WWE Champion Randy Orton vs. United States Champion MVP ended in a no-contest

If he hoped to prove himself as a top player on Raw, U.S. Champion MVP certainly succeeded as he went toe-to-toe with WWE Champion Randy Orton in a hard-fought match, retaliating “The Viper’s” every strike. As The Ballin’ Superstar and The Legend Killer continued to fight back and forth, each struggling to gain the upper hand, Shane McMahon rushed to the ring and assaulted “The Viper” with a kendo stick. As Orton’s Legacy, Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase, rushed to their leader’s aid, Shane O’Mac dropped a flying elbow on his nemesis, and then escaped into the crowd, leaving the outcome of the match in question

RAW:Matt Hardy def. Goldust

Just one day after one of the most brutal matches of his career, Matt Hardy had to face Goldust in the ring on Raw. Suffering from a broken hand sustained during an “I Quit” Match against his brother Jeff, Hardy entered the ring sporting a hard cast. Prior to the match, Hardy reasoned that with his injury, he had no choice but to quit during his Backlash match against his brother, but that didn’t make him a quitter. When the match began, the two competitors circled one another cautiously before Hardy slid out of the ring in an attempt to avoid the bizarre Goldust. The bitter Superstar then re-entered the ring, clobbering his opponent with his cast and covering him for a quick pin.

Consider “The Dragon” slain

After Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat thanked Chris Jericho six days earlier on Raw, the first-ever Undisputed Champion returned the appreciation in his own way at Backlash by making the WWE Hall of Famer tap out in the middle of the ring with the Walls of Jericho. (PHOTOS)

As Jericho was bidding adieu to Raw and all the WWE Universe members in attendance a week after being drafted to SmackDown, Steamboat interrupted the tongue of the nefarious Superstar to thank him for letting him know he still has what it takes to step in the ring. However, Jericho did not see this as a sincere gesture and thought Steamboat was there to steal his spotlight once again, which prompted the new SmackDown Superstar to challenge the WWE Hall of Famer to the Backlash match.

In recent months, Jericho has made himself an adversary of WWE’s Legends and thought that he had ended his crusade at the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania. But Steamboat also proved that night that he still had the legendary ring warrior prowess that made him a Hall of Famer. “The Dragon” further displayed those skills the following night in a 10-Man WrestleMania All-Star Tag Team Match in which Steamboat’s team was victorious and Jericho was the victim of the pin.

Once again at Backlash, and perhaps infuriating Jericho even further, Steamboat proved that he has the chops to stand toe-to-toe with any of WWE’s best Superstars in one-on-one action as he did against the nefarious Superstar. Unfortunately, in the end, “The Dragon” may have showcased his in-ring abilities that are still as crisp as they were in his prime, but just like at WrestleMania, proved not to be crisp enough to outshine the first-ever Undisputed Champion. Though he wasn’t victorious in his efforts, the WWE Universe still showed him the respect that he deserves as he left the ring in Providence to a standing ovation following the match

Khali Kiss Scam

If Beth Phoenix has an enemies list, “Santina” Marella is surely bubbling to the top. 

Santino’s “twin sister” socked The Glamazon with a shot of humiliation in front of a capacity crowd in the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. To her credit, the fairer Marella had actually shown up to explain to an enamored Great Khali why she couldn’t kiss him: She wasn’t who she claimed to be, in fact, she was in love with another man, announcer Jim Ross. Before she could prove her love for Ross with a kiss, however, Beth barged in.

Beth, who had earlier informed her boyfriend Santino that as long as he continued to pretend to be Santina she would not kiss him, proclaimed that the charade had gone too far and demanded a rematch with Santina for the “Miss WrestleMania” title.

Prior to the start of the match, Beth questioned Khali’s intelligence over his feelings for Santina. As one might imagine, The Punjabi Giant didn’t take kindly to the criticism and knocked out The Glamazon. With Beth momentarily out of commission, Santina called for the starting bell and quickly secured the pin. Her time in the ring, however, was not without incident. An enamored Khali, perhaps turned on by Santina's victory, attempted to restrain her, but her top broke in a wardrobe malfunction and sent the Italian scurrying up the entrance ramp topless

While Santino’s sister may have avoided the kiss of Khali, as long as she remains on Beth’s hit list, it’s unlikely she’ll avoid the kiss of death.

Jeff Hardy def. Matt Hardy ("I Quit" Match)

With every member of the WWE Universe on the edge of their seats at Backlash, Jeff Hardy emerged victorious from the smoke of unspeakable sibling rivalry, making his rage-filled brother, Matt, say the shocking words “I quit.”

The explosive match proved to be an absolutely epic battle from start to finish, fueled by a deeply personal animosity that could only be found inside the extreme dysfunction of blood brothers gone awry. After both Superstars attempted everything they could to make the other utter the dreaded words, Jeff pulled out the heavy artillery, securing Matt to a table before threatening to descend upon him from the top of the ladder. After pleading in fear, Matt finally had no choice but to say “I quit” for all of the capacity crowd to hear. Despite his brother’s surrender, Jeff chose to plunge down upon him anyway, finally earning his retribution.

The intense hatred that Matt Hardy had for his brother first came to light when he stunned the WWE Universe at the Royal Rumble, hitting Jeff with a steel chair to cost his own younger brother the WWE Championship. In the weeks to come, the elder Hardy began using an unspeakable combination of unending jealousy and ruthless wrath to attempt to erase Jeff from both his memory and that of the WWE Universe. Although Jeff resisted battling Matt at first, once it became clear that his brother may have been responsible for the recent tragedies that have consumed his life, he came back at Matt with absolute fury.

The two brothers faced off in two brutal confrontations, first a larger-than-life Extreme Rules battle at WrestleMania and then a crippling Stretcher Match of complete carnage on SmackDown. Both matches saw Matt emerge triumphant. The Hardys also traded guerrilla-like attacks across all brands and even brought their intensity into tag team action, all leading to their fateful Backlash showdown. 

Jeff Hardy has found victory over Matt by utilizing one of the most personal tests of intestinal fortitude that the squared-circle can offer. But after three monumental clashes, the question remains whether it will be enough to quell the raging fires of animosity living inside both Hardys.