See what happens when matches actually get a little time?
From an in-ring perspective, WWE Backlash 2026 was nearly everything WrestleMania 42 wasn’t. Not only did the show contain noticeably less sponsorships and ads, it was filled with actual wrestling that took place in the middle of the ring.
Heat, near-falls, drama, and physicality. The matches each delivered in their own way. This made for a night full of diverse styles that kept the audiences attention.
Here are my Brass Ring Ratings for the event and here’s how they work … I call it like I see it and grade accordingly. Period.
Seth Rollins vs. Bron Breakker
Fantastic opener. The rivalry has been framed around Breakker reaching the Rollins level. This match emphasized that story. Rollins and Breakker were both hard-hitting in this and numerous spots led to near-falls and drama. The audience liked Bron Breakker during this, but didn’t boo Rollins out of the building. The Vision interfering helped protect Rollins a bit with the loss, but other than that it was a pretty damn definitive win for Breakker. Michael Cole sold it as the biggest win of Breakker’s career and of course didn’t do any justice at all to the fact that Breakker cheated to get it. Heat? What heat.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOOO
Trick Williams vs. Sami Zayn - WWE Men’s United States Championship
Similar to their match at WrestleMania, but longer. Not too long, but longer and a little more competitive than their clash in Las Vegas. Williams got an extravagant entrance that got over well with the audience. He’s still really over and the right guy to hold the secondary men’s title on SmackDown. Zayn was Zayn out there. He understood the mission to make Trick Williams look like a star and did his part to deliver on it.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO
Danhausen and Minihausen vs. The Miz and Kit Wilson
Total nonsense, but a lot of fun. Miz and Wilson sold their ass off for Danhausen, but especially Minihausen. Like it or not, this kind of thing is going to always have a place on WWE television. Danhausen is a good version of it.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO 1/2
Iyo Sky vs. Asuka
The match of the night. Someone predicted that …. :). A wonderful display of pro wrestling. Both women targeted specific body parts on the other and then that body part was sold appropriately for the entirety of the match. This could have easily been a WrestleMania match, but wouldn’t have gotten anywhere close to 18 minutes of time on that show. Sky and Asuka used all 18-minutes to tell a compelling story between mentor and mentee. Did Asuka retire? It certainly seemed like it. If that was it for her, she had a tremendous career and this match was a perfect one to go out on.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOOO 1/4
Roman Reigns vs. Jacob Fatu - WWE World Heavyweight Championship
An exciting match and a strong first main event showing for Jacob Fatu. Not a surprise to see Reigns win this, though they had a chance to create a giant impact with Fatu. Reigns sold Fatu’s big moves and Fatu did the same thing the other way. It was refreshing not to see interference in this one. Reigns was the better man and then Fatu actually got some real heat in the aftermath because of his ruthless attack on Reigns. Now, he got some cheers too, but because of how Cole and commentary were talking, it’s clear that Fatu is a heel moving forward. That definition is going to work wonders for him.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO 1/2
What did you think of WWE Backlash 2026? Let us know in the comments!
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