The go-home show for Backlash was not as bland as one might expect, though it did little to get one excited for Sunday night's pay-per-view.

Jinder Mahal, the No. 1 contender to Randy Orton's WWE championship, was featured throughout the show, though the segments featuring the challenger did little to make one believe in him as a legitimate main eventer.

WWE did successfully set the stage for Backlash, however, adding a match to the card and providing fans some idea of what to expect. The one exceptional miss on the evening was Rusev, who claimed last week that he would show up but was nowhere to be found on the show.

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WWE SmackDown results

Kevin Owens' Highlight Reel with AJ Styles and Jinder Mahal: Owens announced he was taking over the interview show from Chris Jericho, who he said would never be the same again. Just as he was introducing Mahal in French, Styles' music hit, and he said he'd be bringing the United States championship back to America. Mahal told Styles to focus on their match tonight, Owens said Styles would lose twice in six days, and Styles demanded for the match to start immediately.

Jinder Mahal def. AJ Styles via pinfall: There was some good back-and-forth action in this one due in large part to Styles carrying the match. With the referee distracted by Mahal and the Sing Brothers, Owens moved quickly from commentary to ringside and hit Styles in the knee with his title. Styles was unable to stand after that, so Mahal picked him up and hit the Cobra Clutch Slam -- now named "The Khallas" -- for the win. 

Mahal is truly terrible on the microphone. Giving Owens the Highlight Reel and allowing him to keep trolling Jericho until Jericho's eventual return is smart booking, but future segments better be more entertaining than that one. It was rough all around, in large part because no one had anything to talk about with Backlash so close. As for the match, it was the correct move for the No. 1 contender to the WWE championship to get the win ... but it shouldn't have come against the No. 1 contender for the U.S. title, though it will not hurt Styles one bit.

Fashion Files, Part III: Breezango was back at headquarters going through the disastrous wardrobes of Baron Corbin, Sami Zayn and The Usos. They said they look forward to showing off the tag team titles after Backlash.

Backstage -- Randy Orton: In a short interview, Orton explained that people don't like Mahal not because of where he comes from but simply because he's an "ass."

Breezango def. The Colons via pinfall: Fandango hit the Falcon Arrow for the win. After the match, The Usos came out and trash talked Breezango again, reading them their rights and promising, "It's not paranoia, it's The Usos."

Man, this SmackDown tag team division is weak with American Alpha not being featured and The New Day still not having debuted, though hopefully New Day joins the show after Backlash.

Contract signing for the six-woman tag team match: SmackDown commissioner Shane McMahon made four introductions and the women all took turns making a quick statement and signing the paper. Charlotte Flair promised to extinguish the Welcoming Committee and then take the title from Naomi, which prompted a smile from the women's champion. James Ellsworth then trash talked the three women, which led to a match.

Carmella def. Naomi via pinfall: After the Welcoming Committee got ejected from ringside for trying to interfere, they began brawling with Flair and Becky Lynch outside the ring. This distracted Naomi and allowed Carmella to get the roll-up 1-2-3.

Backstage -- Dolph Ziggler: Promising to show a video of all the remarkable things Shinsuke Nakamura has done since joining the main roster, Ziggler played a video that simply said "footage not found." Instead, he ran a package of his own highlights. 

It's rough knowing Ziggler is going to do the job at Backlash and WWE probably has nothing planned for him after the fact. He's been great promoting this match basically on his own and can truly be a standout player on the show if given the opportunity.

Backstage -- Sami Zayn and Baron Corbin: Announcing that McMahon has granted him a match against Corbin at Backlash, Zayn began ranting about why Corbin was scared of him. Of course, this led to Corbin attacking him from behind.

Randy Orton def. Baron Corbin via pinfall: An entertaining match between the two with Corbin getting his fair share of offense against The Viper. Ultimately, Orton tricked Corbin into leaving himself open for an RKO outta nowhere to earn the clean victory. After the match, Mahal tried to distract Orton on the mic while the Singh Brothers attacked him. Orton was wise to the plan and got the upper hand at first, but the numbers eventually caught up with him. Mahal hit Orton with The Khallas and held the title up high as the show ended.

There's not much to say. It's an expected finish to a rather mundane program. Mahal has yet to prove he belongs in the main event picture, and his only advantage is the numbers on Sunday.