Pro Wrestling: Backlash Predictions

 

Hey Divas hey! Just a Friday night here and your girl is home after a long week. Kids listened this week for the most part, their new obsession is the song "Go Cubs Go" by Steve Goodman, and they are so obsessed with it that they go home and ask their parents to play it for them. One parent described their child's obsession with it so much so that he was upset when he couldn't find it. If they turn out to be Cubs fans, I take zero responsibility for that. All I did was play the song and found out that one of my students already knew it, because his father is a Cubs fan so there ya go. When football season comes around, that will be a different story. 

Mother's Day gifts went home today and they turned out great. These gifts were a back up plan as our first gift failed miserably. I can mix paint together and get the desired consistency, I can match colors to complement each other and I can use the right context of complement depending on the meaning. But I  cannot mix acrylic paint and water to get the right consistency. EPIC FAIL. Five minutes of time spent on Pintrest and boom! Simple project that turned out cuter than I thought. 

In between the Walmart runs for gift supplies and work, a friend of mine asked me to post my Backlash predictions. Could this be a first? I think so. 

Yes it is a first, so here ya go.

Backlash. Yay. Pointless PPV that does nothing but air on Peacock, just the other PPVs. Notice how AEW has a PPV every other month or so with more buildup? That's what WWE needs to do, because anything else is boring and flat. Even flat soda has more taste compared to WWE. But another PPV? Just. No. It's not needed and what does it do for current storylines that are already boring? Nothing. 

With Cody back, some may consider WWE a game changer. I consider it Cody being back in WWE. 

On with my predictions. 

Smackdown Women's Championship: Charlotte vs. Ronda Rousey "I Quit" Match

If this were 1987 NWA, Charlotte would be the most decorated and hated woman in pro wrestling. She is just perfection as a heel, like Flair was with the Horsemen in the eighties. Here we are in 2022 and she is to wrestling today what her father was thirty-five years ago. She has improved her look (I always thought she had a rather awkward shape) and her move set hasn't lost a step. Charlotte is one of the few that I like on the women's roster and she holds my interest, unlike some people. 

Enter Miss Boring. I was watching the RR and when I saw Rousey, I rolled my eyes. My friend was over and he even predicted Rousey winning the Rumble. Munching on my Wahlburger (they are good and I highly recommend visiting a Wahlburgers restaurant) I nearly choked with the not needed Rumble win. What was the point of said win? What does Rousey bring to the landscape with no prior wrestling experience?

A real fighter, she can do some damage. I'd love to see her in a fight with Paige VanZant. In fact, I'd love to see Paige VanZant in a wrestling ring with Rousey. VanZant is adorable, she can talk and she would outfight Rousey. I can imagine the Charlotte-VanZant match up too. Both of them can talk and have a connection with fans. Rousey is like white tee shirt on the end table at Gap that you buy because it's something you need but it's too plain and boring. Wear it under a sweater. Charlotte is the colorful print shirt that is more expensive that can go with anything. The comparison is obvious.

Winner: Charlotte retains

RK-Bro & Drew McIntyre vs. The Usos and Reigns

Enter a Jeff Spicoli type of character with bare feet and a scooter. Pair him with a seasoned Orton and watch an unlikely pairing get over with fans. Then question the Orton heel turn that will eventually come. (I didn't say this but a friend did, and he is surprised it hasn't happened yet). 

The Usos. Add not just swag but heel swag and watch what happens. Pair them with a perfect heel Reigns and pay homage to their lineage. Check. Add an ego trip. Check. Put them on Raw. Check. Put RK-Bro on SD. Check. 

Good shit here, yet I'm trying to figure out how McIntyre fits in this equation. He's like the part of the problem who fits somewhere, just not sure where. (This is how I am with math). This is far from over and with McIntyre in line to challenge Reigns, this will give their match some buildup with a loss. 

Winners: Usos and Reigns

Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins

Cody is back in WWE? What? Oh wait. I'm so distracted by Rollin's suits I can't see. Then I wonder if Rollins got hammered and fell into a pool of Skittles. Either way, Part 2 is here and this should be interesting. WWE did not pay good money for Rhodes to return and to not win against Rollins would make the investment look like a waste of money. While the obvious push is there for a title run, defeating Rollins is part of the path there. 

Winner: Cody Rhodes

AJ Styles vs. Edge (Damian Priest banned from ringside)

When Edge first debuted summer 1998 I took a liking to him. The Brood was legit creepy and pairing him with Christian and Gangrel suited him-Edge can play either a face or a heel and play them well. In 2011 as a face, I cried when he retired, and when he made his comeback at the RR 2020, not only was I speechless but I was crying again. Edge is amazing after having neck surgery, and this heel turn is some of his best work. 

I like Damian Priest and this heel turn adds an edge (no pun intended) to his character. What concerns me here is Edge's neck and I feel like Styles will be careful with his style. Priest not being able to appear at ringside has me wondering if and when we will see the debut of a third person. (Someone posted something on Twitter as to who should join them as the third person of the trio-I say Finn Balor in his demon character; more on that later.)

This is a match I'm looking forward to because I love Edge.

Winner: Edge

Happy Corbin vs, Madcap Moss

Oh joy. Corbin has a match. Wow. Wow. Moss has a match. Oh joy. Does anyone really care about what happens here? Corbin is boring, and creative really dropped the ball with him. Moss is decent in the ring and has a fun personality but also boring, although less boring by a drop compared to Corbin. 

Let's consider the background that Corbin has in amateur boxing. Can that not be played into his character similar to Marc Mero in the nineties? He's been booked terribly over the last few years, he's not even worth watching. He’s like the boring white tee shirt that I pair with blue jeans. Remember how I described Rousey? Corbin falls into the white tee shirt at Gap category that you need but don’t need. He serves his purpose, and that’s it. White tee shirt jeans. Bland and plain. 

Enter Moss. He’s the pop of color to the boring tee and jeans combo who stands alone. The interesting thing in the closet that works with the right outfits. He could stand out with the right situations, yet if you look at past Andre the Giant winners, they get lost in the shuffle and or leave. Corbin needs to be booked better, and Moss has potential with the right creative options. Do something right for a change creative with these two. 

Winner: Madcap Moss

Bobby Lashley vs. Omos

When Omos first debuted as the security guard for Shane McMahon’s Raw Underground (fancy garage wrestling) I could see something special about him. Pair him up with Styles then have him turn on Styles, then pair him up with MVP. MVP still looks great and I like him in a management role. He’s giving me Godfather vibes from the nineties. The Hurt Business stable was a needed faction that sadly broke up before it got momentum. (And you need a degree to work on creative)? Omos is young and still finding his voice as a wrestler, and it will come with time. MVP is a good element in his corner. 

Lashley may not be able to cut a promo, but the guy can wrestle. A seasoned veteran, he can show Omos a thing or two to give Omos the experience for the next level. A win for Lashley is just a win, but a win for Omos is a win to move him up the ranks while boosting his credibility as a performer. 

Winner: Omos

And there you have it Divas. My predictions for Backlash 2022.  

In other news, Tammy Sytch is in trouble. Again. As I was getting ready this morning, I was thinking about Sytch and the late Chris Candido. May is mental health month, and I can’t help but wonder how different her life would be had he not passed away. Not to play devil’s advocate, but death does impact people in serious ways. It was an unfortunate loss to the wrestling world and a devastating loss to Sytch, which I will cover in a future column.

With love,

Dani