This Sunday is the first Smackdown exclusive WWE PPV of the ‘New Era’ The main event is Dean Ambrose vs AJ Styles for the World Championship, but I’m sure you all know that by now. So, as always the ever growing Team SLTD have gotten together to share our thoughts on that match, and who we all think will walk out the main man for Team Blue.
Share your thoughts below, or let us know on Twitter or Facebook who you think will be the World Champion in Tuesdays Smackdown.
@ColinHebert614 (The Certain Jerker)
Out of predicting all of the Backlash matches for tomorrow, this seems to be the easiest for me. Nobody has been on a bigger roll in the WWE since the brand extension than AJ Styles, actually winning a feud with John Cena. Dean Ambrose has been the one who turned the WWE World Title into the secondary major title. The comedy schtick is getting old and it’s time for the blue brand to give AJ the ball to run with and make the WWE World Title the most important in the company, which he can do.
@ALFarrand (Facebook Manager)
Despite the build to this match being a bit lacklustre, I am looking forward to seeing The Lunatic Fringe Vs. The Phenomenal One at Backlash. My anticipation for the match is all due to the fantastic run Styles is having at the minute. He’s on top of his game and is proving that WWE should have signed him years ago while Ambrose, I feel, is floundering as champion. He is a solid face who still generates a reaction from the crowd but Ambrose’s rather dull victory over Dolph Ziggler at Summerslam has done nothing to help him become the believable, unstoppable and unbeatable champion he needs to be. AJ, on the other hand, defeating the marquee man at Summerslam & needs to continue riding this wave of momentum all the way to the main event of Backlash and capture the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
@TheWWEVoiceless (The Voice of Reason)
The build to Ambrose vs. Styles has been mostly underwhelming, with Backlash set to follow the same precedent. Saying that, on paper this match is hard to call. Ambrose is clearly the top face of SmackDown Live and nothing suggests his reign will come to an end this soon. Perhaps WWE are looking to break CM Punk’s recent title reign record with Ambrose. At the same time, Styles has proved to the world why he is so great in the ring, but managed to play a true heel to get booed. WWE clearly think heavily of Styles and may want to set up a Cena return. I think his match will end in a non finish where Styles wins be some sort of DQ and sets up the rematch.
@maruwe22 (What Would Matt Do?)
What will happen : A very, very physical match. You have Ambrose, unstable, unhinged and unpredictable (that would make a decent t-shirt, you heard it here first!) and you have Styles – the journeyman, the cocky veteran. The finish I could see being either Ambrose wearing down Styles OR Styles going for the cocky finish and screwing up. Or, in my wildest dreams, a returning Luke Harper destroying the pair of them.
Who will walk out champion : Dean Ambrose. It’s far too soon in his reign for it to be cut short after a handful of matches and he needs to be legit. Should Styles win the title in the future? For sure, he can easily carry the SmackDown brand and have a series of matches with anyone. But for now Ambrose is King.
@kieranthekiz (UKayfabe)
Dean Ambrose faces another test of his title reign as he defends his title against ‘The Phenomenal’ AJ Styles. Like I said about Ziggler, big fan of Styles, I think he has the complete package as a superstar and a wrestler, but Ambrose still shouldn’t lose his title yet.
I really want Smackdown to build a credible main event scene, which I think they’re building towards.
If AJ Styles is to win the title, I’d like it to be at Wrestlemania, or perhaps one of the other big PPV’s. The only reason I could see to Styles winning at Backlash is to promote how important the Smackdown only PPV’s are.
Expecting a good back and forth match, both guys bringing their unique styles (no pun intended) to the party, but ultimately, ‘The Lunatic Fringe’ will get the victory in this one.
@Ben4589 (YouTube Contributer)
I think AJ has to win because he went over against John Cena and has had the best matches of 2016 so far in the wwe and I wasn’t keen on Ziggler v Ambrose and I don’t like the Ambrose comedy act . AJ to win and Ambrose will get his rematch at the next event and then AJ will feud with Randy for the belt
@callumowen98 (Facebook Manager)
In my opinion there can be only one winner this Sunday and that man is AJ Styles. Styles has been the best superstar in WWE since his heel turn against John Cena, meanwhile Dean Ambrose hasn’t been a convincing champion at all. Ambrose has been a real comedy character recently and sadly Dean’s comedy isn’t good comedy. Hopefully in 24 hours time, the man holding the WWE Championship will be The Phenomenal One AJ Styles.
@TomRobinson5199 (Armbar Analysis)
The first main-event of a “new era” SmackDown! exclusive pay-per-view is difficult to call. Dean Ambrose has been WWE World Champion since June and is “waiving the flag” for SmackDown! as their top guy at the moment. Some have questioned whether Dean has lost his edge since becoming champion while AJ Styles has seen his stardom grow following a big clean win over John Cena at SummerSlam. AJ has dubbed himself “the face that runs the place” since beating Cena and now goes into this match as arguably the most over wrestler on SmackDown!… except Heath Slater I guess! As much as I would not want to pull the plug on Dean, despite concerns, I would want my first brand-exclusive pay-per-view to be a memorable one. AJ winning the championship make Backlash a memorable pay-per-view, as well as the crowning of other new champions.
I’m going to boldly predict that a title change is coming for the blue brand and heck, with “football season” well under way, this may be a good time to give AJ a “test run” as champion without all the added pressure to be a huge ratings draw.
@mrnebarry (Old Skool View)
Ambrose vs AJ logically should only go one way, and that is AJ winning. Ambrose’s title run has stalled quite quickly. Ever since the Stone Cold Podcast, for me Ambrose has been missing something. AJ on the other hand is on fire. WWE are in prime position to pull the trigger on AJ and let him have a very decent title run. AJ can work with anyone, and everyone knows it. AJ to win, then we’ll get a rematch, and possibly a gimmick match to end it all, then Ambrose can hopefully re-find his err Mojo for lack of a better word.
@AdamOB_UTS (Under The Spotlight)
The build-up to this match could’ve been better, but the thing that makes it so intriguing is the fact that both Ambrose and Styles are heading into it with huge victories under their respective belts. “The Lunatic Fringe” kicked off the brand extension in tremendous fashion with wins over Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Dolph Ziggler, while “The Phenomenal One” heads into Sunday with a victory over John Cena at SummerSlam. They have both been on noteworthy rolls, and one of them is going to come to a screeching halt at Backlash.
But who wins? Well, as much as I would absolutely love to see AJ Styles climb that final rung on the ladder to success, rounding out his extraordinary career with a WWE World Championship reign, the fact that everyone is betting against Ambrose has me wondering if he’ll come out with the strap after all. Make no mistake, Styles is going to win the title at some stage over the next year, but Ambrose has way more to lose as a babyface right now, and I think SmackDown’s #1 draft pick should be allowed to maintain his credibility with a slightly longer reign.
As you can see 6/10 of Team SLTD (or 60%) think that we will see a New World Champion on Sunday! Do you agree?
SLTD Predictions League – Backlash – JOIN HERE
SLTD Wrestling brings you all the greatest wrestling content. from blogs, to podcasts to exclusive Predictions and Fantasy Leagues.
Recent Comments