WWE News: Surprise ‘SmackDown’ Star On ‘Backlash’ 2017 Poster? John Cena & Nikki Bella Updates

The latest WWE Backlash 2017 poster has arrived, and it may feature a surprising superstar for some. The SmackDown Live exclusive pay-per-view is slated for later this month, and already has at least one match scheduled. As of right now, the United States Championship will be defended, although it’s unknown who will compete in that match. There’s also some other rumors shaping up based on the latest PPV poster, as well as an update on the latest for John Cena and his “wife to be” Nikki Bella.

According to WrestleZone, the recently unveiled Backlash 2017 poster features none other than “The King of Strong Style” Shinsuke Nakamura. This may surprise fans who haven’t followed Shinsuke as heavily from his NXT days or earlier, but his popularity has been there all along. It may also surprise WWE fans who believe that it should be the WWE World Champion Randy Orton featured on the pay-per-view poster. Still, this shows how sold WWE is on their “newest” star’s overall abilities. He has the resume over many years to prove it, as well as several championship reigns for NXT. Shinsuke Nakamura made his arrival to the SmackDown Live roster just a few days after WrestleMania 33. So far on, the show he’s been involved in an ongoing feud with “The Showoff” Dolph Ziggler.

It was already a good bet that Nakamura would participate in this first main roster pay-per-view match at Backlash. It was confirmed that the earlier WWE rumors of him taking on Dolph Ziggler would go forth as planned. The match was noted by commentator Michael Cole during the Payback pay-per-view this past Sunday. It will mark his in-ring debut, so fans probably won’t see any matches from him on SmackDown. The WWE Backlash matchup against Dolph will give Nakamura a good starting program for his main roster work, as he builds up to what WWE has in store for him.

Shinsuke Nakamura on Official #WWE Backlash Poster (Photo), Kurt Angle on His 5 Kids (Video) https://t.co/5fLrhYrJuA pic.twitter.com/EwLhGDavP7

— WrestleZone (@WRESTLEZONEcom) May 2, 2017

The ongoing WWE rumors suggest that Shinsuke Nakamura is on a collision course for a specific opponent at WrestleMania 34. Speculation points to the former two-time NXT Champion taking on “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles at Mania next year in New Orleans. It certainly would make for an epic matchup between two longtime greats in the professional wrestling business.

Speaking of “greats” in the business, there may be some fans wondering about where John Cena has been or will be. Ever since he and Nikki Bella won their WrestleMania 33 match and Cena proposed afterward, the couple has been off WWE programming. There was a Cena and Nikki sighting late last month at the premiere of Cena’s latest movie, The Wall, according to WWE.com. John Cena will also, in fact, return to television this coming Sunday evening, while Nikki is still doing her thing as well.

The PWMania website reported that Cena is going to host the MTV Movie Awards 2017 edition this Sunday. The show will take place at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. Cena is no stranger to hosting awards shows as the work on his resume has included gigs with the ESPN ESPY Awards and Kids Choice Awards. It shows how Cena is continuing to pave a path for himself similar to The Rock in the entertainment industry, building upon his popularity from the wrestling world to transition to bigger things.

Cen’s appearance this Sunday will give his fans that fix of being able to “see him” after he’s been unseen for several weeks now. Fans can watch Cena and the 2017 MTV Movie & TV Awards starting at 8 p.m. Eastern Time on BET, SpikeTV, TVLand, VH1, and of course, MTV.

As for Nikki Bella, she’s continuing to post videos to the Bella Twins YouTube channel. Her latest upload features Nikki discussing various body issues, as seen below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-l00HyXtekM

It’s unknown when John Cena and Nikki Bella might return to SmackDown Live or any WWE television, but once it happens, it will be one of those big events. While there had been rumors that Bella might be done after WrestleMania, it seems she’s still interested in a return to the ring if her body allows for it. Fans already know that Cena will be back to the business that launched him, just like The Rock, no matter how big he gets in Hollywood.

[Featured Image by WWE]