Hey, its better than the best of both worlds...

Welcome to the climax of the post-Mania fallout. We've had the Shakeup. We've witnessed the Saudi Arabian detour. Now we're preparing the Backlash which marks the beginning of the return of the dual branded PPV era!

The Main Stories

Shinsuke Nakamura is a bad man. He has rearranged AJ Styles poor bollocks no less than six times on television (Christ knows how many house shows too), across three countries and two continents. Now he finally gets his ultimate opportunity to claim the WWE Championship, in a match where the Australian uppercut he's grown so fond of is perfectly legal. But has AJ gotten wise to the act? I know babyfaces are dumb, but surely... Will we have Bret/Goldberg from WCW all over again, only this time with Shinsuke's forearm and AJ's Jesus zipper? Or is the King finally getting his coronation?

Meanwhile the man apparently next in line for the WWE Championship squares off against the perennial number one contender for the Universal Championship as Samoa Joe faces Roman Reigns. The two Samoan superstars plain don't like each other, Joe spitting absolute hot fire on the mic since coming back and Roman...well Roman's there too. Anyway, they get a chance to tear into one another physically for those all important bragging rights!

When Daniel Bryan was cleared to return, one of the premier questions on people's minds was who he would face in his first singles feud back. Would it be one of Owens & Zayn? Perhaps the long awaited titanic collision with the Miz? Perhaps a championship pursuit? How many would have said Big Cass? Well that's where we are. Cass hates Bryan for overshadowing metaphorically while he overshadows him physically. He was able to eliminate an exhausted Goat Faced Killah during the Greatest Royal Rumble. Can he make it two for two versus B-Dazzle, or does the feelgood comeback continue?


Midcard Mania
Over on RAW Bobby Lashley & Braun Strowman have formed quite the hoss tandem. Their alliance has caused friction with the Canadian Connection of Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn and the two duos square off in a rematch from a fairly onesided conflict from two weeks ago. Speaking of repeat conflicts, Carmella's first defense of her SmackDown Women's Championship is the mandatory rematch versus Charlotte (Flair) - with Becky Lynch, Asuka and the Iiconics potentially get involved, expect a messy and far from clean affair. RAW's Women's title too is a rematch with Nia Jax defending against the ever entertaining Alexa Bliss. Will the Goddess recapture her throne...or will she just be smote by the giant Jax?

Rounding out the show are two midcard championship defenses as the Miz seeks to capture the Intercontinental Championship for the umpteenth (this would be a record equaller potentially I do believe) when he goes against Seth [Freakin'] Rollins. The latter is on a massive roll, having retained in dramatic fashion in Saudi Arabia and once again downed his constant rival Finn Balor. Can the A-Lister regain the title that has become synonymous with his name and rob RAW of its most prestigious gold (I said what?)? And in a blast from the past, Randy Orton challenges Jeff Hardy for a coveted championship. This is 2018 in case you were wondering. Can they create another moment of magic, or get anywhere near as exciting as this memorable moment?


We'll see...