WrestleMania 42 settled some scores and opened plenty of others. Now, less than a month removed from Las Vegas, WWE heads to Tampa’s Benchmark International Arena for Backlash 2026, a five-match card that functions less as a victory lap and more as a pressure test for everything that happened in April.
The show begins at 6 p.m. ET. The first two matches air on ESPN2 and ESPN’s streaming platform before the remainder streams exclusively on ESPN. Internationally, the event is available on Netflix. Subscriptions to ESPN’s streaming service start at $29.99 per month and are accessible through DirecTV, Fubo TV, Hulu + Live TV, Spectrum, Verizon FiOS, U-verse, Cox, and Comcast Xfinity.
The full Backlash card
Danhausen and a mystery partner vs. The Miz and Kit Wilson opens the show. That is followed by Iyo Sky vs. Asuka, Seth Rollins vs. Bron Breakker, Trick Williams defending the United States Championship against Sami Zayn, and Roman Reigns defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Jacob Fatu in the main event.
Danhausen and mystery partner vs. The Miz and Kit Wilson
Danhausen has been one of WWE Backlash most pleasant surprises since his polarizing debut at Elimination Chamber. His backstage skits have turned casual viewers into devoted followers, and his crowd support has grown to the point where a loss here would make no creative sense.
The bigger question is who stands beside him. Speculation has circled around CM Punk, who has no match tonight and carries a natural storyline connection as a fellow former AEW talent. A celebrity like Jelly Roll has also been floated, though given the mixed reception to celebrity involvement at WrestleMania 42, that path carries more risk than reward.
Prediction: Danhausen and his mystery partner
Iyo Sky vs. Asuka
This match was originally scheduled for WrestleMania 42 before getting pushed to Backlash, and the delay has come with complications. Kairi Sane, who spent months as a central figure in the feud, was released in the post-WrestleMania roster cuts. Her absence has forced WWE to build a new narrative around a storyline that was designed with her involvement in mind.
The silver lining is that Sky and Asuka are two of the best in-ring performers on the roster, and a non-WrestleMania event gives them room to work. There is also a strong belief within WWE Backlash that Sane could return for one night in Tampa to provide the story the closure it deserves.
Regardless of how it ends, this match is the most likely candidate to exceed expectations.
Prediction: Iyo Sky
Trick Williams (c) vs. Sami Zayn for the United States Championship
The go-home SmackDown closed with Lil Yachty, accompanying Williams, rising from a full-size casket in a gingerbread man costume and attacking Zayn with a candy cane kendo stick. It is exactly as absurd as it sounds. It has also been more entertaining than it has any right to be.
Williams won the title at WrestleMania last month and has been one of the hottest acts on SmackDown. Zayn, meanwhile, is being repositioned as a heel, a turn that the crowd appears willing to accept. There is no logical reason to move the Backlash title this soon.
Prediction: Trick Williams
Seth Rollins vs. Bron Breakker
Breakker underwent hernia surgery in February, which scrambled WWE’s WrestleMania plans significantly. Paul Heyman has since confirmed that Reigns vs. Rollins and Breakker vs. CM Punk were originally the planned main events before injuries intervened. Now, Breakker finally gets his singles showcase, and it comes with real stakes.
Breakker cost Rollins his match against Gunther at WrestleMania, which gives this bout a clear motivation. However, Breakker is returning from a long layoff, and WWE has positioned him as a future world champion. Losing in his first match back would undermine that investment. Expect a physical, hard-hitting match with outside interference from The Vision muddying the finish.
Prediction: Bron Breakker
Roman Reigns (c) vs. Jacob Fatu for the World Heavyweight Championship
Reigns captured the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 42 by defeating CM Punk. He then declared his part-time schedule finished, promising a more consistent presence on Raw going forward. Shortly after, his name disappeared from all advertised Raw events in June, with WWE attributing the removal to a clerical error. That explanation has satisfied almost no one, and quiet speculation has built around the possibility of a title change tonight.
That said, Reigns winning a title and dropping it within a month would undercut the momentum WWE Backlash built heading out of WrestleMania. The more likely outcome involves the Usos getting involved to help Reigns retain, whether he wants their help or not.
Prediction: Roman Reigns
