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

Daniel Bryan vs. Big Cass

What we learned: We learned here that Big Cass might not be ready for the big time matches just yet. This was easily the biggest singles match of his career to date and the first singlse match for Daniel Bryan on pay-per-view in more than three years. The result? Well, the match was the shortest of the night at less than eight minutes, so it never really had the time to impress anyone, not that I think it was ever going to anyway.

This was the classic big man vs. little man storyline, with Cass feeling blue about his return not being as hyped as Bryan’s thrown into the mix as well. My guess here is that they really want to build Cass as a big heel, and the best way to do that, I suppose, is to throw him in there with one of the most popular stars in WWE. I get what they’re trying to do, but the booking seems lazy. I honestly don’t think they know what they have in this guy yet and are trying to figure it out. So I get it.

As for the match, it was another one that was just there and felt like it could have taken place on a Tuesday night. Bryan looked good enough, trying to chop the big man down to size by attacking the legs early, and Cass did get some decent-looking offense in there, but his selling could still use a little work. It didn’t impact the match that much, but the Newark crowd was starting to get a little restless, especially after they had to sit through that Elias segment, and this match didn’t give them much to get excited about outside of the finish, which happened way too quickly with Cass tapping out in a matter of seconds. At least hang on for a little bit longer.

What’s next: With how things played out after the match, this program is obviously going to continue. As DB celebrated his victory, Cass attacked him from behind and put a beating on him, a beating that actually came off better than anything that happened in the match. Expect plenty more from these two over the next few weeks.