WWE Backlash 2007

The days of the giant swinging hooks are no more

1) Hardys v. Cade/ Murdoch- 5
Matt Hardy is the no. 1 puncher in the business, bar none! A fun tag match that had two different styles of teams; very old school in approach. Jeff hit a crazy plancha outside onto Mutt and Jeff; Cade has some intensity that you can't teach or faux market into a character with creepy back hair and saliva dripping from his mouth. Murdoch attempting a Canadian Destroyer looked like a horny dog trying to mount a camel. Things were getting sloppy at the end, but Hardys finish big and get a deserving pop. I'm not going to let this match sucker me in as to thinking WWE's tag division is back because you can only get your heart broken so much; ex. Janet Jackson's 'The Velvet Rope' - oh how far the mighty had fallen.

2) Melina v. Mickie James- 4
What happened to Mickie's mini skirts? They almost always guaranteed a between the legs shot of her panties; now that the inner McMahon in me is gone, a decent match, with some unique counters. While I give credit for the split sequence, it's nothing that your local Beaver girl can't do at a sleazy strip club, it's when they add in those clubbing forearms that icings the cake for that. Out of nowhere finish kind of hurt the score.

3) Chris Benoit v. MVP- 6
As good as this was, I have some complaints: Benoit nor MVP sat down on their leglocks in this match- and Benoit's Germans- he's by god one of the best in the world, but sometimes he really lets that WWE seep into his blood- nonetheless, he has molded and cultivated this feud into the essence of wrestling- guys in stretched tights fighting each other to get a 3 count; MVP putting up his knees on the swan dive (that pinned him at Mania) told more story than the last 3 Michael Bay movies. Another great finish and MVP continues to give chase to the US title( I guess the writers want to put some steam back into that belt)

4) Bobby Lashley v. Vince, Shane, & Umaga- 2
You're not going to get away with saying "this match wasn't that bad." When these guys perform, their goal isn't to "completely not suck" it's to "blow us away." Vince can dance in a cowboy hat all he wants but the only thing he did was devalue another belt that was already on it's way to the garbage. This feud has successfully killed Umaga, killed Lashley (even worse than every live crowd he's worked in front of) and pissed all over the blood, sweat, cum and tears of ECW (3/4 of those things being on Francine's lower lip) Does Vince know that the 80's ended the tight jeans/ unwashed sweatshirt days? A complete waste of time; I'm glad I had my chicken quesadillas to occupy me during this fiasco.

5) Undertaker v. Batista (Last Man Standing)- 6
Dave and Mark, sitting in a tree, B-O-T-C-H-I-N-G; the exciting, Hollywood-like ending (dripping with sarcasm) that capped off this match proved they didn't have as much faith in these two as they did in Cena and Umaga, who just did this stip a few months ago. Taker hit some good legdrops and both men have seemed motivated when in the ring together, so this feud has been largely living above expectations. I won't rip on Dave's selling of his leg, or Taker's puss out on hitting the steel stairs, because overall it was an exciting match that made the World Title seem important and the crowd was hotter than the last Shakira video.

6) 4-Way: John Cena v. Edge v. HBK v. Randy Orton- 7
I'm going to edge (no pun intended) this one over the Benoit match because 1) it got more time and did something with it, 2) everyone but Edge seemed highly motivated, and 3) the finish of this match was planned perfectly. Some highlights of this were Cena's punching, Orton's punching, Michaels' chopping, Michaels moonsault, JBL looking supremely bored at ringside, and the crowd heat it generated. I was impressed with Orton, who was spot on with all of his offense(dropkick, backbreaker) and with his selling, except when he get punched, he sometimes does a spin move, like an unwinding top. This was a great way to top off the most solid, in ring show so far for WWE this year. I like the idea of longer matches on the PPV and enjoyed this show.