WWE Backlash 2018: 8 Huge Predictions You Need To Know
4. Jeff Stalling
The best of what's left on a rejigged upper midcard on SmackDown Live!, Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton have both put themselves back above Jinder Mahal in the pecking order at least, but this match borne of absolutely nothing isn't likely to be as thrilling as anything they assembled in a WWE Title feud a decade earlier.
For Hardy, stewardship of the blue brand's secondary strap is a huge nod of approval from the company that he may yet be able to ascend to those lofty heights (if not the little ones he'd flung himself from back then) once again. Orton's trajectory still feels pointed in the opposite direction, entering into disputes to fill his time before early retirement with his physical and emotional health in tact.
Orton's brief reign with the belt shortly before WrestleMania didn't elevate it beyond the same status it's sat at for years, with only The Miz likely to even stand a chance based on his Monday Night Raw success with the Intercontinental Title. Hardy's eventual trajectory seems destined for one more run at the blue brand's biggest prize, but the timing doesn't yet seem right for his next journey to begin.