[M-A-G]

Raw: April 16, 2040

We begin with the Unified World Champion Noah Carmichael joining us in the ring. He brings up how we're only 13 days away from witnessing the date with destiny between Carmichael and Haven. Haven loves to make things so dramatic so Carmichaels figures he should lay it on pretty thick for his sake. That's as far as the generosity goes, however, because there's a lot more than pretty words and posturing on the line when it comes to Backlash. This championship that Carmichael wears represents the culmination of every frustrating endeavor he had to endure. Carmichael wasn't interested in staying the back seat to guys like Butch Fleming and certainly not to Haven. The date with destiny has an unfortunate ending for Haven.

Nathan Quinn decides to interrupt the festivities after being gone for a while. He points out how eager he's been to return to action and that he was disappointed to see Carmichael running his mouth out here. Quinn offers a remedy and demands a match right now! Carmichael is down with that shit and away we go!

First Match: WWE Unified World Champion Noah Carmichael vs. Nathan Quinn
Quinn uses a basement dropkick to the knee. Ring-shaking slam on Wildcard. Cover for a two count. Noah Carmichael takes the advantage after a i-block-your-punch-you-don't-block-mine routine. Stiff chop lights up Quinn. Rude Awakening on Nathan Quinn by Wildcard. There's a two count on the pin. Flying spear out of the corner! Quinn nearly got snapped in two. Pin, but Quinn is out just before the three count. Back elbow connects, Quinn staggers backward. Quinn drops out the back of a Noah Carmichael bodyslam attempt. Doctor Bomb, Wildcard is hurt. Hooks the leg for a two count. Blind lariat by Quinn, Wildcard never saw it coming until it was too late. Hooks the leg for a close fall. Quinn slams Noah Carmichael down. Nathan Quinn snap suplexes Wildcard. Wildcard reverses a waistlock. Big dropkick by Noah Carmichael, who got good elevation. Quinn walks into a face-first flapjack. Noah Carmichael moves in for the kill. Quick Draw1! 1....2....3. Good **** rating. 90% overall.

Second Match: Jason Sorola vs. Seth Von Kamp
We're being told that Lisa Benton has been asked by Von Kamp to book a match against Moses McKay at Backlash. We'll see what comes of that.Von Kamp gets caught with a short powerbomb from Sorola. Von Kamp gets rocked with a brutal elbow to the jaw by Sorola. There's a two count on the pin. Von Kamp counters an arm wringer with an elbow to the side of the head. Seth Von Kamp scores with a back heel kick on Sorola. Hard back suplex on Sorola. Anyone remember when that was Shawn Michaels's finisher? Hooks the leg for a two count. Sorola walks into a face crusher variation. Hooks the leg for a close fall. Legsweep out of Nowhere. Where is Nowhere, and why do moves keep coming out of there? Does it have a factory? Jason Sorola reverses a hip toss. Vicious snap suplex! Seth Von Kamp got whipped over hard. Cover for a two count. DDT from the top rope by Jason Sorola. That looked brutal. Pinfall attempt gets a 2.9999. Von Kamp tastes a high angle back suplex. It probably tasted like chicken. Dropkick connects, Von Kamp goes down. Seth Von Kamp avoids a Jason Sorola avalanche. Second rope flying axe handle, Sorola goes down. Power drive elbow by Seth Von Kamp. Jason Sorolatakes a nasty tumble from the top to the outside after a shove from Seth Von Kamp! The referee count to ten, then calls for the bell. Sorola gets counted out. Moses McKay comes running down the aisle, and gets into the ring! Von Kamp turns around...straight into a Mass Effect!! Seth Von Kamp has been left down on the canvas. McKay has the mic! McKay accepts the challenge issued by Seth but demands that the match be a First Blood match. That was good. **** rating. 89% overall.

Backstage Brooke with two of her clients, the Academy. She's been in contact with Jake Connelly about how Brandon Reigns deserves a shot at the Intercontinental Title in addition to Salvatore Scabbia. She brings up the main event tonight. If Brandon Reigns can beat the Academy, she'll agree to Reigns being added to the Intercontinental Title match. She's not without mercy, though. Reigns' partner with be none other than the champion himself, Kyle Jacobs.

