WWE Power Moves: The 5 Best Moments from Backlash

The WWE PPV Backlash aired on September 11. This was the first Smackdown event since the brand split back in July. Now that the Tuesday night live show has its own weekly identity, how would they do with their own PPV? With every title on the the line, including the brand new Tag Team and Women's Championships, Backlash was actually shaping up to be a solid event, even before the first bell rang.

Backlash went mostly as planned, except for Randy Orton not being cleared to wrestle, so last minute, Bray Wyatt was pitted against Kane in a No DQ match. It was essentially the only bump in the road for this initial Smackdown PPV, but don't worry, we're not focusing on that match at all. We're here to check out the most awesome moments from the evening.

Warning: There are spoilers for the Backlash PPV ahead.

5. The Miz Wrestling Like It's 1988

Last month, The Miz got in the face of Daniel Bryan during an episode of Talking Smack. Bryan said The Miz, the current Intercontinental Champion, doesn't take risks when fighting. Somehow, Dolph Ziggler got involved and the two wrestled at Backlash for the IC belt. What happened next seemed like a match we would have seen on Saturday Night's Main Event back in the late '80s.

The Miz showed that you don't need high-flyer or dangerous spots to put on an amazing match. Ziggler utilized his amateur wrestling background and The Miz worked his opponent with technical wrestling, the likes of which we haven't seen in decades. He worked Ziggler until it was time to put in the figure-four leglock. Once again, no one taps out from the maneuver. However, it's refreshing to see a match that can be exciting and tell a story that doesn't just rely on high-flying spots to wow the crowd. In addition, it seemed like The Miz was using some of Daniel Bryan's moves to add fuel to that fire.

4. The Ending of Miz/Ziggler

The ending of the Miz/Ziggler match deserves its own spot as it had the perfect finish to a match that felt straight out of the "Bigger-than-Life" era of the WWF. It was a solid, back-and-forth match, until Ziggler hit the ropes and Maryse, the Miz's wife and manager, sprayed Ziggler in the eyes with what we're assuming is either pepper spray or hairspray. The Miz took advantage, delivered the Skull Crushing Finale, and got the 3-count.

The nostalgia lives as Maryse channeled her inner Rick "The Body" Martel to spray something in someone's eyes. While Miz winning clean would have really proved a point, this ending was really fitting, considering how great the match between the superstars was. Neither wrestler could get an edge over the other, so Maryse had to step in to give Miz the advantage. In addition, because of the tainted victory, we'll get more matches between the two in a future event.

3. Heath Slater Can Finally Feed His Children

Heath Slater's journey in WWE, since not being drafted in July, has been the most entertaining story at the company. He teamed up with Rhyno and was offered a contract if they could both win the titles. We met Slater's family and saw his home. Fans were (finally) getting behind the One Man Band and wanted him to win.

The past two months for Slater have been fantastic. He's won over the fans, and that could not have been more apparent at Backlash. While this tag team seems a bit bizarre, they work well together. Rhyno playing the strong, silent type fits in with Slater's over-the-top personality. After the duo won, Slater's speech, which broke kayfabe a tiny bit, was emotional and a nice endcap for his journey "back" into WWE.

2. Becky Lynch Becomes the Smackdown Women's Champion

Frankly, while we love Becky Lynch, the cynical wrestling fan inside of us was saying that Nikki Bella was going to take the title. The Women's Six-Pack Challenge for the new Smackdown Women's Championship was stacked with half of the opponents being part of the NXT generation of stars and the other half part of the former Divas division. While the fans were behind Lynch, we just didn't expect her to win.

However, we were thankfully wrong, and Lynch became the first Smackdown Women's Champion. While the match itself had some high and low spots, what matters is that finally Lynch is at the top. She's been treated a bit like a sidekick to other stars over the past year, even though she has what it takes to make it on her own. Her interview, after the match, was wonderful, as she's very passionate about what she does.

1. A New Champ for a New Era

While Dean Ambrose fighting AJ Styles for the WWE Championship was the main event, it seemed it was going to be a tough act to follow after a fantastic PPV, minus Kane vs Wyatt. However, AJ Styles' storyline over the past couple of months has been fantastic. He's defeated John Cena, without The Club helping out, and Cena has finally given up. Now, Styles wants the belt, so he's taking on Ambrose.

One man is delusional and the other one is a bit nutty, so personality wise, this should make for a good match. It lived up the hype WWE created for it, even if viewers didn't think the PPV could get any better. While Ambrose is good on the mic and in the ring, Styles seems more fitting, at this moment, for the title, in this new era of WWE. He's a phenomenal (that was intended) heel and one of the highlights of Smackdown, so why shouldn't he be champ?

Overall, Backlash ended up being one of the best PPVs, thus far, for 2016. It continues to reassure fans that the brand split was a great idea, and while we will soon be getting completely overloaded with PPVs (19 each year... ugh), the fact that Backlash felt like it was offering fans something different, with its own unique identity, was exciting. Finally, Smackdown is no longer Raw's little, annoying sidekick that spends most of the time recapping Monday night's show.