WWE Backlash 2016 Matches: Best Finishes for Entire Match Card

WWE Backlash 2016 is going to be the first SmackDown-exclusive pay-per-view in nearly 10 years, as the rosters have not split their events since No Way Out in February 2007.

Since the blue brand is already heading into this as what most people refer to as "the B-show" despite WWE's insistence that it isn't true, this needs to be the best possible pay-per-view the creative team can book.

There are already many problems that have gotten in the way of this show reaching its full potential, such as Shelton Benjamin's injury, John Cena's absence and the small roster, but there is still hope that this can turn out to be a fun show.

The card itself is lacking in some respects but also has room for some quality entertainment with two new champions set to be crowned and two more title changes possibly in the mix.

All in all, this is going to be an event that can either be a surprise hit or a colossal failure, with the latter being simply unacceptable if SmackDown is going to succeed.

Each match is going to have long-lasting effects for the brand's future, which means even in the world of sports entertainment where wins and losses don't mean as much, the finishes of these contests are going to be major indications of just what is in store for the next few months of SmackDown.

If the fans turn this off feeling cheated with cop-out endings, a lack of any resolution and an overwhelming sense that WWE is just trying to dangle a carrot in front of them to keep watching until next time instead of now, it will be disastrous.

However, plans do still need to be put in place that ensure viewers will want to tune in to see more on Tuesday night instead of deciding Raw is going to be the only brand worth watching.

There is a delicate way to balance the scales, but it can be done with the proper planning and the right finishes to set up what's to come for No Mercy, Survivor Series and onward.

With that being said, let's look at some of the best booking strategies for Backlash 2016's matches.

WWE Intercontinental Championship: The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler

Credit: WWE.com

With the new rosters secured after the draft and the brand split opening up potential for some faces to emerge from the shadows, Dolph Ziggler immediately stepped up to the plate for SmackDown, being thrust into the main event picture.

Sadly, for him, he was unable to pull it off, losing to Dean Ambrose at SummerSlam despite a valiant effort.

Although unsuccessful in that attempt to win some gold, soon after, he was positioned to challenge or a different title by inserting himself into the Intercontinental Championship scene and reigniting an old feud with The Miz.

History will repeat itself once more as Ziggler is going to wind up coming up short in this one, too.

That's not due to any criticism against him, however. It is just an unfortunate circumstance where The Miz is too hot right now and taking the title off him would be a mistake.

More buzz surrounded Talking Smack after his segment with Daniel Bryan than anything that has ever come out of the history of the Raw or SmackDown Pre-Shows combined, as well as other programs like Main Event and Superstars.

For a few days, the WWE Universe questioned if an angle was being set up where Daniel Bryan would return to in-ring action or something even more grandiose than that, all because The Miz had enough time and the right platform to do what he does best.

Ziggler could prove to be a great foil for The Miz, but in the end, this match has to go in the champion's favor.

It can be due to interference from Maryse, an old school tactic like pulling Ziggler's tights or anything else that preserves the image of The Miz being a pompous coward who gloats more than he should.

The longer he holds that championship and the more vocal he gets, the better it will be for SmackDown in the long run, as it will give the brand someone to snowball into a main event player that fans can't wait to see get taken down a notch.

Ideally, the bubble doesn't pop until closer to WrestleMania or even after that show, as by then, it will have reached a fever pitch that rarely happens. For that to happen, The Miz needs to retain here at Backlash.

Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt

Credit: WWE.com

Since SmackDown is the show that needs more help gaining viewers, it's a shame to see one of the marquee matches on such a small card being as bland as Randy Orton going up against Bray Wyatt.

There's very little substance—if any at all—to this program, as its foundation is virtually the same as any other run-of-the-mill Wyatt feud: he talks up how he's mysterious and dangerous and his opponent claims they'll teach him a lesson.

This has been done repeatedly with Wyatt and the results are normally panning out in only two ways:

Option A) If WWE wishes to prolong the feud for another month or two, Wyatt scores a cheap victory that  means almost nothing in boosting his credibility, as it is obvious to the crowd that he shouldn't have won and he'll lose in the end.

Option B) Wyatt's bite doesn't equal his bark and he loses, shuffling off into the darkness until he needs to deliver another cookie-cutter promo to kickstart his next random feud.

Wyatt went from wanting to be the next world champion to being more concerned with a guy who was humiliated by Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. Why?

The true reasoning behind that move was to give a win to Orton, which is what is going to happen here.

The best finish to this match almost doesn't exist because this is a feud that won't end with anything really being worth the journey.

Does a win over Wyatt undo how poorly Orton performed at SummerSlam? Of course it doesn't, as wins over Wyatt at this point mean about as much as defeating Titus O'Neil.

Would this be corrected if Wyatt had more wins? Undoubtedly. However, it isn't going to start with this match at Backlash, as he'd just be defeating a guy who put up less of a fight against Lesnar than anybody before him save for Big Show.

Since this is a no-win scenario in the long run, it doesn't matter what happens, as the winner here is going to lose at No Mercy anyway, evening up the score.

