Backlash (2018)

## Kickoff Show: Bayley vs. Ruby Riott

Once again, Ruby Riott proved it pays to have friends at your side, while her opponent learned the hard way that going it alone against the leader of The Riott Squad is an uphill battle.

This time, the unlucky recipient of this lesson was Bayley, who, to her credit, realized that she’d be facing a numbers disadvantage from the jump. Unfortunately, Bayley’s olive branch to her friend-on-the-outs Sasha Banks was declined because of The Huggable One’s conspicuous refusal to help The Boss against Riott and her cohorts on Raw. This left Bayley to go it alone, and Riott capitalized accordingly.

Bayley had clearly scouted Banks’ match well enough to be reasonably prepared for Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan’s inevitable interference. She even tried to dismiss them pre-emptively, taking out Logan despite competing on unsteady legs after Riott drove her face-first into the turnbuckle. Morgan, however, remained very much in play, and her distraction of Bayley after a top-rope elbow to Ruby opened the door for a fierce match-ending Riott Kick.

As always, Bayley’s effort cannot be denied, but if anybody wants to get past Ruby Riott, they’ll clearly need a little help from their friends.

## Raw Women's Championship: Alexa Bliss vs. Nia Jax

Ever since losing the Raw Women’s Championship to Nia Jax, Alexa Bliss has gone to great lengths to reframe her fractured friendship with The Irresistible Force as a kind of hostage situation where she was at the mercy of an overbearing bully she was too afraid to stand up to.

Unfortunately for The Goddess, she may have gotten under Jax’s skin a little too efficiently. Her trolling “Moment of Bliss” PSAs ended up awakening The Irresistible Force’s inner punisher in earnest, all of which led to a hard-fought victory by Nia at WWE Backlash.

That said, Bliss proved to be both a canny and vicious challenger, using her size disadvantage to her favor by employing a stick-and-move strategy that stopped The Irresistible Force from running roughshod. Even when Jax used her strength to land what seemed like surefire match-enders — whipping Alexa off her shoulders and halfway across the ring, for one — Bliss countered with speed, smarts and the occasional dirty tactic like a DDT onto the steel steps.

For all the advantages Jax posed over Bliss, the challenger was simply proving too shrewd to put away. Once Jax got her hands on Alexa, though, the end came swiftly, with The Goddess attempting Twisted Bliss and landing square atop the champion’s shoulders — right in position for a match-ending Samoan Drop.

With her bully finally in her rearview, Jax took the mic to dedicate her win to everybody who has been made to feel “less than,” offering a message that no matter what anybody says, they are all champions in their own right. It was a true moment of bliss.

## SmackDown Women's Championship: Carmella vs. Charlotte Flair

Give Carmella an opportunity, and she will capitalize.

Not only did The Princess of Staten Island play her Money in the Bank cash-in perfectly to dethrone Charlotte Flair as SmackDown Women’s Champion by pouncing after an attack from the IIconics, she retained the title at WWE Backlash much in the same way she won it: Patience, patience, patience.

It almost cost her. Charlotte showed up Carmella so thoroughly in the early goings of this bout that the champion tried to straight-up take a (moon)walk out of the match. The Queen, of course, would not allow the SmackDown Women’s Title to slip away quite so easily, and she forced Carmella into a bout that was in constant danger of becoming a showcase for the Flair heiress.

Carmella seized every advantage she got with rabid intensity, keeping Charlotte on the mat with a vice-like chinlock that grounded her for an extended stint and surprising Flair with a Code of Silence that seemed as though it would win her the match. Charlotte fought back to tee up a moonsault, but Carmella — who grew more and more comfortable as the match went on — dodged the maneuver. Flair tweaked her knee on the landing, which gave Carmella the opportunity she was waiting for. The champion administered a pinpoint kick to the leg and rolled up the challenger for the win.

The question of whether Carmella had truly beaten the woman to become the woman was fair to scrutinize following the cash-in. After all, Carmella had targeted a vulnerable titleholder with an ace in the hole. This time, she simply made good on an opening and left Newark with the title in tow. Perhaps, now, the answer is clear.

## Results

* Ruby Riott (w/ Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan) def. Bayley (Kickoff Match)
* Raw Women’s Champion Nia Jax def. Alexa Bliss
* SmackDown Women’s Champion Carmella def. Charlotte Flair