10 PPV Main Events WWE Sacrificed For Part-Time World Champions

Beat the traffic.

The Prudential Center was merciless upon finding that Samoa Joe and Samoan Joe were going on last in a match with no stakes and one man set to switch brands when the night was over. Backlash 2018 had peaked with the opening contest and steadily declined in quality as the show progressed. After watching two of the most celebrated performers in wrestling go to a no contest in the WWE Championship match after in-stereo low blows, fans were understandably growing restless. With Universal Champion Brock Lesnar staying at home, WWE needed a spark to pull out of the tailspin.

What followed was 18 minutes of rest holds, a brawl typically reserved for Mondays and a formulaic finish set against a backdrop of fans leaving the arena mid-match to avoid getting caught on the New Jersey Turnpike while heading home.

These two are capable of far greater than was produced on this night. They've demonstrated as much in the years before and since. Your writer suspects that if WWE hadn't wavered on Reigns leaving 'Mania 34 as champion, The Big Dog defending the championship here could have led to a much more entertaining contest. Critically, fans would have stuck around were the seed of doubt planted here. The prospect of Samoa Joe not only leaving as champion, but jumping ship to SmackDown and leaving RAW without a world champion? THAT'S a main event.