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WrestleMania Backlash will take place on Sunday, as several superstars will put their prestigious titles on the line in high-stakes matchups. Roman Reigns is set to fight Cesaro in a Universal Championship clash. Meanwhile, Bobby Lashley has to defend his WWE Championship in a triple threat encounter against Drew McIntyre and Braun Strowman.
The RAW Women's Championship contest will also be a triple threat match, as Rhea Ripley is scheduled to fight Asuka and Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania Backlash. On SmackDown's side of things, Bianca Belair's women's title will be on the line in a singles clash featuring Bayley.
These four matches could make or break the pay-per-view's quality this Sunday. Additionally, WWE must have a few surprises in store to ensure that WrestleMania Backlash will be a memorable spectacle.
With that in mind, let's take a look at the five possible surprises that could happen during WrestleMania Backlash.
#5 Sasha Banks returns at WrestleMania Backlash
Bianca Belair is heavily favored to retain her SmackDown Women's title at WrestleMania Backlash. While Bayley has been a driving force in the women's division during the pandemic, this is Belair's time to shine in the spotlight.
Meanwhile, Sasha Banks hasn't been a significant part of the Blue brand during the post-WrestleMania season. Some may remember that on the SmackDown episode after WrestleMania, she seemed visibly frustrated over her loss at The Show of Shows. Banks didn't even say a word and walked away from a backstage interview during that episode.
Clearly, her character is still bitter over losing to Belair at WrestleMania. So at WrestleMania Backlash, Banks could interfere during or after the SmackDown Women's Championship match to resume her rivalry with Belair.
If Bayley vs. Belair ends in disqualification because of Banks' interruption, perhaps all three women may soon face each other in a triple threat showdown.
While many fans believe Becky Lynch's return will make a bigger impact, WWE could be saving that surprise for later when physically present live crowds return for good.
#4 Ric Flair appears during the WWE RAW Women's Championship match at WrestleMania Backlash
Ric Flair has teased to appear at the upcoming WrestleMania Backlash pay-per-view. However, the exact details regarding his potential return haven't been revealed.
The Nature Boy's latest WWE stint pitted him against his own daughter, Charlotte Flair, in a storyline that also involved Lacey Evans. This angle has been scrapped for now, although it's safe to assume that his potential WrestleMania Backlash appearance may be related to Charlotte's match.
The Queen will attempt to win the RAW Women's Championship in a triple threat contest against Rhea Ripley and Asuka. However, if Ric Flair returns during the bout, he could very well influence his daughter's fate.
WWE may pit the father-daughter duo in a new feud. On the other hand, The Nature Boy could appear to cheer on Charlotte and resolve their differences for good. Wrestling Twitter will certainly have a field day with WWE's booking if Ric Flair helps his daughter become the new RAW Women's Champion.
What do you think the legendary superstar should do if he is scheduled for a return at WrestleMania Backlash?
#3 Alexa Bliss targets Charlotte Flair during WrestleMania Backlash
On the go-home edition of RAW before WrestleMania Backlash, Alexa Bliss scouted a six-woman tag team match. This bout featured the following participants:
- Mandy Rose
- Dana Brooke
- Asuka
- Nia Jax
- Shayna Baszler
- Charlotte Flair
Bliss teased multiple feuds and supposedly pulled off a magic trick on Shayna Baszler. However, out of every possibility, a potential feud between Bliss and Charlotte Flair sounded like an intriguing development.
At WrestleMania Backlash, Rhea Ripley will most likely retain the RAW Women's Championship against Flair and Asuka. One has to imagine that Charlotte Flair won't be in a great mood if she loses this opportunity. After the match, Bliss may appear out of nowhere and target The Queen to confirm her target from the RAW roster.
As mentioned in the previous slide, Ric Flair could also appear during this match. If that happens, Alexa Bliss may attack the 16-time world champion to indirectly kickstart a feud with Charlotte Flair.
A rivalry of such magnitude could last for months, which will also give WWE a solid reason to keep Charlotte out of the title picture for a while.
#2 Rey and Dominik Mysterio fail to become champions at WrestleMania Backlash
Rey and Dominik Mysterio are predicted to become the new SmackDown Tag Team Champions at WrestleMania Backlash. In recent memory, WWE has heavily advertised the possibility of Rey and Dominik becoming the first-ever father-son tag team champions. Clearly, this outcome has more newsworthy appeal compared to The Dirty Dawgs' (Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode) reign as the current titleholders.
However, WWE's booking pattern for The Dirty Dawgs vs. Rey and Dominik Mysterio has been quite strange, to say the least. Over the last two weeks, the babyfaces have emerged victoriously over Ziggler in separate singles matches. It's almost as if there isn't a huge conflict for Rey and Dominik to overcome at WrestleMania Backlash.
With the current SmackDown Tag Team Champions' chances of winning at the upcoming pay-per-view already looking weak, WWE could swerve viewers by booking The Dirty Dawgs to retain their titles.
This surprise would make sense, especially if WWE plans to save Rey and Dominik Mysterio's big moment for the future when live crowds return to arenas.
#1 Jimmy Uso reluctantly confronts his twin brother during WrestleMania Backlash
At WrestleMania Backlash, could the Anoa'i family drama directly influence Roman Reigns and Cesaro's Universal Championship clash?
Gone are the days when Jimmy and Jey Uso were indistinguishable from each other in terms of their characters. While Jey is currently Roman Reigns' right-hand man, Jimmy has clearly refused to become Reigns' lapdog.
Even on the go-home episode of SmackDown before WrestleMania Backlash, Jimmy's conflict with The Tribal Chief led to Cesaro's attack on Jey Uso. If this particular conflict is explored at Sunday's pay-per-view, Jimmy could slightly jeopardize Reigns' winning chances, even if he has to go against his twin brother in the process.
While Jimmy is expected to disobey Reigns, the surprise here would be a situation where he has to physically confront Jey, setting up a future match between the twins.
Despite Cesaro's recent efforts in WWE, Roman Reigns is heavily favored to retain his Universal Championship at WrestleMania Backlash. To overcome the predictable nature of this outcome, WWE should ideally book a surprise between members of the Anoa'i family this Sunday.
Do check out Sportskeeda Wrestling's WrestleMania Backlash preview in the video linked above. How excited are you for the upcoming pay-per-view on a scale of 1-10? Sound off in the comments section below.
