WWE Backlash 2017: Matches & Predictions

WWE Backlash 2017 will possibly feature the strangest main event SD Live has ever presented.

Randy Orton managed to beat back Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 33 and walk away with the WWE Championship. Orton and Bray continued to feud all the way up until their (horrible) House of Horrors matchup. Bray got the win thanks to the assistance of the new #1 contender for the WWE Championship – Jinder Mahal! At Backlash 2017, Jinder Mahal will face his biggest challenge yet as he takes on Randy Orton. Besides that major title matchup, “The Face of America” Kevin Owens will defend his US Championship against “The Face That Runs the Place” AJ Styles. And then there’s the main roster in-ring debut of Shinsuke Nakamura as he goes head to head with Dolph Ziggler.

We’re here to break down all those matches and more within our latest WWE PPV/special event predictions piece.

Tye Dillinger vs. Aiden English

Predictions & Winner: “The Perfect 10!” NXT regular Tye Dillinger finally got the call up from that developmental territory to the bigger lights of the main roster. And his regular victim has been former Vaudevillains member Aiden English. We like Aiden – we enjoyed his solo signing run and we’re glad it’s back now. But let’s keep it all the way real here – Aiden is going to be staring up at the lights once again as Tye Dillinger maintains his unbeaten streak on SD Live.

Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and Naomi vs. The Welcoming Committee (Natalya, Tamina, and Carmella) (with James Ellsworth) (6-Woman Tag Team Match)

Predictions & Winners: So Charlotte’s a goodie two shoes now? Strange…anyways, Natalya, Tamina and Carmella are having no parts of Raw’s former Women’s Division queen trying to do the same thing on SD Live. At first, Charlotte and Naomi were the ones beefing with each other. But that title match of theirs got disrupted by three of the biggest female haters on the Blue Brand. Charlotte and Naomi have decided to group together, plus they’ve gotten even more assistance in the form of Becky Lynch. Now all six of these ladies are heading into a 6-Woman Tag Team Match war. We can see the babyface squad being the ones who come out victorious here. This victory will segue right into the three victors fighting it out in a Triple Threat Match for the SD Live Women’s Championship in the future.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Dolph Ziggler

Predictions & Winner: We’re still on Cloud 9 due to the fact that Shinsuke Nakamura is all over TV as a main roster member for SD Live. His 1st night as a member of the Blue Brand was nothing but an entrance, yet it was one of the most beautiful moments we’ve ever laid eyes on. It’s pretty clear that the WWE is saving his 1st official in-ring debut on the main roster for PPV. And of course that PPV happens to be Backlash 2017. His chosen foe? Dolph Ziggler, who’s currently floundering as a heel that no one cares about anymore. But we understand his purpose as Nakamura’s opponent – Ziggler’s in-ring skills have never faltered, so it makes sense for him to be the one to have a great match with Nakamura. So yeah, this match will probably be one of the best matches on the show. And of course, it will end with Nakamura shoving his knee right through Ziggler’s face for the win. There’s no way Nakamura’s losing his 1st official match on PPV.

Kevin Owens (c) vs. AJ Styles (WWE United States Championship)

Predictions & Winner: Kevin Owens shaved his beard, adopted the colors of the Good Ol’ USA and reclaimed the US Championship from the former best friend who beat him for it. We like this slight gimmick change up and we’re even more interested in how much more of a savage he’ll become as a member of SD Live. AJ Styles may not be in the hunt for the WWE Championship at the moment, but he’s still in contention for an important championship. He’s vying for the US Championship, which means we’re set to witness another amazing match from these two current greats. Owens and Styles have fought plenty of times before and every time they did, no one was left disappointed. We’re sure that trend will continue here, even more so now that a title is up for grabs. Owens just got the title back around his shoulder, so we just can’t see him losing it so quickly. Expect a screwy finish to occur here, which will give Styles a reason to ask for a deserved rematch. Owens will leave with his US Championship, but he’ll do it through the sneakiest and least honorable of methods.