WWE SmackDown was in France ahead of Backlash, and while there weren’t any major debuts or changes ahead of the premium live event, there was one rather significant revelation. That revelation came courtesy of Paul Heyman, who had a confrontation with SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis backstage. Aldis denied Heyman’s request, and that led to Heyman letting a pretty major secret slip out. Heyman inadvertently revealed that he hadn’t spoken to Roman Reigns since WrestleMania 40, and that prompted Aldis to ask about Reigns pulling himself out of the WWE Draft.
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Aldis was pretty upset at what Heyman had to say. Aldis said, “You haven’t spoken to Roman Reigns since WrestleMania? So then who pulled him out of the WWE draft?” Heyman then admitted that it was him who made the call. “He did not pull himself out of the WWE Draft. I pulled him out of the WWE Draft.”
Heyman then revealed why he decided to make the call, and it was all tied to the current issues happening within the Bloodline since the loss at WrestleMania. “I cannot subject Roman Reigns to the chaos that is going on in the Bloodline right now.” Aldis took it in stride and then said he should try and do the same thing with Kevin Owens and Randy Orton, who will face The Bloodline at Backlash.
Ahead of the draft’s first night, Heyman said that Reigns had removed himself from draft eligibility. The reason being that he didn’t want to take away from such a big night for everyone else, as he would assuredly be the first pick if he remained in the draft.
That turns out not to be the case though now, and calls several other things into question. Heyman has looked afraid at times with the group’s newest member Tama Tonga, as Tonga has been all sorts of volatile in his appearances. Solo Sikoa has also become the defacto leader of the group in Reigns’ absence and has started making decisions on the group’s behalf, whether Heyman agrees or not.
It’s not known how much Reigns knows about what is going on. He may not be talking to Heyman, but it doesn’t mean he isn’t touching base with Sikoa. Sikoa is also likely not stopping at recruiting Tonga, and this could be where Jacob Fatu comes in, who is expected to make his WWE debut soon. There’s even a chance we could see him at Backlash, but we’ll have to wait and see. You can find the full card for Backlash below.
WWE Backlash:
- Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (C) vs. AJ Styles
- World Heavyweight Championship: Damian Priest (C) vs. Jey Uso
- WWE Women’s Championship Triple Threat: Bayley (C) vs. Naomi vs. Tiffany Stratton
- WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: The Kabuki Warriors (C) vs. Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill
- Randy Orton & Kevin Owens vs. Solo Sikoa & Tama Tonga
Are you excited for Backlash? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!
