Wrestlemania Backlash Predictions

 Hello, and welcome to the Let’s Watch Some Wrestling Wrestlemania Backlash preview! I’m your humble host, Oso Pequeño, and we’re gonna run down the six announced matches for the pay per premium live event airing tonight on Peacock, the WWE Network, and pay-per-view. 

Image from WWE.com

We have four rematches from Wrestlemania (get it? Backlash?), one match that directly results from a breakup after Mania, and one six man tag team match put on the card to replace a match I actually wanted to see. Well, we can’t win 'em all. I remain positive, as ever. Let’s get to the matches for tonight’s show, along with a little prognostication.

Happy Corbin vs Madcap Moss

This is what happens when you win the Andre the Giant battle royal at Wrestlemania - or, in the case of the last couple years, on the Smackdown before Mania. You win, you get a little push. Corbin won it a few years back, and is now jealous of Madcap Moss for his more recent win.

Moss is good in the ring, and Corbin is a great heel. WWE has gotten Madcap’s character over with some solid booking and a fun gimmick, but that gimmick seems to have run its course. So it’s actually the perfect time to pull the trigger on the breakup, something that, historically, WWE either does too early or way too late. I think Moss gets the win here, and he and Corbs can both move on. Hopefully we lose the suspenders and shorts too.

Winner: Madcap Moss, clean

Bobby Lashley vs Olmos

Lashley and Olmos didn’t have a huge build leading into Wrestlemania, but it was a fine match for what it was. I actually thought Olmos was gonna win that one, but in hindsight Lashley is a great guy to keep strong and can be a heel or face challenger to anyone. Since the win, Lashley has had to deal with both a grumpy giant in Olmos and a former colleague in MVP.

MVP going over to Olmos’s side makes sense to me - the big fella needed a talker, and Bobby seems to enjoy doing his own promos (even if he’s not, like, The Rock in that department). In kayfabe, MVP was insulted that Lashley didn’t give him more credit for Lashley’s Wrestlemania victory. Let’s see where that fits in the hierarchy…

Mrs. Pequeño always says there’s only four reasons for wrestling matches: 

1- I want to fight you because I don’t like you. 

2- I want to fight you because I misunderstood something, and interpreted it in this aggressive fashion. Later, I will discover you are a nice person and we will be friends. 

3- Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal. 

4- I WANT THAT CUMMERBUN. 

This seems to fit nicely into reason three. WWE likes having a giant around so I think Olmos gets the win back here, likely with some MVP-ference.

Winner: Olmos, via shenanigans and goings on

Cody Rhodes vs Seth Rollins

Cody Rhodes made his return after a six year hiatus from WWE at Wrestlemania last month, as the surprise opponent for Seth Rollins. Seth begged for an opponent, got one, had a hell of a match, and lost. But Seth is a heel, and there’s always an excuse. He wants a rematch because Cody had an unfair advantage - Seth couldn’t properly prepare for a mystery opponent, but Cody knew who he was facing. 

That’s enough justification for me, and another go between these two should be a blast. Their Wrestlemania match was the best wrestling on either night of the show. Cody has had a chance to settle into the WWE style since then, and I wonder if that will lead to a better contest or a more same-y kinda thing between him and Rollins. 

I believe Cody will come out on top again; he’s being portrayed as a big deal since his return. I don’t know if they’re looking to have him challenge Roman Reigns, but they have managed to make the rest of the top challengers either lose or appear weak against the Bloodline. It makes sense to me to have an outsider take a shot. There is another guy who hasn’t faced Roman in a while, but we’ll get to him a little later on.

Winner: Cody Rhodes, clean

AJ Styles vs Edge, Damian Priest is banned from ringside

Edge has turned into a full Alistair Black level creepy goth guy since Wrestlemania. He’s recruited Damian Priest as a sidekick/ protégé/ lackey. He has spooky blue lights and can control the surge breakers in the arena, allowing for convenient blackouts and easy assaults once power is restored. He’s the Undertaker in a fancy chair. He even has his own “Mountain of Omnipotence”, a phrase I was SURE he would mess up at some point. 

