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Backlash is WWE's first pay-per-view of their new era since all monthly shows will now be seen as dual brand events. Despite this being a huge pay-per-view when it comes to the future prospects of the company, there hasn't been a lot of hype surrounding the show because WWE is still winding down after their trip to Saudi Arabia last week.
Backlash streams live from Newark, New Jersey on Sunday night and sees some interesting matchups, here are some of the most interesting facts and stats that every WWE star should know ahead of the event.
#5 AJ Styles has been in a Championship match at the past three Backlash events
AJ Styles has a great history at Backlash since it was this pay-per-view back in 2016 that Styles was able to finally overcome Dean Ambrose and lift the WWE Championship for the first time. Bear in mind that Styles only made his WWE debut at The Royal Rumble in 2016 and this win allowed him to make history since he became one of the fastest Champions in the history of the company.
Last year Styles was defeated by Kevin Owens in their United States Championship match but this year he walks into the event as Champion for the first time and hopes to defend his WWE Championship against Shinsuke Nakamura for the third time in less than a month.
#4 SmackDown could have two mid-card titles following Backlash
WWE could have given away the result of the Intercontinental Championship match already, but setting up a match between a Raw and a SmackDown superstar. The United States Championship match has Jeff Hardy defending against Randy Orton, which means that the title will remain on SmackDown regardless.
Unless WWE adds the stipulation that The Miz will move over to Raw if he defeats Seth Rollins, then it's highly unlikely that the other mid-card title will be changing hands on Sunday night and allowing SmackDown to have two mid-card titles for the first time.
#3 The first time the Raw Women's Championship has been defended at Backlash
Backlash has been an annual event for the past few years, but the show has been mostly focused on the SmackDown roster in recent years. This means that the Raw Women's Championship has never actually been defended at a Backlash event and Nia Jax hasn't actually defended her title at all in the past month.
Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax have failed to wrestle on Monday Night Raw since WrestleMania, which has left this match's build up quite lackluster when it obviously deserved much more considering it's a historic match for the women.
#4 Daniel Bryan's first pay-per-view singles match in more than two years
Daniel Bryan has been one of the most talked about stars in the wrestling business over the past few months, ever since it was announced that he had been medically cleared to compete in a WWE ring for the first time since his retirement back in 2016.
Bryan wrestled in a tag team match at WrestleMania and then competed in The Greatest Royal Rumble last week, but Bryan is yet to step up into a singles match on pay-per-view since his return. This weekend he takes on Big Cass after the seven-foot star seemingly put a target on Bryan's back a few weeks ago.
#1 Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy will make history
Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy fight it out this weekend for the United States Championship since Orton lost the title at WrestleMania and then earned himself a rematch a week later on SmackDown Live.
Orton and Hardy are both veterans of the squared circle and are set to make history this Sunday night when they become the first ever Grand Slam Champions to have faced each other in one-on-one matches for all four main WWE Championship titles. The United States Championship match was the last showdown that the duo needed to make history and that match will finally take place this weekend.
