WWE Backlash 2018 Results: Worst Booking Decisions and Missed Opportunities

With top-tier talent absent from the card and a feeling of overall disappointment, WWE Backlash 2018 was hardly a contender for pay-per-view of the year.

WWE got some aspects of the show right, but it's hard to escape the feeling of frustration that lingered after the pay-per-view's conclusion.

Its first venture back into dual-branded pay-per-views will have taught WWE some important lessons moving forward. It's essential those lessons are learned.

Here is a look at the full results from Backlash but, more importantly, the booking decisions and missed opportunities that were most frustrating of all.

Results

• Seth Rollins defeated The Miz (WWE Intercontinental Championship)
• Nia Jax defeated Alexa Bliss (WWE Raw Women's Championship)
• Jeff Hardy defeated Randy Orton (WWE United States Championship)
• Daniel Bryan defeated Big Cass
• Carmella defeated Charlotte Flair (WWE SmackDown Women's Championship)
• AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura ended in a no-contest (WWE Championship)
• Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley defeated Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
• Roman Reigns defeated Samoa Joe

Not Turning Bobby Lashley Heel

There is only one word to describe Bobby Lashley's return to WWE: underwhelming.

That's not Lashley's fault, by the way. He is a phenomenal athlete and will be a great asset to the company moving forward, but in a landscape that is looking increasingly crowded by the week, Lashley needs something serious to stand out from the crowd.

Backlash should have provided that moment, with him turning heel on Braun Strowman to not only initiate a feud between those two but help spark his time back in WWE. Even though they won the bout against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, Lashley could have still turned after the match had finished. It didn't need to impact on the result.

Sure, Money in the Bank is around the corner and plans clearly called for Strowman to be in that match, but why did a mini-rivalry with Lashley have to prevent that from happening?

Lashley could have punched his ticket to the match, too, setting up a mouthwatering collision course.

How WWE handles Lashley from here moving forward will be fascinating.

A Cruel Lack of Storyline Development, Particularly in the WWE Title Scene

Perhaps the biggest frustration coming out of all of Backlash is that, if you were unfortunate enough to miss the show, it wouldn't take too long to catch up with the storylines happening in WWE again.

A big problem with that was the inter-brand matches between Seth Rollins and The Miz, plus Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe, which inevitably were never going to have too much in the way of storyline development.

But the issue is best underlined by the WWE Championship bout between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura. There, a peculiar and disappointing finish, with the match ending in a no-contest, means that the two men are likely to go round again, probably at Money in the Bank.

That's fine, and few fans will take issue with those two locking horns again, but Backlash felt like a night where their feud could have taken a significant step forward.

The United States Championship picture was much the same, as was Carmella's match with Charlotte Flair.

All in all, there was little to consider in the way of serious storyline development. That's always a problem for WWE when that happens.

A Lack of Exposure for the Tag Titles of Both Brands

Admittedly, the tag divisions on Raw and SmackDown are hardly enjoying their greatest moments right now, but WWE missed a trick in failing to expose either division at Backlash.

Here, in a nutshell, is the main issue with dual-branded pay-per-views. While the cards will so often be stacked due to the big names on both brands, it's going to be easy for some stars, and indeed some championships, to get cut.

Consider both tag divisions individually for a moment—because they both needed a push for different reasons.

On Raw, Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy have only had the belts for a week or so, and while having them defend them at Backlash may have been a step early, the show could have at least featured two or three teams jostling for position to try to become the top contenders.

Meanwhile, on SmackDown, The Bludgeon Brothers have struggled for momentum since winning the belts. A bout against the likes of Gallows and Anderson or even The New Day would have given that division a shot in the arm.

Instead, both divisions fell down the pecking order. Fixing that has to be a priority for WWE moving forward.

Too Much Star Talent Not Even Appearing

Who would have thought that, such was the amount going on in WWE at present, a pay-per-view could have aired without the likes of Finn Balor, Asuka, The Bar and The Usos even competing.

This, in a way, ties in with the previous slide's detail and a lack of exposure for the tag divisions—though the absence of stars like Asuka and Balor is perhaps even more concerning.

Balor subsequently punched his ticket to Money in the Bank on Raw this past Monday, but making sure the biggest names on each roster get some TV time is going to be the biggest challenge WWE faces in its new era of dual-branded shows.

Plans for Asuka are clearly in a state of flux right now, given her surprise loss at WrestleMania and the fact the SmackDown Women's Championship scene appears to be moving on without her.

Who knows, perhaps extending the shows to four hours is WWE's only way to make sure all of its top-tier talent gets exposure. Those issues are going to extend in the coming weeks and months—Dean Ambrose is due to return from injury soon, while Andrade "Cien" Almas and Sanity are debuting on SmackDown.

Good luck booking shows to get everyone in, WWE.