Full 2026 Backlash Predictions Including Thoughts On Roman Reigns’ Schedule Change

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This is normally the part of the article where I talk about the build-up to the premium live event and how fans are feeling, but the sad truth is wrestling fans haven’t really been talking about Backlash. Between the good and bad of WrestleMania 42 and the more than two dozen subsequent talent releases, some of which were shocking, no one has had much emotional bandwidth to fully invest in Seth Rollins vs Bron Breakker.

That being said, for a yearly event that’s sometimes been a blowoff card filled with rematches and secondary feuds, Backlash looks like it’s going to be a fun little event. I’m not saying people are going to confuse it with SummerSlam, but I’m genuinely excited to watch this. We should get four really high level matches and whatever glorious trainwreck Danhausen, The Miz and Kit Wilson are gonna haunt us with.

Roman Reigns is also on the card too, which hasn’t happened since 2022. That’s right. The last time Roman Reigns had a match at Backlash, the event also featured Baron Corbin vs Madcap Moss and Omos vs Bobby Lashley. The unexpected appearance has caused many fans to draw big conclusions about his schedule and what it could mean. We’ll talk all of that out.

Before we get into it though, let’s talk about my history with predictions. I’ve predicted the outcome for every WWE event since WrestleMania 38. Not to brag, but at least week’s WrestleMania 42, I went 11 and 2, which is main event territory if I do say so myself. Here’s a quick look at the results from some of the recent major PPVs, as well as my’ overall record…

Trick Williams (Champion) vs Sami Zayn For The United States Championship

After months of teasing a heel turn, WWE has finally turned Sami Zayn into the bad guy. He was absolutely phenomenal in his role as the desperate, likeable underdog of the Bloodline and then later as the desperate, likable underdog trying to get to the world championship level on his own. During that epic babyface run, he got some huge wins against Gunther, The Usos and others, but for better or for worse, WWE never let do more than flirt with the main event level. He always lost the big one, and we all got sick of watching that story on loop.

Ordinarily, I want to see guys capitalize off the momentum of an earned heel turn, but in this case, Sami isn’t the only one that made a character change recently. When Trick Williams debuted on the main roster back in January, he was very much a heel. He very quickly got over with the crowd, however, and it went from scattered members of the audience chanting “Whoop That Trick” to entire arenas belting his catchphrase out like he was the biggest star on the roster. He’s still the same guy, but he’s clearly being positioned more as a babyface now.

I just don’t see how you take the title off Trick Williams just a few weeks after he won it at ‘Mania. He’s too over with the crowd, and there’s too much potential here. WWE needs to ride the hot hand for longer, and besides, a second consecutive loss here could be a good opportunity for Zayn to go even darker.

Predicted Winner: Trick Williams

Asuka vs Iyo Sky

I don’t even know what to say about this match. The whole point of the feud here seemed like it was going to be Asuka’s former protege Iyo Sky eventually convincing Kairi Sane to turn on her senpai Asuka. The writers literally teased us with the turn for months. Most fans were convinced the storyline would finally pay off at WrestleMania. When the match didn’t make the card, the assumption changed to it happening at Backlash, but then Kairi Sane was, out of nowhere, released from the company.

Rumors have swirled that the release was related to Kairi maybe wanting to return to Japan. Rumors have swirled she just got caught up in budget cuts. Some have speculated it’s all a big work and that we’ll see Kairi at Backlash as a big surprise. I don’t know. I have no idea what to believe. Nothing about this makes any sense.

I think the most likely scenario is that, for whatever reason, she was released from her contract, but since WWE put too much effort into this storyline to not pay it off in some capacity, they are going to give us a match to officially end the feud. If that’s the case, Iyo Sky is obviously going to win because WWE is going to want to push her back to the top of the card, and that’s not going to happen if she loses a feud to Asuka.

