WWE Backlash 2017 Results: Highlights, Analysis, and Grades

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WWE United States Championship Match
Kevin Owens (c) vs. AJ Styles

Result: Kevin Owens defeats AJ Styles via countout to retain the WWE United States Championship.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars

After a night of okay matches, we had Styles and Owens take to the ring for one of the top bouts of the evening. It’s a battle of two of the most talented in-ring competitors in WWE, and a fresh matchup from SmackDown Live.

Well, this match didn’t end up having the best finish, but it cleared the way as the top one of the evening.

A wrestling clinic was needed and we got it. The story focused on Styles’ right leg, which had been hurt on the previous episode of the Blue Brand. Owens, knowing this, went to it and inflicted pain from start to finish. This included a dastardly cannonball to this hurt body part.

The Phenomenal One stayed in this, though. He worked through the pain and hit some moves to throw Owens off, including a sharp suplex onto the apron, also known as the hardest part of the ring.

The hurt leg returned in the finish of the match. It saw Styles set up a Styles Clash on the announce table, and as he went for it, his right leg got caught in the structure. This allowed KO to escape into the ring and win by countout.

This isn’t an ideal way for a match this good to end. However, it likely means Round 2 is on the horizon. Could it be a Ladder Match at Money in the Bank? If so, the wait will be worth it.