A look at our predictions for WWE Backlash 2016.
Backlash will take place from the Richmond Coliseum at 8pm Eastern/5pm Pacific only on the WWE Network. The kickoff show starts at 7pm. There are 6 matches announced for the show including 4 championship matches.
The Miz defends his Intercontinental Championship. The SmackDown Women’s and Tag Team Champions will also be crowned at the event. The main event features Dean Ambrose defending his WWE World Championship against AJ Styles.
This is the twelfth Backlash. However, the last Backlash took place in 2009 after WrestleMania 25 and featured wrestlers from all brands of WWE at the time including ECW. This time, the performers will only come from the SmackDown roster. The New Era of WWE has been excellent since the brand split and the new version of Backlash also looks to be very exciting.
Backlash 2016 should continue the momentum we’ve seen over the past month on SmackDown and is sure to have some surprises as two new champions will be crowned. With only six matches announced either each match will be given 25-30 minutes or there will be a few surprises mixed in.
Before we get into our predictions lets take a look at the card, which is always subject to change.
Intercontinental Championship Match
The Miz with Maryse (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler
Singles Match
Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton
SmackDown Tag Team Championship Tournament Finals
The Usos vs. Heath Slater & Rhyno
Six-Pack Challenge For The SmackDown Women’s Championship
Becky Lynch, Nikki Bella, Natalya, Naomi, Alexa Bliss and Carmella
WWE World Championship
Dean Ambrose vs. AJ Styles
With this in mind, here is who we think will win at Backlash.
Source: WWE.com
Intercontinental Championship
The Miz (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler
This match features two competitors on contrasting paths. The Miz has held the Intercontinental Championship for 160 days. He says his championship reign will never end. Dolph Ziggler, however, looks to rebound from his loss at SummerSlam against Dean Ambrose. Can Ziggler finally win a championship once again ending The Miz’s reign?
This match up was set up by some of the best mic work in The Miz’s career on Talking Smack. Daniel Bryan accused The Miz of wrestling a soft style in the ring. The Miz took great exception to this and told Daniel to quit and go back to the “bingo halls”. Unfortunately due to injury it is unlikely that a Daniel Bryan match vs The Miz will ever happen.
The following week on SmackDown, instead of Daniel Bryan confronting The Miz once again, Dolph Ziggler came out and challenged The Miz to a fight. The Miz despite his tough words on Talking Smack walked away. This set up the match at Backlash for the Intercontinental Championship.
The Miz should win this match and continue his “never-ending” reign. I love Dolph Ziggler and thought he should have had a shot with the WWE Championship a couple of years ago right after the Shield broke up. However, the momentum that the Miz has in building not only himself but also the championship. In a very long but very good match, I predict that The Miz will retain the Championship.
Prediction: The Miz
Source: WWE.com
Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt
Randy Orton’s last match was one of the most brutal in WWE history. Brock Lesnar in a planned move busted Orton open in a way that has not been seen in WWE since the Eddie Gurrero vs. JBL match at Judgement Day in 2004. There definitely needs to be a rematch between the two of them but not until Survivor Series or WrestleMania.
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Bray Wyatt has been pretty much a lost soul over the past year. His Wyatt family has been completely broken up through injury, the draft, and storylines. At one time it looked as if he would be a main event talent but that simply has not happened.
Wyatt began stalking Orton shortly after SummerSlam and issued his challenge for Backlash on the August 30th episode of SmackDown. In typical cryptic and mystical promo, after the challenge Bray Wyatt simply disappeared. Orton of course immediately accepted the match as he looks to bounce back from his beating by Brock Lesnar.
This should be another good matchup. Orton has always been one of the better workers. Despite not being pushed to the main event, Bray Wyatt almost always puts on an entertaining match. With both competitors needing a win it is very difficult to make a prediction. However, at the end of the day, Randy Orton needs to win this match, especially if they are building towards Orton vs. Lesnar II.
