As announced by Shane O’Mac on the first ‘new era’ episode of SmackDown, the WWE would be floating Brand specific pay-per-views going forward, apart from the big 4 events each year that would be common to both brands.
And he also announced that WWE Backlash would be the first pay-per-view specific to SmackDown!, to be conducted on August 11th in The Coliseum, Richmond.
The WWE has also advertised the major Superstars to be involved in the event on their official page, but it is noticeable that John Cena’s absence is conspicuous. The names advertised are WWE Champion Dean Ambrose, Randy Orton, AJ Styles, Becky Lynch, Bray Wyatt and the Intercontinental Champion, The Miz.
As reported by WrestlingInc, John Cena is, however, advertised for the WWE Live Event to be conducted in Shangai, China the previous day.
The reason behind John Cena not being advertised for Backlash is not yet clear, although it could be because he could be fronting the WWE’s efforts in expanding their reach in China. Only last month, he made an address entirely in Mandarin, Chinese in commemorating the company’s tie-up with PPTV for distributing exclusive WWE content in the country.
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