AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura Ends in Shocking Fashion at Backlash

Surprisingly, the Shinsuke Nakamura vs. AJ Styles WWE Championship match at Backlash did not go on last. Instead, the match was third to last, just ahead of Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn and Samoa Joe versus Roman Reigns.

It was a puzzling decision, to say the least. While at WrestleMania match order is always a subject of much debate, there is no question that Nakamura vs. Styles, the only world title match on this show, probably should have been the closer. In fact, the idea that Reigns was once again put in the main event slot, ahead of Styles/Nakamura which was for a major title, is emblematic of why the company can’t get the fans on Reigns’ side.

But the booking of the finish of this match certainly spoke volumes for why it didn’t go on last. We’re not sure if that’s a good excuse for the decision or an indictment of how bad the finish was.

The positive of this not going on last was that Samoa Joe was placed into a main event match, and few are more deserving than that man given his performances since his return after WrestleMania. It’s probably not long until Joe is inserted into the world title picture.

For their part, Styles and Nakamura had a very good match at Backlash early on. Despite the heel turn, half the crowd seemed to be behind the King of Strong Style. This was personified through a dueling “Nakamura” and “AJ Styles” dueling chant early on. What can we say, people love nut shots.

This was a no disqualification match, and the pair spent a good amount of the early portion of the bout fighting around the outside. In fact, Nakamura got the majority of the offense through the match. About ten minutes in, it was clear that this was a better match than the pair had at WrestleMania. Well, that is until the finish. More on that in a second.

Styles got some momentum back when he tossed a chair into Nakamura’s knee when he went for the Kinshasa, and the chair ricocheted back into Style’s face, busting him open in the process.

Shortly thereafter, Styles locked in the Calf Crusher. After the hold was broken up, Styles went for a Styles Clash but was unsuccessful. A few minutes later, Styles hit a hard running forearm to the back of Shinsuke’s neck. That was followed by a Pele Kick and another attempt at a Styles Clash, which Nakamura turned into a low blow. But right after that, Styles hit his own low blow, and both men laid on the match cringing.

The two men were slow to their feet and then took turns firing off forearms at one another. Nakamura hit a headbutt and then the pair simultaneously low-blowed each other with kicks. This actually resulted in the referee starting a 10-count and both men were counted out. The match actually ended as a double count-out or no contest.

The fans were not happy, as they shouldn’t have been. This is the way you end a television match, not a PPV match. It’s obviously a way to continue the feud even longer with the no-finish but was a questionable call to say the least.