WWE Raw is on the road to WWE Backlash 2023. In this week’s episode of WWE Raw, there is one scheduled match: Austin Theory (c) vs. Bobby Lashley in a non-title match. In terms of segments, Trish Stratus will explain her betrayal of Becky Lynch after last week’s women’s tag title loss against Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez, and Brock Lesnar will answer Cody Rhodes‘ Backlash challenge after destroying him on the Raw after WrestleMania in the main event.

With that being addressed, the following will provide some rapid-fire predictions for what should be an exciting episode of WWE Raw.

WWE Raw is scheduled to take place on April 17, 2023, at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT live on the USA Network. Here are some predictions for this week’s show.

What Will Be The Explanation For Brock Lesnar’s Attack on Cody Rhodes?

On this week’s WWE Raw, Brock Lesnar is scheduled to return and explain his vicious beatdown of Cody Rhodes two weeks ago on the Raw after WrestleMania. Lesnar suspiciously agreed to team with Rhodes to battle Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa in the main event of that episode.

However, the match never started because Lesnar decided to pummel Rhodes. On commentary, Wade Barrett explained that Lesnar was upset that he started the show rather than be in the main event of WrestleMania 39, where Rhodes and Reigns battled for the world title.

Since Lesnar main evented the previous year’s ‘Mania against Reigns, that makes sense at first glance. However, Lesnar had started the show against Seth Rollins at ‘Mania 35, and there were never any complaints before. Thankfully, Rhodes changed the narrative on Raw by conveying that Lesnar just wanted to add someone new to his list of victims.

At the end of the day, Brock Lesnar does what Brock Lesnar wants to do, and he probably just attacked Rhodes because he felt like it and craves whatever spotlight he can get. Lesnar will accept Rhodes’ Backlash challenge.

Prediction: Greed

What Will Be The Explanation For Trish Stratus’ Attack on Becky Lynch?

On this week’s WWE Raw, Trish Stratus is scheduled to explain her betrayal of Becky Lynch last week after losing in their women’s tag title match against Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez. There was a mysterious, undisclosed attack on Lita in the backstage area before Trish Stratus betrayed Becky Lynch in the ring after the title match.

It would be easy to suspect that Morgan and Rodriguez attacked Lita to gain some advantage in their tag title match, but they are babyfaces and it would be uncharacteristic for them to use such nefarious means.

Conversely, it would make a ton of sense for Stratus to attack Lita beforehand and conveniently replace her so that her planned betrayal of Lynch in the ring would not be stopped by Lita. It was strange that Lynch and Lita became tag champions instead of the legitimate team in Stratus and Lita.

Stratus and Lita have had a history of teaming in the past, and Stratus is probably jealous that Lita won the tag titles without her. That heel turn will set up the rumored program between Stratus and Lynch in the build to SummerSlam, and they could start their trilogy at Backlash.

Prediction: Envy

Austin Theory (c) vs. Bobby Lashley [Non-Title Match]

On this week’s WWE Raw, Austin Theory will defeat Bobby Lashley because singles champions should not lose non-title single matches on live weekly television. However, Lashley is a former world champion and should be protected in defeat as a top babyface here, so the victory should not be clean.

As a heel champion, Theory can win nefariously due to a distraction from Lashley’s current rival, Bronson Reed, who is already angry about his double countout finish with Lashley from last week. This distraction will screw Lashley out of a future title opportunity.

This distraction will also provide an incentive for a Backlash PPV match between Lashley and Reed to settle some unfinished business and elicit a consolation prize for Lashley after WWE failed to book him on the WrestleMania card this year.

Prediction: Austin Theory (via distraction from Bronson Reed)

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