The WWE Backlash pay-per-view was not held in June 2019 due to contracted obligations to Saudi Arabia, but on Sunday night, the show makes its return to the schedule. Backlash streams live from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, this weekend, with five title matches on tap as well as a one-on-one showdown between rivals that's been saddled with the tagline of being "The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever."
Braun Strowman will defend his universal championship in a handicap match with former tag champions The Miz and John Morrison, Drew McIntyre puts his WWE championship up against Bobby Lashley, and Edge meets Randy Orton as the two continue their rivalry in the aforementioned "Greatest Wrestling Match Ever." Those three matches highlight the card, but there's plenty more action scheduled for the show.
Backlash will begin at 7 p.m. ET with the show expected to last approximately three hours, not counting the kickoff show, which starts one hour prior to the main card at 6 p.m. CBS Sports will be with you the entire way on Sunday with live results, highlights and analysis.
Let's take a closer look at who our CBS Sports experts predict will come out on top at WWE Backlash.
2020 WWE Backlash predictions
Raw Tag Team Championship: Street Profits (c) vs. Viking Raiders
Announced Sunday just hours before the pay-per-view, the Profits and Raiders will continue their rivalry -- this time finally inside the squared circle. Since winning the titles at WrestleMania back in April, the Profits have only had a couple of televised title defenses, and fans have hardly seen them on television as the champs. With the Raw tag team division lacking in a major way right now, best to keep the titles on the faces and come up with a couple heels teams -- perhaps Andrade and Angel Garza? -- to compete with them going forward. Pick: Street Profits retain the titles -- Adam Silverstein (also Jack Crosby, Brent Brookhouse)
Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus
Throughout all the torment at the hands of Sheamus, Hardy owns the victory in the lone singles match between the two during this feud. This is a heated, personal rivalry, so I can't see it coming to an end in a simple one-on-one encounter. Sheamus picks up the win on Sunday, and with Extreme Rules tentatively scheduled as the next PPV on the calendar, Hardy will emerge victorious in the feud in some sort of gimmick match. Pick: Sheamus wins -- Crosby (also Brookhouse, Silverstein)
United States Championship: Apollo Crews (c) vs. Andrade
Andrade is burgeoning into one of the company's top stars and would certainly be a well-deserving U.S. champion, but he just saw his long reign -- which featured few title defenses -- come to an end at the hands of Crews a few weeks ago. It would make little sense to pull the title off Crews so quickly, especially considering it is helping him get over with the fans with a long-awaited push that has taken years to actually come to fruition. Leave the midcard rocket strapped to Crews for now, and either elevate Andrade into the uppercard or give him a run alongside Angel Garza in the tag team picture. Pick: Apollo Crews retains the title -- Silverstein (also Brookhouse, Crosby)
Women's Tag Team Championship: Bayley & Sasha Banks (c) vs. Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross vs. The IIconics
This is certainly going against the grain a bit seeing as it's quite unlikely the titles will be removed from Bayley and Banks so quickly. But the SmackDown women's champ and her best friend are on a collision course, and I see no better way to further that than repeating history by having The IIconics get the victory in this multi-person tag title match as they did back at WrestleMania 35. Bayley took the pin on that night and she should again on Sunday night while Banks -- who was required to save her team in order to win the championship on SmackDown -- continues to realize that Bayley is the problem. Pick: The IIconics win the titles -- Crosby
If WWE is ready to pull the trigger on the Bayley vs. Banks feud heading into the summer, they drop the titles to The IIconics. I just don't get the feeling they're ready to go all-in yet. Instead, the titles offer an ability to continue building the feud. In their title win, Banks had to save the team when Bayley tried to steal the spotlight to score the victory. Having Banks continue to pull the team back from the brink of a loss for a few months will play well into the realization that she is the one carrying the team and the one who should be carrying the SmackDown women's title. Pick: Bayley & Sasha Banks retain the titles -- Brookhouse (also Silverstein)
Raw Women's Championship: Asuka (c) vs. Nia Jax
WWE made the right decision transitioning the women's title from Becky Lynch to Asuka via Money in the Bank, and there's little argument that Asuka has been the MVP of the pandemic era. With Jax getting in Asuka's head twice via distraction on Raw over the last couple of weeks, one would believe Asuka will get over on her threatening competition with a clean win at Backlash. We have not seen the green mist from Asuka -- as she exclusively used it when playing a heel -- but it could be used as a device to get Asuka the win and allow Jax not to be beaten too severely as WWE still tries to pose her as a threat in the division. Pick: Asuka retains the title -- Silverstein (also Brookhouse, Crosby)
Universal Championship: Braun Strowman (c) vs. The Miz & John Morrison
A showdown with "The Fiend" is inevitable on the heels of the champ's victory over Bray Wyatt at Money in the Bank, but it seems that's being reserved for another date and time -- presumably SummerSlam. So, well, here we are. After a few weeks of some non-entertaining build which included WWE returning to the well of having Strowman flip over a vehicle, he will be tasked with fending off not one but two challengers in the former multi-time tag team champions in order to retain his title. He will do just that as, again, a clash with "The Fiend" awaits in the near future. Pick: Braun Strowman retains the title -- Crosby (also Brookhouse, Silverstein)
WWE Championship: Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Bobby Lashley
Lashley has been a good foil for McIntyre, and this feud has the legs to go beyond Backlash. That said, the title is not moving from McIntyre's waist any time soon, even facing the odds of Lashley with MVP in his corner. McIntyre's championship reign is safe, for the time being. Claymores will be served up and the title will remain with McIntyre. Pick: Drew McIntyre retains the title -- Brookhouse (also Silverstein, Crosby)
"The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever:" Edge vs. Randy Orton
Most fans thought this feud was a one-time thing that was going to end at WrestleMania. Yet here we are a couple months later with Edge and Orton squaring off again in a match with a tagline that has most wrestling fans shaking their hands in disbelief -- not only that the two can live up to the billing but that WWE even chose it in the first place. Simply put, it feels like the Edge-Orton rematch was scheduled for a Saudi Arabia show with the tagline planned for the entire show itself rather than their match. Nevertheless, here we are with Edge and Orton fighting in a normal wrestling match, which is normally how you start a feud rather than finish one of this magnitude. And that's why I believe the feud will not end here. Ultimately, Edge will have to come out on top as he continues his return year in WWE, but Orton will win on Sunday night giving Edge something to think about and work towards before a rubber match is set -- possibly at SummerSlam. Pick: Randy Orton wins -- Silverstein (also Brookhouse, Crosby)
