"3.0/5 LA Knight doesn't do it for me in the ring, and nothing changed here. AJ did what he could with a all sizzle no steak opponent, but AJ doesn't have broomstick wrestling abilities anymore."
[6.0] "A solid match where the finish got me excited for Backlash. I think Knight's matches have been a lot better since his debut on the main roster but I don't think anyone is going to confuse him for AJ Styles in the ring so I was glad to see that it looks like the main event in France will be Styles/Rhodes. Solid match that I don't think was as good as Wrestlemania but still very solid. 3 stars."
[6.0] "It wasn't as good as their Wrestlemania match and I don't get it, why after LA Knight's win over AJ Styles at WM he looses to him now. Sure it would be trash if LA Knight would be put up against Cody, just to loose. So this whole thing is kinda poorly booked. The match was decent enough for me though, and the Backlash main event is going to be a fullout Bullet Club affair. If can be intersting, but we all know, it will be just a pit stop for Cody and AJ Styles will loose 110%. But atleast it will be a solid match - I hope."
[5.0] "Bit of an odd decision to have LA Knight get pinned clean but overall its an adequate opener that AJ shouldve won itd be a horrible decision to have Knight and Cody and backlash they probably want him to go after the Heavyerigjt championship anyways I should be talking about the actual match more but I dont honestly remember much about it it was fine"
[5.0] "it's very, very strange to have a come-down match immediately after a Wrestlemania match, and the finish made LA look dumb and, as far as heel-cheats finishes goes, isn't anything particularly memorable. This is a subpar match with two superstars who are capable of better--and have done better, recently, with each other!"
"These two had a great match. Definitely something to brag about. They have such great chemistry and talent that I do not blame them for having them fight each other so much. Sadly, this match lacked in "wow factors" making it just a good opener, but not a memorable match."
[7.0] "Appreciated the clean finish here; LA Knight getting pinned is no small thing these days. Styles looked and wrestled great. Solid match, good way to open the show."
[6.0] "Another decent match between these two, but not as good as their encounter at Wrestlemania. I'm not a huge fan of this match happening again so soon, but whatever. AJ Styles vs. Cody Rhodes sounds like a fun match."
"Very good match it was very solid their 2 styles have good chemistry, AJ is always so good and LA is always also OVER. We saw violence and great shots it's a very good opening to the show"
[6.0] "A pretty solid match that JUST misses the 7/10 mark for me (AKA 3.25/5 or 6.5/10). I know some people are upset at the "50/50 booking" of this match by having Styles win, but I don't have much of a problem with it. I don't want to sound sour on Styles, but I think he can lose at Backlash and then lose a third match, possibly with a stipulation, to Knight sometime after."
[9.0] "What a way to open Friday night smackdown! While I have always been a fan of LA Knight, pairing him up with AJ in tonights match really shows the potential he has. In this match there was a lot of really cool spots, the moonsalt into a DDT, and suplex off the top rope, the back and forth of each performer trading blows. I really enjoyed this match and thought it was the match of the night truthfully. While the finish was a little screwy (don't know where the ref was looking and so out of position lmao) but it gave LA knight a chance to take a pin without it being straight up. I would like to see these two get paired up more, it was a great match and allows LA Knight to continue to put on barn burners/ learn from the master."
[6.0] "Solid match. Not as good as their first at WrestleMania, but still a nice TV match with something important at stake. Just a good back and forth here, everything made sense and flowed well. Nothing fancy about this and that's fine. Styles gets the relatively clean victory, evening the score with LA Knight while earning himself a title shot against Cody. 6/10"
[5.0] "Something was off about this match. I like their rivalry and I loved their wrestlemania match but this wasn't that good. The last minutes were kind of entertaining but overall I was not impressed."
[7.0] "Styles and Knight really have that chemistry in the ring, ladies and gentlemen. I'd already been surprised by the quality of their match at WrestleMania and it was still very cool here, less good because shorter of course but perfectly satisfying for a TV opener with so much at stake. They have one win each now, so I feel like saying RUN IT BACK in the KOTR tournament in Saudi or something. Styles winning here was the right call, the Backlash match should be great."
[6.0] "Not nearly as good as their Mania match but still solid stuff. AJ continues to look revitalised and I liked the finish, with AJ cheating to win but still looking strong in the process. I think AJ is a great first title defence for Cody Rhodes actually so I'm glad they've gone that way."
[7.0] "It had a very different approach than their WrestleMania match as this was more structured to suit a TV weekly show, but that didn't make it less good. The pace was faster than the other match and everything went on real quick, no dull moments in the match at all. LA Knight can really work, maybe not at the level of the best workers in the world, but he can put a great show too, and AJ is a legend, nothing new can be said about him. AJ winning was the right call. Out of the 6 wrestlers competing for the title shot, he was the more fitting for the job of transitional challenger. He has a well established status, he can deliver a pretty good match with Cody and he can assume the loss without taking away any momentum from him. Great way to open this episode of SmackDown (*** 1/2)"
[6.0] "A step below their WrestleMania match, mainly due to TV constraints. AJ Styles got his revenge over his loss there to LA Knight, and I'm 99% certain he's losing to Cody Rhodes in Lyon. They could always involve Knight there and build up to a rubber match."