At its best, what should happen is Luke Harper should make his return and shock the audience by costing Wyatt the victory, which would at least be a surprise and could lead to something more interesting for the future.

SmackDown Tag Team Championship Tournament Finals

Credit: WWE.com

The tournament for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship has gone in a few odd directions with the return of The Headbangers, Heath Slater teaming up with Rhyno and of course, the injuries of American Alpha preventing one of the finalist teams from wrestling at this event.

Due to the actions of Jimmy and Jey Uso, Chad Gable and Jason Jordan are no longer going to face Slater and Rhyno. Instead, the two semifinalists who were previously eliminated—The Usos and The Hype Bros—will face off to determine who gets a second chance at the finals.

This is a fantastic move on WWE's part, as it does something that is contradictory to a lot of other booking going on with SmackDown right now: it sets up a plan for the many months ahead.

The tag team division on the blue brand is incredibly weak, despite it still somehow being a deeper pool to play in compared to Raw.

Breezango and The Vaudevillains are being treated as inconsequential, whereas The Ascension have consistently been utter jokes since originally coming up to the main roster.

While Mosh and Thrasher might come back to hang out and job some more, they're just as likely to never wrestle for WWE again and the company simply needed an eighth team to lose.

This storyline with Rhyno and Slater is ridiculous, but it's entertaining people. Since that's the whole goal and the carrot was dangled in front of The One Man Band that he would only get a SmackDown contract if he went all the way and won the whole tournament, it makes perfect sense for them to be in the finals.

For their opponents, having American Alpha go up against them would have been problematic. The crowd would not be able to cheer for Slater as has been happening, causing the two fan favorites to lose some steam.

It's obvious that while Epico and Primo call themselves The Shining Stars right now, the same name would be applied to Gable and Jordan as being the top of the division on SmackDown.

American Alpha against Slater and Rhyno would cause too many problems, but the smart play to get around that is to capitalize on the momentum of The Usos and their recent heel turn.

When crowning an inaugural champion, one of the biggest factors that should be considered is stability.

As far as the roster on SmackDown goes, The Usos have proven they are reliable, capable, popular and will stick around. Since they are now heels, they have the added bonus of being fresh on top of that, too.

The Hype Bros are only slightly above The Vaudevillains and Breezango, but they are still the second best babyface team on the roster. Having them lose to The Usos in the first match of the night will not hurt them at all in the long run.

Then, it's just a matter of how WWE wants to go about handling Slater's contract issues.

If the preference is to have him actually win his spot on the brand, he and Rhyno should just barely be able to defeat The Usos, mostly due to the heels having already wrestled earlier that night.

On the other hand, if there is another way around giving Slater a contract, then the even better play is to have him come up short, which will cause a huge uproar from the audience as The Usos are crowned the new champions.

The latter has more lasting effects for the division, as they can remain champions until American Alpha return and dethrone them, which might still be on the table even if Slater and Rhyno win, depending on if The Usos can earn a title shot on the next episode of SmackDown or even at No Mercy.

The end game should be the same no matter what the outcome, as Slater should find a home on SmackDown while The Usos are the champions.

SmackDown Women's Championship Six-Pack Challenge

Credit: WWE.com

When it comes to the SmackDown Women's Championship, the same basic constructs carry over from the Tag Team Championship situation: the inaugural champion should be reliable, trustworthy and entertaining as opposed to a cheap gimmick.

What is different about this match, though, is the Six-Pack Challenge stipulation allows for a much wider range of possible outcomes.

There aren't any clear-cut favorites to win, even if some women might have advantages over the others.

For example, Alexa Bliss is talented and has a bright future, but she's yet to really have enough time to connect with the crowd. Giving her the championship above the others would be too much of a risk and if she flops with the responsibility, it can have devastating effects on the division.

The same applies to Carmella, who is even less polished in the ring as Alexa and has a wider gap to cross in regards to crowd response now that she's turned heel. The Princess of Staten Island will get there at some point, but she needs more time to reach the next level and transition from rookie to true star.

With the other four women, it's almost a toss-up, and that's where the decision gets significantly more difficult.

Nikki Bella is undoubtedly the biggest star of the bunch; so many people will point to her being the best choice as she will do more press coverage and be the true face of the division.

However, she just came back from a rather awful injury. WWE has had terrible luck with injured stars over the past two years and it might be too risky to put that weight on her shoulders.

The Universal Championship lost its first champion the very next day and the SmackDown Tag Team Championship belts should have gone to American Alpha before they were written out of the tournament with an injury. Having the SmackDown Women's Championship's inaugural reign soiled with an injury as well would be terrible.

Plus, Nikki has a feud going on right now with Carmella. While that could easily turn into a title feud, there's no reason they need to fight over the championship. SmackDown needs secondary feuds and those two can hate each other for previously established reasons beyond the title itself.

Natalya has the pedigree and skill behind her to make her the safe choice, but she's also the least fun option. Although she's a heel, she's one of the most bland archetypes of baddies that doesn't have enough of an edge to carry her feuds.