Third Match: The Sin City Rollers (Luis Ortega and Vic Gambler) vs. The Dillingers
Stiff high kick on Gambler by Ben Dillinger who has evidently been watching some old AJPW tapes recently. Ben Dillinger with a spinning neckbreaker on Gambler. Cover for a two count. Tag between Ben Dillinger and Joey Dillinger. The Dillingers whip Gambler into the corner. Ben Dillinger whips Joey Dillinger in for a hard clothesline to follow-up. Hooks the leg for a two count. Joey slams Vic Gambler down. Gambler pushes out of a Joey Dillinger hold. Flying cross body off the top rope! Even Steamboat would have applauded the execution on that. Cover for a two count. Tag to Luis Ortega. Ring-shaking slam on Joey. Hooks the leg for a close fall. Big clothesline on Joey. Joey pushes out of a Luis Ortega hold. Ortega tastes a high angle back suplex. It probably tasted like chicken. Joey tags out to Ben Dillinger. Ben Dillinger strikes Ortega. Tag to Vic Gambler. Big clothesline on Gambler. Ben Dillinger has Vic Gambler down on the canvas and is ascending the corner. Off the top - Frog Splash, forget about it. 1....2...3! This was missing something, so it only gets a ****1\2 rating. 96% overall

Fourth Match: Tania vs. Billie Padgett
Standing leg lariat by Billie Padgett on Tania. Spinning back kick from Billie Padgett. Legsweep out of Nowhere. Where is Nowhere, and why do moves keep coming out of there? Does it have a factory? Spin kick by Billie Padgett to the face. Tania counters an arm wringer with an elbow to the side of the head. Big clothesline on Billie. Lightning kick by Tania on Billie. Hooks the leg for a two count. Billie backdrops Tania out of a piledriver attempt. Billie crushes Tania with a sweet running senton. Cover for a two count. Shining Wizard on Tania, Billie really laid that one in. Pinfall attempt gets a 2.9999. Tania powers out of a headlock. Tania hits a right hand. Billie blocks a kick from Tania. Legsweep out of Nowhere. Where is Nowhere, and why do moves keep coming out of there? Does it have a factory? Tania hooks up a suplex, but Billie flips out and lands on her feet, and quickly grabs the tights to score with a school boy pin! 1...2..3! The referee somehow missed the blatant cheating! A **** rating for a good contest. 89% overall.

Sonya Braddock comes out to talk about her title match against Faith Connors at Backlash. Connors wanted to talk about mistakes back on SmackDown! which is ironic considering using her favor to get a match with the champion was probably the worst mistake anyone could have made. Braddock does learn from history and the most important thing she's learned is that the best always prevails. Faith comes out to offer her rebuttal. People may believe that Connors is crazy, what with all the high-flying, death-defying, and stubborn refusal to not back down from someone like Braddock. But there's no reward without risk. That's the lesson she's learned from history. She invites Braddock to do her worst at Backlash.

Fifth Match: The British Infection (Adrian Gallagher and Nate Exley) vs. Michael Hotbody and Zed Jones
Standing leg lariat by Michael Hotbody on A. Gallagh. Fallaway slam by Michael Hotbody. Cover for a two count. Hotbody tags out to Zed Jones. Hotbody \ Jones whip A. Gallagh into the ropes and hit a double clothesline. There's a two count on the pin. Big backdrop on A. Gallagh, executed well. A. Gallagh backdrops Zed Jones out of a piledriver attempt. Vicious lightning kick by A. Gallagh on Jones. Hooks the leg for a two count. A. Gallagh tags out to Nate Exley. Lightning kick by Exley on Jones. Hooks the leg for a close fall. Flying shoulder tackle by Exley sends Jones to the mat. Exley drops an elbow...but misses. Fate can be so cruel. Flying shoulder tackle by Jones sends Exley to the mat. Jones tags out to Michael Hotbody. Dropkick connects, Exley goes down. Tag between Nate Exley and Adrian Gallagher. Driven DDT by Michael Hotbody. The ring shook violently, instantly making it better at selling than some of the current roster. Michael Hotbody grapples with Adrian Gallagher, and positions himself so that the referee can't see...and hits a low blow! He rolls up the stunned Adrian Gallagher: 1....2....3!! What a cheap shot! That was good. **** rating. 89% overall

Xavier Cross joins us and wants to let us know about an epiphany he had last week. He invites Haven to come down so that he can share it with him, too, as it is of major interest to the number one contender. Haven indeed shows up and gets in Cross' face. Cross insists that he's not looking to fight but rather extend an offer to Haven. The two of them can fight and fight until it's time to hang it up but Cross asks is it really worth much if there's nothing but broken pride they're fighting over? Wouldn't this mean a lot more to the two of them if something more substantial were at stake? Cross has a solution. He wants to stop being an impediment and start being an ally...for one night only. Haven should let Cross help him become the Unified World Champion at Backlash and in return, Cross should be given a title shot. It's win-win all around for everyone. Well, with the exception of Carmichael but he's irrelevant to what's between Haven and Cross. Plus, Haven already wants to have this big epic confrontation with Cross anyway. All Haven has to do is trust Cross for one night.

