WWE BACKLASH PREVIEW & PREDICTIONS (4/10): Machado’s look at the full line-up including Cena-Orton, McAfee-Gunther, Valkyria-Lynch, Dom-Penta, more

On May 10, 2025, WWE Backlash will be held in the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri

John Cena (c) vs. Randy Orton, Undisputed WWE Championship match

Story in a nutshell: After winning the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania, John Cena was confronted by his longtime rival, Randy Orton, only with their alignments reversed.

A heel John Cena won the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania. The next night, after cutting a “celebratory” promo, he got RKO’ed by his eternal rival, Randy Orton. They now meet one last time before Cena retires.

Analysis and predictions: Cena wins.

Pat McAfee vs. Gunther

Story in a nutshell: Gunther confronted the announcement team over their support for Jey Uso, leading Gunther to choke out Pat McAfee, who now wants revenge.

Michael Cole and Pat McAfee have been open about their support for Jey Uso. After Gunther lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Jey, Gunther confronted Cole. When things escalated, McAfee came to Cole’s aid. After a scuffle, Gunther choked out McAfee. After Gunther got suspended, McAfee lobbied to get a one on one match against Gunther in a bid to restore his honor.

Analysis and predictions: It doesn’t really matter who wins as this match is a point in a bigger story. Gunther should win but there is always a chance that Gunther slips on a banana peel. Either way, Gunther will take it out on McAfee and Gunther next opponent will make the save, likely Goldberg, Jeff Cobb, or Ilja Dragunov (if healthy).

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…

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Lyra Valkyria (c) vs. Becky Lynch, WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship match

Story in a nutshell: Becky Lynch returned to the WWE as Lyra Valkyria’s tag team partner, but Becky turned on her partner the next day becoming the next challenger for the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship.

Bayley and WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion, Lyra Valkyria, had won the opportunity to challenge for the Women’s Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania. Before the match, Bayley was taken out by an unknown assailant. Lyra found a surprise partner in a returning Becky Lynch. Together they won the titles but lost them the next night. Becky then turned on Lyra. Becky admitted to being the one to take out Bayley. Lyra then agreed to put her title on the line in order to get her hands on Becky.

Analysis and predictions: Unless Bayley becomes a factor in the match, Becky wins.

Jacob Fatu (c) vs. LA Knight vs. Damien Priest vs. Drew McIntyre, WWE United States Championship Fatal Four-way match

Story in a nutshell: In a Triple H booking special, multiple people eyeing Jacob Fatu’s WWE United States Championship interfered in each other’s matches, leading to a four-way match.

At WrestleMania, Jacob Fatu defeated LA Knight to win the WWE United States Championship and Drew McIntyre defeated Damien Priest, thinking that he ended their feud. On SmackDown, Knight challenged Fatu to a rematch, but McIntyre argued that he deserved a shot. The two wrestled in a number on contender’s match but Priest showed up and attacked McIntyre who won the match by disqualification. Knight, upset with Priest’s interference, challenged him in a match. The match got blown up by Solo Sikoa and Fatu. GM Nick Aldis decided that Fatu would face both Priest and Knight at Backlash for the title. Solo then “questioned” the decision, saying that if anyone deserved the title shot, it was McIntyre who won the original match. Aldis agreed with the reasoning and McIntyre was added to the match, much to Fatu’s chagrin.
Analysis and predictions: Fatu wins.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Penta, WWE Intercontinental Championship match

Story in a nutshell: Penta defeated JD McDonagh to earn a shot at Dominik Mysterio’s WWE Intercontinental Championship.

Dominik Mysterio approached Penta in a bid to get him to join the Judgment Day, despite both Penta and Judgment Day’s Finn Balor eyeing the WWE intercontinental Title. Penta turned Dom down. Liv Morgan encouraged Dom to get involved in the title picture and he ended up winning the title at WrestleMania. Dom defended the title against Penta and was able to retain it with a returning JD McDonagh’s help. After several matches and many interferences, including El Grande Americano getting involved, Penta defeated McDonagh and was granted a shot at Dom’s belt.

Analysis and predictions: Dom will retain, likely with Grande’s help.