TJRWrestling WWE Backlash 2026 Preview

It’s WWE Backlash, featuring Roman Reigns facing Jacob Fatu, a Seth Rollins-Bron Breakker grudge match, Iyo Sky battling Asuka, and more.

The WWE Backlash PPV following WrestleMania has been a tradition going back to 1998. It hasn’t happened every year after WrestleMania, but it has happened for many years, and it’s the 21st time that Backlash has been used as a WWE PLE name.

As I write this on Friday before SmackDown, the card only has five matches. I have mentioned many times before that I think WWE should have six or seven matches on these kinds of shows, but they insist on keeping it at five. It’s certainly possible that something new could be added based on SmackDown stories.

I think the post-WrestleMania WWE product has been subpar on SmackDown, while Raw has been okay. I don’t know what the hell is going on with SmackDown lately, but it needs to improve. All of this leads to a predictable Backlash card.

John Cena is also appearing at WWE Backlash, likely because he lives in Tampa where the show is taking place. Cena’s “big announcement” likely is about Club WWE and how fans can sign up to get more WWE information.

This was written before SmackDown on May 8th. You can watch WWE Backlash, streaming live on Saturday, May 9th, at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT on ESPN in the United States and Netflix everywhere else. Let’s get to it.

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Seth Rollins vs. Bron Breakker

This may be the most unpredictable match on the show, and it’s a match I am looking forward to. It would have happened at WrestleMania if Breakker had been cleared several weeks before, instead of right before. This feels like the first of two or three big matches between Rollins and Breakker. The story is a simple one with Rollins wanting revenge after Breakker and The Vision turned on him, while Breakker says he turned on Rollins because he knew Rollins would do it to him, so Breakker struck first. It’s a simple storyline we have seen many times in pro wrestling history.

As far as predictions go, I’m leaning towards a Breakker win, perhaps thanks to help from The Vision. I don’t know for sure when Bronson Reed is ready to come back from his injury, but perhaps he makes his return here and helps Breakker get the win. They could also use Logan Paul and/or Austin Theory to help Breakker. I doubt that Rollins will lose clean in a match like this, but I certainly wouldn’t mind it because it would elevate Breakker’s status as a future main eventer. I’ll go with Breakker getting the win with the Spear after about 15 minutes, and I think there will be a rematch that Rollins will win.

Winner: Bron Breakker

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The Miz & Kit Wilson vs. Danhausen & ????

I am writing this before SmackDown, so it’s certainly possible that they announce Danhausen’s mystery partner on SmackDown, instead of waiting until Backlash. I’ve seen the rumors that CM Punk is a leading candidate to be Danhausen’s partner, and that’s certainly fine with me since Punk has been off since WrestleMania, and even though Punk is a Raw guy, he fits as a top babyface who can be an ally of Danhausen. Another option I like would be Royce Keys since he’s on SmackDown, but it looks like he might be in a feud with Solo Sikoa, so maybe Keys doesn’t fit.

They could also have Oba Femi in the Mystery Partner role and pop the crowd big time by having him team with Danhausen. It would likely be a quick match if Femi is involved.

I’ve enjoyed Danhausen’s run in WWE so far. While his debut at Elimination Chamber was a bit of a dud, his comedy skits since then have been very entertaining and I also laugh quite a bit during his matches. The Miz rarely wins and Wilson is pretty much a comedy guy with the “Toxic” gimmick. I find Wilson to be entertaining. Anyway, this should be a win for Danahausen and his mystery partner. I would be shocked if they lost.

Winners: Danhausen & Mystery Partner

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IYO SKY vs. Asuka

The rivalry between former friends, with Asuka as the mentor and Sky as the current star, who is thriving as one of the top women in the company. It’s a shame that Kairi Sane has been let go by WWE because Asuka has been rude to her for over a year and the story should be Sane getting some revenge on Asuka, but now Sane is gone. I saw a report that Sane could be a part of this to end the story, so we’ll see if that happens.

