WWE present Backlash tonight live on PPV and we’ll have live coverage right here at iFight365.com.

Ahead of the show, we’re taking a look ahead to the card and how we think the night may pan out…

- 6-man tag with the WWE Title on the line: If Orton, DiBiase or Rhodes wins, Orton becomes the new WWE Champion
Triple H (C), Batista and Shane McMahon vs. Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes

Phil Lowe: First off, the stipulation absolutely sucks. It devalues the title and while it’s easy to say it’s something TNA would do…well, it is something TNA would do! What makes it worse is that you just know there’s no way this match will end with Orton pinning Triple H clean, which is how it should end.

The build to this hasn’t been particularly good and it would be a huge mistake to put this on last ahead of John Cena vs. Edge. Fans clearly aren’t into Trips as the babyface champion and reactions on TV since before WrestleMania have at times been pretty poor. There’s no way WWE can turn him heel yet, which could result in Shane or (more likely) Batista turning on him tonight. But a Batista vs. HHH feud has been done before and its nothing something I’m in any rush to see again.

The match itself could be ok, but I’m not holding out much hope. I’m just glad that here in the UK, Backlash is going out on Sky Sports. I feel for you folks elsewhere having to shell out money to order this PPV. In fact, I’m pretty sure not many of you will, because this buyrate is going to bomb. Orton to win the title without Trips getting pinned would be my prediction and hopefully WWE have the sense to at least book Rhodes and DiBiase strong here as they’re already running the risk of having them cast as Orton’s job boys rather than potential future main eventers.

Mark Bright: First off, putting the WWE Title on the line in a six man tag is totally TNAriffic, with the added stipulation that if, for example, Batista pins Cody, then Batista isn’t the champion, Triple H is. It kinda begs the question why would Batista want any part of this match when there’s nothing in it for him? I believe the answer has to be that he’s turning heel here.

An Orton-Batista alliance makes a lot of sense when you consider that RAW is very babyface-heavy after the draft, and with rumours of another DX reunion happening later in the year they’re going to need opponents. That said, I still don’t care about this match, and see it as being just like the street fight on Monday’s RAW, with HHH beating the hell out of Orton with no reply for 20 boring minutes, before we go to the ending, so we won’t even get an Orton RKO out of nowhere or punt kick, as he backdoors his way into a WWE Title run.

Michael Campbell: Randy Orton’s winning the belt here. I can smell it, stronger than the usual tell-tale signs of an Orton visitation. That’s not necessarily the great thing we hoped for though, because the ascension of Orton is here masked by a needless bunch of geeks, including a middle-aged businessman with an enormous ego, and a Babyface Champion who is not over.

Purists will bark on about the traditional booking logic dictating that if a challenger for a strap wins in a match heading into the PPV, then by the time that Championship match transpires, they will lose. I don’t see that, because even if you follow that logic, HHH doesn’t have to do the job here twice, because he doesn’t even have to be involved in the finish to lose his title (neither does Orton, which is INSANELY RETARDED). Anyways, there’s going to be a screw-job here, and if there isn’t, it’s because WE are the ones being swerved (again), and they’ll drag this stage of the feud out further still. Slapping internet smarks in the face… it’s too easy Vince, give it a rest… Yawn.

This stipulation is so bad; I promise you TNA are kicking themselves for not booking this match. AWFUL! No buys, ladies and gents. Yes, the card does have a bunch of matches that will probably deliver some dandy action, including this one, but nobody is going to be watching. And if this is Orton’s “Moment”, that’s a heck of a problem. Winner: Randy Orton and HHH will not be pinned, unless someone turns on him.

- Last Man Standing Match for the World Heavyweight Title
John Cena (C) vs. Edge

Michael Campbell: A bout filled with bafflement to be sure. Cena must lose, because right now, Smackdown has no champion. This should be a barn-burner, or as Tazz would say, A ROCKETBUSTER, even though these two have seemingly feuded since 1982.

Interestingly, the man with the briefcase, CM Punk, has been added to Backlash in a meaningless undercard match. Hmm. Excuse to plop him on the card? Could he be up to something? Aww, nards, nobody cares. Either Poopy retains and Punk wafts in, cashing in the strap (unlikely), or Edge raises the belt (more likely) by some zany opportunistic stunt-method. Winner: Edge.