Haven ponders this in silence momentarily, glancing at the crowd every so often. He then moves forward to grab Cross by the collar and glares at him. "Cross, I'm going to take you at your word that you're not here for a fight and I hope you take me at my word when I say this: The two us are on a collision course, make no mistake, but it will be on my terms and mine alone. Your offer is an insult and it is rejected. Carmichael's fate will be the same as yours and I hope you watch with despair, faced with the harsh reality of what lies ahead. Ignore me at your own peril."

And with that, Haven releases Cross and takes his leave. Cross remains in the ring looking shaken up.

Sixth Match: Clubber Harris vs. Martyn LaSalle
Clubber Harris hits a rolling kick on LaSalle. Harris crushes LaSalle with a running senton. Hooks the leg for a two count. Martyn LaSalle powers out of a Clubber Harris headlock. LaSalle bodyslams Clubber Harris. Vertical suplex by Martyn LaSalle. There's a two count on the pin. Back heel kick off the second rope, Harris goes down. Pin : 1 - 2 - 2.9999999. Martyn LaSalle hits a rolling kick on Harris. LaSalle walks into a trip. Powerful Spear by Clubber Harris. There's a two count on the pin. DDT from the top rope by Clubber Harris. That looked brutal. Pinfall attempt gets a 2.9999. Gut buster, LaSalle hits hard. Spinning back kick from Clubber Harris. LaSalle counters a backdrop attempt with a kick to the face. Flying elbow from Martyn LaSalle. Tiger suplex on Harris, right from out of the Misawa playbook. Clubber Harris gets whipped into the corner by LaSalle, and flips all the way over to the outside! Harris stays down on the outside, hurt. The referee reaches a ten count, and this one is over. Quinten McDaniels comes running down the aisle, and gets into the ring! LaSalle turns around...straight into a Belly To Belly!! Martyn LaSalle has been left down on the canvas. Good **** rating. 87% overall.

MAIN EVENT: The Academy (Randy Ellis and Justin Mitchell) vs. Brandon Reigns and WWE Intercontinental Champion Kyle Jacobs
Reigns and Jacobs must win here if Reigns is going to be added to the Intercontinental Title match at Backlash. Kyle Jacobs takes a butterfly suplex from Mitchell. Spine shattering vicious back suplex! Kyle Jacobs got absolutely creamed. There's a two count on the pin. Tag between Justin Mitchell and Randy Ellis. The Academy whip Jacobs into the ropes and hit a double backdrop. Driven DDT by Randy Ellis. The ring shook violently, instantly making it better at selling than some of the current roster. There's a two count on the pin. Randy Ellis snap suplexes Jacobs. Jacobs ducks a wild right hand. Lifting DDT by Kyle Jacobs, executed well. Jacobs tags out to Brandon Reigns. Flying elbow from Brandon Reigns. Flying cross body off the top rope! Even Steamboat would have applauded the execution on that. The Didact counters a backdrop attempt with a kick to the face. The Didact tags out to Justin Mitchell. Spine shattering vicious back suplex! Brandon Reigns got absolutely creamed. Corkscrew brainbuster suplex, Mitchell hit it well. Pin, but Reigns is out just before the three count. Justin Mitchell uses move #193 (arm-BAR). Mitchell drops an elbow...but misses. Fate can be so cruel. Reigns pulls a picture perfect fallaway slam out of the bag, driving Justin Mitchell down to the mat. Salvatore Scabbia comes running down the aisle with a chair! Mitchell and Brandon Reigns continue fighting, unaware of the intrusion. Salvatore Scabbia slides in and prepares to swing the chair...but Brandon Reigns moves! Big Sal accidentally blasts Mitchell with a chair to the head! Brandon Reigns throws Big Sal out of the ring! Justin Mitchell gets knocked to the ground by Reigns. Iron Reign!!! Justin Mitchell taps out! Great match, a ****1\4 rating i think. 93% overall.

Overall show rating: 87%