10 Expectations Vs. Reality For WWE Backlash 2020

3. Jeff Hardy Vs. Sheamus

Backlash Expectation Reality
WWE.com

Expectation:

A wrestling match on a wrestling show, and a pretty damn good one, since Jeff Hardy has motive to get fired up and not just run through his crowd-pleasing routine. Sheamus meanwhile is splendid in this environment. He calls Michael Cole worse than sh*t and the echoey confines of the Performance Center are a lovely acoustic backdrop for his snug work. This should be capital.

Reality:

Did you know that Jeff Hardy used to have problems with alcohol? The recovering addict deal is not an attribute but a persona, and there's a grim chance that WWE exploits this on Sunday. "Oh you cynical c*nt, if Tony Khan poured gin down Jeff Hardy's throat, you'd say it was was edgy!"

There can be no mUH iF AEw DiD it! here because WWE did do it, in 2008, when they wrote Jeff Hardy out of a match at Survivor Series with an horrifically convincing worked shoot dot com story in which Hardy was found in a dire state in a "motel room". The connotations were too real, and so ugly.

Or alternatively, since WWE can't book babyfaces anymore, even one as good as Hardy is, they might have him pretend to fall off the wagon and arrive in "no condition to perform," á la Victory Road 2011, and then "steal one!"

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!