Prediction: Randy Orton
WWE.com
Tag Team Championship Tournament Finals
The Usos vs. Heath Slater & Rhyno
The brand extension draft decided where each Superstar would perform on either Raw or SmackDown. Between SmackDown and the WWE Network each WWE Superstar was drafted and knew their fate. All but one that is.
Heath Slater became a man without a home after the draft did not keep the Social Outcasts together and he was not picked by either brand. However, that was probably the best storyline Heath Slater has ever had. The weeks after the draft saw him trying to be signed by either Raw or SmackDown and just falling short each and every time.
He was given his last chance when he interrupted Shane and Daniel when they were introducing the new Tag Team Championships. Heath said he guaranteed he would win but there was one problem, he didn’t have a partner. After a couple of rejections from The Miz & Arn Anderson, Rhyno agreed to be his partner. The stipulation is Heath Slater must become tag champion in order to receive a contract.
Meanwhile, the Uso’s have turned heel. And are set to face Rhyno and Slater in the championship.
The Heath Slater storyline is one of the best stories the WWE has told for a non-main event talent in years. You can’t help but to cheer for him to take care of his “wife and kids”. This is the easiest match to predict all night. New champions will be Rhyno and Heath Slater.
Prediction: Ryhno & Slater
Source: WWE.com
Women’s Six-Pack Challenge for the SmackDown Women’s Championship
Becky Lynch vs. Nikki Bella vs. Natalya vs. Naomi vs. Alexa Bliss vs.Carmella
This year was historic for women’s wrestling in the WWE. The days of bikini contests, dance offs, and bra and panty matches are well within the rear view mirror. The term “diva” is no longer used and the WWE Women’s Championship was born as the Diva’s championship went into retirement. When the brand split happened it created a women’s division on SmackDown without a championship.
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At Backlash all six of the women on SmackDown’s roster will compete for the SmackDown women’s championship. Becky Lynch and Nikki Bella are the favorites. Nikki is a two-time Divas champion. Becky Lynch was part of the triple threat match against Charlotte and Sasha Banks at WrestleMania. Natalya is also a former Divas Champion and is due to carry a title one more time. The wild card in the match would be Carmella who has recently turned heel.
Six-Pack Challenge matches are always difficult to predict. This one is even more difficult since the entire women’s roster is participating in the match. However, I think it is safe to eliminate Alexa Bliss, Carmella, and Naomi as neither are ready to be the top female on the roster. Also with it being the “New Era” fans may react negatively should Nikki Bella win the championship. At the end of the match, it will be the “Lass Kicker” Becky Lynch finally achieving her dream.
Prediction: Becky Lynch
Source: WWE.com
WWE World Championship
Dean Ambrose (c) vs. AJ Styles
Since turning on John Cena, AJ Styles has been WWE’s top heel. This has continued despite The Club being split up in the draft. After defeating John Cena at SummerSlam, AJ once again gets a shot at the WWE World Championship against Dean Ambrose.
Dean Ambrose, on the other hand, has been World Champion since Money In The Bank where he cashed in his contract that same night. However, a lot has changed since winning the Championship three months ago. His main challengers when he began his reign are now exclusive to Raw. Also, while he is definitely still the top face on SmackDown it seems he has cooled down just a tad.
The match itself should be very good. AJ Styles has done nothing but put on great matches since arriving in WWE. That should be no surprise to anyone that followed his career in TNA and Japan. Dean Ambrose continues to be very entertaining as well and had a great match with Triple H at Roadblock earlier in the year. These two should tear the house down. But who will win?
WWE has not had a champion hold the belt for more than 100 days since Seth Rollins had to vacate it due to injury. Is this a trend that they will continue to follow? Also, AJ Styles has already come up short a couple of times against Roman Reigns earlier in the year. Can he continue to be a top heel and challenger that always comes up short? This time, I think he will finally get his chance to be champion. Dean Ambrose has been a great champion but having a series of matches with AJ Styles as challenger will bring the best out of him.
Prediction: AJ Styles
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