Io Shirai Claims NXT Women’s Championship Crown
Charlotte Flair, Rhea Ripley, and Io Shirai went toe-to-toe in a fierce three-for-all that saw Shirai at her level best. While Flair was stretching Ripley with a Figure-Four Leglock, Io climbed to the top of the ring and took to the skies with a ferocious moonsault that landed perfectly on the prone Ripley to get the pin while Flair watched hopelessly as her leglock disintegrated, as did her title hopes.
Shirai was a -200 favorite at BetOnline to win the match and it was well a well-deserved victory for the supremely talented Io. The Genius of the Sky took flight and left the viewing audience breathless with her aerial heroics. The world will see much more of Io Shirai and we can’t wait to see what’s next!Â
Backlash Rocks
It was a jampacked card last Sunday night and when the dust settled, the champions remained champions, led by Drew McIntyre defeating Bobby Lashley after the lovely Lana distracted the “All Mighty” when she barged in and accused the referee of cheating. Shortly thereafter, McIntyre hit a Claymore on Lashley and got the three count to remain the WWE Champion.
There’s still plenty of meat on this bone as it could set up a showdown between Brock Lesnar and Lashley with the winner to meet McIntyre for another bite at the championship apple. That would be the match everyone wants to see but the WWE overlords could make an encore championship match between McIntyre and Lesnar. Regardless, it is hard to go wrong with either matchup and we will know who McIntyre will meet in the weeks to come.
In another title tilt, Braun Strowman retained his Universal Championship with a victory over The Miz & John Morrison in a handicap match. The underlying storyline was that there would be no co-champs and whoever pinned Strowman would be declared the champion with the other partner having no hardware to show for his efforts.
ICYMI: #BraunStrowman defended his #WWEUniversalChampionship at #WWEBacklash against both #MizAndMorrison in a handicap match. Here’s what happened. #WWE #wrestling https://t.co/O9IfQbQKGp
— Bleeding Cool (@bleedingcool) June 15, 2020
Morrison nearly claimed the crown after The Miz delivered a Skull-Crushing Finale which wobbled Strowman before Morrison put the finishing touches on the champion with a perfectly executed kick. The end was nigh for Strowman with Morrison pinning the big man but The Miz broke up the pin which allowed the 6’8”, 400-pound behemoth to gather himself and ultimately power slam Morrison for the victory.
In the battle for the Women’s Raw Championship title, Asuka retained her crown after both she and challenger, Nia Jax, were counted out while brawling outside the ring. Asuka continues to impress with her vast repertoire but Jax did not hold up her end of the bargain in a match that didn’t live up to the hype and with an ending that fell flat.
Apollo Crews was yet another champ who emerged victorious when he retained his United States Championship strap after executing a perfect sit-down spinning powerbomb to devastate his opponent, Andrade, and won via pinfall. Angel Garza nearly derailed the champ’s winning efforts, but Kevin Owens made certain that the Mexican sensation played no part in the outcome of the match when he hit Garza with a stunner.
In the Women’s Tag Team Championship, Bayley & Sasha Banks, retained their title as the premier women’s tag team on the planet when they wound up victorious over The IIconics and the duo of Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss. After setting a frenetic pace throughout, the end came swiftly as Sasha Banks pounced on Bliss after she was ready to finish Peyton Royce. It was a quick 1-2-3 count and the champs walked out with their belts intact.
Perhaps the most highly anticipated match of the night came via a non-title battle when Edge battled Randy Orton in what was billed as The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever. Although nothing could live up to the preposterous hyperbole, the match was well-paced and included an array of wrestling techniques ranging from Angle Slams, Edge-O-Matics, Unprettiers, Rock Bottoms, and Pedigrees to name a few. When the dust settled, Orton wore down Edge and gained the pinfall for the victory.
Retired professional wrestler Gerald Brisco tweeted, “We are getting to watch two of the best in the business in @EdgeRatedR and @RandyOrton. I’ve been around the industry since 1965 and these two are the two I tell kids to study every time I do a clinic. Timing is everything!!!”