Phil Lowe: The promo on Smackdown two weeks ago was MONEY. When Mark Bright writes his preview for this match I’m sure he’ll mention it as we both said at the time that it was the promo they should have done to sell the WrestleMania match.

While this match is certainly not fresh, it’s the most appealing on the card to me and it’s the match which should have happened at Mania. It seems likely that Edge will win here since the blue brand is without a world champ, but I think Cena still has a few weeks left on TV before heading off to shoot his next movie, so there’s an option to have Cena retain and then have Edge go over on TV or at next month’s PPV. Plus, there’s also the opportunity to have CM Punk cash in his title shot, seeing as he’s involved in an undercard with Kane which was only added to the bill after their horrible outing on Raw last Monday.

Mark Bright: The promo work from both guys and the video package work from the WWE’s production team have done an excellent job of making this feel like the ending of an epic feud. Of course, if they’re wrestling each other again a few months, or even a few years down the road that completely negates the effect of this match. Cena and Edge have to be kept apart, meaning no interactions, no backstage running into each other, no Survivor Series inter-promotional tag matches, hell no interactions in Royal Rumble matches, for at least five years. Of course I doubt the WWE have such long term planning in mind when it comes to honouring their stipulations, but nonetheless this should be an excellent match, and barring a major disaster the best of the night.

They will have carte blanche for “shortcuts” such as weapon use, the Last Man Standing gimmick both begs for brutality and creates easy situations for dramatic near falls. Plus, they’ve worked together so much over the years that by now they should be able to have good matches with each other without even having to try. For a result, I think Edge wins here somehow, maybe have some heel in line for a push screw Cena (maybe even Orton so they can run with Orton v. Cena and HHH v. Batista for the next months) if you don’t want to have your top guy lose clean in a decisive match such as this.

- ECW Title Match
Jack Swagger (C) vs. Christian

Mark Bright: After a couple of really good TV matches, they now have a chance to go on PPV in a match that hopefully will get some time and not the 8 minutes I fear it may be allocated, and a solid win on a high profile stage is a must for Swagger, especially in light of the staggering decision to leave him off WrestleMania. If he’s a guy the WWE have high hopes for in the future, and all reports suggest he is, a good match with Christian where he pulls off a victory over an established name is a good next step for him to take. I think this should be a good match too, Christian is excellent at the kind of matches WWE wants from their midcard bouts, and Swagger is a natural (in the sense that he did it in college) athlete who has shown good aptitude for pro wrestling as well.

Phil Lowe: I’m still surprised Christian wasn’t drafted to Raw or Smackdown earlier this month, but its ECW’s gain as he’s been doing a good job on the third brand and the crowds are reacting to him. This should be a good match and I think it makes sense to have Swagger retain the title here. Given that the Tommy Dreamer retirement storyline appears to have been completely dumped, it makes sense to have these two continue their feud into May before Christian gets the win. Make the most of the good matches on ECW while you can because you know it’s not long before Kozlov gets involved in the title picture.

Michael Campbell: Is this the time to put the belt on Christian? Hmm. Hard to say. He’s not going anywhere, so he can’t sit about, challenging every so often, and keep losing, without coming across as a complete tool. Then again… maybe that’s the point. But Swagger didn’t even get a spot on Mania, undermining his belt, and entire brand. Not good. A win here would solidify his position, especially as this is likely to be a great match. Matt Hardy V2… I mean, Christian, wouldn’t have too much to gain from lifting a title that means absolutely piss-all either. Winner: Swagger.

- I Quit Match
Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy

Mark Bright: With the rumours of Jeff leaving the WWE at the end of his current contract, you would assume that he loses here to further establish his opponent and give him momentum as he moves onto the RAW brand. That would be the logical scenario here, but Jeff’s opponent here is Matt Hardy, and the past decade has shown me that usually when he needs a big win to move him up to the next level, he loses, regardless of circumstances. That’s not necessarily a wrong decision since Jeff is incredibly popular still and there is mileage in keeping Jeff strong and making as much money as possible from him in the last few months of his contract, and maybe even persuade him to stay if he gets a good push.

Plus, Jeff not getting a win when he’s clearly the babyface and clearly the guy that fans perceive – rightly – as the bigger star in a feud where he’s lost every match and come out on the losing end of every angle might create resentment, if it hasn’t already.

