WWE Backlash 2017: Rumours you need to know

WWE Backlash is shaping up to be a good show on paper although the buildup to it can be called lackluster at best. To be fair, Jinder Mahal vs Randy Orton has been an intriguing storyline although that is more than partly attributed to the sheer shock of seeing the man who was recently jobbing to Mojo Rawley becoming #1 contender.

Right below the main-event are two of the most hotly anticipated matches of the night, Shinsuke Nakamura making his main-roster in-ring debut versus Dolph Ziggler and Kevin Owens defending the US Championship against AJ Styles. Fans have been waiting for Nakamura to do something significant for so long, the level feverish anticipation regarding him has cooled down a little. He’s going to wow us at Backlash regardless though.

Owens vs Styles should be another excellent match and could well be the match of the night. On the other hand, it’s hard to tell how the Chicago crowd will react to Orton vs Mahal. Will there be any customary CM Punk chants if the main-event is lackluster?

Other matches on the card are the underwhelming six-woman tag match and the even more underwhelming Erick Rowan vs Luke Harper match. I love Luke Harper but I couldn’t care less about this particular match.

On the pre-show, we also have the “Perfect 10” Tye Dillinger taking on Aiden English……again.

Now that we’ve taken a look at the card, let’s take a look at the rumours ahead of the PPV.

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4: A new #1 contender?

We reported earlier this week that WWE officials were seriously looking at Carmella as the next challenger for the SmackDown Women’s Championship.

With that being said, there is a chance that WWE could use the six-woman tag-team match at Backlash to set up the #1 contender by having the ‘Welcoming Committee” win with Carmella pinning Naomi.

3: US Championship rumours

Early rumours in the week suggested that there was a chance that AJ Styles could leave Backlash with the US Championship.

However, the recent change in betting patterns suggests that that may not be the case with odds now favouring Owens to leave with his US Championship.

A round of rumours right after the Superstar Shake-Up suggested that Styles could move on to challenge for the WWE Championship after his program with Owens. If Styles loses tonight, he could well be in line to challenge for the WWE Championship next.

2: Overcoming the Wolf

Sami Zayn vs Baron Corbin was announced earlier this week on the go-home episode of SmackDown. Zayn was one of the bigger names who moved to SmackDown at the Superstar Shake-Up. He’s been near the top of the card since then.

A shift in betting odds now suggests that Zayn could be going over Corbin tonight. Hopefully, he’ll move onto a more meaningful feud after this.

1: Don’t hinder the Jinder

Last week it looked like Randy Orton was a sureshot to leave Backlash with the WWE Championship. WWE’s pushing Jinder because of their expansion in India but it did not look like go all the way with Jinder and putting SmackDown’s top title on him.sureshot to leave Backlash with the WWE Championship.

However, there has been a late and dramatic shift betting odds. Now it looks like WWE could well go the whole hog with the Maharaja and his henchmen. It looks like Jinder could well be leaving Backlash with the WWE Championship.

WWE officials are also planning on putting the title on Jinder on an experimental basis. a reign that could last for a month before they take a call on how well he fared.