Zayn Blasts Bryan and Styles; Paige on WWE Women's Tag Title; Backlot Brawl News

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe. 

Zayn Criticizes Bryan and Styles Before Tournament Final

Sami Zayn was forced to vacate the Intercontinental Championship after taking a hiatus from WWE programming amid the coronavirus pandemic, and a new champion will be crowned on Friday's episode of SmackDown.

Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles have reached the finals of the eight-man tournament, and the winner of their match will win the IC title.

Zayn took to Twitter on Tuesday and labeled both Bryan and Styles a "fraud" for their participation in the tournament:

All signs point to Zayn's tweet being an in-character jab at Bryan and Styles since it serves to set the stage for Zayn to go after whoever is in possession of the Intercontinental Championship when he returns to action.

Zayn's character is that of an annoying heel who loves to complain and manipulate, and keeping that alive while he is off TV by tweeting about the product will only serve to ensure that he's relevant when he does come back.

Zayn beat Bryan at WrestleMania to retain the IC title, so there is already a built-in rivalry. If Styles wins, perhaps either he or Zayn could turn face at some point so that they can do battle over the prestigious championship.

Whatever the case, fans will undoubtedly appreciate Zayn continuing to "work" even while he is out of the picture.

Paige Gives Thoughts on Women's Tag Titles

Former WWE Superstar Paige expressed concern regarding the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships on Tuesday.

During an appearance on FS1's WWE Backstage (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Joshua Gagnon), Paige suggested that the titles haven't been featured as much as they should be nor have they been used to build new stars:

"I feel like the tag team championships haven't been utilized to their full potential, considering everyone that's had them. I feel like they're not being defended. I don't think they've been used right, they've kind of been thrown under the rug. They're not being taken very seriously and I just feel like at some point they have to be taken seriously because this is such a big moment for the women's division to have these tag team titles—instead of just having one championship.

"Now we have a tag team division and we could utilize so many of the tag teams we have, even down in NXT or up in RAW and SmackDown. Bayley and Sasha—they're good, they're solid, we all love them, but let's try and build some other people."

The WWE Women's Tag Team Championships were introduced last year, and four different teams have held them since their inception. The teams of Sasha Banks and Bayley, and Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross have each held the titles twice, and they currently embroiled in a feud over them.

Bliss and Cross won the titles back from The Kabuki Warriors at WrestleMania 36, and on last week's episode of SmackDown, Sasha and Bayley beat them for the straps. Now, Sasha and Bayley are slated to defend the titles against Bliss and Cross and The IIconics at Backlash on Sunday.

While Banks and Bayley don't necessarily need the titles since they're big stars individually, the fact that they're champions can eventually help build further tension between them and add to their storyline. Also, the team that beats them for the titles will be defeating two of the greatest women's wrestlers of all time.

The WWE Women's Tag Team Championships may not be a primary focus currently, but Sasha and Bayley can potentially help change that.

News on Who Produced NXT Backlot Brawl

WWE presented fans with another cinematic match Sunday at NXT TakeOver: In Your House in the form of the Backlot Brawl between NXT champion Adam Cole and Velveteen Dream.

The match saw Cole and Dream duke it out in an anything-goes-brawl while surrounded by cars in a parking lot. Cole arrived in an Undisputed Era monster truck, while Dream showed up in a Lamborghini, which added to the aesthetic.

According to WrestlingInc.com's Raj Giri, the Backlot Brawl had the same production team as the Boneyard Match between The Undertaker and AJ Styles at WrestleMania.

Giri noted that while others may have had a hand in the production, the main people responsible for both the Backlot Brawl and Boneyard Match were Triple H, Michael Hayes and Jeremy Borash.

Triple H and Hayes are WWE Hall of Famers, while Borash is perhaps best known for his time in Impact Wrestling. It was there that Borash aided significantly in Matt Hardy's Final Deletion and other similar cinematic matches.

Giri noted that the Backlot Brawl, which was won by Cole, finished filming in under three hours, while the Boneyard Match took roughly eight hours to film.

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