The first Smackdown Live exclusive pay per view – WWE Backlash 2017 – is almost upon us and there are quite a few intriguing storylines that will be playing out this upcoming Sunday night in Rosemont, Illinois.
The Allstate Arena plays home to Shinsuke Nakamura’s first match on the WWE’s main roster, and his match is the star attraction on a pretty stacked show. We also have Randy Orton defending the WWE Championship against an unlikely contended in Jinder Mahal.
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AJ Styles challenges The New Face of America – Kevin Owens – for the WWE United States Championship while The Usos defend the Smackdown Tag Team Championship against another pair of unlikely No 1 Contenders in the form of Tyler Breeze and Fandango – the team known collectively as Breezango.
There are also three non-title singles matches – Aiden English vs. Tye Dillinger on the kickoff show as well as Erick Rowan vs. Luke Harper in a battle of former Wyatt Family members and Sami Zayn vs. Baron Corbin. Rounding off the card is a Six Woman Tag Team match between Charlotte, Naomi, and Becky Lynch against The Welcoming Committee.
There are a number of possible twists that can happen, so without any further ado, here is our lust of 5 twists that can happen at WWE Backlash 2017:
#5 Erick Rowan and Luke Harper team up
Luke Harper and Erick Rowan made a formidable team when they were operating with Bray Wyatt as part of the Wyatt Family. But, with Luke Harper’s betrayal of the Wyatt patriarch and the latter’s move to Monday Night Raw during the Superstar Shakeup, the family is no more.
But, could we see Harper and Rowan team up again at Backlash – possibly after their match. Sure, Harper has been impressive as a singles competitor since splitting from Bray, but there is no doubt that he would be better placed as a tag team competitor, especially considering how weak the tag team division is on Smackdown Live.
With the impending return of The New Day, there is a great feud to be had right there. The winners of this feud can move on to a program with the Smackdown Live Tag Team Champions.
#4 Breezango pull off an upset
Tyler Breeze and Fandango are in the midst of an unexpected push following their victory in the Tag Team Beat the Clock Challenge a few weeks ago which gave them an opportunity to challenge for the Smackdown Live Tag Team Titles.
They’ve been booked pretty decently and have been making good use of their fortunate circumstances, but they aren’t at the level of The Usos. Jimmy and Jey have been looking excellent in recent weeks. It would definitely be a twist if the twins somehow lost their belts to The Fashion Police.
With The New Day expected to return soon, The Usos are the only heel team that can have a program against practitioners of The Power of Positivity. Unless Rowan and Harper team up to take on The New Day, The Usos should retain at Backlash.
#3 Charlotte turns heel
Charlotte as a babyface is weird, to say the least. Especially when the WWE Smackdown Live Women’s Champion – Naomi – is a babyface as well. So, what if this whole Welcoming Committee – the team of Natalya, Tamina, and Carmella along with James Ellsworth – nonsense is an ambush orchestrated by Charlotte.
We could see The Queen betray Naomi and Becky Lynch, take over as the leader of The Welcoming Committee and then proceed to feud with Naomi over the title. It might not be the ideal scenario, but this twist seems to be the only way of salvaging something out of this Welcoming Committee angle.
Also read: 5 ways Backlash can improve upon Payback
#2 Kevin Owens loses the WWE US Championship
On any other occasion, it would be entirely feasible for AJ Styles to defeat Kevin Owens in a match. In fact, I would go so far as to say that it would be expected for The Phenomenal One to get one over on KO. But, not at Backlash. Not after The New Face of America lost the belt to Jericho a couple of weeks ago at Payback.
It would be a twist that could cause Owens to spiral out of the main event for the foreseeable future, or it can be a way to get him into position as the top heel on Smackdown and the next challenger to Randy Orton’s WWE Championship. Because there’s no way, Randy isn’t walking out of Backlash with the WWE Championship, right?
Which brings me nicely to my next point...
#1 Jinder Mahal becomes WWE Champion
Surely there’s no way this can happen, right? How can Jinder Mahal, of all people, become WWE Champion? Well, you better not count him out just yet. After all, Vince McMahon is a pretty mad person who can do pretty crazy things at the drop of a hat.
Jinder could be the key to some major expansion plans in India. Vince might change the outcome just because it seems a Randy Orton victory is so predictable. Whatever the reasoning may be, it is not a 100% guarantee that The Viper is walking out of the Allstate Arena as the WWE Champion.
If the Maharaja does become the new champ, there is no way it is going to be a clean victory, though. Expect The Singh Brothers or The Bollywood Boyz or whatever they’re calling themselves now to get involved.
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