Predicted Winner: Iyo Sky

Seth Rollins vs Bron Breakker

Bron Breakker looked like WWE’s next big star late last year, but things have not gone as planned since. He lost his World Heavyweight Championship match to CM Punk during Netflix’s first Raw of the year. Bronson Reed, his primary partner in The Vision, got injured, and then he himself got injured, to the point where he was kept off the WrestleMania match card and instead only put in an appearance. Throw in the incredible popularity of a few NXT stars who were recently called up to the main roster, specifically Oba Femi and Trick Williams, and it suddenly feels like Bron isn’t necessarily the future face of the company.

To be clear, I’m not trying to be too negative here. Breakker is a generational talent with all the tools he needs to main event WrestleManias. He’s still getting good crowd reactions, and his future is still incredibly bright. Don’t sell your stock! But we also need to be honest that the last several months have not been the rapid ascent many of us were expecting. He needs to make a statement and remind everyone of his capabilities.

That’s why I think he needs to win here. Rollins will be fine taking an L. He’s one of the most popular guys on the roster. Breakker is the one who really needs an injection of momentum. If I were WWE, I’d put him over really strong here and then I’d figure out a new angle to try and get The Vision over as more than just a generic heel stable. The Bloodline had personality. Judgment Day has personality.

Predicted Winner: Bron Breakker

Danhausen & A Mystery Partner vs The Miz and Kit Wilson

I’m so happy this made a PLE card. Danhausen has been one of the most over guys on the entire roster since his debut, and as always, The Miz has found a way to help elevate another talent new to WWE. All the fun SmackDown segments were too well received and went too viral not to get a big match payoff. Plus, it’s always fun to speculate on who a mystery tag partner might be.

I’ve heard more than a dozen theories over the past few days. Let me go over the ones that make the most sense, at least to me. It could be CM Punk because he’s reportedly close to Danhausen in real life and is reportedly very friendly with The Miz again behind the scenes, as they were when they were both much younger and coming up together. It could be Shane McMahon, as there have been several teases about his partner being someone who loves money. That would certainly generate headlines. It could be Jelly Roll, as the singer was heavily rumored to have a match at Backlash with Cody Rhodes against Randy Orton and Pat McAfee before that all imploded amidst the bad fan response. It could be Royce Keys, as WWE is really pushing to try and get him over. Or it could be a fun little spot for a surprise returning legend.

Regardless, Danhausen is going to win this match. This is an easy way to earn some goodwill with the crowd, and it’s important for Danhausen to elevate the perception that he’s able to curse people/ make spooky things happen. Even if the outcome is obvious though, I expect to be entertained by some fun shenanigans.

Predicted Winner: Danhausen and Mysteryhausen.

Roman Reigns (Champion) vs Jacob Fatu For The World Heavyweight Championship

WWE fans have gone from assuming Roman Reigns was going to win this to asking big questions after the Tribal Chief was allegedly pulled from all of his scheduled WWE appearances in June. The move was unexpected, given he was previously advertised for the dates and said after WrestleMania that he was going to be full-time throughout the summer. Some have taken that as a sign that he’s going to drop the title here, but not so fast…

Reigns is still scheduled to make appearances throughout May, which means he’ll be around for several weeks after this Fatu match. He’s not getting written off television. Maybe there’s a case that he loses here and has a rematch with Fatu at Clash In Turin at the end of May, but would WWE really have Roman lose two consecutive matches and then be written off TV? They just put the belt back on him. He’s the biggest star in the entire company. Why would they do that?

My guess is Reigns has a certain number of PLEs he’s scheduled to work as part of his contract. Maybe the original plan was for him to do the event in Saudi Arabia at the end of June, but perhaps they decided to pivot to another event instead. Or perhaps Roman himself decided he didn’t want to work a date in the Middle East with all the conflict going on right now.

Regardless, I see Roman winning here, but I also think WWE is going to want to keep Jacob Fatu looking very strong. Expect the Samoan Werewolf to have the upperhand for much of the match or maybe even to get disqualified when he refuses to let go of the Tongan Death Grip.

Predicted Winner: Roman Reigns