Botched Spot

Wow, another WWE PPV! Can you believe it? It seems like we just had one, but I guess since the Greatest Royal Rumble turned out to be a filler episode it doesn’t really count. Backlash should be considered a big deal since it’s the first joint brand Pay Per View that’s not one of the big four, but looking at the card it’s mostly matches I’ve seen before that didn’t leave me excited for the next one. Let’s look at each match though and see who’s gonna win everything:

Preshow Match: Bayley vs. Ruby Riott
There’s no way I’m betting on Bayley. If Nia survives her Alexa Bliss feud with the championship then she’ll need a new heel to fight with- and Ruby’s one of the few ones there. Also I know WWE wouldn’t miss out on another chance for Sasha to not help Bayley or have Bayley refuse Sasha’s help or some combination of all that.
Who will win: Ruby Riott

Seth Rollins vs. The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship
Is there any chance at all that The Miz will win? This match seems totally pointless because Seth’s already been putting on great matches with Balor on Raw and there’s no way he’s losing that belt. I guess Finn might show up at the end and turn heel with the Miztourage (Finntourage?) but that’s just me hoping something interesting happens.
Who will win: Seth Rollins

Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton for the United States Championship
So now instead of Jinder Mahal trying to mastermind a feud between Orton and Roode over the Smackdown Top Ten (RIP) we now get Miz trying to mastermind a feud between Orton and Jeff Hardy over interrupting matches. Maybe WWE should have Superstar shook up the creative team to see if they can find something for wrestlers to fight over other than being mildly slighted.
Who will win: Jeff Hardy, though I could see it going either way.

Nia Jax vs. Alexa Bliss for the Raw Women’s Championship
Nia’s win over Alexa at Wrestlemania was pretty definitive, so I’m not sure how Alexa will be presented as a threat to her here at Backlash.There’s no one to help Alexa either, unless Mickie is able to be way more useful than she was a month ago. I’ll play it safe and guess Nia will win, but I wouldn’t be surprised to get this one wrong.
Who will win: Nia Jax

Carmella vs. Charlotte for the Smackdown Live Women’s Championship
Carmella is everything I want from the personality side of a WWE superstar and while I can’t think of any classic matches of hers, I’m hoping she and Charlotte put together something good for Sunday. I’m guessing there will be some interference from the IIconics, Asuka, and maybe others, so Carmella won’t lose the title just yet.
Who will win: Carmella

Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe
Maybe Joe will finally get to talk about something other than Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar! Even though it looks like Samoa Joe will be involved in the Smackdown Live title picture soon, I still can’t see him winning this one. Roman needs a win after two big losses to Brock (or maybe one if you don’t count that goofy Greatest Royal Rumble finish) and Joe’s likely to give it to him.
Who will win: Roman Reigns

Daniel Bryan vs. Big Cass
When Bryan was cleared to wrestle I almost made a comic where two fans try to remember his great moments in WWE… only to recall all of the times he was dumped on in order to put over the guys WWE actually liked. I didn’t do it because it was a little too similar to the “Remember the Rumble” comic I did a few years ago and I also realized that if I don’t watch out all of my comics end up being depressing instead of funny. Anyway, now I wish I did make that comic because it sums up my feelings about this match perfectly.
Who will win: Daniel Bryan, because I need him to.

Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
No matter who wins I hope these guys stay as tag teams. KO and Zayn are awesome together and I’d love to see a team of destroyers like Strowman and Lashley (though I guess it takes away from the smaller Authors of Pain). I hope Bobby also gets a personality soon; he was awesome on Impact Wrestling as a version of Brock Lesnar who actually wanted to be there, so I hope he brings that back.
Who will win: Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley

AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE Championship
Shinsuke’s been killing it as a heel since turning at Wrestlemania so I would love it if WWE took this opportunity to make him the new champ. AJ’s been a great champion and I’m sure he’ll get the belt back again, but this is the first time since Nakamura got called up that I really feel excited about him again. No matter who wins I’m guessing we’ll wind up seeing these two fighting with Samoa Joe over the title which is good in my book.
Who will win: Shinsuke Nakamura

While I’m not looking forward to most of the matches, the ones I am excited about- the WWE Championship match and Braun and Bobby vs. Kevin and Sami- are enough to keep me interested. It’s really interesting to see what’s not on WWE’s first post brand split co-branded PPV, like no Ronda (despite her being at every Raw), no tag team champions, no cruiserweights. Overall I like the co-branded PPVs better as a fan, but it undeniably sucks for the wrestlers who don’t make the cut.