WWE Backlash 2023 Guide: Match Card, Predictions
John Castro Read update
- A Raw Women's Title match and a Street Fight between Bad Bunny and Damian Priest were added to the card on Raw.
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UPDATE: 2023/04/25 16:05 EST BY JOSH COULSON
A Raw Women's Title match and a Street Fight between Bad Bunny and Damian Priest were added to the card on Raw.
WrestleMania is done for another year and now that Vince McMahon isn't entirely in charge of WWE, fans don't need the premium live event that comes immediately after it to remind them WrestleMania just happened. That's why the next big show on the docket has returned to being called Backlash instead of WrestleMania Backlash. A historic installment in the PLE's very long run as it will emanate from Puerto Rico and be hosted by rapper and part-time WWE Superstar, Bad Bunny.
If you won't be lucky enough to be in attendance for Backlash, don't panic, you will still be able to watch the show live. Taking place on Saturday, May 6, 2023, Backlash will air live on Peacock in the US, and on the WWE Network or whatever service carries it in your part of the world. The main card will begin at 8 pm EST with a 60-minute kickoff show taking place right before it. There won't be a World Title match on the card, but everything that will be and has been announced so far can be found below.
RELATED: Bad Bunny Returning To WWE To Host Backlash
Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
It takes a special match to headline an event where the World Title clearly isn't going to be represented on the show, and this match might well be that special. Yes, the reason WWE has given for Brock Lesnar having a problem with Cody Rhodes is a little flimsy, but hey, if that's what it takes to get to this match, I'm okay with it.
Who wins this one might not be as straightforward as it seems. While the obvious pick is Rhodes, and that's why he lost to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, I can also see him having to suffer more defeats on his road back to The Tribal Chief. While that doesn't really make sense, which fits WWE's mantra a lot of the time, Rhodes enduring a war to pick up a win is the best option here.
Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, and Matt Riddle vs. The Bloodline
WrestleMania night one ended with the pieces seemingly being put into place for the downfall of The Bloodline. Thanks to the events of night two, that didn't happen. The feud continues, and with Matt Riddle returning to join the fight, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn will have a third so they can compete against three members of The Bloodline at Backlash.
Nothing on the line in this one since it will be three-on-three. The two sets of Tag Titles might well be back with The Bloodline by the time we get to this match though. The Usos failed to win them back at the first time of asking, but with a Saudi Arabia event coming up where all titles will be on the line, and champions who don't go to Saudi shows, there's likely a title change coming.
Rhea Ripley vs. Zelina Vega for the SmackDown Women's Championship
Rey Mysterio kept having to handle the wrath of The Judgment Day as he tried to teach his son a lesson building to WrestleMania, so he eventually called for backup in the form of a modern-day LWO. That led to Zelina Vega and Rhea Ripley butting heads, and now a title match with a pleasantly surprising amount of hype surrounding it.
Vega is of Puerto Rican descent, so her rivalry with Ripley has timed out pretty well. As hot as the home crowd will be for the challenger in this one though, there's only going to be one winner, and that winner is Ripley.
Austin Theory vs. Bronson Reed vs. Bobby Lashley for the United States Championship
If you can't figure out how to naturally insert yourself into a title scene, then attack those involved and hope for the best. That's what Bronson Reed has done and it's worked out pretty well, although he does have to share his US Title shot with Bobby Lashley.
Reed and Lashley could have probably clashed one-on-one and fans would have been okay with it. That match can happen on Raw instead now Austin Theory is a part of all this too. It's also the perfect way to get Theory an impressive win, leaving Reed and Lashley to continue feuding after this match has passed.
Bianca Belair vs. Iyo Sky for the Raw Women's Championship
Bianca Belair's Raw Women's Title reign has reached a point where she seems so unbeatable, even three Superstars on the same page going after her at the same time can't bring her down. Iyo Sky will get her shot to be the one who finally dethrones Belair at Backlash though as the cracks in Damage CTRL continue to show.
Sky is incredibly talented and it seems to be a given that she will eventually be a singles champion on the main roster. It won't happen at Backlash, though. This match will be used as a stage to drive one of the final nails into Damage CTRL's coffin. Bayley getting involved and inadvertently costing Sky the match and the title.
Seth Rollins vs. Omos
Omos got a match against Lesnar at WrestleMania and the reason for it was never really explained. There appears to be a pattern forming here as the Nigerian Giant will battle Seth Rollins at Backlash and even less reason has been given for this match than the Lesnar one.
Even Rollins seemed surprised when WWE announced the match, and he's probably not too happy about it for a number of reasons. Mainly because the likelihood of Omos losing two big PLE matches in a row is low so he'll probably be beating Rollins on May 6.
Damian Priest vs. Bad Bunny in a San Juan Street Fight
Unsatisfied with merely hosting Backlash, Bad Bunny was wound up enough by The Judgment Day that he challenged one of its members to a Street Fight at the PLE. Not just any member, but Damian Priest, the man who Bad Bunny once had an alliance with and fought alongside at WrestleMania.
There's an unwritten rule in WWE that the hometown wrestler always loses. That's a problem here as both Bad Bunny and Priest have connections to Puerto Rico. Since I was expecting the Mysterios to be involved in this match, and because it's no DQ, my guess is Rey will have a hand in helping Bad Bunny win this one.
