Author: Andrew Ravens

WWE WrestleMania Backlash is quickly approaching and the planned match order has been revealed based on the internal listing obtained by Fightful Select. 

Cody Rhodes competing against Seth Rollins is the planned opener while Drew McIntyre and RK-Bro vs. The Usos and Roman Reigns is expected to headline. 

Rhodes vs. Rollins and the main event are currently scheduled to have the most time on the show. There are no plans to add a stipulation to the six-man tag team bout despite the fact that WWE was originally planning a unification match between the Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Champions 

Omos facing Bobby Lashley, and Madcap Moss against Happy Corbin are set to be quick bouts. 

WWE WrestleMania Backlash Match Order

• Seth Rollins vs. Cody Rhodes is expected to be the opening match 
• Bobby Lashley vs. Omos. MVP is set to accompany Omos
• AJ Styles vs. Edge
• Smackdown Women’s Title I-Quit Match: Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair 
• Madcap Moss vs. Happy Corbin
• RKBro & Drew McIntyre vs. The Bloodline is expected to be the main event.

As a reminder, we will be providing live play-by-play coverage of this special later tonight.

Despite being one of WWE’s top stars, Drew McIntyre dealt with frustration regarding some of his creative in 2021. 

He found himself in an odd place last year as WWE went from holding empty ThunderDome shows to right back in front of live fans. He had a hard time navigating himself through what he called not so interesting storylines. 

“It got to a point where things went off track, in my opinion a little bit,” McIntyre told New York Newsday. “And it was hard to tell, without the live fans there, if it would have been okay. Right about the time where I fought Lashley a couple of times, I was telling these interesting—or, not so interesting—Scottish stories. That period maybe was not one of my favorites. But, hey, send me a challenge and I’m going to try and pull it off.”

McIntyre stated there was a period where he felt it wasn’t working right and pointed out how he got a mixed reaction during a promo segment at Money in the Bank. 

“I would not do something that I’m convinced is not going to work, unless I’m told by the man himself [WWE chairman Vince McMahon], ‘You’re doing this,’ — which, he’s not going to do,” proclaimed McIntyre. “A lot of people would just take the paper and complain privately to people in the locker room, perhaps, or to themselves, and then, maybe down the line if they’re not with the company anymore, in interviews, rather than trying to work together with the creative writer you’re with and saying, ‘It doesn’t feel like me.’ And if you really feel strongly about it, go to the boss himself. I know a lot of people are intimidated to go to Mr. McMahon. But, in the end, he’s the boss of the company where you work.”

He said in an office if you get a promotion or have a question you would go to the manager of the office. In their world, they got to Vince McMahon who has the final say. McIntyre said that McMahon has an open door and will listen to what you think because he wants the best show possible. 

Bron Breakker made his first title defense in his second reign as WWE NXT Champion against Joe Gacy on the Spring Breakin’ edition of NXT 2.0. Bron was wearing Rick Steiner\’s singlet that he wore in his Raw debut in 1993. 

The main event match saw Gacy be in control of it. There was a hooded man seen in the crowd. Bron hit a bulldog off the middle rope, another nod to his father. Gacy hit a powerbomb for 2. Bron retained with a spear. 

On the April 5th edition of NXT, Gacy and Harland captured Breakker\’s father, WWE Hall of Famer Rick Steiner and stole his Hall of Fame ring. Gacy taunted Breakker and dared him to find him in the arena so Bron went looking, but Gacy evaded him. 

They finally met up in a show-closing angle where Gacy offered Breakker Steiner\’s ring in exchange for a title match at this show. After Breakker agreed and he got the ring back, Gacy shoved him off a platform. After being on the floor for a few moments, Breakker was seemingly attacked by hooded figures working at Gacy\’s behest. 

Breakker won the NXT Title for a second time on the April 4th edition of Raw when he beat Dolph Ziggler. Breakker previously won the NXT Title from Ciampa at New Year’s Evil in January from Ciampa.

Cameron Grimes had the odds stacked against him in storyline when he made his latest defense as the WWE NXT North American Champion against Carmelo Hayes and Solo Sikoa in a triple threat match on the Spring Breakin’ edition of NXT 2.0 on Tuesday night. 

