Following the go-home edition of SmackDown Live, we can now look at the list of WWE superstars from the blue brand who will be missing from the 2018 Backlash show—at least, as far as what is currently being advertised.
There is always a chance more people are added to the mix or there is some kind of change to the card later this week or even at the last minute, but for now, this post will fill you in on the men and women who are either guaranteed to be left off the show or are at least in danger of that happening.
Some of these omissions make perfect sense and others are a bit more questionable, so let’s take a look at the list and see where these wrestlers fall as we breakdown the SmackDown Live talent missing from the pay-per-view lineup right now.
From the SmackDown Men’s Singles Division
— Andrade “Cien” Almas (with Zelina Vega): Since these two have been advertised as “coming soon” and yet to make an appearance, WWE likely figured there wasn’t enough time to give them a spotlight for Backlash and it would be better to just wait.
— R-Truth: For the past several months, R-Truth has been out of action dealing with injuries. He’s popped back up since the Superstar Shake-up, but only in backstage segments, which could indicate that he’s not able to perform in the ring yet. Even if that’s not the case, and he’s cleared, he’s not someone who has a big enough role on the roster right now to make room for.
— Shelton Benjamin: For the past few weeks, The Gold Standard has been an extraneous player in the United States Championship scene, fighting with Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton. While he could have easily made his way into this match to turn it into a triple threat, WWE opted to go with the singles Hardy vs. Orton bout instead.
— Sin Cara: Outside of the Greatest Royal Rumble appearance that didn’t amount to anything, we haven’t seen anything from Sin Cara in a while. His absence here is no shock.
— Tye Dillinger: Despite a smaller roster, The Perfect 10 still can’t quite get to the point where he’s valued enough to be on the card, but since a lot of people on the Raw side who are even higher up than Dillinger are out of this, too, it’s not the worst thing in the world.
From the SmackDown Women’s Division
— Absolution: Since moving over to the SmackDown roster, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville have taken a backseat to The IIconics and Carmella, without getting a proper footing and an actual feud for themselves.
— Asuka: Ever since she lost her undefeated streak, Asuka has fallen down the prioritization list considerably. There isn’t a lot of room on the card for everybody to get an appearance here, and with Charlotte Flair and Carmella taking up the SmackDown women’s roster spot, The Empress of Tomorrow will have to wait until another day.
— Becky Lynch: Even lower on the list than Asuka, Becky Lynch would only be in a match here if this had been another SmackDown-exclusive event, where she likely would be teaming up with Asuka against Billie Kay and Peyton Royce.
— The IIconics: Look above. The IIconics have been utilized on SmackDown television itself, but their feud with Asuka, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair is supplemental to the Flair/Carmella situation, not the true focal point.
— Lana: For the most part, Lana has had nothing to do for quite some time. She isn’t really accompanying Rusev anymore (even though she did have a segment with him this week to say that Aiden English is holding him back), she isn’t with Tamina as she’s out of action, and she doesn’t have any other feuds going on.
— Naomi: Recently, Naomi has been mostly used to further the story between The Usos and The Bludgeon Brothers, but the SmackDown Tag Team Championship isn’t advertised for this card, nor would The Usos getting another shot make sense after their losses, so she won’t be feeling the glow here.
— Nikki Bella: Nikki Bella was last seen competing in the Royal Rumble and with her other business ventures, her breakup with John Cena and no build to any matches for her for this event, her exclusion is expected.
— Tamina Snuka: Tamina is still out with her torn rotator cuff injury from earlier this year.
From the SmackDown Tag Team Division
— The Bar: Cesaro and Sheamus were in a weird limbo situation when they dropped the Raw tag titles to Braun Strowman and Nicholas, then had to wait just to be moved over to SmackDown and lost their opportunity to win those titles back. While they’re feuding with The New Day at the moment, that isn’t a priority.
— The Bludgeon Brothers: WWE has always put the tag team division on the backburner whenever there isn’t enough room to accommodate everybody. With that in mind, if even the tag team champions on both shows can’t get on the card, you know the rest won’t. Plus, what would they do? Beat The Usos again? That isn’t something that will put butts in seats compared to some other matches here.
— The Colons: While Primo was used as a jobber in the Greatest Royal Rumble, Epico is out with an injury, and there’s certainly no room on the card for a solo-Primo feud.
— The Good Brothers: There’s a chance we see Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson get involved in the No Disqualification match for the WWE Championship, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. WWE doesn’t seem to really be too high on them in general, based off how they’ve been booked since coming to the company.
— The New Day: There’s no doubt The New Day are still popular and WWE still loves them, but they’ve fallen down to a lower spot on the hierarchy than they were over a year ago, and with Backlash being a co-branded event so soon after WrestleMania, the Superstar Shake-up and the Greatest Royal Rumble, there just wasn’t enough time to figure something out for them, as The Bar isn’t a good enough match to find its way onto this card.
— Rusev and Aiden English: Naturally, if either of these two would get a spot on the card, it would be Rusev and not Aiden English, but since The Bulgarian Brute has been in a weird position as someone WWE doesn’t want to push, but doesn’t want to entirely ignore, he’s getting the shaft here as he has no actual feud going on at the moment. There was also a tease that they could be splitting up, too.
— SAnitY: Just like the Andrade “Cien” Almas situation, they’re being held back until after Backlash.
— The Usos: After losing their rematch for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship at the Greatest Royal Rumble, there isn’t anything WWE could realistically do with Jimmy and Jey without it just being a rehash.
Do you think these men and women or any others not on this list should have been booked on the card in some fashion? How would you have utilized them if given the opportunity? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
