Luke Harper battled former Wyatt Family compadre Erick Roman at Backlash on Sunday night. Which of Bray Wyatt’s former disciples came out victorious?
In the cool-down match before the night’s main event, former Wyatt Family brothers Luke Harper and Erick Rowan battled for the second time in a short span on Sunday night at Backlash.
In their first contest on SmackDown LIVE, Rowan defeated his former teammate in a brutal match that former Wyatt Family leader Bray Wyatt would’ve been proud to see. Rowan made things more interesting, as he has done on these talk shows recently, as he appeared on Talking Smack on the WWE Network and demanded another match with Harper to do some more damage. SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon obliged, and we got this weird match at Backlash.
The two suffered from a dead crowd after the Kevin Owens-AJ Styles United States title match, but made the most of what they were given.
Harper got knocked off the ropes and right into the steel steps early on in the match, immediately giving the man with a lot of masks control in the battle. Harper eventually battled back briefly, and the two wrestlers showcased their unique agility with their dropkicks and fast-paced action at times before Rowan got right back in the driver’s seat.
A missed splash from the top rope by Rowan gave Harper the chance to comeback in the match, and Rowan reached out for his creepy mask like it was a crutch after he whiffed.
NOBODY HOME! @ERICKROWAN crashes and burns as he attempts a splash from the top rope! #WWEBacklash @LukeHarperWWE pic.twitter.com/pmR3tylq2Z
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) May 22, 2017
Harper took the action to the outside, and Harper landed a sweet suicide dive onto Rowan between two announce tables to get some offense in.
INCOMING!!!! @LukeHarperWWE @ERICKROWAN #WWEBacklash pic.twitter.com/CinqgtGQxU
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) May 22, 2017
Harper landed consecutive super kicks, sending Rowan into the corner towards his mask from his entrance on the steel steps. Harper then landed his clothesline to win the match after Rowan tried to utilize some weird voodoo energy from his mask in the corner, and picked up the win to even the score on his former teammate.
Can @ERICKROWAN draw inspiration from his prized mask and regain momentum in this bout? #WWEBacklash @LukeHarperWWE pic.twitter.com/OZmvS10k10
— WWE Network (@WWENetwork) May 22, 2017
NOTHING will come between @LukeHarperWWE and his target @ERICKROWAN at #WWEBacklash!!!! pic.twitter.com/F9hDp4vLD0
— WWE (@WWE) May 22, 2017
Next: WWE Backlash 2017: Full match results
The match was just as physical and hard-hitting as you’d expect, and actually provided a decent warm-up before a unique main event between Randy Orton and Jinder Mahal. The two will likely have another match at some point soon, before both hopefully move on to bigger and better things soon.