Despite the terrible PPV name and inclusion of zombies, Wrestlemania Backlash was a success. From a wrestling standpoint, the matches were spot on and entertaining. It is a shame that Vince and company feel the need to put bells and whistles on every show because they have some very talented wrestlers on the roster that deserve better. We need some New Championship Challengers.
Regardless of the insisted upon bells and whistles the highlights of the show on Sunday had to be the two world championship matches. The WWE and Universal Title contests were absolute bangers and all five men should be commended for the job they did. It was a shame that the result of both matches was never really in doubt but now that they are over where do we go? Let’s take a look at who could step up next for a world title shot.
Universal Championship
After years of waiting to get his first PPV World Title Shot, Cesaro came oh so close to winning the big one but the Head of the Table, Roman Reigns emerged the victor.
Now that the Big Dog has established his dominance, once again, who will be lining up to face him next? Well, the easy solution would be to have Cesaro get a rematch at Hell in a Cell, but considering how Rollins attacked him at the end of Wrestlemania Backlash it is doubtful. It looks like those two men will be squaring off in a few weeks.
Either Uso brother would be a great challenger for Reigns’ title but this can’t happen yet. With Hell in a Cell and Money in the Bank switching, this story may be put on hold. It would be great to see either brother win the Money in the Bank contract and tease a cash in on Reigns but we will all have to wait for that to happen.
With those three men out of the way, the next contender pool for Reigns is looking a little thin. With Cesaro occupied it doesn’t seem logical for Reigns to have a Hell in a Cell match. There will be no need for a long build-up to the match so just about anyone could challenge Reigns at the next PPV.
Edge has not been seen on television since losing the triple threat match at ‘Mania so it might be smart to bring him back. After winning the Royal Rumble Edge was denied his one on one opportunity against Reigns so it would be easy to shoehorn the Rate R Superstar into a Universal Championship Match.
Another easy challenger for the WWE to throw at Reigns would be Kevin Owens. Reigns and Owens have a recent history of putting on fantastic matches. It would be an easy write to put the men against each other one last time before Reigns moves on to newer challenges.
The last challenger, and the one who they should go with, is Big E. After being split from the New Day last year the writing was on the wall that he was going to be getting a singles push. After the past few months of crushing it in the mid-card Big E has nowhere to go but up. It would be great to see him get the call against Reigns and start a great summer program.
WWE Championship
The triple threat match between champion Lashley, McIntrye, and Strowman was much better than it had any business being. The chemistry between the three men was surprising and the violence in their contest was great. The finish came with Lashley stealing the pin from McIntyre and covering Strowman for the win.
It was clear during the finish of the contest that McIntyre was a mere 3 seconds away from the win so going forward he does have a claim to another title shot against Lashley. With Hell in a Cell coming up they do have a long-standing feud that would be easy to write into a Hell in a Cell match. This might gain some groans from the audience as this feud has gone on for a while now. It should also be noted that Jinder Mahal and McIntyre are penciled in to start a feud soon so McIntyre could be out of the title picture for a while.
Some may think Strowman may be up for another title shot as well, but he was the one who ate the pin this past Sunday so there is a good chance that his championship aspirations are on the back burner for now.
If the WWE were looking for a fresh feud to throw at the Almighty Champion Damian Priest could be a great option. Priest has just finished, hopefully, his feud with Morrison and The Miz and appears to be getting pushed up the card. He also did mention, in his promo Monday night, that he would be open to challenging Lashley so the seed has been planted. It should also be noted that Priest is 38 years of age and this is getting up there for a wrestler. With momentum on his side, it may be smart to strike while the iron is hot.
Another fresh feud to look into would be with a man who has been left of television for months. The Limitless One Keith Lee has been absent from Monday Night Raw for a while now and it would be great to see him return against the WWE Champion. Lee is one of the best athletes on the roster and his chemistry with Lashley in the past has been great. It could be a great way to bring Lee back to the main roster.
Now, after the main event of Monday Night Raw this past week it looks like the next challenger may be already chosen for Lashley. After issuing an open challenge match, Lashley faced off against Kofi Kingston. It looked like Kofi was outmatched but after some interference from McIntyre, Kingston was able to roll Lashley up for the non-title win. From this, we can assume that Kingston will be getting a title shot soon, but will this be at Hell in a Cell? Will it be a feud that continues or is this just a speed bump in Lashley’s title reign. Only time will tell who the next challenger will be.