The match opened the show. The guys worked hard and had some near falls. Solo hit a splash off the top rope on Hayes for a near fall. Grimes hit a double foot stomp to Solo for the win. 

Grimes won the title last month when he defeated Hayes, Santos Escobar, Grayson Waller, and Solo in a ladder match at WWE NXT Stand & Deliver event in Dallas, Texas at the American Airlines Center.

Carmelo defeated Santos Escobar in singles competition to get this title opportunity while Solo’s opportunity at the title saw interference thanks to Trick Williams. As a result, he got the title shot anyways despite Hayes’ best attempt to prevent it from happening.

The storyline with Grimes was that he promised his father that he would win gold in NXT and now that he\’s champion, Grimes is trying to be a champion that his father would be proud of.

It appears WWE will be heading back to a familiar venue for the 2023 Royal Rumble event. Fightful Select reports the January event currently has the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas as the front runner. 

WWE previously held this same event at the venue in 2017 and was also the site for the 1997 edition. Until WWE announces it, nothing is set in stone. Both Seattle and New Orleans had expressed interest in hosting the event.

Last year\’s Summerslam location was being discussed until fairly close to the actual announcement date so it may be months until WWE announces the Royal Rumble announcement. 

WWE has held Royal Rumble events from stadiums or domes since 2019 except for 2021. Andrew Zarian of Mat Men Radio recently reported that WWE is planning on running more dome shows per year than ever before starting next year as that is WWE President Nick Khan\’s vision.

The remaining WWE stadium shows this year include Money In The Bank from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on July 2, SummerSlam at Nissan Stadium in Nashville on July 30, WWE Clash at the Castle in Cardiff, Wales on September 3, and an event in Saudi Arabia in October.

Becky Lynch has sent out a warning to fans regarding fake accounts asking people for money while pretending to be celebrities. Lynch wrote the following: 

“It should go without saying, but I, or any other WWE superstar, Would not ever message any fan looking for money or gift cards.

Please, if anyone ever messages you, pretending to be me, asking for money, or anything else, immediately block and report. The amount of times I have heard of this happening is sickening.”

This is happening too often with some notable examples including a fan losing his home because he believed that WWE star Liv Morgan needed help. Another fan attacked Seth Rollins at a live event because he was duped by a fake account.

Lynch dropped the WWE Raw Women’s Title to Bianca Belair at WrestleMania 38 and took a few weeks off from appearing on television while continuing to work live events. 

Lynch returned last week on Raw where she was interrupted by the returning Asuka. She doesn’t have a match lined up for WrestleMania Backlash just yet. 

Drew McIntyre is looking forward to winning the WWE Title in front of an actual crowd and looks at WWE Clash At The Castle inside Principality Stadium as the perfect place to do it. 

McIntyre won the WWE Title from Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 36 in 2020 in an empty Performance Center. WWE presents Clash at the Castle from the UK on September 3rd.

While speaking with Sports Illustrated, McIntyre noted his dream scenario is to defeat Roman Reigns at that event to become the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.

“I’m a two-time WWE champion, but I never won the title in front of our fans,” McIntyre says. “My dream situation is fighting for the title against Roman at the UK show. There is going to be such intense anticipation for that event. That would be a match, atmosphere-wise, that people would always remember.”

Another possible match for him is to face Tyson Fury as WWE previously had plans for them to headline a UK stadium show in 2020. That got nixed due to the pandemic. 

“If Tyson Fury steps back into the WWE ring, it’s not going to be as easy as he thinks,” McIntyre says. “He showed last time in his match against Braun that he’s capable. No doubt, he’s an entertainer. But if he steps into the ring against me, he’s in for something he’s never experienced before.”

McIntyre and Reigns will be across the ring from one in the main event of WrestleMania Backlash as McIntyre teams with Randy Orton, and Matt Riddle against Reigns and The Usos.

Roderick Strong wants out of WWE as he has asked for his release \”multiple times\” over the last several months. Fightful Select reported the news today. 

Per the report, Strong has grown frustrated with many things over the past year within the company. Despite his request, WWE has denied it. 

