10 Burning Questions For WWE Backlash 2018

8. Will Hardy/Orton Be Bathroom Break Match?

wwe backlash 2018
WWE.com

The last time Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy squared off in a one-on-one televised match, Orton retained the WWE Championship at Royal Rumble 2008.

A decade later, this same matchup is for the United States Championship and probably is pretty low on the card. Both men still have plenty of go left in them, and this could be a pretty decent match. Hardy always seems to rally fans to his side, and Orton is a technically smooth wrestler.

But at the same time, is anyone pumped and anticipating this match? The common criticism of Orton is that he’s staler than two-week-old bread, especially as a babyface. Meanwhile, Hardy just completed a mini-program with Jinder Mahal (who actually defeated Orton for the U.S. title at WrestleMania 34).

There’s a chance that this is the “cooldown” match between the two main-event-caliber bouts (more on that later) or even an early PPV match. Keep your eyes on the stands during this match to see if the crowd thins out during it.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.