WWE Backlash 2018: First Co-Branded Pay Per View Both New Beginning and Final Chapter
By Bryan Heaton
Starting with WWE Backlash 2018, all pay per views the company produces will feature superstars from both Raw and SmackDown. But the timing of the show puts it in a unique spot to be the end of one era and the beginning of another at the same time.
On Sunday, May 6, WWE Backlash 2018 will stream on the WWE Network live from the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. The significance of the show is in the talent pool: Backlash is the first WWE event outside the Big 4 to be co-branded since the brand split in 2016. Since news of this broke several months ago, there’s been plenty of analysis and predictions for what it means long-term.
But the timing of Backlash this year has left it as an event that will serve a dual purpose. In the past month of WWE programming, we’ve seen WrestleMania, the Superstar Shake-up, and the Greatest Royal Rumble. It’s kind of been a lot to process. And throughout all of these shows, there hasn’t been a chance for the “reset” that usually comes at the close of WrestleMania.
The spectacle of WrestleMania serves as a perfect sort of season finale. Stories come to a close, titles change hands, the whole nine yards. And the excitement of debuts, returns, and surprises on the post-Mania Raw a night later create the environment of a season premiere. The next year of storytelling got its start once Mania was done.
For the past two years, the post-Mania Raw (and SmackDown Live) have been followed a week later by the Superstar Shake-up. Rather than a traditional draft (even though that’s basically what it is), the two shows swap a handful of superstars. The result of this? Raw after WrestleMania has become more of a standalone show. It’s kind of like the special episode of Sherlock from between the third and fourth series. Same characters, same idea, but not part of the overall continuity of the show as a whole.
A secondary effect of the Shake-up is the delayed start of the “new season,” as well. It’s absurd to start new stories when talent is moving around. So the Superstar-Shake-up also exists outside of the normal storytelling thread.
This year, another major show was added to the schedule in the wake of WrestleMania. Most of the roster (minus the women and Sami Zayn, which we’ve already discussed in detail) headed to Saudi Arabia for the Greatest Royal Rumble. With only a single episode of both Raw and SmackDown between the Shake-up and GRR, it was an accelerated build to the event.
Now, we’ve finally made it to Backlash, again with an abbreviated build. Since WWE has been basically full-steam ahead for a month now, there’s been no chance to really put the pieces in place for the remainder of 2018. So Backlash has almost turned into WrestleMania — it’s the show that finally ties up all the loose threads in any stories.
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Take Roman Reigns and Samoa Joe. The Shake-up sent Joe over to SmackDown, despite a Backlash match with Reigns already being scheduled. For the past two weeks, both superstars have been in a war of words, since they don’t work the same schedule. Following Backlash, they’ll finally go their separate ways into new stories and feuds.
That’s just one example, too. Seth Rollins and The Miz are in the same boat. Andrade Almas is yet to debut on SmackDown, for lack of time and story — SAnitY, too. Bobby Lashley and Braun Strowman have become a tag team, because there’s not much else going on until Backlash finishes up. And the list goes on.
So this Sunday, WWE Backlash 2018 will have a dual purpose. Not only will the current stories all reach their definitive conclusions, but as the first of the co-branded pay per views it’s a new beginning. Superstars will be competing for air time on these shows, since the roster is so large. Backlash will give us a glimpse into just how WWE plans to give superstars time on the shows.
Next: Raw Power Rankings, April 30, 2018
It’s not often a major wrestling event has more than one purpose. Usually, even a singular focus is difficult when booking a show. Just how well things turn out for WWE remains to be seen. Will it crash and burn? Will Backlash knock it out of the park? Or will it be a mixed bag? Charles Dickens wrote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” — could we say that about WWE Backlash 2018?