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We are all set for WWE’s upcoming pay-per-view, WrestleMania Backlash. Although the build-up to the pay-per-view has been average, expectations are still high.
Five out of six matches confirmed for the show revolve around championships. We could see a couple of more championship matches added to the pay-per-view by the end of this week. The match card looks excellent on paper, and there could be several surprises in store at WrestleMania Backlash.
The creative have a lot of possibilities to explore in terms of surprise attacks and shocking finishes. There are also a lot of potential mistakes that should be avoided at all costs. In this article, we will take a look at things that should happen at WrestleMania Backlash and things that shouldn’t.
#1 Shouldn’t happen at WrestleMania Backlash: Roman Reigns retains his Universal Championship with a clean finish
At WrestleMania Backlash, Roman Reigns will put his Universal Championship on the line in a singles match against Cesaro. The latter won the opportunity to challenge The Tribal Chief after defeating Seth Rollins on last week’s episode of SmackDown. This is also the biggest match of Cesaro’s WWE career so far.
Initially, Roman Reigns thought that Cesaro has no noteworthy achievements, and hence, he doesn’t deserve any respect. In fact, Reigns did not think The Swiss Cyborg deserved the title opportunity that led to Daniel Bryan interfering. Eventually, Reigns defeated Bryan and barred him from SmackDown a couple of weeks before WrestleMania Backlash.
This was one of the few occasions when Roman Reigns has picked up a clean win in a title match during his current run as a heel. He has depended highly on external interferences and cheap shots for his title defenses, which shouldn’t change at WrestleMania Backlash. A clean win for Reigns would immediately eliminate Cesaro from the world title picture, which would be a mistake.
Cesaro tried to defend Bryan, but Roman Reigns’ entourage outnumbered him. His recent booking on SmackDown has done justice to his potential and the creative have done well in building him up as a credible contender for Reigns’ Universal Championship before WrestleMania Backlash. This match can finally show why Cesaro deserves to compete for the most coveted prize in WWE.
The creative should avoid any kind of booking at WrestleMania Backlash that will immediately dismiss Cesaro’s claims for a title opportunity. At least this way, he will get another shot at the title somewhere down the line, just like others before him. It will also help get more natural heat towards Reigns while simultaneously adding more authenticity to his dominating run.
#1 Should happen at WrestleMania Backlash: Jimmy Uso lays a surprise attack on Roman Reigns
Days before WrestleMania Backlash, Jimmy Uso returned on WWE SmackDown and reunited with Jey Uso. However, the happy greetings quickly came to an end when Jimmy refused to acknowledge Roman Reigns as The Head of the Table. In fact, he is the reason why Cesaro will challenge Reigns for the Universal Championship at the upcoming pay-per-view.
During the match between Seth Rollins and Cesaro, Jimmy launched an attack on The Architect after the latter attacked Jey. This led to Cesaro capitalizing on the distraction to win the match and earn his title shot. This turn of events didn’t sit well with Roman Reigns, who felt that it is necessary to put Jimmy Uso back in line once he has dealt with Cesaro at WrestleMania Backlash.
It would be interesting if Jimmy attacks Reigns after his match at the pay-per-view. This could lead to another family feud on SmackDown, and Jey Uso will be torn in his support.
Eventually, a potential rivalry between the two cousins could lead to The Usos ditching Roman Reigns, or it could result in the formation of one of the most dominant factions we have ever seen. It will also give the creative enough time to identify and establish new babyfaces on SmackDown who can challenge Reigns for the title after WrestleMania Backlash.
#2 Shouldn’t happen at WrestleMania Backlash: Charlotte Flair wins the WWE RAW Women’s Championship
Rhea Ripley is set to defend her RAW Women’s Championship at WrestleMania Backlash in a triple threat match against Asuka and Charlotte Flair. Ripley won the title at WrestleMania after defeating The Empress.
Following that, Flair returned on WWE RAW and demanded a shot at the women’s title of the Red brand. She was then inserted into the title match scheduled for WrestleMania Backlash, thanks to her backstage relationship with WWE official Sonya Deville.
While Charlotte Flair has been brilliant as a heel during her current run, she shouldn’t be the one to walk out of WrestleMania Backlash with the title. She is already the most decorated female superstar in WWE history and can afford to take a loss. Flair can also feud with a couple of superstars before inevitably entering the title picture again. On the other hand, all of Ripley’s momentum will be destroyed if she loses her gold.
