Major Change Announced for WWE Backlash Main Event

WWE SmackDown Live began on Tuesday evening with a major change to the WWE championship match this Sunday at Backlash.

SmackDown GM Paige announced that AJ Styles (champion) and Shinsuke Nakamura will now do battle in a no disqualification match at the show. Though the bout had previously been announced, it was assumed to be a regular match with no stipulations.

WWE also showed photos from the Nakamura vs. Styles match this past Friday at Greatest Royal Rumble that ended in controversial fashion. They pointed out that both men did things that were illegal in the match, pointing to Nakamura’s low blow on Styles and Styles attacking Nakamura in ruthless fashion following the bell that ended the match.

Paige also pointed out that Shane McMahon would not be at Tuesday night’s SmackDown following the fall through the table which he took at Greatest Royal Rumble (shown in the video above).

The WWE Backlash match between Styles and Nakamura will be the third time the duo has wrestled on a major show in just four weeks. The series began with their match at WrestleMania 34, won cleanly by Styles. Frankly, the match didn’t live up to the high expectations fans had heading in given the legendary bout the two had in NJPW a couple of years ago. However, the Nakamura heel turn immediately following the match was incredibly memorable and was the real story.

They followed up WrestleMania with the aforementioned match at Greatest Royal Rumble, which went to a no-finish. Will the third time be the charm to recreate the magic these two created in 2016 at WrestleKingdom? Let’s hope so. The time could also be ripe for a title change, as Nakamura’s heel turn has completely rejuvenated his WWE main roster career.