WWE News: Triple Threat Match for WWE Championship Set for WrestleMania Backlash on May 16

The next WWE pay-per-view is called WrestleMania Backlash and it will take place on Sunday, May 16. You can watch it on Peacock in the US or WWE Network everywhere else.

Two weeks ago on Raw, Drew McIntyre won a triple threat match with Randy Orton and Braun Strowman where Drew pinned Randy to earn a WWE Title match against Lashley at WrestleMania Backlash.

Last night on Raw, Strowman was added to the match when he beat McIntyre in the main event. The reason for that was because Drew and Braun didn’t work well together as a team against Mace & T-Bar. The ended with Strowman giving McIntyre a Powerslam. McIntyre asked WWE Official Adam Pearce for a match with Strowman. Shortly after that, Strowman said to Pearce that he had no problem with the match, but then Strowman also mentioned that he wasn’t the guy that was pinned on Raw two weeks earlier. Strowman suggested that if he can beat McIntyre on Raw then Strowman should be added to the match.

Here’s how the finish took place. This is from my review:

Strowman charged with a running splash. MVP was on the apron, Lashley distracted the referee, Strowman wanted a powerslam, MVP pulled McIntyre off Braun’s shoulders (MVP and Lashley wanted Drew to win to avoid a triple threat situation) and Strowman punched MVP off the apron after Drew moved. McIntyre hit the Future Shock DDT on Strowman. McIntyre set up for the Claymore Kick. T-Bar and Mace showed up at ringside, so Drew had to punch them to knock them off the apron. That led to Strowman hitting the Running Powerslam on McIntyre for the pinfall win after 13 minutes.

It was a chaotic scene with Lashley/MVP there to try to help Drew win because they wanted a singles match rather than a triple threat. However, since McIntyre had to deal with T-Bar & Mace at ringside, Strowman was able to recover from a DDT and Strowman hit his Running Powerslam for the pinfall win.

There are two official matches for WrestleMania Backlash on May 16 right now. They are:

WWE Championship: Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Braun Strowman

Smackdown Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair (c) vs. Bayley

We should learn more matches over the coming weeks ahead.

TJR Thoughts: It doesn’t surprise me that Strowman was added to the match. I think Lashley will probably retain at WrestleMania Backlash, so Strowman is probably in the match to get pin or submit to the Hurt Lock submission. Plus, WWE doesn’t want to have Lashley beat Drew at two straight PPVs since they probably want Drew to remain in the title picture. They could go to Lashley vs. McIntyre later in the year like at SummerSlam if they are in front of fans and want to do a title change there. I’m just thinking long-term here. There are a lot of options.