A number of WWE's PPV names have stood the test of time. WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Royal Rumble. However, one of the longest surviving names outside of the big four is Backlash, now known as WrestleMania Backlash. While WWE attaching the WrestleMania brand to as much as it possibly can does water it down somewhat, at least in this instance it sort of makes sense as the event is supposed to play host to the backlash following the events of this year's WrestleMania.
That's certainly the plan this year, as the first two matches announced for the show were rematches from this year's WrestleMania. WrestleMania Backlash will go down on May 8, 2022. A return to Sunday nights, so bad news for any of you living in a timezone where WWE shows take place in the middle of the night. At least there's now officially a UK PPV on the horizon. The action will begin at 8 pm EST on Peacock in the US and the WWE Network everywhere else. Plus, a one-hour kickoff show ahead of time on those same platforms as well as WWE's YouTube channel. Everything announced for the show so far can be found below.
Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey in an I Quit Match for the SmackDown Women's Championship
Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey clashed for the SmackDown Women's Title at WrestleMania, but the match didn't really live up to the hype. That was partly down to the other action on WrestleMania Saturday, but also because of the somewhat screwy finish. Flair collided with referee Charles Robinson which meant when Rousey fulfilled her promise and made The Queen tap, the ref didn't see it. Flair then capitalized on a distracted Rousey to hit her, pin her, and escape.
The Rowdy One accepted the defeat, admitting that she should have known better. However, that doesn't excuse the fact that she officially made Flair tap. That's why, at Backlash, Rousey demanded their rematch be an I Quit affair. There'll be no hiding her pain from a referee this time as if Flair can't take it, she will have to say "I Quit". No way Rousey says that, so she'll be winning this one.
Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins
WrestleMania was jam-packed with huge moments, but the biggest might well have been the WWE return of Cody Rhodes. The American Nightmare was revealed to be Seth Rollins' mystery opponent. The match arguably stole the show, and Rhodes won. However, Rollins believes had he known what he was up against, that would not have been the result, hence the booking of a rematch at WrestleMania Backlash.
News that these two will be doing it all again on May 8 is incredibly welcome. As for who wins, that's a tricky one. Rhodes has stated his intent to become a World Champion in WWE and to do that, he needs to win big matches like these. However, Rollins remains one of WWE's biggest assets and having him lose back-to-back PPV matches of this magnitude wouldn't be the best look. Rollins will likely win this one and perhaps both men will challenge Reigns coming out of it.
Drew McIntyre and RK-Bro vs. Roman Reigns and The Usos
Backlash was supposed to be the stage on which WWE would unify its two sets of Tag Titles. However, a swerve a little more than a week before the show has taken that match off the table. Now no Tag Titles will be on the line. Instead, Raw Tag Champions RK-Bro will team up with Drew McIntyre to take on their SmackDown counterparts The Usos and the WWE Unified Universal Champion, Roman Reigns.
A blockbuster match here, and the one that will probably close the show. As for who wins, the point of this match feels like a way to have McIntyre and Reigns clash without actually giving away a singles match. To make the Scot feel like a viable challenger in the near future, he and RK-Bro need to win this one, probably with an Uso taking the fall.
AJ Styles vs. Edge
AJ Styles versus Edge might well have been the most anticipated match on this year's WrestleMania card. While it was a great match, it certainly wasn't the best of the weekend. Partly due to the distraction finish involving Damian Priest. The two will get a chance to go round again at WrestleMania Backlash since The Rated R Superstar has continued tormenting Styles along with his new protege.
Another tricky one to call for a couple of reasons. Edge is building a new faction, and it seems unlikely WWE would want him to look weak this early into that new group's existence. However, back-to-back losses for Styles at big shows to the same wrestler also seems unlikely. Edge to win this one if forced for an answer since he is the one with bigger plans in his immediate future.
Bobby Lashley vs. Omos
Despite suffering what appeared to be a pretty serious injury at Elimination Chamber, Bobby Lashley managed to bounce back just in time for WrestleMania. There, The All Mighty went head-to-head with Omos and handed him the first singles loss of his career. Unwilling to accept that and move on, and now with MVP in his corner, Omos will clash with Lashley again at WrestleMania Backlash.
This match arguably got pretty lost over the course of a weekend packed with great matches and memorable moments. While it will have a better chance to shine at Backlash, I'm not sure that is necessarily a good thing. As for who wins, if WWE is serious about making something of Omos, then he needs to best Lashley here.
Happy Corbin vs. Madcap Moss
Madcap Moss was introduced to WWE's main roster as Happy Corbin's sidekick. Since then, WWE has done a pretty great job of slowly turning an annoying Superstar into someone likable. Having Corbin throw him to the wolves, specifically Drew McIntyre, time and time again until he couldn't take anymore. Now here we are, a master versus apprentice type match at WrestleMania Backlash.
On the surface, it feels like Moss really needs to win this one. However, it depends on how long WWE plans on stringing this out. Corbin getting a cheap win and setting up a rematch could also work really well, making Moss's eventual victory even bigger.