The main event of WWE Extreme Rules. (WWE.com)
Backlash, the newest SmackDown Live pay-per-view, will air this evening on the WWE Network. But looking ahead past Backlash, what’s the next WWE pay-per-view on the schedule?
After Backlash, the WWE’s next pay-per-view is Extreme Rules, a Raw branded event which is scheduled to air on Sunday, June 4th, exactly two weeks from tonight.
The main event of Extreme Rules has actually already been announced: it will be a fatal five-way match between Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, Finn Balor, Samoa Joe and Seth Rollins. The winner of that match will go on to face Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship.
A few other matches have also been announced for Extreme Rules. The pay-per-view will feature a Women’s Championship match between Bayley and Alexa Bliss, which will be a “Kendo Stick-on-a-Pole match.”
In addition, there will be a match between The Miz and Dean Ambrose for the Intercontinental Championship. The stipulation here is that even if the match ends in disqualification, Dean Ambrose can still lose his Intercontinental Championship. This rule came about because on a recent episode of Raw, The Miz defeated Ambrose, but because he won by disqualification, the title did not change hands.
Plus, Extreme Rules will feature a match between The Hardy Boyz and Cesaro and Sheamus for the Raw Tag Team Championship. Finally, there will be a match at Extreme Rules between Neville and Austin Aries.
The next SmackDown Live pay-per-view after Backlash will be Money in the Bank, which is scheduled for June 18th. Money in the Bank, of course, is a very popular pay-per-view series defined by the Money in the Bank ladder match; the winner earns the right to “cash in” a title opportunity anytime within the next year. This is the first time the event is being held since the 2016 brand split, and the WWE has made the decision to make Money in the Bank a SmackDown Live event.
After Money in the Bank will be Great Balls of Fire, a Raw branded pay-per-view scheduled for July 9th. This is a major event because it has been announced that this will be the first time Brock Lesnar defends his Universal Championship. He’ll be going up against whoever is the winner of the main event of Extreme Rules; the current thinking is that this will be either Seth Rollins or Finn Balor.
Next up after Great Balls of Fire is Battleground, a SmackDown Live exclusive pay-per-view that airs on July 23rd. This is the first time Battleground is being held since the 2016 brand split, and so it’s the first time it will be a SmackDown specific event.
That takes us to August, and SummerSlam will air on August 20th. SummerSlam is one of the biggest WWE pay-per-views of the year, and it’s the first cross-brand event since WrestleMania. Although we don’t know anything for sure yet, the rumor is that SummerSlam will feature a match between Braun Strowman and Brock Lesnar.