WWE Backlash 2018: Preview and predictions

RAW Women’s Championship Match

Nia Jax (c) vs. Alexa Bliss

I’ll be the first to admit that I really enjoyed the story leading into the WrestleMania 34 match between Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax. It had the whole bully angle and former best friends and was filled with plenty of great segments that led to a solid match in New Orleans that saw Nia Jax claim her first championship. I wouldn’t quite put her celebration next to “the boyhood dream has come true” moment for Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XII, but it was still full of emotion and was a great ending to this well-told story.

With that being said, however, this thing should have ended the following night on RAW. You had a beginning, middle and end to the story and Bliss should have gotten her automatic rematch that night. We’re now at a point where the new champion hasn’t yet defended her title and this feels a little stale. It’s hard for the bully thing to get played out, but the flip-flop here has played it out and just seems a little beneath what we’re used to seeing from Alexa Bliss.

Prediction: This is another one that’s a little tough to call. After going through everything that she went through to win the RAW Women’s Championship, it would be almost cruel to have Nia Jax lose it in her first defense. However, Alexa Bliss is an amazing champion and is at her best when people are gunning for her. But with she and Mickie looking to get into it with Ronda Rousey and Natalya over the summer, perhaps she’s going to be busy for a while. So I’ll go with Nia to retain.