Sure, Natalya is deserving of a title reign based on her tenure and wrestling skills, although if that were the only qualification, the same argument can be made for Naomi.

Year after year, Naomi proves herself to be one of the most athletic and underrated talents and has never once had a title reign. It's about time that changes, so if it doesn't happen here, it should definitely be on WWE's schedule for the future.

The problem with Naomi, sadly, is that she's just not as big of a star as Becky Lynch.

Of course, going with Becky as the champion is the most predictable way to book things, as she was the top draft choice for the women's division and she's being positioned as the biggest focal point, but sometimes, that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

What predictability lacks in shock value, it tends to make up for in stability.

Becky has proven herself as a fierce competitor in the ring, earned her spot on the main roster by going through NXT, connected with the crowd as a popular star and would also check off the box of being a first-time champion.

Also, it's important to keep in mind that while these six women make up the competitors in this match, there are actually seven women in the division. Soon enough, Eva Marie is going to be back, which means there will be more heels than babyfaces.

Whenever that's the case, it makes more sense to have a babyface champion as there are more challengers available than if things were flipped.

Going with Naomi or Nikki fulfills that same balance, which works against Becky's chances to win, but Lynch stands out as the favorite to win for sure.

Natalya is the safe but boring route, Alexa and Carmella would be better off having title reigns when they're more seasoned and Nikki can be pushed aside to give her an easier schedule.

While it would be very refreshing to see Naomi win—as it would finally mean she received some of the recognition she's deserved for far too long—it's hard to argue that she would be the more popular decision with the audience when compared to Becky.

All in all, if either of those two women win, the division will be in good hands, but even if they don't, the other four women all have positives that could be interesting as well. It's more about what WWE plans to do with everyone following Backlash that matters the most.

WWE World Championship: Dean Ambrose vs. AJ Styles

Credit: WWE.com

It's tough not to think WWE is jumping the gun with this match happening at Backlash of all events.

Easily, this was the biggest match available on the entire roster, which leaves little for people to look forward to over the next few months.

With this match on the Backlash card, what is big enough to take place at Survivor Series?

For that matter, how can the World Championship have a decent enough match at WrestleMania without someone from Raw or NXT crossing over?

A few weeks ago, Bray Wyatt was attempting to position himself for a title shot, yet that storyline has been abandoned for seemingly no reason, when it could have been of perfect use here.

Dolph Ziggler had lost at SummerSlam, meaning Wyatt could earn the next shot against Ambrose at Backlash. When he came up short, a triple threat could finish the feud between the three at next month's No Mercy, allowing for AJ Styles to step in for Survivor Series.

By that time, Ambrose would have had a decent enough title reign that if Styles won the belt from him, it wouldn't seem problematic, but that's the scenario WWE has created here.

Ambrose is undoubtedly the biggest babyface on the brand with John Cena missing in action, yet it can be argued that Styles is the truer top star despite being a heel. After all, his current gimmick is literally calling himself "The Face That Runs the Place"—and it's fitting.

Fans have clamored for Styles to win a title since before he was even in the company, which seems like an inevitability after his success over the past few months, although now may not be the right time.

There are already two guaranteed title celebrations to take place with a third possible one in the mix with the Intercontinental Championship. It's just bad balancing to have every championship change hands at one event only for the next one to feel so bland in comparison if nothing like that happens.

Also, if Styles wins, what can be said of Ambrose going forward?

Does he just revert back to what happened a few years ago where Wyatt cuts a few more rambling promos of utter nonsense and the two feud over nothing?

Who wants to see The Lunatic Fringe spend his time at the last of the "Big Four" events of the year just being another member of Team SmackDown in a Survivor Series elimination match?

Even worse, what if WWE has no idea what to do and is just hoping everything will figure itself out, leaving the problem to be fixed by their future selves?

What's the fun in any of that, and most importantly, what's the backup plan if people go down with injuries or get suspended, as has been the bane on the company the past two years?

At least if Ambrose were to drop the belt at Survivor Series, the obligatory rematch could take place in December and the Royal Rumble would provide some leeway to not have to book a solid feud, but if Ambrose loses here, he'll end up being stuck with someone like Baron Corbin for the rest of the year.

Unless WWE management has a major trick up its sleeve for the fall and winter months to compensate for Ambrose, it might have to be Styles who takes the fall here.

With that being said, this doesn't rule out the possibility that The Phenomenal One doesn't win the title at No Mercy instead of Survivor Series. Having him win it here, though, could be jumping the gun far too early.

The best course of action is for Ambrose to retain in some way that can elongate this feud without making it stretch too long to the point where it's boring, nor for either man to look weak in the outcome.

This can't be a no-contest where something lame happens that the fans will boo and it can't be as much of a depressing dud of a finale to the event as SummerSlam was.

Instead, Ambrose should show off his crafty, crazy side and do something that none of us can see coming as a means to leave with the championship still in his possession and Styles itching for the rematch he'll get soon after.

Those are my opinions, but how do you think Backlash should go down? Do you have any particular predictions you're hoping to see?

Tell us your booking ideas in the comments below!

Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.