5 most disappointing things about the Backlash card

Backlash is traditionally considered the fallout pay-per-view following WrestleMania. Though WWE decided to have the Greatest Royal Rumble event this year before Backlash, the event in Saudi Arabia did very little in terms of significantly carrying any storyline forward.

This year's Backlash will be the first dual-branded version of the pay-per-view since 2009 and as announced by WWE, all PPVs going forward shall feature Superstars from both brands. The match card this Sunday features eight matches as of this writing, five of them being title bouts.

With all this in mind, let us have a look at the most disappointing things about the match card for this Sunday.

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#5 Tag Team titles will not be defended

Hardy and Wyatt won the titles at Greatest Royal Rumble

Just a few weeks ago, the tag team titles were more relevant than ever on both Raw and SmackDown, with The Usos putting on one great match after another on the blue brand, while the unlikely pairing in the form of The Bar continued to dominate the division on Raw.

While it might have seemed like a breath of fresh air to put the title on the bizarre duo of Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt, without strong booking, the team has already lost some momentum. Over on SmackDown, The Bludgeon Brothers are indeed a dominant team, but it is debatable whether they were ready for the Titles yet.

In fact, there is such a dearth of captivating narratives in the division that the titles aren't even being defended this Sunday at Backlash.

#4 Sunday will not be Rusev Day

Rusev is long overdue for a title run

Rusev is arguably the most over Superstar in WWE right now. While the audience have accepted The Bulgarian Brute wholeheartedly, the company is yet to give him a big push.

While there was very little chance that he would defeat The Undertaker at Greatest Royal Rumble, a good sign is that the match wasn't a squash like WrestleMania.

Last week, Lana returned to Rusev's side and seemed to suggest that Aiden English was holding back the former US Champion.

While it seems like WWE has a storyline in mind for Rusev, they have once again failed to book him in a solid feud and because of this, he is not even on the match card for Backlash this Sunday.

Hopefully, a mid-card run in the US Title scene is not too far for The Bulgarian Brute.

#3 Cross brand booking

This will surely be a good fight, but what next?

There are two matches this Sunday where a Superstar from one brand will take on his counterpart from the other brand - Roman Reigns vs Samoa Joe and Seth Rollins vs The Miz.

Reigns vs Joe is sure to be a hard-hitting match-up with one Superstar gaining a lot of momentum from the win, and any match involving Rollins will certainly be an exciting one.

But the problem with these two matches is that there is no possibility to carry the storyline forward, since the Superstars will go back to their own brands after Sunday.

When there is no story to be told in the future, the matches might end up seeming a tad pointless, barring of course, the momentum to be gained from the victory.

Also, it is unlikely that The Miz will win the match and take the Championship to SmackDown since the blue brand already has one mid-card title, the US Championship.

#2 Meaningless booking for Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley

A dominant alliance, but nonetheless only temporary

The best thing that happened at the Greatest Royal Rumble event was, without a doubt, Braun Strowman finally getting the spotlight he deserves.

Excellent booking and pure talent made sure that Strowman transformed seamlessly from a monstrous heel to a universally loved babyface.

While the booking succeeded in getting Strowman over with the WWE Universe, the Monster Among Men is yet to see any windfall in spite of his popularity.

Strowman won the Tag Team title with a ten-year-old kid at WrestleMania and on the next PPV, he is booked in a meaningless tag match.

Even Bobby Lashley, four weeks after his high impact return, is yet to find his footing with a solid storyline. The alliance between the two men is certainly dominant but is surely just temporary.

It is high time the company put complete faith in the big man and give him a run in the Universal Championship picture.

Speaking of which...

#1 No Universal Championship

Backlash not good enough for The Beast Incarnate?

While his sporadic appearances and monstrous booking may have worked for a year, the WWE Universe is getting increasingly restless with Brock Lesnar as the holder of the most prestigious title in the company.

Even the hardcore fans will accept the fact that it would indeed be good to see the Universal Champion on every Raw and on every PPV.

Instead what we get now is Lesnar hopping in the background with advocate Heyman cutting the very same promo time and time again.

You know that fans are fed up with the story when even Heyman cannot keep things interesting anymore.

Reigns might not be the solution that the fans want for this problem right now, but imagine the possibilities if full-time wrestlers like Rollins, Balor, or Strowman become the Champion.

At least the fans will get to see the Champion involved in captivating storylines and put on decent matches with more than two moves - German Suplexes and F-5s.