Picking the winners for the WrestleMania Backlash pay-per-view

If you were hoping to see WWE chart a fresh course following WrestleMania 37, then this month’s pay-per-view might not be for you. After all, the show is literally titled WRESTLEMANIA BACKLASH, which sounds more like the name of a house show loop, not a show filled with marquee matches.

As you would expect from the name, this event features a number of matches that are near-carbon copies of bouts that fans say at Raymond James Stadium the previous month.

Not exactly an exciting start to a “new season” for WWE.

Still, assuming the WWE creative team backs them up, most of the scheduled contests should deliver from an entertainment standpoint. But which wrestlers will walk out of the Thunderdome on May 16 with a victory? Well, that’s what we’re here to forecast.

Here are the predictions for this Sunday’s WrestleMania Backlash pay-per-view.

Roman Reigns (c) vs. Cesaro- WWE Universal Championship

Over the past couple of weeks, the build to this match has revolved more around the internal strife between Roman Reigns and The Usos than it has Cesaro’s ascent to the main event.

That is not good news for the challenger.

Given the number of PPVs on the calendar, there’s a good chance this one ends with some nonsense to necessitate a rematch, either with a non-finish or a screwjob conclusion that leads to Cesaro asking for another shot at Money in the Bank, with Jimmy and Jey Uso likely to factor into the decision.

If nothing else, the match we get before the nonsense should be great.

Prediction: Roman Reigns pins Cesaro, retains the Universal Championship

Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Braun Strowman- Triple Threat Match; WWE Championship

This is a triple threat match for two reasons: WWE doesn’t want Bobby Lashley or Drew McIntyre to lose clean and it (poorly) keeps them from booking another McIntyre/Lashley singles match so soon after WrestleMania 37 (nevermind that McIntyre vs. Lashley was originally booked for this show).

We can all assume that Braun Strowman is taking the loss in this match, but will McIntyre or Lashley be the one to do the deed? Given that Stowman pinned McIntyre to qualify for this match, it would be classic WWE to give McIntyre his win back on the PPV, so that’s probably what will happen.

Prediction: Drew McIntyre pins Braun Strowman, wins WWE Championship

Bianca Belair (c) vs. Bayley- SmackDown Women’s Championship match

If these two receive adequate time, they could have the match of the night. Bayley and Bianca Belair have already proven capable of meshing well together when the bell rings, and this outing shouldn’t be any different.

As for who wins, Belair should retain here, but again, the finish we get to trigger that retention is up in the air. Belair should retain via a clean pinfall, but given the shortage of credible challengers after “The Role Model” (WWE likely won’t go back to Belair vs. Sasha Banks until SummerSlam), we could get a less-than-desirable finish as a means to extend this feud out another month, at least.

Eh, I’ll just go with what they should do here.

Prediction: Bianca Belair pins Bayley, retains SmackDown Women’s Championship

Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair- Triple Threat Match; Raw Women’s Championship

Oh look, it’s another triple threat match for a world title from the Raw brand! How creative!

Much like the WWE Championship match, it appears that WWE booked a three-way match to save the bigger singles matches — specifically Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley — for bigger shows and to use one of the wrestlers as the sacrificial lamb to keep the other two relatively strong.

Care to guess which wrestler will most likely fill that role? I’ll give you a hint: it’s Asuka.

WWE is convinced that Asuka’s character can withstand multiple losses. They’re wrong, of course, but that won’t stop the Vince McMahon and the writers from booking her to eat the pin here. She’s already lost to Rhea Ripley, so it will probably be Charlotte’s turn this time.

Prediction: Charlotte Flair pins Asuka, wins Raw Women’s Championship 

Dirty Dawgs (Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode) vs. Rey and Dominik Mysterio- SmackDown Tag Team Championship match

In terms of the finish, this one should be a slam dunk. The Mysterios are attempting to become the first father-and-son duo to win tag team championship gold in WWE, and Rey and Dominik being naturally affable babyfaces would make that moment all the more heartwarming.

But because it’s WWE, there’s a non-zero chance that Roode and Ziggler retain because WWE overprioritizes putting heat on heels.

Ultimately, though, the creative team will do the right thing and give the babyfaces a clean win and the championships. The match itself should be a lot of fun, too.

Prediction: The Mysterios win the SmackDown Tag Team Championships (Dominik pins Dolph Ziggler)

Damian Priest vs. The Miz- Lumberjack match

Well, at least Damian Priest didn’t ask for a cage match. Still, the lumberjack match has become one of these gimmicks that allow WWE to get creative in the worst possible ways when it comes to endings. In theory, this match is supposed to keep The Miz from escaping Priest’s wrath, but we all know we’ll see at least one point in the bout where the heels take their sweet time forcing Miz back to the ring and beat up Priest when he gets sent to the outside.

These matches are also easy to ignore, as WWE has conditioned most fans to only care about the action after the inevitable mass brawl between the babyfaces and heel surrounding the ring.

Hopefully I’m wrong and WWE books this the correct way: Priest beats up Miz, Miz tries to run away, lumberjacks throw him back in, Priest beats Miz up some more and pins him. Unfortunately, Miz will probably get a discernable heat segment, but as long as this ends with Priest getting his hand raised, that will be tolerable.

Prediction: Damian Priest pins The Miz