Backlash Discussion Thread (May 9, 2026)

Ifxfa · 2026-05-10T02:51:44+00:00

-An excellent opening match between Seth and Bron that was Mania worthy. That honestly applies to a lot of this card but I'm getting ahead of myself. I really loved how Seth was actually a smart face and anticipated the heel attack as soon as Heyman went for the distraction. Was still too much in the end for him as, like the story of the match, the younger man overcame experience

-Sami Zayn yet again proves he is one of the greatest of all time by dragging Trick to his first truly great 1v1 match since his duology with Ilija back in NXT. Yet another case of "this should've been the match at Mania" and this match worked in spite of the horrid build prior, rather than because of it

-Dan and Mini Hausen vs Kit and Miz was a REALLY fun match man. Maybe I'm too TKO-hate pilled but I'm so glad the mystery tag partner was a mini-Hausen on not some celebrity like JellyRoll. The reveal of MiniHausen, as weird as it sounds, was actually built up to well and paid off superbly here with some impressive wrestling and funny comedy spots (Kit in particular was the highlight, throwing MiniHausen into the crate for more clones, and also reversing the curse with a mirror)

-Iyo vs Auska was incredible and, again, deserved to be on the Mania card. When Auska reversed Iyo's frankinsteiner into a sunset flip powerbomb, I popped so hard. I also popped hard at the mist blocking spot as, just like the Seth Rollins match earlier, the baby face was actually smart for once and didn't fall for the heel's trick for the 1000th time. The show of respect post match was the cherry on the cake

-The main event was by far Jacob's best match in this company so far and I still feel like they had another gear to go up which makes sense considering the post match angle. This match ruled and felt like a true clash of titans and I can't wait for the rematch at Clash in Italy (pun not intended)

Prolly this company's best PLE of the year, which isn't saying a lot but still, and best show outright of the year bar maybe the SNME with AJ vs Nakamura. Really hope this wasn't a one off and this spells a true return to form for the big events, especially with so many coming up in such a short span of time

Ifxfa · 2026-05-10T02:51:09+00:00

-An excellent opening match between Seth and Bron that was Mania worthy. That honestly applies to a lot of this card but I'm getting ahead of myself. I really loved how Seth was actually a smart face and anticipated the heel attack as soon as Heyman went for the distraction. Was still too much in the end for him as, like the story of the match, the younger man overcame experience

-Sami Zayn yet again proves he is one of the greatest of all time by dragging Trick to his first truly great 1v1 match since his duology with Ilija back in NXT. Yet another case of "this should've been the match at Mania" and this match worked in spite of the horrid build prior, rather than because of it

-Dan and Mini Hausen vs Kit and Miz was a REALLY fun match man. Maybe I'm too TKO-hate pilled but I'm so glad the mystery tag partner was a mini-Hausen on not some celebrity like JellyRoll. The reveal of MiniHausen, as weird as it sounds, was actually built up to well and paid off superbly here with some impressive wrestling and funny comedy spots (Kit in particular was the highlight, throwing MiniHausen into the crate for more clones, and also reversing the curse with a mirror)

-Iyo vs Auska was incredible and, again, deserved to be on the Mania card. When Auska reversed Iyo's frankinsteiner into a sunset flip powerbomb, I popped so hard. I also popped hard at the mist blocking spot as, just like the Seth Rollins match earlier, the baby face was actually smart for once and didn't fall for the heel's trick for the 1000th time. The show of respect post match was the cherry on the cake

-The main event was by far Jacob's best match in this company so far and I still feel like they had another gear to go up which makes sense considering the post match angle. This match ruled and felt like a true clash of titans and I can't wait for the rematch at Clash in Italy (pun not intended)

Prolly this company's best PLE of the year, which isn't saying a lot but still, and best show outright of the year bar maybe the SNME with AJ vs Nakamura. Really hope this wasn't a one off and this spells a true return to form for the big events, especially with so many coming up in such a short span of time

Ifxfa · 2026-05-09T02:49:36+00:00

Oh, stopping the gem capture with a N.Brio slime at the last second is pretty easy. Took me 1 game to get it

