Cena vs. Kendrick (Smackdown)

This Friday on Smackdown, John Cena will battle The Brian Kendrick.  Both Kendrick and Cena will take part in the 21-Man Tri-Branded Battle Royal at Backlash.

Evan Bourne Update, ECW Tag Team Match, Judgment Day

Evan Bourne is expected to take time off after Judgment Day, as we noted earlier.  It is likely that Bourne will compete at Judgment Day, and something will happen there that will be the cause of his temporary leave.

Next Tuesday on ECW D.H. Smith and Tyson Kidd will team up to take on Finlay and Matt Hardy.  This is interesting because it is possible that either Smith or Kidd will end up competing for the WWE United States Championship at Backlash.

Judgment Day will take place in Chicago, Illinois, which is the hometown of WWE Champion CM Punk.  It should be interesting to see if CM Punk retains the WWE Championship at Backlash so he can defend it in his hometown.

Zack Blaze, Raw Match Announced, Evan Bourne

Zack Blaze was expected to make his Official ECW Debut in a match with Zack Ryder, but that didn't end up happening as there was a flight issue, and he was unable to make it to the arena.

In a huge match this Monday, Lawrence Davidson will make his Raw Debut in a match with Goldberg, who will be wrestling his first match on Raw in over five years.

Evan Bourne is expected to take some time off after Judgment Day (5/17) so a possible ECW Tag Team Championship change in the near future is likely.

ECW II: Mysterious Message - Recap

As Backlash continues to draw near, superstars are becoming more intense, and business continues to pick up.

One superstar, Chris Jericho, proved his determination by picking up a Pinfall Victory over "The Ruthless Russian" Vladimir Kozlov.  Kozlov dominated a large portion of the match, but Jericho was able to his a surprise Codebreaker, stopping Kozlov's Chokeslam attempt and getting the three count.  Jericho's opponent at Backlash - The Undertaker - will certainly prove to be more of a challenge than "The Ruthless Russian", though.  Will Jericho be able to overcome the odds and defeat "The Deadman"?  Or will The Undertaker reign supreme once again?

Speaking of reigning supreme, ECW newcomer Tyson Kidd picked up a major victory over "The Wrestling Machine" Kurt Angle.  Kidd reversed an Angle Slam attempt into a Schoolboy Pin, earning the biggest victory of his career so far.  An irate Angle stared on from inside the ring, knowing that his chances of facing Dustin Delta at Backlash were as good as gone.

ECW superstar Zack Ryder made his debut in the Land of Extreme, picking up a short - but impressive - victory over a St. Louis local.  How will Ryder follow up his first victory on ECW?

Devon Immortal, perhaps ECW's most controversial Draft Pick, made an appearance and stated that he believed he deserved to be in line for a Championship.  The Big Show confronted Immortal and told him that he felt otherwise, as did the people.  Show tried to hit Immortal with a Knockout Punch, but Immortal was able to duck it and hit "The World's Largest Athlete" with a Low Blow Kick.

The General Manager of ECW - Theodore Long - came out and informed Devon Immortal that - by order of Mr. McMahon - he would be going one-on-one with the man he almost put out of action, Batista, at Backlash.