Michael Campbell: What the heck is that Paint-splattered loon, Jeffrey up to now? Christ, on the cusp of being the number one hombre on Smackdown, and he’s off on one again. I appreciate a free-spirit/manly man, who has a lust for rambling in the woods, and a lack of restraint in his life, but is now really the time? How about a year or two from now? Or is he cleverly aiming for some sort of fancy-pants contract complete with Hunter-esque guarantees? Watch this space…

Back to the match- it’s simple. If the WWE feel Jeff will not re-sign his contract, he’s losing. If they’re confident he will, and it’s just a matter of ironing out the intricacies, then he’s winning.

Should be a marvellous match. Aside from the aforementioned intrigue however, since they’re now on separate brands, it doesn’t matter whatsoever who wins! Winner: Mmm…Coin-toss…Jeff.

Phil Lowe: A Jeff Hardy win here would appear to indicate his WWE future has been resolved, but now that the story has been doing the rounds online, it wouldn’t at all surprised me if Vinny Mac thinks he can get one over the internet by having Jeff go over here. Regardless, if Jeff is still on his way out of the WWE this summer, nothing other than a Matt Hardy win makes sense. Their matches so far in this feud have been ok but nothing great so regardless of the outcome, I’m hoping for a really good showing here.

- Ricky Steamboat vs. Chris Jericho

Phil Lowe: I’m really looking forward to this. Steamboat has been awesome since his return at WrestleMania and while I’m not expecting to see 1980s Steamboat tonight, I still think he’ll more than contribute to what should be a really good match. Chris Jericho wins here I’m sure, but this should be tons of fun to watch.

Michael Campbell: I LOVE Ricky Steamboat, and I hope his performance lives up to expectations, and this is the swansong he so deserves. However, he’s an old fellow, and his winning is as believable as Shane McMahon doing anything to Batista other than waxing his back for him. Jericho has to win this. Winner: Chris Jericho.

Mark Bright: This is one of the matches I am most looking forward to. Steamboat gave excellent performances at WrestleMania and again at RAW, but as Jericho alluded to in his promo on Monday, they were multi-person matches, and whether Steamboat has still got it in a one-on-one situation is still very much open to question. With that in mind, this match tonight will either be completely awesome to watch or really sad.

I very much hope Steamboat hasn’t taken things one step too far with his comeback matches here, but even if he has I trust Jericho to hold things together as much as possible, but if Steamboat can go with Jericho, on the form Jericho is showing recently (such as his excellent match with John Cena on RAW this week), then we could be in for something really special. As far as predicting a result, I’d have Steamboat pull out a miracle victory, countering the Walls of Jericho attempt with a roll up, and then have Jericho snap and destroy him afterwards.

- CM Punk vs. Kane

Mark Bright: After a match on RAW which was so bad they came back out and re-did the entire match, and an average tag on SmackDown, they’re now having another singles bout. Why? Even more pointless is that WWE even-steven booking pretty much guarantees Kane’s victory here, which is just about the last thing Punk needs. I hope this is short, as it will almost certainly be the worst match on the card.

Michael Campbell: I predict a lovely snooze throughout this. Winner: Zzzzzzzz…

Phil Lowe: A terrible outing on Raw which was obviously edited and with an edited finish that quite frankly blew led to this match being announced. Their tag match on Superstars wasn’t anything special either. Who wins here? I have no idea. It would make sense to make Punk look strong if they have any plans for him to feud with Edge or Jericho on Smackdown, but when do WWE creative ever go down the logical path?

- Khali Kiss Cam with Santina

Mark Bright: This will be fucking great. Comedy relief is a major part of wrestling shows, and on a show with a serious main event angle, an I Quit match between two brothers, the return of a legend and the culmination of a three year epic rivalry, some comic relief is needed. A Beth vs. Santina match would’ve been better, and maybe that’s being saved for the next show, but this is fine.

Phil Lowe: As long as this is kept short it should be a funny segment, although I’m not sure it has any place on a PPV when it could be done on Raw tomorrow night. Still, I have a feeling that we may need some comedy on the show. Hopefully my gut feeling that this show will not be a good one is incorrect!

Join us here at iFight365.com tonight from 7.30pm EST/12.30am BST for live coverage of WWE Backlash!