Held for the first time since 2009, WWE Backlash on Sunday featured the crowning of three new champions. The festivities were highlighted by a crowning moment for AJ Styles, who defeated Dean Ambrose for the World Championship in the main event.
The Backlash pay-per-view as a whole was a tough one for WWE to pull off considering it had to put together a full card with well less than half of the company's entire roster at its disposal. For a first effort, it was a solid one; of course, it was aided by the fact that two new championship belts were being introduced and every one of the SmackDown brand titles was on the line Sunday night.
The highlight of the evening was the win by Styles, a 39-year-old wrestling industry veteran who main evented for some of WWE's top competitors before joining the company in January. In less than eight months, Styles has worked his way up from midcard performer to main eventer to now world champion.
Similar to many of WWE's recent creative decisions, putting the strap on Styles signifies a changing of the guard inside the company. While WWE still has a ways to go in many creative areas, it has begun developing some of its newer blood -- regardless of age -- into legitimate talent that can headline its television shows and pay-per-views.
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