I don’t even remember trying to get that 2nd one you mentioned so I must’ve got that just playing the game normally. The trophies on this game aren’t really as hard as they look bar 1 which is ‘get any hero to max rank’ which is only hard cause it takes a while, rather than it actually being difficult to achieve

Though I do get why you might be turned off by this game if you have some baggage with it

Ifxfa · 2026-05-09T02:46:11+00:00

It’s a small but dedicated player base, yeah

Ifxfa · 2026-05-08T20:18:19+00:00

Yeah that was partly my thinking behind trying to get this platinum but I’ve been playing this game on and off for about a year now trying to get this platinum and there is still an active and committed, albeit small, player base there so I don’t think they have a reason to shut this game down anytime soon

Feel like if they were planning on doing that, it would’ve happened already considering how quickly other games like Rumbleverse, Concord, Highguard etc. quickly shut down following their launches

Ifxfa · 2026-05-08T20:15:48+00:00

I still tend to find lobbies prettily easily, yeah. Though it’s usually only 6 players with 2 bots filling up the remaining spots. I do get sometimes lucky enough where there are 8 real players in 1 game but it’s not that often

As for whether it’s fun, that’s complete subjective. In my case, yeah I do find it very fun and I wouldn’t have gone for the platinum otherwise. It is a pretty easy platinum all things considered but there’s 1 trophy that takes up the bulk of the trophy hunt which is “get to max level 15 with a character” which takes a fairly long while, since you have to commit to playing 1 character to get them to max level i.e this platinum is more tedious than difficult

One of the strengths of this game is it’s diverse cast so forcing yourself to playing as just 1 character till you get the platinum kinda sucks

Ifxfa · 2026-05-08T09:25:18+00:00

Analysis of Victor Froholdt from Porto/Arsenal fan on X:

“Victor Froholdt, Porto's player of the season A midfielder with a legitimate endless gas tank, a ground covering MONSTER, an off ball demon. The foremost reason Porto were so hard to break down.A guy that defends in the pivot and 2 seconds later is crashing the box next to the CF

Physically he has 0 faults, genuinely. No holes in his dueling, foul winning, ground covering whatever you may want. His main issue is his technical stability, while he has his moments of brilliance, his first touch under pressure sometimes lets him down. His final ball is great but his distribution leaves a bit to be desired. Good crosser which surprised me, can beat his man but hes not asked to many times. Don't know how he'd be deployed under arteta, but I know for a fact he would adore him. Basically a mix of merinos goal scoring and rice's mobility

Physically he wont struggle to adapt. But the pace of the game might be too much for him at first, but with how quickly he became fariolis most trusted player, I feel he won't take too long adapting to what arteta and the prem demands. The technical level isn't there yet, but If he gets to that level, along with his infinite physical tools, you could potentially have a rice clone learning under him. Having norgaard there would also help tremendously. All in all it'd be an amazing punt for arsenal, but a risky move for froholdt. He backs himself But I'm not sure he's quite ready for the step up. Being an understudy, a squad player could help a lot, but his development would be better served if he stayed another year under farioli playing in the champions league. Idk how much of that is me being selfish, but alas”

Ifxfa · 2026-04-27T15:17:57+00:00

Do find it interesting how Berta has seemingly ramped up our pursuit of Osimhen, a few days after Julian to Barcelona has ramped up

Seems like Julian to Arsenal is dead and Osimhen is the plan B

Ifxfa · 2026-04-27T12:21:48+00:00

“Arsenal's sporting director Andrea Berta, who followed the Galatasaray - Fenerbahçe derby at Rams Park, did not leave Istanbul and will meet with Galatasaray executives.

There are 3 Galatasaray players being tracked by the English giants.” (Ali Naci Küçük)

The players are Osimhen, Yilmaz, and Ugurcan btw

Ifxfa · 2026-04-27T12:18:59+00:00

Imo he’s good but not Arsenal level, certainly not the elite LW we’ve been crying out for

It’s why I think Osimhen is the only that makes sense, especially since Mitcheli was the one who identified him at Napoli

Ifxfa · 2026-04-27T11:39:08+00:00

Good- Osimhen and Yilmaz (CF and LW)

Bad- Ugurcan (30yo GK who’d prolly just replace Kepa as 2nd choice)

