Backlash (2018)
The 2018 Backlash was the 14th Backlash professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on May 6, 2018, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. It was the first Backlash event since 2009 to feature multiple brands during a brand split. In 2019, Backlash was replaced by Stomping Grounds, but Backlash was reinstated in 2020.
| Backlash | |||
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Promotional poster featuring various WWE wrestlers | |||
| Promotion | WWE | ||
| Brand(s) | Raw SmackDown | ||
| Date | May 6, 2018 | ||
| City | Newark, New Jersey | ||
| Venue | Prudential Center | ||
| Attendance | 14,724 | ||
| Tagline(s) | Raw and SmackDown Together For The Price of One | ||
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| Backlash chronology | |||
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Nine matches were contested at the event, including one on the Kickoff pre-show. In the main event, Raw's Roman Reigns defeated SmackDown's Samoa Joe. Also on the card, Seth Rollins retained Raw's Intercontinental Championship against SmackDown's The Miz in the opening bout, and SmackDown's WWE Champion AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura fought to a draw. The show was also notable for Daniel Bryan's first singles pay-per-view match since Fastlane in February 2015.
The event garnered negative reviews from critics, with the Joe-Reigns main event being particularly criticised for both its card placement and fan reaction towards the match itself. However, the Intercontinental Championship opening bout received praise, and was singled out as the best match of the night by most critics.