After the long road to WrestleMania, it’s always kind of a shock when WWE Backlash, the next premium live event, comes up so suddenly. It’s like the ultimate proof that the show just keeps rolling on in WWE.
We’re now just about three weeks away from this year’s show, which will take place at the the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Locally it will be a huge deal as it’s the first WWE show on the island in more than a decade.
Adding to the big time feel will be the presence of Bad Bunny, one of the most popular recording artists in the world and a Puerto Rican native, as host of the event. It also looks increasingly possible that he’ll be on the card as well, which would be his first WWE match in more than a year.
We don’t know yet because to date there have been zero matches officially announced for Backlash. That should change quickly over the next week or so, but thanks to Dave Meltzer in his latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter (subscription required), there’s a good idea of what will eventually be promoted for the event.
Let’s take a quick spin through the rumored card.
Brock Lesnar vs. Cody Rhodes
This is almost certain to be the main event, with Cody Rhodes laying down the challenge this week on Raw. The question is whether Brock Lesnar will simply steamroll him, which is what some seem to think will happen as WWE plays up the adversity angle for Rhodes, or if he will bounce back from his WrestleMania disappointment.
Bad Bunny and Rey Mysterio vs. Damian Priest and Dominik Mysterio
We had really hoped the storyline between Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio would have ended after their match at WrestleMania since, you know, that’s usually where long-running programs end. Alas, Dom went right back to calling Rey a deadbeat dad again, and here we are. Bad Bunny got involved in that match by preventing Dominik from using a steel chair, and Damian Priest has come to Dom’s aid. There’s an extra twist in that Priest was Bunny’s partner for his first ever WWE match, long before Damian joined The Judgment Day.
Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Matt Riddle vs. The Usos and Solo Sikoa
It’s possible that without the flight delays that forced a rewrite of this week’s Raw that this matchup would be even further along toward being finalized. Matt Riddle has immediately become an ally to the tag team champions against the Bloodline since his return, so this is a logical showdown for all involved. On top of that, it allows Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn to face The Usos again without having the tag team titles at stake so soon after their dramatic championship bout at WrestleMania.
Bianca Belair vs. IYO SKY – WWE Raw Women’s Championship match
IYO SKY won a triple threat match to earn a shot at this title, potentially sowing the seeds for a Damage CTRL breakup as Bayley gave up the spot for her and might have regrets about doing so. Meltzer says this could also be on Raw and not at Backlash, but it would be great to see SKY get a solo spotlight on a bigger card.
Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus
It’s more a matter of when rather than if Becky Lynch will get her chance for some payback after Trish Stratus first cost her the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship then attacked her from behind after the match. While their program could run all the way to SummerSlam, Meltzer suggests there could be an initial bout between them in San Juan.