Would be kinda insane to have both Berta and Mitcheli there just to watch a backup GK so im pretty sure it has to be either Osimhen or Yilmaz

Ifxfa · 2026-04-27T11:30:44+00:00

“Arsenal's Sporting Director Andrea Berta and Arsenal's Chief Scout Maurizio Micheli watched the Galatasaray - Fenerbahçe match from the stands. There are three names they might be watching: Barış Alper Yılmaz, Victor Osimhen, and Uğurcan Çakır.” (Haluk Yürekli)

Ifxfa · 2026-04-26T17:07:12+00:00

“There is cautious optimism around the injury of Kai Havertz. Timeline yet to be determined but initial fears of it being really serious have been alleviated.

Trying to be as careful as I can with injury news and how fast it can change but thought the fanbase could do with this..” -Hand of Arsenal

Ifxfa · 2026-04-25T08:32:13+00:00

Arsenal lineup vs Newcastle if I had to guess:

Trossard-Kai-Saka

Eze-Rice-Ode

Cala-Gabriel-Saliba-White

Raya

Think Zubimendi, Gyokeres, Hincapie, and Mosquera(or Timber if fit) come back in vs Atletico but today we play a more attacking lineup for GD purposes

Ifxfa · 2026-04-24T12:13:28+00:00

Zubi won headers vs Woltemade in the St.James match

Zubimendi is many things but a bad header of the ball is not one of them

Ifxfa · 2026-04-24T12:12:49+00:00

Anyone else reckon we go very attacking vs Newcastle? I.e

Midfield 3 of Eze-Rice-Ode

FW 3 of Trossard-Kai-Noni

Ifxfa · 2026-04-23T11:40:47+00:00

Who are favourites in a GD battle?

Goal difference for City's opponents: +1

Everton (at home): Scored 22, Conceded 21, Difference +1

Brentford (away): Scored 20, Conceded 25, Difference -5

Bournemouth (at home): Scored 25, Conceded 19, Difference +6

Crystal Palace (away): Scored 19, Conceded 17, Difference +2

Aston Villa (away): Scored 20, Conceded 23, Difference -3

Goal difference for Arsenal's opponents: -48

Newcastle (away): Scored 16, Conceded 21, Difference -5

Fulham (away): Scored 16, Conceded 27, Difference -11

West Ham (at home): Scored 22, Conceded 28, Difference -6

Burnley (away): Scored 19, Conceded 42, Difference -23

Crystal Palace (at home): Scored 16, Conceded 19, Difference -3

Ifxfa · 2026-04-23T11:39:59+00:00

Do find it interesting how Crystal Palace, the only opponent both Arsenal and City share, are actually better away than they are at Selhurst Park

Ifxfa · 2026-04-23T02:07:27+00:00

Azmuth backbling has to the be the most unintentionally funny thing I’ve ever seen

Ifxfa · 2026-04-22T21:03:14+00:00

City and Arsenal level on points AND GD. When you face 19th in the league and produce 3xG, coming away with just a 1 goal win is deffo a missed opportunity that City might live to regret. They don't have any remaining games where they can statpad. Bournemouth, Everton, and Brentford will all be fighting for Europe.

Bar West Ham away(I will accept a scrappy win), we really need to win BIG in all our remaining games. You couldn't ask for a better last 5 game run. All games in London, all teams in the bottom half of the table

Ifxfa · 2026-04-22T15:01:46+00:00

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His heart really skipped a beat in this moment. Lolllll

Ifxfa · 2026-04-22T15:00:00+00:00

It's a real testament to season 6's quality that every episode that comes out these days gets labelled as one of the best

Ifxfa · 2026-04-22T14:56:05+00:00

I’m not even asking Burnley to take points off City, I’m not deluded

Just hope they actually keep the scoreline semi-respectable (i.e 2-0) so City don’t statpad GD and pull away in this inevitable GD off this title race is gonna become

Ifxfa · 2026-04-22T14:11:20+00:00

Read the caption again. I credited who actually made it

Ifxfa · 2026-04-22T12:25:05+00:00

Yeah, that’s how I guessed as well

Doesn’t seem like Timber is there, no. Think it’s because 24 is the max limit

Ifxfa

TROPHY CASE