WWE Backlash 2026: Draws & Duds

WWE Backlash 2026 heads your way this Saturday from Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida, and it's a show with a potentially polarizing five-match card. Two titles are on the line, as Roman Reigns defends his World Heavyweight Championship against Jacob Fatu, while Sami Zayn attempts to reclaim the men's United States Championship from Trick Williams. The rest of the card is comprised of grudge matches — at least, if "grudge match" is the proper term for Danhausen teaming with a mystery partner against The Miz and Kit Wilson.

Your mileage may vary when it comes to Danhausen or any of the other Backlash matches, but how does the WINC staff feel about the show as currently laid out? That's the question we're here to answer. Which Backlash matches make us want to sign up for ESPN, and which make us want to save our money instead? Here are our biggest draws and biggest duds for WWE Backlash 2026!

I'll start out by saying this match overall is going to be an in-ring banger, and it's something a lot of people have been looking forward to for quite some time. It's also a match that should have taken place at WrestleMania, so it fits the Backlash theme, if there still is a theme to these premium live events these days. But it's a dud, all thanks to TKO and corporate greed. Asuka and IYO SKY may tear the house down in Tampa, Florida with their incredible abilities, but the damper TKO put over this match, thanks to the release of Kairi Sane mid-storyline, makes this a lot less exciting.

Sane was a big part of the story, with Asuka screaming at her any chance she got and SKY finally trying to get Sane to come around and leave her abusive tag team partner. It was a story a lot of fans were invested in, one that many figured would come to an end on the "Grandest Stage of Them All," but that ended up not being the case. Things took a turn for the worse when Sane was revealed to be amongst the post-WrestleMania releases on April 24.

There are rumors that Sane could appear at Backlash to wrap up the story, but that just feels kind of sad. It's hard to say at this point if that would actually help put a bow on this angle, or if it would just feel more like a "Is this what you wanted?! Here, damn!" moment from WWE to fans. After WWE brought back R-Truth following his impending departure from the company last year, officials are not going to want to make that a habit every time there's a swell of support behind a released star. So a Sane appearance could still mean a Sane departure, though a lasting image of her hugging SKY over a fallen Asuka in the ring would be kind of nice.

Asuka and SKY can do their best to make this an in-ring classic, but it still feels like a dud now, all thanks to corporate greed. All three of these women got the short end of things, starting with the WrestleMania snub, and it really sucks to see. Maybe "dud" is a strong word, but this one certainly is overshadowed by much bigger things.

Written by Daisy Ruth

WWE loves that Danhausen. I don't have to tell you he's a draw — just look at his position on the card.

The demon-huckster-hustler has been in WWE for barely three months and has already snagged one of three spots on the paywalled, premium version of WWE Backlash, and I honestly can't blame WWE. Fans have already seen Trick Williams and Sami Zayn wrestle over the United States Championship, and Seth Rollins vs. Bron Breakker is essentially a glorified "Raw" main event if it's not for a title.

I don't know who Danhausen is going to pick as his partner, but it's the beginning of the month and my paycheck is burning a hole in my pocket. I'll pay $30 to see whatever circus Danhausen and The Miz come up with. Maybe it'll be John Cena, back from retirement, maybe it'll be AAA favorite, Mr. Iguana, or maybe it'll be Finn Balor as a Demonhausen, or maybe it will be a second Danhausen. Maybe a mini-Danhausen, or a Danhausen who is big as a redwood. Maybe it's a whole family of Danhausens. WWE Superstar God could show up for the 20th anniversary of His WWE debut.

No one could've predicted at Danhausen's coldly-received WWE debut that he'd be sharing the ring with John Cena at WrestleMania just weeks later, so who knows what could be next. The possibilities are endless, and that is the fun of Danhausen.

Written by Ross Berman

While the United States Championship match pitting champ Trick Williams against Sami Zayn is a technically a true Backlash match, since their first bout did occur at WrestleMania 42, it's also a dud, because it feels like we already know the outcome. Williams is too over with fans to take the gold off of him right after he just won it in Las Vegas, and Zayn's current character arc doesn't seem to be leading him back to the mid-card title.

It's also a dud because WWE creative is beating a dead gingerbread man into the ground. Sure, it was funny leading into WrestleMania, with Williams going as far to release a diss track titled "Gingerbread Man" to make fun of the ginger-haired Zayn. It was even still funny when Williams brought out a person in a life-sized gingerbread man costume, not once, but twice, and the second time, it of course turned out to be Zayn wearing it, leading to a beat down of Williams and Yachty. However, after their WrestleMania match, Zayn has continued the angle with the costume, leading to a rather bizarre segment on the May 1 edition of "WWE SmackDown" where he cut a promo on it, then attacked it.

And then WWE still took it further with having a medical team literally check on the empty costume, then announce a funeral will be held for it on the go-home edition of the blue brand before Backlash. Sure, that will lead to a brawl between the champion and challenger, but it all feels very Vince McMahon-esque at this point.

The match will also be one of two to take place on ESPN 2 before the event moves to the premium service, which either means it will be excellent to get fans to subscribe to the ESPN app, or it will be ridiculously rushed. With the way things went across both nights for WrestleMania 42, it's safe to say the match won't go over 10 minutes, and will likely see involvement from Lil Yachty at ringside. Or, perhaps things get a bit more exciting and Zayn snaps and turns fully heel, beating down Williams with a chair or something to get himself disqualified.

Between the predictability of the match and the fact WWE is beating the comedy angle into the ground, this match is a dud for Backlash, a premium live event without too many exciting things on the card overall.

Written by Daisy Ruth

Presumably the main event of Backlash, Roman Reigns will be defending the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against his cousin, "The Samoan Werewolf" Jacob Fatu. For years has this been a dream match, stemming from Fatu's dominance on the independent circuit as MLW World Heavyweight Champion coinciding with the beginning of Reigns' run as "Tribal Chief." And that's even more the case now that Fatu has established himself as one of the uncrowned main eventers in the company. 

Having seen off a former World Heavyweight Champion in Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 42, Fatu emerged to make the challenge to Reigns during the "WWE Raw" after 'Mania, putting himself at odds with his family all over again. He has since drawn the ire of Reigns and the Usos, as well as Solo Sikoa and MFT on Friday nights. But that hasn't stopped him. He has consistently got the upper hand on Reigns with the Tongan Death Grip, and smashed through Sikoa and the entirety of the group.

In fact, while in real life the decision was made to cut costs, the WWE canon will recognize that Fatu was the one to shelve Tanga Loa and JC Mateo in their final appearances. That all just lends to the fact that Fatu is a dangerous challenger for Reigns and his new run atop the company. It would be difficult to ever bet against Reigns taking the win on the night, but Fatu is someone who could, and has been booked well in that regard. 

This would be a draw because it featured Reigns. It would be a draw because it featured Fatu. Them facing one another with the title on the line just elevates that to an entirely new standing. It's far and away the most intriguing match on the card.

Written by Max Everett