WWE Backlash 2024 is coming up this Saturday afternoon! Before the premium live event takes place, let’s run down everything you need to know about the upcoming pay-per-view.
Who is scheduled for the card? How interesting does the show seem? What’s going to happen with all the matches?
Here is a full preview of WWE Backlash 2024.
Date: Saturday, May 4, 2024
Start Time: 12 p.m. ET (countdown), 1 p.m. ET (main show)
Location: LDLC Arena in Décines-Charpieu, Lyon Metropolis, France
(as currently advertised; card is always subject to change)
Temperature Scale = Scorching > Hot > Lukewarm > Temperate > Chilly > Cold > Freezing
Heat Index is my assessment of how interesting the segment is, including how excited I am for the match and how intriguing the feud has been. The hotter, the better. Scorching translates to not being able to wait to see it, while Freezing means I couldn’t possibly care less and think it will be awful.
Heat Index = Hot
Prediction: Cody Rhodes wins.
Thoughts: Obviously, there is next to zero chance the title changes hands here. You can’t spend all that time investing in Cody “finishing the story” and take 2 years to get it done just to throw it all away at the next pay-per-view. AJ Styles is here to put on a good show, give him a solid challenger who is a decorated champion in his own right, and to give us a “dream match” scenario. That’s perfectly fine for the belt not to be in jeopardy this quickly. I’m looking forward to this match quite a bit. While I doubt it will get people tossing Will Ospreay vs. Bryan Danielson to the side and hailing this as the best match of the year, I think it’ll deliver quite well.
Heat Index = Lukewarm
Prediction: Damian Priest wins.
Thoughts: Just like the Cody situation, I don’t think WWE could get away with having Damian Priest drop the World Heavyweight Championship so fast, either. On top of that, Jey Uso isn’t ready to be the top guy on Raw. He’s certainly climbing that ladder quicker than I would have anticipated, and I’d be totally down to see him eventually become champion, but it just isn’t happening here. A lot of people seem down on this for it not feeling “big enough” after seeing Seth Rollins, CM Punk, Drew McIntyre and others involved. I think the crowd in France will like it just fine and this will leave room for future matches with Priest to feel like a bigger deal. By hook or by crook, Priest retains.
Heat Index = Lukewarm
Prediction: Bayley wins.
Thoughts: Man, I’d be totally down to see a surprise here with Tiffany Stratton winning the title. But again, that’s not going to happen after Bayley just won it at WrestleMania. To be honest, I’m surprised Stratton is even in this match. I feel like she would be a fantastic choice for either Queen of the Ring or Money in the Bank and that whichever one of those would catapult her to being the one to dethrone Bayley. They must have other plans at least for QOTR. No idea who that would be. So for now, Stratton has to come up short. She might come back around to cashing in MITB or something later in the year, but I’m putting all my chips on Bayley. Naomi has no chance. She’s likely even going to take the pin.
Heat Index = Hot
Prediction: Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill win.
Thoughts: Here’s where we have our title change. Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill are both way too protected to lose here. The Kabuki Warriors have held the tag titles long enough that they aren’t in some “too fresh” territory like the above champions. Damage CTRL is on the downward spiral. We’re getting new champions, who will probably keep them quite a while before splitting and feuding with each other.
Heat Index = Lukewarm
Prediction: Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga win.
Thoughts: Solo Sikoa hasn’t had a great win-loss record in 2024. Tama Tonga hasn’t wrestled at all yet. It’d be foolish to have him lose his first match and give Sikoa another loss while he’s trying to establish himself as the new biggest threat in The Bloodline, if not the leader (at least, temporarily). In order to be The Tribal Heir, he needs to be a threat again. I expect this to be the debut of Jacob Fatu, interfering to cost Team RKO the match.
Heat Index = Hot > Lukewarm
Thoughts: I’m between Hot and Lukewarm on this. It’s not going to match WrestleMania levels of hype. That’s just unrealistic. But I’m still looking forward to it, largely in part to how much better I feel about WWE these days. It’s been a long time since I had faith WWE would make the right calls and present storylines that don’t just drop off before they meet their resolutions. Not everything will be perfect by any means, but my fandom has been healed more in the past month than it had been tarnished over the past 5-10 years. That gives them some leeway now that they haven’t had in a long while. This isn’t going to be a groundbreaking event, but I think it’ll be a relatively easy watch.
What do you think is going to happen at WWE Backlash France? Which matches are you most excited to see? Keep the discussion going in the comments below!