Strong was also pitched a name change, which he was against. There were many within the company that was surprised that Strong was not included in last week’s cuts as he made it clear he wanted to be let go. 

Strong has remained professional in his handling of creative week-to-week. It was added that WWE currently has no plans to release Strong and says he factors into their creative plan.

Strong is the last member of the Undisputed Era that remains with WWE as Adam Cole, Kyle O\’Reilly and Bobby Fish are all in a stable in AEW. He was put in the  Diamond Mine stable last year. The original idea for the group was for it to feature Stong, Tyler Rust, Arturo Ruas, Malcolm Bivens, Hideki Suzuki, and his wife Marina Shafir. 

Less than a year later, all of the members except for Strong remain with WWE. Prior to the group forming, Strong re-signed with WWE shortly before that.

Reactions to Roderick Strong Requesting His Release

Parker Boudreaux (Harland) was among the NXT names to be released by WWE on Friday, which came as a surprise to fans because of the hype that WWE put behind him. 

According to Fightful, Harland’s time in the company was cut short because the WWE officials felt that he “had not progressed in the ring quite enough for their liking.”

The prospect was nicknamed “The Next Big Thing\’\’ because of comparisons to Brock Lesnar. Harland signed with WWE in early 2021 after being an offensive guard at the University of Central Florida. 

WWE paired him with Joe Gacy on NXT 2.0 where they had him shave his head. However, he recently disappeared from television when Gacy’s program with Bron Breakker started for the NXT Title. They’ll meet in a title match this coming Tuesday night on Spring Break In’.

Prior to signing with WWE, he was training with former WWE star Eva Marie, who was back with the company at the time before she was released. 

Dakota Kai, Malcolm Bivens, Persia Pirotta aka Stephanie De Landre, Sanjana George aka Vish Kanya, Draco Anthony aka Reginald Chase Crews, Mila Malani aka Kellie Morga, and Raelyn Divine aka Jaylen Williams were also let go by WWE today. 

Dakota Kai was among the NXT names to be let go by WWE on Friday, but her release wasn’t entirely surprising internally.

Fightful reported this afternoon that her departure was coming as she had already made it known that she was not interested in renewing her contract.

The writing on the wall for her seemingly happened once Triple H was no longer running NXT when he stepped away due to his cardiac event. Before he took time off, she was one of the featured acts on the roster until NXT was rebranded as NXT 2.0. In recent weeks, she reunited with Raquel Rodriguez as they won the Women’s Tag Team Titles at Stand & Deliver only to lose them back to Toxic Attraction a few days later as Raquel was recently called up to the main roster and sent to SmackDown. 

Kai’s last match came on April 12th when she lost to NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose. She is under a 30-day non-compete clause so it will be another month until she’s free and clear to sign with another promotion. 

Malcolm Bivens, who was also let go, was expecting to leave the company as he was convinced to sign an extension last year when The Diamond Mine stable was formed. However, this past February, he declined to sign a new deal.

LA Knight has finished with the WWE NXT brand. Fightful Select reported today there are no plans moving forward for Knight in NXT and he is considered to be part of the main roster after just making a few recent SmackDown dark match appearances.

His last NXT match came when he dropped a loss to Gunther at Stand & Deliver during WrestleMania 38 Weeknd earlier this month. Gunther has also been called up to SmackDown. 

It’s just a matter of time before Knight will be coming to the main roster with his new Knight Model Management stable.

On April 15th at SmackDown, Knight served as the manager to former RETRIBUTION member Mace in a dark match. Knight cut a promo about launching his Knight Model Management with the former Mace, now known as Face.

Knight stated that he’s starting the model management group after saving up all of his money. Knight was wearing a suit while Face also had a new look and beat  Erik of The Viking Raiders, thanks to a distraction by Knight.

Last week at SmackDown, Mansoor was with Knight and Face for a dark match. However, this time, Knight called him Mace The Face, and then cut another promo to hype up his stable.

Despite publicly asking for his WWE release, Mustafa Ali made his return to TV on Monday’s episode of Raw when he interrupted a Miz TV segment that featured Theory. He is now a babyface. 