Yes, I am a child and a “mountain of impotence” would be hilarious to me.

AJ Styles has managed to survive the many attacks of Edge and Priest - the New Brood (until I’m told otherwise, that’s what I’m going with). Styles secured a rematch to avenge his loss by distraction at ‘Mania, and won a great match on Raw against Damian Priest to bar Priest from ringside. 

I honestly don’t know where they are going with this, and I love it. I know a lot of folks don’t love the supernatural stuff (see Bliss, Alexa and Fiend, the) but I enjoy the occasional foray into the weird, spooky, and dumb.

More importantly, the post match events on Raw have me excited. After the loss, Edge and Priest immediately beat the hell out of Styles. They were getting chairs ready to finish AJ off when Finn Balor made the save and chased the heels off. He then checked on Styles, and the two shared the Too Sweet thing afterward. 

As an aside, what do you call the Too Sweet thing? Hand gesture? Shadow puppet doggie kiss?

There are so many ways this can go. I feel like Edge will get a second win here, possibly with another superstar joining the New Brood to give Edge the distraction win. Rhea Ripley and Tomasso Ciampa seem like they would both be a good fit, but I offer another - Finn Balor. What if the Too Sweet was just a sweet ruse?! What if he immediately turns on his former Bullet Club comrade and brings back the NXT Finn that did so well? I would also love a different take on Evil Finn, one that uses the Demon character more. Either way, I see this ending badly for AJ Styles.

Winner: Edge, by way of faction addition and interference

Charlotte Flair vs Ronda Rousey, I Quit match for the Smackdown Women’s Championship

Charlotte got her win at Wrestlemania in the most Flair way possible. Distraction, ref bump, win. Ronda Rousey looked good in the match, even though the reception didn’t seem all that great. Either way, Rousey deserved a rematch, and she fought her way to one tonight.

The build to this rematch has been kinda not great to me. The best thing about it has been Drew Gulak’s return to TV, if only to get beat up by both women. The beat the clock challenge that Ronda won had no stakes, and only served to show that Shotzi and Aaliyah don’t have anything going on right now. Flair and Rousey already had a reason for a rematch; it would have been easy to make the challenge for the match stipulation.

I think Rousey wins here, giving her a nice moment and humbling Flair a bit before Charlotte inevitably wins the title back later this year. I’m not too confident in the pick, though. The thought of Flair having to say I Quit probably gives her and Vince second thoughts. 

Winner: Ronda Rousey by submission

Drew McIntyre, Randy Orton, and Riddle vs The Usos and Roman Reigns, six man tag match

I mentioned this a little in the blog after Raw, so I don’t want to harp on it. The decision not to go with the advertised match to unify the tag team titles sucks, and this replacement match does very little for me. It’s the same match we run at the beginning of Raw almost every week, just with some of the parts replaced. I see where Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre being added to the match allows for the beginning of a feud between those two, but that same goal could have easily been achieved by having the Bloodline attack RK-Bro after they won, and then calling in Drew to make the heroic save.

I see the good guys winning here because it doesn’t matter if the Usos and Roman lose. Drew can even get the win, maybe a surprise roll up on Reigns after he demolishes Orton and Riddle.

Winner: R-Clay-Bro by surprise rollup pinfall

That’s the card, as it’s listed on WWE.com. Some of these matches have the potential to be good! I’m looking forward to Rhodes vs Rollins and Styles vs Edge. The six man will be fine, but nothing extraordinary. It’s not a huge card, so I’m not too surprised that some of the ongoing feuds like Kevin Owens and Ezekiel or Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan didn’t make the cut. I wouldn’t be shocked if they cram in some more 24/7 nonsense. It should be a good show, and a fine way to start the week. 

I appreciate you stopping by, and would love it if you drop your predictions in the comments section. You can also follow me on Twitter @ElOsoPequeno, where I try to remember to post whenever I update the blog. Have a good one!