We are just getting over with the Wrestlemania season, as WWE is looking forward to building up for the Backlash PPV.
Some initial lineups are being made official for this event from both Raw and Smackdown Live. However, we need to remember the Superstars Shakeup and the Greatest Royal Rumble is happening before this show which is why there can be some changes soon.
As of now, we have received the first match sanctioned for the Backlash PPV event from the Smackdown Live brand. It will get contested for the United States Championship between Randy Orton and Jinder Mahal.
The latter one won his very first US title at the grandest stage of them all by winning the fatal-4-way match.
Now, Randy Orton was the former champion which is why he deserved a championship rematch in the future. However, we have seen a completely different picture on Smackdown Live on this past edition. He was instead forced to compete in a triple threat match to earn his title shot.
Randy Orton, Rusev, and Bobby Roode competed in this match, as the champion watched in a tailor-made seat beside the ring alongside Sunil Singh. Rusev was supposed to be the favourite to come up, as the winner of the match courtesy the fan support he has, right now. He was in the control of the match by delivering a Machka kick and locking in the Accolade.
But, The Viper slithered into the ring to connect with a sudden RKO to the Bulgarian Brute that earned him the pinfall victory. With this win, he became the number one contender for the United States Championship.
Furthermore, it got confirmed on WWE.com that this match has been made official for the Backlash PPV event on May 6th,
“United States Champion Jinder Mahal will once again battle Randy Orton at WWE Backlash with a prestigious title on the line. What will happen when WWE’s Apex Predator squares off with The Modern Day Maharaja? Find out at WWE Backlash, Sunday, May 6, at 8/7 C on the award-winning WWE Network!”
Isn’t this sad man look at this #WWEBacklash @CountdownEnded pic.twitter.com/7xVphmsw2r
— BluE_EaZY (@RealBluEEaZY) April 11, 2018
It was last year at Backlash where Jinder Mahal made history by winning the WWE Championship by defeating Randy Orton. The same lineup would be seen this time, too for the US title. It’d be interesting to see if Mahal still has Orton’s number even after one year later.
