WWE Backlash 2020 Results: Braun Strowman’s Win The Latest Setback For Underwhelming Universal Title

WWE continued its strange booking of the Universal Championship at Backlash 2020, where Braun Strowman defeated The Miz in a 2-on-1 handicap match to retain his title.

If you look at the way WWE has portrayed SmackDown’s top prize since it came to the blue brand last fall, only one thing comes to mind: What is the creative team thinking? Bray Wyatt captured that title from Seth Rollins in October 2019 at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia, just a few weeks after he should have beaten Rollins for the belt at Hell in a Cell. Instead, that HIAC match went down in history as one of the most controversial WWE main events of all-time. After Wyatt failed to beat Rollins, fans filled the arena with chants of “AEW!” and “Refund!” as a result of their dissatisfaction with the upstart Wyatt failing to win the title and doing so in such bizarre fashion.

Just a month later, Wyatt’s popularity soared after he became Universal Champion and solidified himself as WWE’s No. 1 merchandise seller. Rollins’ fortunes, however, went the other way, and he has pointed to that moment as one in which he was used as a “scapegoat” for everything that went wrong with the feud. WWE seemed to get the Universal title back on track when Wyatt held the title for the next few months as “The Fiend” was portrayed as a dominant superstar. Then came one of the biggest booking mistakes WWE has made in recent memory.

MORE FROM FORBESWWE Backlash 2020 Results: Lackluster Asuka Vs. Nia Jax Feud To Continue After Questionable FinishBy Blake Oestriecher

The once invincible Fiend lost his Universal title in lightning quick fashion to, of all people, Goldberg at Super ShowDown in February 2020 in an awful booking move that completely destroyed any momentum Wyatt had and effectively ended the aura of Wyatt’s Fiend alter-ego. What made that move even worse is hindsight is that the match that Goldberg’s quick win over Wyatt was supposed to set up, Goldberg vs. Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 36, never happened because Reigns withdrew from the event due to Covid-19. That, of course, resulted in Braun Strowman stepping in as a last-minute replacement for “The Big Dog” and quickly defeating Goldberg even though there was absolutely no storyline going into it.

Strowman’s win was actually well-received because fans would have revolted even if more had the incredibly well-paid Goldberg had a lengthy Universal title reign. The problem is, the absence of Reigns and the lack of overall depth in SmackDown’s main event scene forced WWE to immediately put Strowman into a feud with Wyatt. Then, what happened? Well, Wyatt lost again at Money in the Bank last month—albeit as Wyatt rather than “The Fiend”—and WWE quickly pivoted to an even more underwhelming rivalry, with Strowman battling both The Miz and John Morrison in a handicap feud that feels like a blatant ripoff of a similar feud that Strowman had with Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro just a few months ago.

Talk about a lack of creativy, huh. It’s no wonder that SmackDown has been drawing record low viewership on FOX.

The vast majority of SmackDown’s storylines have felt uninspired and directionless, and Strowman’s title reign has been no exception. Given the way they’ve been booked recently, neither The Miz nor Morrison is viewed as a credible threat for Strowman, and it’s clear that this rivalry has been just a placeholder feud that was meant to bide time, likely until Wyatt returns at some point.

Now, we’re right back to where we were just a month ago, with Wyatt—despite not appearing at Backlash as many expected—likely set to challenge for the Universal title again even though he just lost a title match last month and even though he never should have dropped the title in the first place. While it’s understandable that the absence of Reigns and other unforeseen circumstances have resulted in plans change, WWE is running out of excuses for its lackluster booking of a Universal title that is supposed to be the most coveted one on SmackDown.

At this point, is anyone really that interested in what Strowman does next?