WWE Backlash 2018 review: What we learned, takeaways, future projections

WWE United States Championship Match

Jeff Hardy (c) vs. Randy Orton

What we learned: We learned here that WWE is ready to give Jeff Hardy a nice push as a singles competitor, which makes sense seeing as how Matt is all in with Bray Wyatt and that weird new tag team. But I also think we learned here that something simply needs to change for Randy Orton.

As for the match itself, it was just another average match. These two had a fantastic feud a decade ago, and while they’ve had some decent interaction over the past few weeks leading into this, the bout was just sort of there and didn’t really feature anything new from either competitor. I hesitate to call it a “Greatest Hits” match because nothing actually looked all that great, but it was each guy hitting his typical spots (without the RKO) for 12 minutes. But hey, look on the bright side. At least Jeff Hardy actually connected with Whisper in the Wind this time (yeah, I’m talking to you, Jinder).

In all honesty, this felt like a top-of-the-hour match on a Tuesday night. There wasn’t much energy to it, and I know I can’t be the only one who thinks that The Viper looks bored. A match between competitors of this caliber shouldn’t come off like it did. I felt no urgency in either man, and I just wanted it to be over about halfway through, which is kind of how I felt for most of the night.

What’s next: I can’t see this continuing past another week or two. There’s plenty of challengers for Hardy’s United States Championship on the blue brand, and I think Orton just moves on to Money in the Bank. A heel turn may be coming soon and it’s no secret that’s what he prefers. It plays better for him and to the rest of us, so just go ahead and get it done.