Full WWE Backlash St Louis Predictions Including John Cena, Pat McAfee And A New Champion

I don’t want to get myself in trouble here by pulling a Bobby Heenan and prematurely bragging a little too aggressively, but historically, Backlash is the easiest PLE on WWE’s entire calendar to predict. I’m 14 and 4 over the last three years, and I’m hoping to improve on that winning percentage with another strong performance this year thanks to a crop of matches that mostly feel pretty straight forward.

It all comes down to where Backlash falls in WWE’s yearly calendar. Triple H, Bruce Prichard and the rest of the writers spend months setting up storylines and paying them off at WrestleMania. Then, less than a month later, we’re given another PLE, typically filled with a bunch of matches featuring newly crowned champions. I’m not saying WWE doesn’t ever give us a big WTF surprise, but in general, crowning a new champion and then having them lose the belt three weeks later doesn’t make a ton of sense. It’s a very late stages WCW move.

That being said, I do think we’re going to get one title change, and I do think we’re going to get some good matches the crowd will be hot for. This card might have some pretty obvious outcomes, but it also features some good workers and characters who are very over with the crowd. Plus, you can never go wrong with John Cena and Randy Orton going to war again.

You can check out a quick rundown of my recent and career record on WWE predictions below…

Pat McAfee Vs Gunther

Gunther is going to win this match. His character can survive the WrestleMania loss to Jey Uso without sacrificing much aura, but he can’t take back to back Ls to the Yeet Man and a broadcaster like Pat McAfee. It’s important Gunther comes out on top here, and ideally, comes out looking pretty strong.

It doesn’t need to be a squash match however, and it shouldn’t be. McAfee has proven in the past that he’s way better than you’d guess in the ring, and as a sympathetic babyface defending Michael Cole, he should at least be given some hope spots. I think there’s a real chance this ends up being a low key banger.

To me, the bigger question is whether this ends up writing McAfee off television for awhile. The former NFL punter typically takes an extended break during the year because of his football-related duties on ESPN. The sabbatical ordinarily doesn’t start until later in the summer, but given the timeframe, there’s certainly a possibility we could see Gunther “injure” the talking head to the point where he needs to step away for the rest of the year. That would certainly give The Ring General plenty of heat, and it would allow Pat some needed time off, as well as give Corey Graves the chance to return from NXT.

Predicted Winner: Gunther

Lyra Valkyria (Champion) Vs Becky Lynch For The Women’s Intercontinental Championship

I’ve been really impressed with Lyra Valkyria over the past few months, and I was especially impressed with her microphone work earlier this week on Raw. She’s also getting over with the crowd. You can hear it during her entrances. You can hear it during her matches. She’s not quite on that top level yet, but she’s really getting there. I think it was a great decision by Triple H to put the IC Championship on her and let her run with it.

But I don’t see how you bring back Becky Lynch to have her lose here. She’s one of the most popular female stars on the entire roster, and she’s been gone for an extended period of time. Her winning the Intercontinental Championship would also legitimize it in a way Lyra isn’t capable of doing at this point in her career. If you look back at the history of the men’s title, an overwhelming majority of the biggest names held the belt at some point in time, and it would be nice to start adding some legends to the women’s side as well.

Plus, it seems like we’re eventually going to get Becky and Bayley. Becky admitted she was the one who attacked Bayley and took her spot at WrestleMania, and those two are going to need to have a program to settle the score at some point. WWE is going to want Becky with as much momentum as possible when that program happens, and that means she needs to win her matches.

Predicted Winner: Becky Lynch

Dominik Mysterio (Champion) Vs Penta For The Intercontinental Championship

It’s hard to imagine the first few months of Penta’s WWE career going better than what we’ve gotten. He’s really won over the fans and become a big mid-card attraction. He also had his first WrestleMania match, which was extremely well received by fans and widely considered one of the best of the weekend.

Still, I don’t like his chances here though. He’s been feuding with both Judgment Day and Chad Gable/ El Grande Americano in recent weeks, and it seems like the long-term feud is going to be the one with El Grande Americano. That probably doesn’t need the Intercontinental Championship, as there’s plenty of built in excitement for that already. There’s even a possibility we could get a mask versus mask match between the two at some point.

Plus, Dominik Mysteiro just had a career highlight. His victory and post-match celebration was probably the best moment of the entire WrestleMania weekend. I’m not going to say a loss here would invalidate that, but it would make me really confused about where WWE is going with his character. He’s so hot right now, and a loss would only slow down that momentum. That being said, I don’t expect him to win clean here. Look for outside interference, random weapons or a referee bump. Something weird is going to happen, and he will not apologize for it.

Predicted Winner: Dominik Mysterio

Jacob Fatu (Champion) Vs Damian Priest Vs Drew McIntyre Vs LA Knight For The United States Championship

This match is probably the most exciting to me of any on the entire card. All four of these guys are super over with fans. McIntyre and Priest have both been world champions within the last year and change. Jacob Fatu is widely considered by fans to have future WrestleMania main event potential. LA Knight is sneaky still one of the most popular wrestlers on WWE’s entire roster. The crowd is going to be very hot for this match and rightfully so.

The most obvious choice here is to say Jacob Fatu is going to retain. He just won the title and is clearly ascending up the card. Weakening him so quickly doesn’t seem like it’s the right move, but it’s hard to know when his long-term plans aren’t clear. There’s a possibility he has a Gunther-like year-plus reign where he just dominates everyone at the mid-card level. Then again, it’s also possible that we’re finally going to get the long-awaited feud between Fatu and his sidekick Solo Sikoa. Many fans thought he’d lose at WrestleMania because of Solo and that would lead into an extended program between the two. That could still happen here.

If he does lose, it’s anyone’s guess as to who might win the title from him. LA Knight is probably the most obvious candidate, as he’s been involved in this title picture the longest and already has multiple reigns to his name. I wouldn’t mind seeing him on top again for a few more months.

This could also be a way to give Damian Priest direction. He was elevated to the main event scene last year with a big 'Mania moment and did a really nice job, but if we’re being honest, as much as I love him, he’s just not quite on that level. He’s a spectacular mid-carder or a halfway decent main event guy. I could see WWE putting this title on him again and letting him rule the mid-card. Drew McIntyre makes less sense to me, as he feels a little bit above this title, but if he’s not going to get booked to win a World Championship anytime soon, then this could be a way to give him something.

I’m going to stick with Jacob Fatu, but I have more doubt here than with most of the matches.

Predicted Winner: Jacob Fatu

John Cena (Champion) Vs Randy Orton For The WWE Championship

Deep down, we all know Randy Orton isn’t going to win this. I’m from St Louis. I love Randy Orton. It pains me in my soul to say he’s definitely going to lose out loud, but John Cena didn’t finally turn heel and beat Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania to lose a forty-five year old that’s lost a lot more big matches than he’s won over the last half decade. It’s just not going to happen.

Now, I think we’re going to get a terrific match. I think Cena is going to use some heelish tactics in order to win. I think there will be a moment or two where the crowd thinks Orton might win, but the upside of keeping the belt on Cena is just way higher. There are a lot more money matches to be had right now with the belt around his waist than on Orton’s.

I’m confident about a lot of these matches, but I’m the most confident about this one. Apart from teaching fans anything can happen, I don’t see a single reason why WWE would be better off with Orton as champion. So, expect Cena to win here.

Predicted Winner: John Cena