6 Ups And 6 Downs From WWE Backlash 2016

4. Disappointing Tournament

There’s a temptation to be optimistic and talk about how Tyler Breeze and Fandango had a really good first-round match against American Alpha, that Alpha and the Usos have a ready-made feud, and that Heath Slater’s underdog story was a compelling one – redneck and poop jokes aside.

But let’s face it: This tag title tournament paled in comparison to the 2002 one for SmackDown tag titles. It was a far cry from Eddie & Chavo Guerrero, Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, Edge, Rey Mysterio and plenty of other talented wrestlers vying for the straps. Teams like the Ascension and Vaudevillains were little more than speedbumps, the Headbangers are already gone, and the Hype Bros lost two semi-final matches.

Aside from American Alpha and the Usos, there are no real top-flight tag teams on SmackDown. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Rhyno and Slater drop the tag titles to the Usos on Tuesday or the following week so they can feud with Alpha over the titles. No one would buy half the division as contenders. And although Usos/Hype Bros was passable and Slater & Rhyno/Usos had a feel-good moment, there was no real standout match.

As mentioned in the intro, however, there is a temptation to be optimistic too, so let’s temper this “down” with a little of that. As we’ve seen, a negative one week can become a positive the next (and vice-versa).