There were rumors/concerns that Roman Reigns might take off Backlash due to injury. Those rumors* turned out to be false and it now seems to be the plan that the WWE Unified Champion will indeed defend his titles at the WrestleMania cooldown event taking place in Providence, RI.
Who will he face? And what are his plans moving towards Money In The Bank and SummerSlam? Let’s dive into it, shall we?
Plans For Roman Reigns At Backlash
Roman will headline Backlash, though his opponent is currently up in the air. Early speculation is that Reigns will face off against Shinsuke Nakamura, who lost his tag partner Rick Boogz to a quad injury suffered at the hands of the Usos.
Other options for Reigns could be Gunther, Ricochet, Jinder Mahal, or Sami Zayn.
Nakamura is obviously a stop-gap who could feud with Reigns for the next few months, but with MITB and SummerSlam on the horizon, we should examine other options to challenge Reigns.
But the problem here is believablility. Roman Reigns is performing at such a monolithic level that it seems inplausible that anyone could beat him, at least without controversy.
While I suggest Cody facing Reigns sooner, having Rhodes face off against Reigns at SummerSlam would make the most sense storytelling wise. Especially if Cody is trying to ressurrect and capture the old school WWWF title that he owns and wants to win outright in memory of his father.
The Rest Of The Backlash Card
As the name suggests, WrestleMania Backlash is about wrapping up WrestleMania feuds before moving on. Why do we need an event like this? Shouldn’t WrestleMania be a period instead of a comma?
The card as it stands now feature three rematches, but with some changes and new stipulation
- Charlotte vs. Ronda Rousey in an “I Quit” Match – Rousey should win this definitely and capture the title. Making an MMA pioneer tap (Lesnar has never tapped) would be a monumental mistake.
- Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins – Cody needs another win here as he build momentum for his eventual title run.
- RKBro vs The Usos in a Tag Title Unificaition Match – This is the match that should end the night. I know Roman is the top star, but this is the story that is most important and will definitely be the best match of the evening. With the major titles unifying, there was a belief that Raw and SmackDown will become unified as well. Most reports state this isn’t happening in the near future, and I have to imaigne USA and Fox like having separate rosters for each of their shows.
- AJ Styles vs. Edge – Edge continues his ascent into madness as he build his new brood. With Damien Priest already in tow, there are rumors that Rhea Ripley will join up as well. I would love for Edge to build a stable of young, hungry stars that he can infect with his wickedness.
Other possible matches:
- Rhea Ripley vs. Liv Morgan
- Sami Zayn vs. Drew McIntyre (Falls Count Anywhere)
- Ezekiel vs. Kevin Owens
- Boss & Glow defending the Women’s Tag Titles
- VEER vs some local schmuck.
- Bianca Belair vs Sonya Deville for the RAW Women’s Title
What are your thoughts on WrestleMania Backlash? Share them in the comment section below.
*like nearly every wrestling rumor, seriously don’t believe anything in wrestling until you see it happen
