Viper will win the title back, putting him even closer to Ric Flair and John Cena’s record.

Then again…we don’t know when Cena will return, and with him being the poster boy for American pride in WWE while Mahal has been getting rather political, we could be in for a 17th title reign for the franchise player. Don’t sleep on the idea that he might win that belt at SummerSlam.

For more opinions on the show as a whole, check out the latest edition of the Smark Out Moment wrestling podcast SMACK TALK as the panel reviews Backlash 2017 with our immediate reactions following the event before the dust has fully settled.

Hosted by Anthony Mango

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