5 mistakes WWE has already made for Backlash

WWE Backlash takes place tomorrow night, and many fans believed that there may have been some last-minute additions to the card, following the excitement of WrestleMania 41, but that has not been the case.

Instead, Chief Content Officer Triple H has resorted to his usual five-match card for premium live events of such stature, and a number of big-name stars have missed out on the show. This has made it one of the most underwhelming cards of the year.

In this article, we will discuss a few mistakes WWE has already made before Backlash 2025:

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#5. Where is Seth Rollins' match?

The biggest storyline coming out of WrestleMania 41 was Paul Heyman's betrayal of Roman Reigns and CM Punk. It was expected that there would be a continuation of this story, especially after Seth Rollins was confronted by Punk this past week on RAW, which cost The Visionary his World Heavyweight Championship match.

Strangely, neither member of Rollins' new group is featured on the Backlash card, and instead, the World Heavyweight Championship match between Jey Uso and Seth Rollins took place on RAW just before the premium live event.

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#4. There is only one women's match at WWE Backlash

The only match featuring the women's division on the card this weekend for the PLE sees Lyra Valkyria defend her Women's Intercontinental Championship against Becky Lynch.

Interestingly, there has been a storyline brewing between Rhea Ripley, IYO SKY, Giulia, and Roxanne Perez on RAW over the past few weeks. That has now culminated in a Tag Team Match on the red brand for next week instead of at WWE Backlash.

Nia Jax, Naomi, and Jade Cargill have also set their sights on Tiffany Stratton's Women's Championship on SmackDown. However, once again, this match has been overlooked, and the company has decided on just one match featuring the women's division for WWE Backlash.

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#3. No Roman Reigns

Roman Reigns is one of the biggest stars in WWE, without question, and he has seemingly taken another lengthy hiatus, despite being part of one of the biggest storylines in the company. He was last seen on RAW after WrestleMania 41.

As noted above, Seth Rollins' new stable doesn't feature on the match card for the PLE, so Roman Reigns has no reason to return. This has left fans somewhat underwhelmed, with the card looking like many of the recent European events.

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#2. Cody Rhodes has been absent

Cody Rhodes lost his Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania 41 and is another star who has been on hiatus. Rhodes carried the company for a year, and now he's stepped away to allow John Cena's title match with Randy Orton to take centre stage instead.

Rhodes is expected to return next week on SmackDown to step back into a story with John Cena, but without the big names on the show or in the undercard, it's unclear how WWE expects to push these stories forward in St Louis.

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#1. No World Heavyweight Championship defence at WWE Backlash

Jey Uso's win over Gunther was one of the most talked-about moments from WrestleMania 41 last month. And, despite Logan Paul making waves and pushing for a shot at Main Event Jey's title, WWE has failed to add it to the card.

Seth Rollins was handed a World Heavyweight Championship match on RAW instead this past week, which has made WWE Backlash look like a glorified episode of the promotion's weekly shows instead of a premium live event on the road to SummerSlam in August.