NXT graduates are often at the risk of losing the very thing that made them popular in the first place once they move to the main roster. The creative shouldn’t repeat the same mistake with Rhea Ripley. Instead, they should allow her to defend her title against both Asuka and Charlotte Flair to establish her as a credible women’s champion on WWE RAW.
#2 Should happen at WrestleMania Backlash: Rey and Dominik Mysterio make history
Rey and Dominik Mysterio have a chance to make history at WrestleMania Backlash. They are scheduled to challenge Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships and become the first father-son duo to win the aforementioned championships in WWE history.
Rey and Dominik Mysterio have had a good run ever since they started competing in the tag team division. Their recent feud with The Alpha Academy has also been epic, and they deserve their shot at the tag team titles. Ziggler and Roode have done everything they possibly can with their SmackDown Tag Team Championships, and they can now afford to lose the titles at WrestleMania Backlash.
Rey Mysterio has conquered a lot of milestones in WWE, but winning the title alongside his son would be something extremely special at WrestleMania Backlash. This would also mark the beginning of Dominik’s first title run in the promotion, something he desperately needs.
He made an impressive in-ring debut and has carried himself like an experienced professional inside the squared circle. The creative should capitalize on Dominik Mysterio's skills by putting him in the spotlight more often.
#3 Shouldn’t happen at WrestleMania Backlash: Bayley wins the SmackDown Women’s Championship
At WrestleMania Backlash, Bianca Belair will put her SmackDown Women’s Championship on the line in a match against Bayley. The two superstars began feuding on SmackDown after Belair defeated Sasha Banks for the title at WrestleMania.
Bayley and The EST of WWE were also engaged in an intense rivalry earlier this year. Soon after Belair won the SmackDown Women’s Championship, The Role Model decided to get her hands back on the gold and lead the women’s division again.
Both superstars went after each other in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania Backlash. Although the build-up to their title match has been good, it is not intense enough to see the championship change hands. Belair should successfully defend her title at the pay-per-view, and Bayley will do well to put the champion over during this match.
Letting Belair retain her title will also allow the creative to focus on her feud with Sasha Banks after WrestleMania Backlash. Both these superstars main-evented the first night of WrestleMania last month. While they delivered a good match, their feud was far too underwhelming. The writers will have another shot at narrating the rivalry after the pay-per-view.
#3 Should happen at WrestleMania Backlash: End of the feud between Damian Priest and The Miz
WrestleMania Backlash will witness The Miz lock horns with Damian Priest once again. The two superstars have been feuding for a long time on WWE RAW. Their rivalry also gave us a memorable tag team match at WrestleMania when Damian Priest teamed up with Grammy-winning artist Bad Bunny to take on The A-Lister and John Morrison. The match also saw Bunny make the most impressive in-ring debut by a celebrity in WWE history.
It’s been long since Bad Bunny left, but Priest has continued his feud with The Miz and Morrison. It would be fair to say that this storyline has run its course, and their rivalry should come to an end at WrestleMania Backlash. It would be better if Priest gets to put this ongoing feud to rest by beating The Miz in the Lumberjack match.
Both superstars will have multiple options to pursue on WWE RAW after their match at WrestleMania Backlash. All eyes will be on The Miz once again now that we are inching close to the Money in the Bank pay-per-view as well.
As for Priest, he can feud with other underused talents on WWE RAW that will help the creative in pushing him to the United States Championship picture on the Red brand.
#4 Shouldn’t happen at WrestleMania Backlash: Bobby Lashley retains his WWE Championship
Another triple-threat title match at WrestleMania Backlash will witness Bobby Lashley put his WWE Championship on the line against Drew McIntyre and Braun Strowman. Lashley has had a good run with the title even though he used sneaky methods to claim the title in the first place. We have also seen MVP trying every shady business deal possible to ensure that Lashley’s title reign continues.
Bobby Lashley’s run with the title has already established him as a good champion, and he should fight for the world title more often. However, right now would be the best time to put the WWE Championship on Braun Strowman. He has had great runs on WWE RAW multiple times that often push him towards a title challenge. Unfortunately for Strowman, he comes short in important matches most of the time.
Strowman has transformed himself completely since the dawn of the year 2021. He takes more risks inside the ring and looks more driven now. He deserves to win the WWE Championship and defend that title against some of the top superstars.
Moreover, this title change will make things interesting on WWE RAW, especially if he continues feuding with McIntyre and Lashley after winning the WWE Championship at WrestleMania Backlash.
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