6 Match Star Ratings For WWE WrestleMania Backlash 2022
5. Omos Vs. Bobby Lashley
There are two ways of describing the second match between Omos and Bobby Lashley.
1) It was superior to their outing at WrestleMania.
2) It was a mild improvement on everything that Omos has achieved in the singles context so far.
This doesn't mean the match was even good, or that Omos has hitherto unseen potential. It just means the layout was as flattering as possible in how basic it was, and he no longer gets so lost that it breaks any semblance of immersion. The issue - and this will remain an issue for forever, because, unlike a deeply simplistic match structure, it cannot be learned - is that Omos entirely lacks a threatening aura.
Simplicity can be beautiful, if the hoss monster is capable of projecting menace. The most rudimentary offence imaginable can feel just as dramatic as stiff, intricate work, if the worker has an intangible, scary quality. This simply isn't true of Omos, though he deserves praise for his ability to land a halfway impressive big boot. He's better athletically than the Great Khali ever was, but Khali's look carried him over a line that Omos might only approach with time, patience and practise - by which time the window will have closed.
This was the wrong result, looking at a bleak long-term picture.
On a night on which WWE didn't even have it in them to beat a stablemate of Roman's in a non-title match, the promotion now has two fewer viable big match opponents than it did before the show started.
Star Rating: ★¾