The WWE was in Newark, New Jersey last night (Sun. May 6, 2018) for their annual Backlash pay-per-view (PPV) event, which is the first dual-brand PPV (not part of the big four) since the brand split.

Some huge matches took place on the card, such as a WWE Championship match between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura, Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe, and Daniel Bryan taking on Big Cass.

There were plenty of other matches that took place on the card for professional wrestling fans to enjoy, and you can check out our grade for the event, match-by-match, here below:

Intercontinental Championship Match: (C) Seth Rollins vs. The Miz

This was an amazing match! I can't put this match over enough. Rollins and Miz put on an extraordinary back-and-forth bout hat lasted just over 20 minutes. A few false finishes with two Skull Crushing Finales that Rollins was able to kick out of.

Halfway through the match Rollins hit his knee bad and beautifully sold the injury for the rest of the bout. These guys told a great story and Rollins was able to overcome the odds in the end by hitting the Blackout for the three count.

Score - 10/10

This has Match Of The Year written all over it. Rollins and Miz did something special inside the ring tonight and Rollins' Intercontinental Title reign is looking very bright going forward.

RAW Women's Championship Match: (C) Nia Jax vs. Alexa Bliss

This match was a little better than decent. Jax continuously splashed Bliss against the corner and tossed her back to the mat several times. Bliss was able to get in some brief offense when she got Jax off her feet. A few of their sequences were very sloppy.

At one point Bliss hit a nice spot when she tossed Jax off the top of the turnbuckle and outside the ring. She then hit a DDT on Jax on the steel steps. Bliss wasn't strong enough to get Jax into the ring and Jax got back in herself after some time.

Of course enough time had passed to where she was able to kick out. Eventually Jax was able to catch Bliss coming off the top rope and hit the Samoan Drop to retain her title.

Score - 6/10

Credit to these two for trying. You can really tell they were doing their absolute best in there and actually had a few interesting spots. The repetition in Jax's offense and sloppy sequences really killed it for me though.

After the match Jax cut a promo in an interview with Renee Young saying it's okay to be different and playing up to the bullying storyline. Some decent work on the mic from Jax here as you can tell it came from the heart.

United States Championship Match: (C) Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton

Fans didn't seem to be into this match too much. Orton was very physical during his offensive spills and Hardy took some hard bumps at ringside by the fans as well as hit a nice Swanton Bomb on Orton to end the night.

Score - 6/10

The crowd wasn't interested in this and many expected the outcome from the beginning. While Hardy did provide a few nice spots it wasn't enough to get fans really invested. Following the Intercontinental Title match that opened the night didn't help either.

Elias Gets Interrupted

This was an extremely entertaining segment. Elias came out to the ring and was getting ready to deliver one of his songs, before he was interrupted by The New Day. The trio came out with instruments and asked to jam out with Elias.

Elias said he's a solo act and maybe one day they can open for him. Aiden English then came out to sing Rusev to the ramp, and the crowd popped huge for Rusev Day. Rusev poked fun at both Elias and The New Day before Elias again attempted to sing his song.

Again, however, he was interrupted - this time by No Way Jose and his conga line. Jose came out with Titus Worldwide and The Fashion Police dancing. Elias grew frustrated again and tried to play his song.

Instead, Bobby Roode's music hit and he was already in the ring, nailing Elias with a Glorious DDT. The segment ended with everyone (except Rusev and Aiden English) dancing out of the ring and back to the backstage area with No Way Jose and his music.

Score - 9/10

The fans really loved this and all the interruptions. Elias sold the frustration greatly and the payoff with Roode was fantastic. This was a great way to lift the crowd's spirits before Daniel Bryan's match.

Daniel Bryan vs. Big Cass

A nice big man vs. little man match. Bryan tried to work the body with some strikes early on but was eventually overpowered by Cass. Cass then hit Bryan with a plethora of clothslines before getting knocked down and locked into the Yes Lock. 

Cass immediately tapped out and Bryan was awarded the match.

Score - 7/10

After the match Cass assaulted Bryan who was celebrating on the ropes. He threw him outside of the ring and hit him with a Big Boot before standing over his body with a raised fist. It looks like these two are gonna be working together for some time moving forward.

SmackDown Live Women's Championship Match: (C) Carmella vs. Charlotte Flair

These ladies put on a very good match. By far the best female match of the night. Carmella did a beautiful job of getting under Flair's skin and there was a great submission spot from Carmella, who had Flair locked up in the Code Of Silence.

Flair went for a Moonsault but Carmella but her knee gave out when she landed. Carmella took advantage of this and got the three count for the win.

Score - 8/10

A solid match from these two that was pretty unexpected. Carmella hasn't always been the best in-ring performer in the company but she really held her own inside the ring with Flair - who is arguably the best female wrestler the company has. Good stuff.

Hardcore Match For The WWE Championship: (C) AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

This was the match we should've received at WrestleMania. This was by far Styles and Nakamura's best match together in WWE. Plenty of high spots and spectacular moments, including two simultaneous low blows from both men.

It was the second set of low blows, however, that ended the night as neither man could answer the referee's 10 count. A no contest ending with Styles keeping his WWE Title. For an amazing match, that was a terrible way to end things.

Score - 8/10

The ending really killed this match. If you're going to put on a great piece of wrestling like that there needs to be a definitive finish.

This match was amazing but didn't have the huge payoff needed to make it as extraordinary as it could've been. A complete let down of an ending but you can't be mad with what they did in there.

Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn

Lashley started things off for his team and got beaten down thanks to the team work of Owens and Zayn. Eventually Lashley made the hot tag and Strowman came in to clean house. Zayn got frightened by Strowman and tried to make a run for it.

Owens refused to let Zayn run off and told him they need to stay and fight. Owens and Zayn imploded on one another and Zayn wound up tossing Owens into the ring with Lashley and Strowman as sacrifice.

Lashley hit a Suplex on Owens for the three count and the win.

Score - 7/10

After the match Strowman assaulted both Owens and Zayn as the crowd cheered. The betrayal of Zayn seems to indicate he and Owens will once again be splitting up as friends on WWE TV. This match was good for what it was and was very entertaining.

Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe

This match was not received well by the fans at all! Fans chanted things such as "this is boring" "CM Punk" "Rusev Day" "beat the traffic" and much more. People were actually leaving the crowd and going home during the match as well.

Reigns of course wound up winning with a Spear in the end, but boy did fans really reject this. Fan reaction aside, the match was actually very slow and boring.

Score - 3/10

The Roman Reigns experiment is not working. Vince McMahon can try as hard as he wants to try and make it work, but it won't. The difference between Reigns and Cena is that Cena was actually loved by many at the peak of his career. It seem Reigns is just fun to hate. 

What were your thoughts on WWE's Backlash PPV? What matches did you and didn't you enjoy from the show? And what do you think is next for the likes of Samoa Joe, Roman Reigns, Daniel Bryan, and AJ Styles? Let us know your thoughts on the matter in the comments section below!

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