WWE Backlash 2018: Results, Highlights, Analysis, and Grades

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WWE Backlash 2018 kicks off a new era of co-branded pay per views for the company. AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura will battle for the WWE Championship in a No Disqualification Match. Plus, Roman Reigns and Samoa Joe renew their rivalry.

For the first time since 2016 outside of Big 4 events, the WWE Universe is being treated to an official co-branded pay per view event. WWE Backlash 2018 features the best of both the Raw and SmackDown brands in the same place. As of late Saturday night, there were eight matches scheduled for the show, plus one more on the Kickoff Show.

The main event, presumably, is the WWE Championship Match. AJ Styles defends the title against challenger Shinsuke Nakamura for the third time in just about a month. Styles was victorious at WrestleMania, but he awakened the dark side of Nakamura’s personality. The rematch at the Greatest Royal Rumble ended in a double count out. This time, it’s a No Disqualification Match. Will Nakamura resort to another low blow to win his first championship? Or will Styles find a way to retain?

In one of two cross-brand matches on the night, Roman Reigns faces longtime rival Samoa Joe. After The Big Dog failed twice to dethrone Universal Champion Brock Lesnar, Joe began a war of words with Reigns. Roman claims he never lost faith in himself. But Joe is sick and tired of Reigns coming up with excuse after excuse for not getting the job done, and vows to put a hurting on him. What ramifications will this match have on Raw and SmackDown Live moving forward?

The other cross-brand match is an Intercontinental Championship Match between champion Seth Rollins and challenger The Miz. Also on the card is a United States Championship Match, where Randy Orton tries to regain the title against new champion Jeff Hardy. Both women’s championships are on the line: Nia Jax defends against Alexa Bliss for Raw, and Charlotte Flair gets her rematch against Carmella for the Blue Team.

Daniel Bryan vs. Big Cass, plus Braun Strowman & Bobby Lashley vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn round out the main card. On the Kickoff Show, Ruby Riott faces Bayley. Follow along with our live review of WWE Backlash 2018 right here, starting with the Kickoff Show at 7 p.m. ET.

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