WRESTLING REVIEW: WWE Backlash XVII

Though there are multiple women’s titles that could have been defended for the litany of 2022’s ‘Mania matches, WWE creative decided to put the spotlight on Flair and Rousey who delivered match of the night material in a special program featuring an “I Quit” stipulation. Things started out with knees from the challenger which eventually turned into a huge suplex from Flair. Given that this match had no limitations as to where either opponent could say “I Quit”, Rousey speared Flair through the barricade and into the welcoming WWE Universe. Patented Flair chops echoed throughout the crowd, until Flair decided to switch things and boot Rousey in the face. Looking to end things quickly, Flair became to first opponent to pull out a weapon, displaying shades of their Survivor Series encounter in the late 2010’s. Playing off that history, it’s a great thing to remember that Flair acts erratically when she is in possession of the sticks, and true to fashion, she swung wildly, lost the upper hand and Rousey took the two sticks from her and struck a pose like something out of a John Woo flick before she went to the town on that ass like a trolley on speeding through it’s final run for the day.

This prompted some of the most guttural screams from the current champ and had her scream out a “Hell No” like the anti-thesis to Dr. Dre’s trademark ad-lib on The Chronic LP. By this point Charlotte started throwing cameras at Rousey, only for Rousey to get in some MMA strikes that still come off as laughable and are never quite picture perfect as during her storied UFC tenure. While still in the crowd, shades of Flair’s Iron Man match against Sasha Banks showed up and it looked like there may have been a submission in the middle of the stairwell, but Flair was able to shake things off as Flair tried a chair shot just for Rousey to get ahold of the steel. The two ended up back in the squared circle , where Flair tried the classics , hitting a moon Sault off the rope that got countered into an armbar. But this was an “I Quit” match, the stakes needed to be raised. And raised they were, as a Natural Selection was busted on to a chair like an RKO out of nowhere! To capitalize off of the surprise signature maneuver, a figure eight was then executed on the challenger but the chair was used by the Rowdy Rousey to break the submission. After a few more moments of chaos, Flair, tired of using her signatures took a page out of Ronda’s book and put Ronda in an armbar through the steel chair, exclaiming “Happy Mother’s Day” just to add insult to injury. Fuel to the Venice Beach native, Ronda got psyched up like Ultimate Warrior without hitting the ropes and shouted “I was hoping that you’d say that bitch!” and reversed the armbar to gain the Smackdown Women’s Championship for the first time in her WWE career.

The only match on the Backlash card to feature a championship up for grabs, Rousey v. Flair in an “I Quit” was an instant classic , surprisingly so when their previous matches building up to this were entertaining, but nowhere close to the realm of memorable. I can’t exactly say that this is where long-term booking pays off, because even though Flair sustained a kayfabe injury that will write her off WWE for the upcoming months, there is a palpable fear amongst the WWE Universe that once Flair returns, she will regain the title and be on another protected reign that will create benchwarmers out of the rest of the women’s locker room. Should that be the case, at the least, the locker room will benefit from exposure while competing in open challenges like the one featured a week after Backlash where Rodriguez, Blackheart, and Aliyah all were present in vying for the title from Rousey.

Should Charlotte stay away for awhile, Rousey has time to duplicate her match against Banks during Royal Rumble ’19 and create other memorable moments with on the rise superstars, cementing Rousey as more than just a part-timer who gets handed opportunities every time she decides to come back to the WWE Universe, and instead will earn her the Hall of Fame status as a crossover competitor like Mike Tyson and William “The Refrigerator” Perry before her.

Score : 5/5

WWE WrestleMania Backlash 2022, from the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Rhode Island