7 Match Star Ratings For WWE WrestleMania Backlash

6. Rhea Ripley Vs. Asuka Vs. Charlotte Flair - RAW Women's Title Match

Priest Zombies
WWE.com

An impressive over-delivery - Rhea Ripley is bereft of confidence while Asuka and Charlotte Flair have regressed badly in 2021 - once they got the obligatory nonsensical my-turn-your-turn selling out of the way, this improved considerably as a proper three-way match.

Virtually everything was tight, dramatic and creative. In a genre of match that is inherently contrived, the three women contrived to make the pulsating final third feel organic. In a tremendous sequence that made excellent use of the dynamic, Flair rediscovered her dormant athleticism to front-flip out of a tandem suplex and deliver a stereo Natural Selection after chop-blocking her two opponents. WWE's love affair with Charlotte Flair is irritating - they are one step away from calling her a bitch for not making them a mix CD in return - but she remains a great performer when she's motivated.

The result and the finish was what it was. Charlotte, more government secret than professional wrestler, was of course protected. At least in theory. It was odd and jarring that she didn't even attempt to break up the pin, much less fail at the last second. As was stunningly obvious, Asuka took the fall to build towards Rhea Vs. Charlotte Flair II.

A goldfish could have - and likely did - agent the match, but the work was as creative as the storyboarding was not.

A WWE pay-per-view match in 2021, then.

Star Rating: ★★★½

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 surefire Undisputed WWE Universal 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!