He traded words with Miz and said if he wanted to laugh then he would watch Miz wrestle. Theory and Miz made fun of Ali for taking his ball and going home. Miz wondered if he still “worked here.” Miz said that he was going to make Ali wish he got his walking papers. This led to a match between Ali and The Miz. 

Ali hadn’t been seen on WWE television since early November. WWE did have plans for him to start a “New America” storyline where Ali talked about being stereotyped, but the angle was scrapped. It was later reported that something was pitched to him that he was adamant about not wanting to do. As a result, it led to him having a heated argument with Vince McMahon.

Ali stated on the day of this year’s WWE Royal Rumble in January that he didn’t want to be in the Men’s Royal Rumble match before doubling down on wanting his release from the company, indicating the company tried to bring him back for the bout. 

WWE reportedly didn’t intend to grant him his release. In various reports, WWE had used the term “value” as the reasoning behind keeping Ali under contract.

Asuka made her return from being on the sidelines on Monday’s episode of WWE Raw. It happened when Becky Lynch was cutting a promo about losing the Raw Women’s Title to Bianca Belair at WrestleMania 38. This marked her first appearance on WWE TV since that match. 

Lynch talked about vacating the title 3 years ago and she doesn’t know who she is without the title. Lynch said that she’s hit rock bottom but views this is the start of a legendary comeback and she reminded everyone that she’s still a heel when she insulted the fans.

Asuka came out to the ring and said that she would stop Lynch because “nobody is ready for Asuka.” Ironically, Asuka was the star who was awarded the Raw Women’s Title in 2020 after it was vacated by Lynch due to her pregnancy

Asuka was last seen in action when she worked last year’s Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder match that was won by Nikki ASH, who later cashed on to win the Raw Women’s Title.

In January, there were rumors about her returning during the Royal Rumble but that didn’t happen. Asuka was medically cleared last month after recovering from shoulder surgery.

FTR has some options when their contracts with AEW are up. Fightful Select reported today that Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler\’s deals are technically available to expire this summer, but AEW retains an option year on the tag team. 

The belief is the option will be exercised by AEW or the two sides will come to terms on a contract extension soon. It was added,

“WWE has expressed interest internally about possibly bringing back the team formerly known as The Revival.”

– Fightful Select

FTR: From WWE, back to WWE?

After finding success in NXT and on the main roster, FTR became unhappy in WWE because of the lack of focus on the tag team division. The company had offered them $850,000 each, with Mark Carrano even mentioning that he could possibly get them to $1 million each. They turned the big money down and left for AEW. Because FTR is still under contract with AEW, WWE is unable to approach FTR directly.

As of late, FTR has been getting a bigger push and their recent matches with The Young Bucks and The Briscoes have been highly praised. Some even think their ROH bout with The Briscoes is a contender for Match of the Year.

Harwood was asked as recently as last month if he would ever return to WWE. He responded with, “Yes, if the money and circumstances were right…”

Alexa Bliss returned to WWE TV in January after being sidelined for several months and was last seen while competing in the women\’s Elimination Chamber match. However, she once again disappeared from TV because she reportedly was preparing for her wedding. Bliss is currently on her honeymoon.

Bliss filmed up to 9 vignettes in January for her return which culminated in her competing at the Chamber event, according to Fightful. At that point, there was no substantial creative direction for Bliss.

Bliss expressed interest in working WrestleMania and there were pitches to involve her in Becky Lynch and Bianca Belair\’s match, but they were quickly shot down. 

According to talent and creative, “it became known Bliss voiced her displeasure in the days following Elimination Chamber about her creative direction or lack thereof.” 

It’s unclear whether those WrestleMania pitches came from Bliss or someone in creative, but at the end of February, it was pretty well determined internally that Bliss would not be featured on WrestleMania.

The priority of booking Bliss shifted significantly after the vignettes. It was said “talent and creative were told that Bliss was very transparent about frustration that nothing of substance had been booked after being out of action for half a year. “

There has been backstage talk that Bliss voiced her frustration to Vince McMahon. Despite not being used, she’s listed internally as the number two babyface on the depth chart for the Raw women’s division.

• Photos from Alexa Bliss and Ryan Cabrera\’s Wedding