I think this should be a lot of fun to watch since Sky is arguably the best in-ring performer in the women’s division and Asuka is still very good after 20+ years as a wrestler. Asuka hasn’t had a lot of singles matches on PLE’s lately, so I’m sure she’ll be ready to remind us of how just talented she is. Sky winning this match makes a lot of sense and I think if Sane does show up, she should be a factor in causing Asuka to lose. It should be an entertaining match. With that said, I also wish there were more than one women’s match on the card, considering how talented and deep the women’s division is.

Winner: IYO SKY

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United States Championship: Trick Williams (c) vs. Sami Zayn

This feud has elevated Trick Williams from a cocky heel to a popular babyface that is in the early stages of his first title reign as the US Champion. I think Sami Zayn should fully embrace being a heel, although I know he said in a recent interview that he’s still going to act like a babyface and blur the lines a bit. With that said, the Gingerbread Man stuff has been lame comedy that reminds me of the Vince McMahon-era booking, when he would use silly gimmicks to try to advance stories, and it just doesn’t work that well. I didn’t mind Trick and Lil Yachty calling Zayn the “Gingerbread Man” as a trash-talking thing, but having somebody dressed as Gingerbread Man, then having Zayn hide in the costume and follow up on that with Zayn destroying a costume was a bit much. I think there’s room for comedy in WWE, but it’s just not a great or entertaining story, in my opinion.

I would be very surprised if Trick Williams lost the US Title just three weeks after winning it from Sami Zayn. I expect Zayn to be more heelish this time around, maybe he’ll try to cheat to win a few times and Yachty will be there to help Trick out. It should be a victory for Trick Williams, who should have a solid 5-to-8-month reign as the US Champion. I don’t think this title reign should end any time soon.

Winner: Trick Williams

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WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Jacob Fatu

The main event is a battle between family members as part of the big Samoan wrestling family. I think Jacob Fatu going after the WWE Title or the WWE World Title is a great thing because he’s a talented guy who can really go in the ring, and putting him in a main event spot is good to see. With that said, I think Roman Reigns is very early into a long title reign, and it would be a big surprise to see a title change here.

I don’t know what the long-term plan is for Reigns and Fatu, but they could certainly try to revive The Bloodline to some degree by having Reigns, The Usos, and Fatu together again. As a babyface, Reigns said to The Usos he didn’t want to be considered the leader, and they are equals, but he wanted them to fight together. I like that idea in theory. It’s just that there needs to be a heel group to oppose them, and I assume that’s where The Vision will come into play. There certainly could be a Bloodline-Vision feud on Raw in the months ahead. I can see Reigns defending the World Title against Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, and Logan Paul in the future.

This should be a long, hard-hitting match, given 20+ minutes, like most Roman Reigns matches. Jacob Fatu can definitely shine in these longer matches and will probably get plenty of nearfalls. I just don’t see why Reigns would lose the title here. It’s not happening.

Winner: Roman Reigns

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BONUS TOPICS FOR WWE BACKLASH!

The Match I’m Looking Forward To The Most

Roman Reigns vs. Jacob Fatu

The Match I Think Will Be The Best

I think three matches could reach the 4* level (out of 5*) depending on time. I’m referring to Rollins-Breakker, Reigns-Fatu and Sky-Asuka. I think Reigns-Fatu will probably go the longest, so that will help it, and that’s my pick.

Longest Match

I think Reigns-Fatu will go about 22 minutes.

Shortest Match

Danhausen & Mystery Partner vs. The Miz & Kit Wilson under 8 minutes.

Excitement Level on a Scale of 1-10 (1 being low, 10 being high)

I’m at 7 out of 10 for this show. That’s lower than I should be for a WWE show, but that’s just the nature of the company right now. SmackDown has become a disappointment, while Raw is okay. I’d love it if there were some less predictable matches on the card, and featuring some different wrestlers would be nice too. Backlash just feels like an average WWE PLE with nothing special about it. I think we’ll watch it, I’ll review it, and probably not think about it much in the future.

I’ll be back with a review of Backlash on TJRWrestling.net on Saturday. You can also tweet me on X/Twitter at @johnreport as well.

If you want to send an email, send it to me at [email protected]. Thanks for reading.