Back from commercial, Jinder Mahal is all over Roman Reigns in the corner. Reigns soon gets back in it and tags Lashley. Lashley leapfrogs Mahal and takes him down with a clothesline.
Zayn tags himself in and Lashley goes for the verical suplex again. Owens comes in and kicks Lashley in the gut forcing Lashley to break it. Owens then tags himself in to a massive pop and unloads on Lashley before quickly tagging Mahal in. Mahal works on lashley in the corner and keeps him there. Owens tags back in and he floors Lashley with a chinlock. Meanwhile, we get a split-screen commercial for Backlash.
Eventually Lashley fights out. As soon as the commercial ends, Lashley fights up, almost on cue. Owens takes him down and hits a senton splash for a two count. Owens quickly knees him and applies another chin lock. Owens holds it on for a bit. Lashley eventually fights up and hits a reverse STO.
Reigns and Zayn are tagged in. Reigns hits a pair of clotheslines before having a whip to the corner reversed. Reigns explodes out with a clothesline. Reigns then starts clubbing him in the corner. Reigns then connects with a big boot. Reigns sets up for a Superman Punch, but Sunil Singh gets on the apron. Reigns pulls him into the ring and throws him out. Owens tags in and DDTs Reigns for a near fall.
*Commercial Break*
We come back from the break to see Zayn applying a loose chin lock to Reigns. Reigns fights up, but Zayn punches him back. Reigns quickly overtakes him with right hands. Zayn grabs the ankle to stop him from making the tag. Owens tags in and attacks Reigns. Owens hits a slingshot elbow drop off the second rope for a near fall. Owens punches away at Reigns and tags Zayn back in. Zayn punches away at Reigns before picking up a near fall. Zayn then applies another chin lock. Reigns fights up and hits a back suplex. Owens tags in, but Reigns boots him. Owens sends him to the ropes, but Reigns hits a Superman Punch. Mahal tags in and punches Lashley off the apron. Reigns then hits a Samoan Drop.
Strowman tags in, and he clotheslines Mahal down. Strowman goes outside and kills Owens with a shoulder at ringside. Strowman gets back in the ring for a clothesline to Mahal. Strowman then goes outside and shoulders Zayn. Owens avoids another shoulder, but Strowman sends him to the barricade. Mahal sidesteps a running shoulder in the ring, and Strowman hits the ring post shoulder-first. Lashley cuts Zayn off trying an attack. Mahal then knocks Lashley out of the ring. Owens tags in and goes to whip Mahal into Strowman, but Reigns spears him instead. Owens superkicks Strowman and goes for a cannonball, but Strowman cuts him off with a Running Powerslam for the win!
Winners: Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns & Bobby Lashley
Coming up later tonight will be Seth Rollins defending the Intercontinental Championship against Finn Balor. Coming up next, we’ll see Baron Corbin take on No Way Jose.
*Commercial Break*
Baron Corbin comes out and stops talking because his promo was scripted as if the crowd would be chanting over him, but they’re not making a peep. Corbin runs down the RAW roster. Corbin says this nonsense makes him want to puke. He’s here to win championships and money. Corbin isn’t going to make money making the people laugh. Corbin is putting an end to nonsense. When it’s all said and done, no one will be laughing.
Baron Corbin vs. No Way Jose
Jose starts off with right hands, but Corbin slides out of the ring and gets back in to clothesline him. Corbin taunts the crowd. Corbin attacks Jose, but Jose fights back and pulls the top rope down to get him out of the ring.
Corbin gets back in and avoids a cross-body block and sends Jose into the ring post shoulder-first. Titus Worldwide comes out and distracts Corbin. Apollo Crews and Dana Brooke go to the foot of the ramp and hold O’Neil from running down the ramp. Crews wipes down the ramp. O’Neil gets to the ringside area without tripping. O’Neil gets on the apron and immediately slips off. Jose then rolls Corbin up for the win.
Winner by Pinfall: No Way Jose
No Way Jose dances up the ramp with his conga line and Titus Worldwide. Corbin is furious.
A video highlighting John Cena’s participation in Make-A-Wish is shown. Natalya will take on Mickie James, next.
*Commercial Break*
Footage is shown of Ronda Rousey locking Mickie James in an arm bar. Ronda Rousey accompanies Natalya to the ring and gets a huge pop.
