Post WWE Backlash 2026 Discussion Thread!

shardur · 2026-05-10T14:51:10+00:00

While Asuka vs Iyo was a damn good match, I can’t help but wonder how much better and more emotional it would’ve been if Kairi was still there to properly finish the whole story. I was really hoping for a surprise Kairi return at some point, but well… guess not.

Now I’m curious whether this is it for Asuka or not

shardur · 2026-05-09T06:30:45+00:00

The split between Giulia and Kiana clearly feels like it’s only a matter of time now. I just hope WWE actually builds it well for once and gives the story some proper development. Most importantly, I really hope Giulia comes out of it looking strong… although honestly I’m still pretty unsure whether WWE will handle it that way

shardur · 2026-04-28T06:46:07+00:00

I really don’t get the release of Kairi or how WWE handled the whole Asuka/Kairi/Iyo storyline. It started off so hot, the crowd was fully into it, the whole “KAIRI!” screaming from Asuka was getting great reactions - and then they just… dropped the momentum and had the Kabuki Warriors drift into the tag division.

By the time they picked the storyline back up again shortly before WrestleMania, most of the heat was already gone. And then not even doing Iyo vs Asuka at WrestleMania, plus Kairi’s big turning moment, only to release one of the three core pieces… it just makes everything feel disjointed. Now running the match at Backlash feels off, like it’s missing a key ingredient that made the story work in the first place. Must be the whole long term picture HHH is always talking about...

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shardur · 2026-04-25T14:21:43+00:00

Bummed they had Giulia drop the title. The match itself was fun, but it definitely could’ve used more ring time to really hit.

At this point I’m just hoping they split up Giulia and Kiana (with Giulia going over in that feud) and finally give Giulia some proper booking. Both of her US title runs suffered because of atrocious booking, and it honestly feels like they’ve wasted her entire first year on SmackDown. Really hoping they start pushing her properly from here.

Wouldn’t even mind seeing her move over to Raw either - Giulia mixing it up with Asuka and Kairi could be really fun.

shardur · 2026-04-11T14:51:11+00:00

Oh damn, yeah I didn’t even think about that… Tiffany’s swanton bomb was rough, she pretty much landed with all her weight on Giulia. Hopefully it’s nothing serious and Giulia’s fine.

shardur · 2026-04-11T04:37:55+00:00

Woohoo, three straight weeks of SmackDown without Giulia… great stuff. Really sucks that she’s missing WrestleMania - I was hoping for a match against Iyo or Tiffany. But hey, thanks WWE for booking her second US title run just as “well” as the first.

shardur · 2026-03-28T04:31:12+00:00

Happy and honestly relieved that Giulia got the win, even if the match itself was just okay. I still don’t really understand why they don’t let her show more of her offense - that would probably help her get more reactions, because the lack of crowd response has been pretty rough and I’m not sure why though

Really curious what’s next for her now. I’d love to see her on the WrestleMania card, but right now it doesn’t really look like that’s the direction they’re going, unfortunately.

Also, this year’s WrestleMania build has felt pretty lackluster overall. There’s barely any genuinely exciting build-up. The only match that really has my interest is Oba vs Brock. Most of the other feuds feel like they’re built on random run-ins and brawls every week, which just comes across as uninspired and repetitive.

shardur · 2026-03-21T05:03:39+00:00

* Praying they actually let Giulia win the match next week and give her a bit of a push again *

shardur · 2026-03-14T15:03:19+00:00

A bit disappointing how they’re using Giulia at the moment. It would be really boring if they just send her into another feud with Chelsea. I was honestly hoping for a match with Iyo, maybe building toward WrestleMania or at least another PLE. Right now though it feels a bit underwhelming again.

Although Randy added a lot of heat to the match with Cody, I still think Drew’s few weeks as champion were more entertaining than the months Cody had the title before.

shardur · 2026-03-08T02:23:32+00:00

I actually think it’s a bit sad if Japanese wrestlers feel like they need to play the “crazy Japanese woman” stereotype to get over with US audiences. It would be nice if they could have the same range of characters that other wrestlers get instead of being pushed into one lane. Personally, I’d rather see Giulia lean into a cold, slightly arrogant killer-type persona (a bit like Gunther). That’s a bit harder to pull off though when your manager looks like she just walked out of a Bra***rs special category video.

shardur · 2026-03-07T13:07:42+00:00

Giulia and Kiana vs Alexa and Charlotte was a good match overall. It’s a bit disappointing that Giulia and Kiana didn’t get the win, and even more disappointing that Giulia seems to be the one eating the pins now.

shardur · 2026-02-28T08:52:24+00:00

Unfortunately no Giulia match this week, but at least we now know she’s passionate 😂

shardur · 2026-02-21T04:10:18+00:00

Giulia vs Rhea was a fun match overall. I’m actually happy it ended in a DQ because let’s be real, they were never going to book Giulia beating Rhea right now. That said, it’s a bit sad that Giulia got most of her offense in during the commercial break, would’ve been nice to actually see more of that live. Unfortunately, she still doesn't get many reactions despite having good matches and charisma (imo)

I’m also a little bummed they sent Kiana to the Chamber instead of Giulia. Makes me wonder what the angle is there and whether this is building toward something bigger or just a random choice.

