WWE Backlash 2026 is set to take place on May 9 at the Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida. It is the first premium live event after WrestleMania 42 and carries the fallout of every unresolved story from Las Vegas.
Roman Reigns is the new World Heavyweight Champion, CM Punk is off television, and several feuds that were meant for WrestleMania are only now getting their proper matches.
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The card has five confirmed bouts. Roman Reigns will defend against Jacob Fatu. Seth Rollins will square off with Bron Breakker. IYO SKY will battle Asuka, Trick Williams will defend the United States Championship against Sami Zayn, and Danhausen will team with a mystery partner against The Miz and Kit Wilson.
It is a stacked night on paper. But there are five booking decisions WWE must avoid at Backlash to protect long-term storytelling.
#5. Jacob Fatu shouldn’t win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
The Roman Reigns vs. Jacob Fatu feud has real heat. Fatu challenged Reigns on the RAW after WrestleMania 42. The Samoan Werewolf said he wants everything the OTC has. He confronted Reigns over Solo Sikoa being the one who brought him to WWE, not Reigns, and applied the Tongan D*ath Grip before the champ accepted.
It is a personal story with genuine stakes. But Fatu winning the World Heavyweight Championship at Backlash 2026 would be the wrong call.
Reigns won the title just three weeks ago. He defeated CM Punk in the main event of WrestleMania 42 Night Two. Stripping him of it this quickly would immediately undermine the WrestleMania result and hurt the championship’s credibility. WWE invested enormous effort in positioning Reigns as champion. A Backlash title change would make that Mania moment feel throwaway.
More importantly, Fatu is still building. He has only recently moved from SmackDown to RAW. His first-ever world title challenge at Backlash is already a significant step. The better long-term play is a strong showing for Fatu in defeat, leading into a bigger rematch down the road, likely involving The Bloodline.
#4. John Cena shouldn’t team up with Danhausen
John Cena is confirmed to appear at Backlash. He announced he will be delivering “history-making news” at the event, marking his second WWE appearance since retiring in December 2025. Danhausen still needs a mystery tag partner for his match against The Miz and Kit Wilson. The overlap is obvious, and WWE fans have already connected the dots.
But putting The Cenation Leader in a comedy tag match at Backlash would be a significant waste of the moment. Cena’s post-retirement appearances carry weight precisely because they have been rare and meaningful. His hosting of WrestleMania 42 was high-profile. Showing up at Backlash to wrestle in a midcard tag as Danhausen’s partner would dilute that legacy rather than enhance it.
The “history-making news” framing strongly suggests Cena’s role at Backlash is an announcement, not a match. WWE knows what his appearances are worth. Using him in the Danhausen segment for a pop would be short-sighted booking that trades a valuable asset for a crowd reaction.
#3. Asuka shouldn’t beat IYO SKY
This feud goes back over a decade before either woman signed with WWE. They were teammates in the Japanese faction Triple Tails. In WWE, Asuka served as a mentor to SKY. The betrayal came when Asuka turned on SKY in September 2025, driven by jealousy over SKY’s friendship with Rhea Ripley and SKY’s individual success, which had been built over months. Asuka cost SKY a Women’s Intercontinental Championship match on RAW before challenging her to this Backlash bout.
Asuka winning here makes no narrative sense. IYO SKY is the protagonist of this story. She was betrayed. She has been chasing this match. In the classic babyface vs. heel structure, the payoff is the face getting revenge. Asuka winning would mean SKY endures the betrayal and months of torment, yet still cannot secure the win, which would kill momentum for a star WWE has heavily invested in.
Also, Kairi Sane was recently released from WWE, which removes Asuka’s most significant backup. This is the cleanest possible window for The Genius of the Sky to get the win without additional complications. Having her lose would be a major creative miss.
#2. Seth Rollins shouldn’t beat Bron Breakker
This is the most straightforward booking call on the card. Bron Breakker needs this win far more than Seth Rollins does.
The backstory here is substantial. Breakker and Bronson Reed turned on Rollins in October 2025, ejecting him from The Vision and forcing him to vacate the World Heavyweight Championship due to injury. Rollins returned as a masked attacker targeting The Vision. Breakker then suffered a hernia injury and missed WrestleMania 42.
He returned at ‘Mania to cost The Visionary his match against Gunther with a spear, and has been demolishing Rollins on RAW every week since. On the May 4 episode of RAW in Omaha, Breakker speared Rollins twice.
Despite all of that, The Visionary is one of the most established stars in WWE. A loss at Backlash will hurt him minimally. Breakker is a different situation. Multiple reports have noted that Breakker’s push has stalled. He lost to CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship on the first RAW of 2026. He was eliminated in seconds at the Royal Rumble. His character positioning has suffered.
Backlash is his first real one-on-one high-profile match since returning from injury. Seth Rollins winning here would bury Breakker’s momentum again, just when WWE needs him to climb.
#1. Trick Williams shouldn’t remain a heel
Trick Williams debuted on the main roster in January 2026 as a heel. Within weeks, the audience was loudly chanting “Whoop That Trick” in every arena. He won the United States Championship from Sami Zayn at WrestleMania 42. Since then, the crowd’s reaction has been impossible to ignore.
Fans threw up the “X” sign when the Gingerbread Man was “injured.” They cheered Williams and booed Zayn in a feud originally intended to make Zayn sympathetic.
The double turn has already happened organically. Sami Zayn is now the bitter, obsessive heel. Trick Williams is the crowd favorite, defending his title and his fallen mascot. WWE did not book this shift intentionally – the audience made it.
Trying to revert Williams to a heel role at Backlash would go against the crowd’s energy and waste a character connection that takes years to build naturally. Let it run. Williams as a babyface United States Champion is a long-term asset.
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Edited by Neda Ali