Mickie James w/ Alexa Bliss vs. Natalya w/ Ronda Rousey
They lock up, and Natalya wrenches the arm. James quickly gets out and leaves the ring to hold her injured arm. A “Ronda Rousey” chant fires up. James gets in the ring and circles around. Natalya clubs the back and wrenches the injured arm again. Natalya hits a snapmare, steps on her, and hits a dropkick for a two count. James quickly snaps her off the middle turnbuckle and slams her down.
James kicks Nattie in the chest for a two count. James applies a bode scissor. Natalya fights up, but James takes her down. Natalya quickly elbows her in the face. Natalya floors her with a discus clothesline and goes for a Sharpshooter, but Bliss gets on the apron. James chop blocks the knee. Rousey approaches Bliss, and Bliss quickly runs off. Rousey chases her around the ring. Meanwhile, ithe ring, Natalya rolls James up for the win.
Winner: Natalya
Bliss sprinted off and avoided the wrath of Rowdy. Ronda Rousey helps Natalya to her feet. Bliss stands on the ramp looking. Nia Jax comes out, and Bliss runs away again. Jax gets in the ring and poses with Natalya and Rousey.
The commentators run down the Backlash card. Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley taking on Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn has been added. Coming up next in the main event, Seth Rollins will defend the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Finn Balor!
*Commercial Break*
A handheld promo is shown with Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre. McIntyre says when he speaks, it’s real. While the other WWE Superstars are just happy to be there, there are two of them that are positive they deserve to be here. Ziggler says if he weren’t in this group, he’d be afraid. It’s about to get dangerous. They’re not here to steal the show. They’re going to take it.
We return to the arena and out comes Finn Balor, followed by The Champ. We get ring introductions for both men.
WWE Intercontinental Championship
(c) Seth Rollins Vs. Finn balor
The bell rings, and they quickly tussle to the corner. Rollins shoves him coming out of the corner. They do some grappling before Rollins hooks a side headlock. Balor hits an arm drag before being sent into the ropes. Rollins elbows him down and sends him out of the ring before hitting a plancha. Rollins is in control as we head to the break!
*Commercial Break*
We come back from the break to see Rollins applying a chin lock to Balor. During the commercial, Rollins whipped him hard into the corner twice. Balor fights up, and they trade chops. Rollins sends him to the corner, but he runs into boots. Balor takes him down with a few running forearms. Balor chops the chest before having a whip reversed on him. Balor slingshots over him and boots him, but Rollins soon gets away and hits a blockbuster. Rollins hits a running forearm in the corner and a reverse STO into the turnbuckles. Rollins hits a diving clothesline, and Balor rolls out of the ring to recover.
Rollins connects with a suicide dive. Rollins tries for a second one, but Balor kicks him in the head. Balor gets on the apron and gets in the ring. Balor punches away at him before connecting with a big DDT for a near fall. Rollins quickly counters a Sling Blade, but Balor dropkicks him. Balor hits a reverse DDT elbow for a two count. Balor chops him a few times in the corner before Rollins comes back with a Sling Blade. Rollins hits a Ripcord Knee for a near fall.
Rollins gets to his feet, and the crowd is getting loud. Rollins kicks him in the midsection and hits the ropes, but Balor forearms him down. Balor takes him down and hits a double stomp to the midsection. They take a few moments before getting up. Balor kicks him down and goes to the top rope, but Rollins cuts him off. Balor fights out of a superplex attempt, but Rollins quickly scales the ropes and hits a superplex. Rollins tries to follow up, but Balor counters into a falcon arrow for a near fall!
A “This is awesome” chant picks up. They trade forearms and chops. Rollins knees out of a 1916, but Balor comes back with an overhead kick. Balor then clotheslines him over the top rope. Balor then hits a summersault senton. Balor gets him in the ring and hits a stiff dropkick into the corner. Balor goes to the top rope, but Rollins avoids a Coup de Grace. Rollins kicks him and goes for the Stomp, but Balor moves. They trade roll-ups before Rollins tries another Stomp, but Balor moves. Balor then hits a Sling Blade. Balor goes for another running dropkick, but Rollins superkicks him. Rollins hits a Stomp for the win.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins will now go to WWE Backlash to take on The Miz on Sunday. That was a great match and the fans certainly helped. Rollins celebrates after the match and Balor tries to clear his head.
That’s it for tonight’s show! Tomorrow night’s SmackDown Live is the final stop on the road to Backlash, see you there! Safe travels!
