5 Ups And 7 Downs From WWE Backlash 2020

1. Good, But Far From Greatest

We’ve trashed WWE’s billing of the Edge/Randy Orton match several times now, so let’s try to set that aside and just talk about the main event on its own merits.

So how did it stack up? The match was long – more than 40 minutes! – and included a couple points where there likely was editing, so it’s tough to compare it to a typical match you’d see live. However, it was a pretty good match that really picked up after a slow opening. It certainly could have been 10 minutes shorter, without them spamming finishers from Triple H, Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero, Christian and The Rock, and without as much canned crowd noise.

But Edge and Orton were clearly going for epic, and they managed to pull off a good-flowing match full of counters and high-impact moves, including many of their signature spots. Once the match got going, it kept going, meaning that it didn’t drag once it got in gear. That certainly helped it, and editing probably helped with pacing.

The obnoxious camera angles receded after a few minutes and were kept to a minimum, and the match didn’t get silly with weapons being used or other extracurriculars. The finish was a bit of a letdown, with Orton getting a low blow and then hitting the punt for the win. But overall, we’ll give them credit for pulling off a pretty good main event.

But greatest ever? No.