Fans spot major botch at WWE Backlash and praise unlikely hero for saving the day with split-second call
WWE Backlash: France was an undoubted success for the grappling company, though not everything went exactly according to plan.
WWE staged its first ever Premium Live Event in the country on Saturday as a frantic crowd soaked up all the action, including a successful WWE Undisputed title defence against AJ Styles.
There were new champions crowned, too, as Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill unseated The Kabuki Warriors to become the new Women’s Tag Team champions.
The overall event made for a stunning presentation on screen, too, with fans giving Backlash a big thumbs up.
Television cameras also worked their magic in masking the slip-up that only some of those in the live crowd on the night picked up on – until social media did its usual thing, of course.
A video surfaced online soon after the event showing what could’ve been a major botch during one of the Premium Live Event’s most significant moments.
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The opening clash of the night pitted Kevin Owens and Randy Orton against Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga in a tag team match that turned into a gnarly street fight.
Owens and Orton looked to be on the edge of victory and were set to secure the all-important pinfall, before the referee was pulled from the ring by debuting star Tanga Loa – or so it seemed.
Viewers at home would’ve seen Loa dispatch of the referee at the very last second, before going on to help Tonga and Sikoa on to victory.
On later inspection, however, it seems the pivotal moment didn’t quite flow as smoothly as the magic of television showed.
The subsequent video, taken by a fan on the opposite side of the ring, clearly showed that Loa missed his cue and didn’t actually pull the referee from the ring during his count at all.
The grappler was instead a full second or two behind, leaving the resourceful and quick-thinking referee to take action to save the day, and pull himself out instead.
The video shows the ref’s convincing performance in the perfect light, interrupting the flow of his own count as if it he’d been yanked by behind – which he was, seconds later.
TV Cameras then picked up on Loa with viewers none the wiser as to what had happened, but that didn’t stop fans on social media giving the man in the striped shirt his flowers.
“Unbelievable safe from the ref, he literally saved that entire storyline,” said one post, while another added: "shoutout to the ref still selling at the right time making it look good on TV."
Another said: "Refs don’t get enough credit cuz this looked clean AF on TV," while another admitted: “I never would've known if I didn't see this. I thought it was perfect watching the ppv.”
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“Kudos to the ref, he played it well,” read another reply praising the quick-thinking ref, with another saying: “Clearly the spot was rehearsed for it to still happen despite Loa being 4 seconds late getting into position.
“I realized that when Loa didn't appear at ringside until after the Ref was out of the ring. This angle just shows by how many seconds he was off.”
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Despite the slight timing error on the debutant’s behalf, the first major appearance in WWE for Loa more than hit its mark.
He stood alongside Sikoa and Tonga in what some are calling a Rogue Bloodline, a new faction forming in the wake of Roman Reigns’ defeat to Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania.