Live from Puerto Rico and hosted by Bad Bunny, it is WWE Backlash!

Here are my predictions for the show:

Non-Title Matches

• Seth “Freakin” Rollins vs Omos in a singles match.
  • Omos doesn’t need the win here, Seth winning this match would elevate him for the World Heavyweight Championship (WHC) that is upcoming. Seth to Win!
• Matt Riddle, Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs The Bloodline (Jimmy Uso, Jay Uso & Solo Sikoa) in a 6-man tag team match,
  • This should be a fun 6-man tag regardless of the decision. Storyline would say that Matt, Kevin & Sami to win which would be the conclusion of this storyline with Roman and The Bloodline.
• Bad Bunny vs Danian Priest in a San Juan Street Fight
  • First ‘hardcore’ match for Bunny as he draws weapons for Damian. Damian and the rest of The Judgement Day shouldn’t lose this as it would look bad for TJD but my gut is telling me to ‘pop the crowd’ – Bad Bunny to win
• Cody Rhodes vs Brock Lesnar in a singles match.
  • This should be a brutal match. Brock is going to go to town on Lesnar so it would only make sense that Brock Lesnar wins

Title Matches

• Austin Theory (C) vs Bobby Lashley vs Bronson Reed in a Triple Threat Match for the United States Championship
  • I feel this could go either way. My money would have to be on Bronson Reed to build him up as a credible thread. Bronson Reed to win
• Bianca Belair (C) vs IYO SKY in a singles match for the RAW Women’s Championship
  • As much as I like IYO, I cannot see her winning this. There is no credible threat to Bianca for the title as of yet. Perhaps with the WWE Draft going into effect on Monday, there will be new challengers for Bianca on Friday when she goes over to SmackDown. Bianca to retain
• Rhea Ripley (C) vs Zelina Vega in a singles match for the SmackDown Women’s Championship
  • Just like with Bianca, Rhea is going to be on RAW and is holding the other brand’s belt, BUT I can see Zelina getting this monster push and solidifying the LWO by giving her the title in her home country of Puerto Rico. Zelina to win

Last night on Monday Night RAW, Triple H revealed a new World Heavyweight Championship belt. The inaugural winner of the title will be decided at WWE Night of Champions on May 27th in Saudi Arabia.

A number of people have been vocal about the title design. Some good and some bad.

The good, which I agree with, seems to be blending the old ‘Big Gold’ and the more modern ‘WWE Network’ titles into one.

Others are saying that the logo being front and centre like it is, devalues the title compared to previous designs (See ‘Big Gold’ above) and ‘Winged Eagle’ (see below)

But WWE is not the only one that has placed its logo front, and centre and make it the focal point of the title. This has become a bigger trend over the years.

UFC’s title belts since 2001 have had their logo on the belt and you didn’t need to squint to find out what company the title was from.

UFC updated the title back in 2019 and arguably, it is more prominent than the previous design.

Let’s go crazier, Singaporean MMA Promotion, ONE Championship has MASSIVE belts with their name across them.

And to give it some context as to the size of it.

That thing is massive and you cannot miss the ONE logo on that.

Let’s go back to Pro Wrestling and check out All Elite Wrestling’s World Championship.

That title looks great and having the logo in the middle and being the focal point is not a bad thing. It looks great and it sets itself apart from the WWE, UFC, ONE and other countless promotions with their titles.

My overall thoughts are that the new World Heavyweight Championship is fantastic. A mix of old with some new bits in it really makes it the champion’s belt. And still retaining the customisation of the side plates is a nice touch. That is something that WWE did right in a Sports Entertainment-oriented product.

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It is that time of year again, it’s Wrestlemania week and for the 4th time that the show has been held on 2 nights.
Emanating from the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California, it is the 39th edition of WrestleMania.

Before I jump into the predictions for WrestleMania, let’s go over to the Crypto.com arena for the matinee show NXT Stand & Deliver.

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NXT Stand & Deliver 2023 Predictions

• Wes Lee (C) vs Dragon Lee vs JD McDonagh vs Ilja Dragunov vs Axiom in a Fatal 5 Way for the NXT North American Championship.
  • PREDICTION: Dragon Lee to win and become the new NXT North American Champion.
• Fallon Henley (C) & Kiana James (C) vs Alba Fyre vs Isla Dawn for the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship
  • PREDICTION: Alba and Isla to win and become the new NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions.
• Chase University & Tyler Bat vs Schism in an 8-person mixed tag team match and the winner gains control of Chase University.
  • PREDICTION: Schism wins.
• Roxanne Perez (C) vs Zoey Stark vs Gigi Dolin vs Tiffany Stratton vs Lyra Valkyria vs Indi Hartwell for the NXT Women’s Championship
  • PREDICTION: Roxanne retains the NXT Women’s Championship.
• Gallus (C) vs The Creed Brothers vs The D’Anngelo Family in a Triple Threat for the NXT Tag Team Championship
  • PREDICTION: Gallus to retain the NXT Tag Team Championship.
• Johnny Gargano vs Grayson Waller in an Unsanctioned Match
  • PREDICTION: Johnny Gargano wins.
• Bron Breakker (C) vs Carmelo Hayes for the NXT Championship
  • PREDICTION: Camelo Hayes to win and become the new NXT Champion.

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Wrestlemania 39 – Night 1 Predictions

• Austin Theory (C) vs John Cena for the United States Championship
  • PREDICTION: Austin Theory wins and retains the title.
• Charlotte Flair (C) vs Rhea Ripley for the SmackDown Women’s Championship
  • PREDICTION: Rhea Ripley wins and becomes the new SmackDown Women’s Champion.
• The Usos (C) vs Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship
  • PREDICTION: Sami & Kevin wins and becomes the new Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions
• Becky Lynch (C), Lita (C) & Trish Stratus vs Damage Ctrl in a 6-woman tag team match.
  • PREDICTION: Becky, Lita & Trish wins.
• Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins vs Logan Paul
  • PREDICTION: Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins wins.
• Rey Mysterio vs Dominik Mysterio
  • PREDICTION: Dominik Mysterio wins.
• Brawn Strowman & Ricochet vs The Street Profits vs Alpha Academy vs The Viking Raiders in a Wrestlemania Showcase Fatal 4-way Tag Team Match.
  • PREDICTION: Street Profits to win.

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Wrestlemania 39 – Night 2 Predictions

• Bianca Belair (C) vs Asuka for the RAW Women’s Championship
  • PREDICTION: Asuka wins and becomes the new RAW Women’s Champion.
• Brock Lesnar vs Omos
  • PREDICTION: Brock Lesnar wins.
• Edge vs “The Demon” Finn Bálor in a Hell in a Cell Match.
  • PREDICTION: Finn Bálor wins.
• Gunther (C) vs Drew McIntyre vs Sheamus in a Triple Threat Match for the Intercontinental Championship
  • PREDICTION: Sheamus wins and becomes the new Intercontinental Championship (And gets his Grand Slam)
• Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez vs Natalya & Shotzi vs Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler vs Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green in a Wrestlemania Showcase Fatal 4-way Tag Team Match
  • PREDICTION: Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler wins.
• Roman Reigns (C) vs Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship
  • PREDICTION: Cody Rhodes wins and becomes the new Undisputed WWE Universal Champion

And there are my predictions. Shout out what you think of them on my Mastodon @padraig@mastodon.ie

Not too long after Crown Jewel, we are already at Survivor Series and for the first time this year, the ‘WarGames’ is coming to the main roster.

There are 2 WarGames matches and at the time of writing, 2 championship matches.

• Bianca Belair, Alexa Bliss, Asuka, Mia Yim, and TBA vs Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai, and Iyo Sky), Nikki Cross, and Rhea Ripley in a WarGames Match

  • I feel that the 5th woman is going to be a returning Doudrop (Or Becky Lynch if she is ready) and will be the powerhouse to win the WarGames match. Team Bianca to win

• The Brawling Brutes (Sheamus, Ridge Holland, and Butch), Drew McIntyre, and Kevin Owens vs. The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, Solo Sikoa, Sami Zayn, Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso)

  • This will be a banger after banger after banger. The Brutes have nothing to lose here and it would solidify the Bloodline. I can’t see them being knocked off before Wrestlemania. The Bloodline to win

• AJ Styles (w/ The OC) vs Finn Bálor (w/ The Judgement Day)

  • Former Bullet Club leaders going head-to-head and it will be fantastic. I expect references to BC aplenty in this match. One to watch. Finn Bálor to win.

• Ronda Rousey (C) vs Shotzi for the SmackDown Women’s Championship

  • Ronda needs a few wins against her name and will feed on Shotzi. I don’t expect this to go long. Ronda to retain

• Seth “Freakin” Rollins (C) vs Bobby Lashley vs Austin Theory in a Triple Threat for the United States Championship

  • Bobby will probably ‘kill’ Austin Theory from the outset but Seth will nab the win and retain his title by the skin of his teeth. Seth to retain

It’s time for another Saudi Blood Money Show.

I will not go into detail about the results of this show because it’s a glorified house show.

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• Alexa Bliss & Asuka (C) vs Damage Ctrl (Dakota Kai & Iyo Sky) in a tag team match for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship

  • Winner: Alexa Bliss & Asuka retain!

• The OC (AJ Styles, Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows) vs The Judgement Day (Finn Bálor, Damian Priest & Dominik Mysterio) [w/ Rhea Ripley] in a 6-man tag team match.

  • Winner: The Judgement Day!

• Drew McIntyre vs Karrion Kross [w/ Scarlett] in a Steel Cage Match

  • Winner: Karrion Kross!

• The Uso (Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso) (C) vs The Brawling Brutes in a tag team match for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships.

  • Winner: The Usos retain!

• Braun Strowman vs Omos in a singles match.

  • Winner: Braun Strowman!

• Brock Lesnar vs Bobby Lashley in a singles match.

  • Winner: Brock Lesnar!

• Bianca Belair (C) vs Bayley in a Last Woman Standing match for the RAW Women’s Championship

  • Winner: Bayley to become champion!

• Roman Reigns (C) [w/ The Bloodline] vs Logan Paul in a singles match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship

  • Winner: Roman Reigns retains!

Tomorrow night, inside of the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA is the 14th Extreme Rules PPV Premium Live Event and every match has a stipulation.

This is in stark contrast to previous years where there might have only had 1 stipulation.

Tomorrow night is also the potential reveal of the White Rabbit, an ARG that has been played out on WWE House Shows (Non-televised shows) and at random times during Monday Night RAW and Friday Night SmackDown. In between commercial breaks, fans were listening to ‘White Rabbit’ by Jefferson Airplane.

Viewers were shown QR codes, either planted backstage or flashing on the screen for a second or two. Each one featured a puzzle that would eventually lead to the next location for WWE.

Some of the links from the links this week have shown the following:

• https://www.wwe.com/399012N751720w
• https://www.wwe.com/01000111_01000001_01000011_01011001
• https://www.wwe.com/1911

Mysterious numbers, symbols, morse code and even barcodes lead to White Rabbit milk.

This is of course the return of Bray Wyatt. A superstar who was released from WWE back in July 2021 has been teasing his return for some time, especially after the retirement of Vince McMahon.

Who knows where or if he will pop up tomorrow night is yet to be understood.

Besides the Bray Wyatt/White Rabbit stuff, there is still a loaded card from bell to bell, including the RAW and SmackDown Women’s Championship is up for grabs.

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Non-Title Matches

• Matt Riddle vs Seth Rollins in a Fight Pit match (with special guest referee Daniel Cormier)

  • I am so glad they brought back the Fight Pit. Matt Riddle has been inside the Fight Pit once against former NXT Superstar Timothy Thatcher back in 2020 with special guest referee Kurt Angle.
  • The feud for this has been great, the two of them getting under each other’s skin and I couldn’t think of a better way of settling this.
  • Matt Riddle wins. [Correct Prediction]

• Edge vs Finn Bálor in an “I Quit” match.

  • The feud between The Judgement Day and Edge has been bumpy. A bad booking decision was made by Vince to kick Edge out of TJD even though he was the one that formed it. Hopefully, this ends up with Edge returning because I do not see what else Edge could do here. The addition of Dominik Mysterio to The Judgement Day has been nothing short of amazing. The connection between Rhea and Dom is great!
  • The Judgement Day needs to come out of this strong as a whole, so I have Finn Bálor to win. If Edge wins, I am not sure where TJD goes from here. [Correct Prediction]

• Drew McIntyre vs Karrion Kross in a Strap match.

  • This is going to be bloody. Two big lads fighting each out and beating the crap out of each other with the leather strap. I predict that there are going to be shenanigans from Scarlett too.
  • Their feud has been rocky in the last week or two but it’s a good start for the returning Karrion after being out of the WWE fold for a while now.
  • Karrion Kross to win! [Correct Predicition]

• The Brawling Brutes (Sheamus, Ridge Holland and BUTCH) vs IMPERIUM (Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci) in a 6-man tag team ‘Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook match’

  • This feud has been great. Sheamus had a fantastic match against Gunter at Clash at the Castle in Wales for the Intercontinental Championship (And at the time of writing, are set to have a rematch for the title tonight on SmackDown (1 am on BT Sport (UK/Ireland) / 8e/7c on FOX (US)))
  • BUTCH being the literal personification of Scrappy Doo has always been a highlight for me. This is going to be a must-watch match.
  • The Brawling Brutes to win! [Correct Prediction]

Title Matches

• Bianca Belair (C) vs Bayley in a Ladder match for the RAW Women’s Championship

  • Ever since Bayley (And Dakota Kai and IYO SKY) returned to WWE back at Summerslam, I was very hyped for Bayley’s first match and I am finally glad that she is getting an opportunity once more for the RAW Women’s Championship.
  • Bianca has been a great champion since winning the title at Wrestlemania but the storyline that was supposed to be told with Becky Lynch got thrown out due to Becky’s injury, but this made up for it.
  • For storyline purposes, taking the belt off Bianca here makes sense. Let Bayley and the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, Dakota and Iyo enjoy a run and perhaps swap the titles either at Survivor Series or potentially at the Royal Rumble. Bianca doesn’t need a long reign with the title.
  • Bayley to win and to become the NEW RAW Women’s Champion [Incorrect Prediction]

• Liv Morgan (C) vs Ronda Rousey in an Extreme Rules match for the SmackDown Women’s Championship

  • This back-and-forth between the underdog of Liv winning the title from Ronda and Ronda clawing her back to the title has been great to watch.
  • She already has lost once and another loss would be devastating for her. It would take the edge, the shine off Ronda as she was always presented as a dominant force because of her background (Former UFC Champion)
  • I feel that Liv is going to win this match and it should allow Liv to move on to someone else to challenge her for the title.
  • Liv Morgan to win and retain the SmackDown Women’s Championship [Incorrect Predicition]