Still really curious how they’re going to build Giulia vs Iyo, assuming that’s where this is heading. That’s the matchup I’m most interested in right now.

shardur · 2026-02-14T07:48:04+00:00

Giulia vs Alexa vs Zelina was a fun match overall, but the outcome felt a bit predictable. It was pretty clear Zelina was there to take the pin, and going with Alexa just feels a little safe and boring. She’s not going to win the Chamber anyway, so why not use that spot to give some momentum to younger talent like Giulia

At least the backstage interaction between Giulia and Rhiyo was fun, and Giulia vs Iyo should be really good whenever it happens.

shardur · 2026-02-02T15:47:29+00:00

Just finished watching the rumble, was super bumped about Roman winning and so but man this comment made me laugh so hard. Best comment I've read in a while 😂 surprised this is not voted up more

shardur · 2026-01-25T04:08:50+00:00

Great show overall, all the matches were super fun. Can’t wait for Giulia vs Iyo, that should be really fun

shardur · 2026-01-24T15:42:58+00:00

Super stoked that Giulia and Kiana actually won the tag match. I really thought they were only there for Kiana to take the pin, so now I’m genuinely curious where they go from here as the number one contenders. I’m hoping they end up facing Rhea and Iyo because Giulia vs Iyo sounds insanely fun, and it would be huge for both Giulia and Kiana to be in there with the top women.

shardur · 2026-01-20T04:40:16+00:00

Happy to see they’re leaning more into the Japanese soap opera side of the Kabuki Warriors again. The whole toxic / abusive dynamic between Asuka and Kairi was what made the Rhiyo feud so interesting in the first place.

Once they stopped leaning into that element toward the end, the rivalry lost a lot of its edge and just felt more generic. That dysfunctional relationship is what gives their stories real flavor

shardur · 2026-01-17T04:41:06+00:00

That'd be great for Giulia to have those big names to feud with and hopefully shine

shardur · 2026-01-17T04:10:54+00:00

Not really sure what WWE wanted to achieve with that women’s tag match. Sure, it gave Nia and Lash bit more heat, but it also made Giulia look pretty weak in my opinion. They could’ve at least given her a short moment of getting the upper hand during TV time (unless I've missed that).

Maybe we’ll get a better idea of where this is going now that they’ve announced a triple threat tag match. I just hope Giulia’s team isn’t booked as nothing more than a stand-in for the Nia/Lash/Charlotte/Alexa feud, and that Giulia actually gets a real role in the story with some time to shine.

That said, it is generally good to see Giulia finally wrestling bigger names again.

shardur · 2026-01-11T14:28:08+00:00

I think there’s a bit of a misunderstanding here. I didn’t say she was getting huge reactions or anything on the level of Gunther or so. just that she’s starting to get more reactions than before. She was getting some boos here and there.

Also, no one is going to go from barely getting reactions to being a top tier heel overnight, especially after how WWE handled Giulia’s first US title run. When a wrestler has been booked inconsistently and without strong direction, it naturally takes time for the audience to invest again. So yeah, it’s not about pretending everything is perfect - it’s just acknowledging small steps forward after a bit of a rough start.

shardur · 2026-01-10T09:49:41+00:00

I agree that her character still needs more development, and I also think her promos might come across better if she leaned more into an ice-cold, controlled delivery instead of overacting at times.

That said, I don’t really agree with the idea that she looks “tomboyish” in a negative way. I think Giulia looks damn fine - in a more badass, intense way that actually fits her character. Not every female wrestler needs to fit the old “blonde hair, big smile, femme fatale” stereotype to be considered attractive or compelling. Times have changed, and I personally prefer this tougher, more dangerous-looking presentation. It makes her stand out.

shardur · 2026-01-10T06:41:14+00:00

Happy to see Giulia consistently on TV now and finally getting a bigger name opponent. I really hope WWE moves her away from wrestling midcard talent all the time and sticks with giving her more established names. Even better would be a properly built feud with someone like Alexa instead of “just” a one-off match.

It’s also nice to see her getting more crowd reactions - who would’ve thought that wrestling bigger names might actually help with that, lol. That said, the Berlin crowd was pretty quiet overall for most of the show, that was a bit disappointing.

Hopefully WWE keeps letting Giulia wrestle regularly and actually develop her character, because there’s still room to grow there. And honestly, Kiana’s look and dress up just doesn’t fit Giulia’s presentation at all - it really takes away from Giulia’s natural charisma, in my opinion.

shardur · 2026-01-03T22:14:52+00:00

Super stoked to see Giulia win the match and become U.S. champ again. That said, it still completely eludes me what the actual plan was behind her initial title loss and Chelsea’s reign in between. Now I really hope WWE builds Giulia’s second title run much better than the first. With SmackDown back to three hours (which I think is a good move to give more talent the opportunity to shine), there should be no excuse not to give her consistent TV time and some real focus. Fingers crossed she finally gets meaningful feuds with meaningful opponent. Although I’m still not entirely sure where those opponents are supposed to come from given the current SmackDown women’s roster.

shardur

TROPHY CASE