We didn’t quite finish the story at WrestleMania.
It's ok though as the stories never truly end in WWE, or so we have been told. The next chapter in Cody Rhodes’ unfinished story has him facing Brock Lesnar in front of what will be a lively sold-out crowd in Puerto Rico. Whatever WWE’s plan is for him moving forward, it will really start to take shape at Backlash Saturday night.
There is a path for Rhodes to go from losing to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39 to becoming an even bigger star than he would have been. I’m definitely not saying it was a good idea or that I have confidence in WWE to craft a beautiful multi-year storyline, but it is possible. What if WrestleMania 39 was The Empire Strikes Back and WrestleMania 40 is Return of the Jedi? They might not even blow up the Death Star until Mania 41, 42, or even higher.
If this was NJPW, the booking wouldn’t even be considered controversial. Kazuchika Okada lost to Hiroshi Tanahashi in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom twice before finally beating him. Then, Tetsuya Naito lost to Okada at WK12 before beating him at WK14. The idea is fans witness the wrestler grow, learn, or find something deep within themselves they didn’t know was there previously, and this helps them overcome an obstacle that once proved too great.
If done right, these can be inspiring stories to see play out in wrestling and in life (which are different).
And sometimes, the story is about getting up after you’ve been knocked down and never giving up on your dreams or something cheesy like that. Rhodes is perfect for that role. If that’s where WWE wants to go with him post-Mania, it will start Saturday when he faces "The Beast."
Also, I think Bad Bunny is on the card.
Here are previews and predictions for WWE Backlash 2023:
Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
Heading into WrestleMania 39, Rhodes was a -800 favorite to dethrone Reigns. However, he’s only a -300 favorite to beat Lesnar. Although some of this drop is due to the greater potential for a screwy or DQ finish, I’m sure it’s also in part due to there being less confidence that Rhodes is “the guy.” Nonetheless, I’d say it’s pretty likely that WWE still has him listed as their top babyface.
It might be the case that Rhodes lost at WrestleMania in order to send him onto a hero’s epic journey of sorts. He’ll spend the next year, maybe even longer, overcoming a series of obstacles and then cutting passionate promos about said obstacles until he finally wins the big one. That doesn’t necessarily mean he wins at Backlash, though.
If he and Lesnar are only ever having one match against each other, Rhodes likely wins on Saturday. If this is a story playing out over multiple PPVs, Lesnar could win. The former winning seems more likely, though.
Prediction: Cody Rhodes
Bad Bunny vs. Damian Priest
Bunny is currently listed as a -2000 favorite to beat Priest. This was once rumored to be a tag match with Bunny and Rey Mysterio vs. Priest and Dominik so if it has been changed to a singles match, WWE must have faith in what the musician is going to be able to do in the ring.
The crowd is going to be super into this one and that should create a fun environment. It will be a well-choreographed and, also, entertaining match. Judgment Day and the LWO will get involved but when the smoke clears, the hometown favorite will be the winner and everyone will have had a lovely time.
Prediction: Bad Bunny
Matt Riddle, Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs. The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa, Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso)
With these two teams having been drafted to separate brands, I guess this is it for now between Zayn, Owens, Riddle, and The Bloodline.
There are a couple of storylines to watch for that could play out during this match. WWE is teasing that Reigns (through Paul Heyman) may give the word at any moment to Sikoa to turn on one, or both, of the Usos. There is also the possibility of Jey Uso eventually turning against his family and going babyface as that seed has been planted in his head by Zayn. These are the stories fans will watch play out on SmackDown over the next year.
The finish here will likely involve the brewing inner turmoil of The Bloodline costing them the match somehow. Zayn can then run off to Raw knowing that his goal of dismantling The Bloodline has been accomplished as the faction crumbles from within. The Tribal Chief will not be pleased.
It should be interesting to see what happens with The Bloodline storyline after this too. It’s possible by this time next year, Jey Uso will be one of the biggest babyfaces in the company.
Oddsmakers have the babyfaces as a -300 favorite and I don’t disagree.
Prediction: Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn & Matt Riddle
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WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley defends against Zelina Vega
Vega is not going to win, but the possibility of her becoming a much bigger star definitely exists here.
Zelina will get a huge reaction from the Puerto Rican crowd. She doesn’t have to win to maintain that crowd support after Backlash, though. She just has to perform well in a big opportunity. If the crowd starts to believe there is a chance she can win (even though there really isn’t) or if they bite on a few near falls, it could make for a really exciting atmosphere.
The most likely end has Zelina getting a series of nearfalls before Ripley does something underhanded to gain an advantage and get the win shortly after. Zelina won't get her hand raised but everyone will see her as a bigger star and one who can possibly hang with the wrestlers at the top of the division more frequently.
Oddsmakers have Ripley as a whopping -10000 favorite, the biggest of the night.
Prediction: Rhea Ripley
WWE Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair defends against IYO Sky
Belair has just ripped through Damage CTRL over the last year.
In storyline, aside from a few runs with the Women’s Tag Team titles, Damage CTRL has been a largely unsuccessful faction. Belair has retained her title over Bayley on PPVs twice, they lost at WarGames to a bunch of babyfaces and then they did the same at WrestleMania.
If the rumors are true, Bayley’s faction is on a path to being broken up. Based on comments she made to Ariel Helwani earlier this year, it seems like creating a large and successful faction of female wrestlers was really important to Bayley. Also during that interview, she mentioned that Triple H once told her there needs to be a reason why her faction has joined together in order for it to be successful.
I’m not sure if we ever learned why Damage CTRL was together. To me, it has felt as though they are just three wrestlers who have joined together for the sake of joining together even if all three are great.
Perhaps there is still hope for the group. A new member or a shakeup of current members could change its course.
The likely end has Bayley somehow costing IYO the match and it leading to more turmoil within Damage CTRL.
Oddsmakers have Belair as a -2000 favorite and it’s pretty hard to disagree with that.
Seth Rollins vs. Omos
This match appears to be happening for no reason, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it will be bad. Rollins is a pretty creative wrestler and a match with Omos will give him some unique ideas to play around with.
Rollins is currently the betting favorite to win the new World Heavyweight Championship so if that’s where he’s headed, it’s unlikely he’s going to lose here.
Where Omos stands in the company right now is anyone’s guess. He was given one of the peculiar “free agent” designations in the draft and it’s not clear if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. If WWE wants to make Omos more of an attraction, he will have to start winning big matches at some point.
Oddsmakers have Rollins as a -1000 favorite and that does seem about right.
Prediction: Seth Rollins
WWE United States Champion Austin Theory defends against Bobby Lashley and Bronson Reed in a triple threat match
Theory is currently listed as a -2000 favorite to retain and I certainly wouldn’t recommend betting against him.
Theory will end up stealing the pin from either Reed or Lashley. He’ll run cowardly into the night with his title while the two big heavyweights are left fuming at each other. At first, I figured this match would likely further the rivalry between Lashley and Reed but then they got drafted to separate brands, so who knows? They went to a double countout on the April 10th Raw and I guess we’re just not getting another singles match between them now.
Prediction: Austin Theory retains
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