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WWE WrestleMania Backlash had a few big championship matches scheduled for the show. Rhea Ripley defeated Asuka and Charlotte Flair after a good contest. The Nightmare pinned Asuka clean to retain her RAW Women’s Championship.
Bobby Lashley also retained his title by pinning Braun Strowman in the Triple Threat Match for his WWE Championship. Were Asuka and Strowman simply added to the two matches to take the pin as expected?
Bianca Belair retained her SmackDown Women’s Championship by pinning Bayley. Who will step up to The EST following her victory at WrestleMania Backlash?
Damian Priest and The Miz competed in an odd match, while Rey and Dominik Mysterio made history at WrestleMania Backlash. Will WWE book a family rivalry between The Mysterios and The Usos to make things entertaining for the fans?
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Cesaro failed to win the Universal Championship from Roman Reigns. He was attacked by Seth Rollins following his loss at WrestleMania Backlash. Will The Swiss Superman ever find his way back into the world championship picture in WWE?
Let’s take a look at the five biggest questions from Sunday night’s pay-per-view.
#5 Is Ricochet going to replace Humberto Carrillo on WWE RAW after WrestleMania Backlash?
Sheamus came out to issue an open challenge at WWE WrestleMania Backlash. However, the Celtic Warrior clarified that the open challenge would not include his United States Championship.
Ricochet answered Sheamus’ challenge and pushed the US Champion to his limits. Sheamus endured a barrage of attacks. He eventually managed to connect a knee to the face which was enough to retain the United States title.
Humberto Carrillo seemed to be in the race for the United States Championship before a botched move injured the superstar on WWE RAW. Would Carrillo have answered Sheamus’ challenge had he not been injured? Was Ricochet a replacement for Carrillo at WrestleMania Backlash?
Ricochet did well during the contest and it looked like he’d win the match. That would have explained the non-title stipulation. It would have also allowed him to challenge for the title later on. Why did Ricochet lose the non-title match? Was he just used to keep the ball rolling for the United States Champion?
It’ll be interesting to see who steps up to Sheamus in the weeks to come. Will Ricochet continue to target The Celtic Warrior for some time?
#4 Why are Damian Priest and The Miz being wasted like the way they were at WWE WrestleMania Backlash?
Damian Priest and The Miz were set to compete in another match at WWE WrestleMania Backlash. The two RAW Superstars were looking to put a possible end to their long-running rivalry at WrestleMania Backlash.
The Archer of Infamy chose a Lumberjack Match as the stipulation. However, WWE delivered a massive surprise by teaming up with Army of the Dead to bring in some Zombies as the Lumberjacks. This was a rather odd choice for a company that needs to do away with such gimmicks to emphasize its main product.
Priest managed to take down Miz with Hit the Lights, and the zombies attacked Miz following the match.
The match left a bad taste in the mouth for many fans. Priest and Miz have already had a very long rivalry that should have ended at WrestleMania 37. Adding such a stipulation made matters even worse.
Should WWE be taking such co-branding opportunities while downgrading its product? Priest and Miz have already helped build the Bad Bunny storyline. Was it necessary to use their rivalry to promote other pop culture elements at WrestleMania Backlash?
#3 Why did Bianca Belair roll up Bayley to retain her title at WWE WrestleMania Backlash?
WWE WrestleMania Backlash saw Bianca Belair defend her SmackDown Women’s Championship against Bayley. Belair won the title at WrestleMania 37, and she has been built as a dominant force ever since.
The two SmackDown Superstars had a good match at the pay-per-view, and Bayley came close to a victory late in the match. The match deserved a good ending, but that did not happen.
Belair tried to roll up Bayley using her braid, and this led to a very messy spot. However, The EST still managed to retain her SmackDown Women’s Championship at WrestleMania Backlash.
Since Belair had been built as a dominant force, WWE should have allowed her to pick up a more emphatic victory.
The EST should have finished off Bayley in style during her first pay-per-view defense. Carmella could have also been used to cause distraction and still allow Belair and Bayley to finish on a high.
Why did WWE opt to have such a messy finish for Belair in her first big title defense at WrestleMania Backlash?
#2 What’s next for the WWE Champion Bobby Lashley after his victory at WrestleMania Backlash?
Bobby Lashley put his WWE Championship on the line in a Triple Threat Match against Braun Strowman and Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania Backlash. The All Mighty was up against two of the biggest men on WWE RAW.
Strowman and McIntyre delivered some big moves to each other and Lashley. However, Lashley managed to overcome both men by playing it smart. He kicked McIntyre out of the ring after he delivered a Claymore to Strowman, and then Speared Strowman to retain the title.
By pinning Strowman, Lashley seems to have taken him out of the WWE Championship picture. The Scottish Warrior should also be moved away from the top title picture for some time.
Not many RAW Superstars seem to be around the top title picture at the moment. Therefore, RAW will need to look for a new challenger for Lashley following WrestleMania Backlash.
With Randy Orton performing in a tag team with Riddle, one wonders what is next for The All Mighty? Who will Lashley face for his title next? Will RAW continue to keep McIntyre in the race for the WWE Championship?
#1 Why is Cesaro taking a step back after his encounter with Roman Reigns at WWE WrestleMania Backlash?
Cesaro competed in the biggest match of his career at WWE WrestleMania Backlash. The Swiss Superman took on Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship at the pay-per-view.
This is Cesaro’s first shot at a world championship in WWE. He tried to make the most of the opportunity and gave an incredible performance. Reigns did extremely well to put Cesaro over before making him pass out to the guillotine.
After the match, Jey Uso attacked Cesaro and it looked like WWE would build an angle through which The Swiss Superman would get another shot that the title. However, Seth Rollins made an appearance to face-off against Reigns before attacking Cesaro.
Cesaro could have continued to feud with Reigns following WrestleMania Backlash. However, he will likely go up against Rollins again. While this will keep him in the spotlight, it will also keep him away from the Universal title.
Was it the right call to have The Messiah reignite his rivalry with Cesaro? Since The Swiss Superman had already defeated Rollins, why did the creative team decide to have him take a step back at WrestleMania Backlash?
