Five Storylines to Follow into WWE’s Backlash

This Sunday, the WWE will hold Backlash, the first Smackdown Live exclusive pay per view event since the brand split in July.

In theory, Backlash is what the WWE brand split is all about, a chance to showcase more wrestlers and give some typically overlooked wrestlers a chance to shine.

But a smaller Smackdown Live roster means more risk, as the WWE will hope that fewer wrestlers can carry a three hour pay per view.

If every wrestler doesn’t bring their A-game, Backlash could turn fans off of the idea to tuning into two pay per view events a month.

Here are the five biggest storylines going into tonight’s event:

Ambrose vs. Styles

Backlash’s main event pits Smackdown Live‘s two biggest wrestlers against each other for the biggest prize in the WWE, the WWE Championship. Dean Ambrose has held the WWE’s main title since June, when he beat Seth Rollins by cashing in a championship opportunity just a few hours after winning it at Money in the Bank. 

Ambrose’s first reign with the belt has received…mixed reviews, with a solid win over his ex-Shield teammates Rollins and Roman Reigns at Battleground and a victory against Dolph Ziggler (in a pretty disappointing match) at Summerslam. While Ambrose has established himself as a fighting champion over the last few months, many feel he hasn’t stepped up to show he can carry the company in the way that other top champions should.

Meanwhile, AJ Styles is coming off of his biggest win since joining the WWE in January: a clean win over John Cena at Summerslam. Styles is arguably the best wrestler on the WWE roster, a technician who can combine high-flying, technical prowess, and in-ring storytelling. He’s embraced his role as a cocky, obnoxious heel, able to taunt his opponents because he knows he’s superior. 

This match is hard to predict, mainly because there’s arguments that can be made for both competitors. Styles is the better wrestler and if he can finish off John Cena, he should certainly be able to handle Ambrose. And Ambrose’s disappointing title reign indicates he functions better chasing the belt than holding it. However, it feels a bit early to jump off the Ambrose wagon yet, and he still is searching for that big win to solidify his position as Smackdown‘s top face. 

Our Prediction: Ambrose retains but barely, setting up a rematch at No Mercy.

A Tag Team Tournament

Last month, Daniel Bryan announced that a tournament would be held to determine the inaugural Smackdown Tag Team Champions. In addition to the six established Smackdown Live tag teams, a surprising face demanded a spot in the tournament: WWE free agent Heath Slater. 

Slater was the only WWE Superstar on the active roster not to get drafted by either Smackdown Live or Monday Night RAW and has bounced from show to show ever since. Daniel Bryan agreed that Slater could enter the tournament and earn a Smackdown contract, provided he could find a partner and win the Smackdown Live Tag Team Tournament. 

Slater found a partner in Rhyno, a veteran powerhouse who recently returned to the WWE while simultaneously running a campaign for a seat in Michigan’s congress. And the pair have surprisingly worked well together, picking up wins over the Headbangers and the Hype Bros. to earn a spot in the Tag Team Finals at Backlash.

Their opponents will be either the Hype Bros or the Usos, neither of whom won their semi-final match. Slater and Rhyno’s scheduled opponent, the wunderkind team American Alpha, had to drop out after Chad Gable suffered an injury when the Usos turned heel and attacked him on Tuesday. Weirdly, the Usos were rewarded for taking out their opponent with a second opportunity to win the Tag Team Titles.

There’s two stories the WWE could tell, either of which have plenty of appeal. Heath Slater has become an unlikely Cinderella story, a charismatic castoff who many feel deserves a chance to shine. But if the Usos ruin that Cinderella story, they’d earn some major heat and make their eventual defeat even sweeter.

Our Prediction: The Usos win, but Heath Slater gets his Smackdown contract anyways.

Free For All for the Smackdown Women’s Championship

In addition to the Smackdown Tag Team Titles, Daniel Bryan also introduced a new Smackdown Women’s Championship and announced a Six Pack Elimination Match at Backlash featuring the entire women’s division (save for the suspended Eva Marie) to determine its first winner.

So far, the focus of the women’s division has been Becky Lynch, the likable Irish underdog who has suffered repeated losses and betrayals during her first year on the roster. Lynch is easily the best wrestler Smackdown Live has and she’s one of only two wrestlers on the roster who the fans feel any connection with. 

The other likely candidate to get a win is Nikki Bella, the longest reigning Divas Champion and the star of the Women’s Division prior to the arrival of Sasha Banks, Charlotte, and Lynch last year. Bella recently returned from a career threatening neck injury, but she’s likely only a part time schedule which might hurt her chances of winning the belt.

While the rest of the division is a bit of a toss-up, it’s plausible that any of the other four competitors could also come away as champion. Natalya is a top tier competitor just under Lynch’s level and is the top heel in the division. Alexa Bliss is also vastly underrated as a heel and the belt could give her a chance to shine and basically act as the top mean girl in high school. Naomi and Carmella also have a shot, although not even Carmella’s recent heel turn has gotten a reaction from the crowd.

Basically, the Smackdown Women’s Championship is up for grabs and nothing is unexpected here.

Our Prediction: Natalya, because Becky must suffer a little more to make her first title victory that much sweeter. 

The Eternal Intercontinental Title Reign Continues

The Miz has a bad reputation among hardcore wrestling fans because he wrestles in a “soft” style that was once indicative of the entire WWE roster. He’s a great heel because he’s obnoxious and has a punchable face, but don’t ever expect him to put on a top-tier match. 

However, when Daniel Bryan called Miz out for his weak, riskless style on a recent episode of Talking Smack, Smackdown Live‘s weekly post-show, the Miz went off on Bryan in what was probably the promo of the year. Miz put it all out there, criticizing Bryan for his early retirement due to injury while Miz has never suffered a significant injury in his career. Miz pointed to his Intercontinental Championship, the “workhorse” title Bryan had to relinquish before he retired, as proof that he was the real worker while Bryan was a coward. 

The rant was controversial at best, and seemed to tease Bryan coming out of retirement to face the Miz down the road. But the reality is that Bryan’s concussion history makes it unlikely that he’ll ever step foot in a WWE ring ever again. So instead we’re stuck with a match between the Miz and Dolph Ziggler, another WWE veteran with an underwhelming in-ring style.

Miz and Dolph Ziggler probably won’t be a barnburner of a match, nor is there really a ton of buildup to make this really appealing. The Miz should win because him losing the belt should mean something, Dolph should lose because that’s what he does, and we’ll all move on to Miz’s next opponent, whoever that is. 

Our Prediction: The Miz. 

Everything Else

Actually…there’s only one other scheduled match on the card for Backlash: a match between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt. Randy is coming off having his head broken by Brock Lesnar at Summerslam, and could probably use a win to re-establish that he’s actually a pretty good wrestler. Bray Wyatt is the go to opponent for those kinds of matches, so unless the WWE decides to make Bray into the main event force we know he could be, expect Randy to come out on top.

Our Prediction: Randy Orton with an RKO outta nowhere that everyone sees coming.