WWE Backlash 2026 is officially upon us, with five matches on the card, two championships on the line, and one mystery partner to be revealed! And as always, Wrestling Inc. is here to (hopefully) spoil the winners with our predictions!
To be fair, this doesn’t seem like a terribly difficult show to predict. Our consensus picks came in unanimous for three of the five matches, and there wasn’t a ton of dissent on the other two, either. But we’re also coming off an incredibly strong showing with our WrestleMania 42 picks, so it’s possible the card is less predictable than we are simply good at predicting! Either way, the WINC crew is pretty sure we know how everything is about to go down in Tampa, and we’re here to share that information with all of you. Who will walk out of Backlash with wins under their belts? Let’s get to the picks!
Bron Breakker vs. Seth Rollins: Breakker (87%)
Since returning from injury, Seth Rollins has been obsessed with getting his revenge on Bron Breakker, who played a major role in The Vision’s betrayal of him last year. Additionally, at WrestleMania 42, Breakker cost Rollins the victory by interfering in his match with GUNTHER, and though “The Architect” could use the win to finally get his retribution, 87% of our staff believes that he will lose to the “Badass” at Backlash.
Although taking the pin on Saturday would mean a second consecutive loss for Rollins, Backlash marks Breakker’s first match since coming back from injury and it would be a poor decision on WWE’s part if he were to be defeated in his return to the ring. Throughout the last year, Breakker has been on the cusp of being positioned as the next World Heavyweight Champion, and if the goal is to eventually have him be a potential option to dethrone Roman Reigns for the title, a win over Rollins would be crucial.
Moreover, Rollins losing this weekend could be the beginning of a new storyline for his character, as WWE has already started to hint at the six-time world champion struggling to earn respect from his peers, such as The Street Profits, who claim nobody in the company trusts him because of his previous antics as the leader of The Vision. Where a loss for Breakker could hinder his trajectory, Rollins failing to win at Backlash could lead to the downfall and then the eventual redemption of his character heading into the summer.
Despite there being a possibility that WWE will want to give Rollins the win after being defeated by GUNTHER at WrestleMania, the majority of the WINC staff believe that Breakker will walk out of Tampa, Florida with the victory.
Written by Julien D’Alessandro
IYO SKY vs. Asuka: SKY (100%)
At WrestleMania, Rhea Ripley had her moment, defeating Jade Cargill for the WWE Women’s Championship. Now, *Danhausen voice* at Backlash, it’s time for IYO SKY to have her moment.
A full 100% of the Wrestling Inc. Staff think that SKY will overcome Asuka on Saturday. Asuka isn’t exactly a slouch, but it’s very clear which one of these women have momentum in WWE. SKY’s partnership, relationship, situationship, whatever you want to call it, with Ripley has been a central part of WWE programming, and I’m not exactly sure what a win for Asuka would do other than derail some of that sweet, sweet momentum.
Even if all this does is get SKY back on track for a WWE Women’s Intercontinental title shot, there’s no good reason for Asuka to win other than shock value, and the WINC staff rarely trusts in that. Asuka’s reign as “The Empress of Tomorrow” has come to an end, and we are resolute that tomorrow belongs to SKY.
Written by Ross Berman
Mystery Tag Match: Danhausen and … CM Punk? (100%)
Danhausen will wrestle his first WWE premium live event match, and only his third bout with the company, at Backlash alongside a mystery partner against The Miz and Kit Wilson, and there isn’t a soul among us who believes that Danhausen and whoever he teams with will lose this match. All of us, 100%, here at WINC, are going with the “Very Nice, Very Evil” one, no matter who his partner is, though we’re a bit undecided about that.
On the most recent episode of the blue brand, Miz and Wilson tricked Danhausen into thinking Miz had finally accepted him as his protegee after weeks of Danhausen asking him, instead beating him down. Danhausen attempted to curse Wilson, but before he could, he ate a Skull Crushing Finale, then an elbow drop. “SmackDown” General Manager Nick Aldis made the match official later in the night.
For Danhausen’s mystery opponent, we’re mostly in agreement that his real-life friend, CM Punk, will appear to team up alongside him. “The Second City Saint” hasn’t been around too often following his WWE WrestleMania 42 loss to new World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns, so an appearance would pop the crowd. While 43% of us expect to see Punk, we could also make a case for John Cena, who is already set to appear at the event — while Cena has sworn to never wrestle again, he could break that promise here, or Danhausen could wrestle alongside an “invisible” version of Cena (i.e. no one). Other guesses from us (in increasing order of wildness) include AAA’s Mr. Iguana, Wilson’s former tag partner Elton Prince, the WWE-rumored Hiromu Takahashi, and a returning Shane McMahon.
Written by Daisy Ruth
WWE Men’s United States Championship: Trick Williams (100%)
Trick Williams will making the first defense of his United States Championship this weekend in a WrestleMania 42 rematch with Sami Zayn, with the added layer of vengeance for the Gingerbread Man costume that Zayn heinously murdered for all to see.
With it being so early in his title run and verbose babyface reactions opposite the heat that Zayn has been generating (seemingly purely because he’s not Williams) it does seem quite difficult to imagine him losing this weekend — although stranger things have happened. And running along that line, 100% of Wrestling Inc.’s staff backed him to go in, “Whoop That Trick,” and retain his title over his rival.
There remains a question mark in the shape of Carmelo Hayes, the man that Zayn had initially beaten for the title in the build-up to WrestleMania. Hayes lost the title through interference from Williams, failing to recapture it and missing out on the “Show of Shows” as a result. Provided he’s ready to return, the upcoming title match between the two men he can blame for not having it anymore feels like the perfect setting.
There is also Lil Yachty, last seen promising he would be cornering Williams going forward. That’s not been the case thus far after he was attacked by Zayn in the Gingerbread Man costume Zayn unceremoniously slaughtered the very next week. And while a candy cane remains the most dangerous weapon in the sport, this weekend could also mark an opportunity for him to return and help the champion keep his title.
Written by Max Everett
World Heavyweight Championship: Roman Reigns (93%)
We’re not expecting Roman Reigns to go on another 1,316-day run as world champion, but we’re also not expecting him to have one with a length of three weeks. That means it will lie somewhere in the middle — not too long, and not too short.
With this in mind, the overwhelming majority of Wrestling Inc. staff (93%) are confident that Reigns will retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship over his cousin, Jacob Fatu, at WWE Backlash on May 9. Given that Reigns just captured the title on April 19 in the main event of WrestleMania 42, most of us find the idea of him losing it so quickly to be outright absurd. It’s also not often that you hear the words “Roman Reigns” and “transitional champion” in the same sentence, and considering his status as a needle-mover for the company, we don’t believe WWE would even entertain that thought.
We’re not knocking Jacob Fatu’s potential. Most of us believe he will be a world champion in WWE someday. That “someday” is just not right now. After all, WWE loves a good chase, especially when Reigns is the obstacle in one’s path (example: Cody Rhodes from January 2023 until April 2024).
It’s also hard to overlook the fact that Fatu has gotten the better of Reigns in not one, but two straight episodes of “WWE Raw.” The first time, Fatu took down “The OTC” with the Tongan Death Grip. This week, Fatu then sent him crashing through a table.
In terms of physicality, Fatu has dominated his program with Reigns, which further leads us to believe that Reigns will even the score by pinning Fatu at Backlash. Or in the event that Fatu’s domination continues, there’s a chance that he refuses to release his Tongan Death Grip, and thus disqualifies himself. Either way, Reigns walks out of the premium live event with the World Heavyweight Championship still in his grasp.
Written by Ella Jay
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