WWE Backlash 2025

By Steve Ward

The fallout from WrestleMania 41 culminated this evening in St. Louis, Missouri as WWE presented Backlash from the Enterprise Arena. This evening’s card featured five bouts with four holding a title in the balance and was headlined by John Cena defending his Universal Championship against Randy Orton.

United States Championship Fatal Four Way

Jacob Fatu (c) vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest vs. LA Knight

Winner: Jacob Fatu via pinfall

 

The tempo of this match remained at a fever pitch throughout. Late in the contest, Priest took both himself and Drew McIntyre out of the match after delivering a South of Heaven from the top of a sound crate through a pair of tables. LA Knight then laid Fatu out on the announce table and scaled to the top rope. First, Solo Sikoa emerged to pull Fatu out of harm’s way. As Knight pursued Solo, he was blindsided by an unknown assailant soon revealed as Jeff Cobb! Knight was then thrown into the ring and served up for Fatu to put him away.

 

Women’s Intercontinental Championship

Becky Lynch vs. Lyra Valkyria (c)

Winner: Lyra Valkyria via pinfall

 

These two women teamed up at WrestleMania to claim the Women’s Tag Team Championship only to lose them 24 hours later on RAW. This caused The Man to reveal her true colors and lay waste to Lyra leading us to tonight’s encounter. Both women pulled out all stops but, in the end, Lyra withstood multiple Manhandle Slams, the Disarm Her, and an exposed turnbuckle to end up winning with a pinfall reversal.

 

WWE Intercontinental Championship

Dominik Mysterio (c) vs. Penta

Winner: Dominik Mysterio via pinfall

 

After Penta was cost his chance at claiming the Intercontinental Championship on RAW recently, he was granted another opportunity tonight. Late in the match, The Judgement Day tried to get involved only to be stopped by the referee and banned from ringside. While the referee was still distracted, El Grande Americano emerged to headbutt Penta with a loaded mask. This set the stage for Mysterio to hit the frogsplash and seal his victory.

 

Gunther vs. Pat McAfee

Winner: Gunther via submission

 

The night following WrestleMania Gunther took exception to the commentary being delivered by Michael Cole and Pat McAfee and assaulted the two. That prompted McAfee to call out Gunther bringing us to tonight. McAfee made the match interesting and received a little help in the form of outside interference from Michael Cole, but in the end, Gunther put him away with the Sleeper Hold.

 

WWE Universal Championship

Randy Orton vs. John Cena (c)

Winner: John Cena via pinfall

 

John Cena and Randy Orton resumed their 25-year rivalry tonight in Orton’s hometown for possibly the last time with Cena’s new Universal Championship on the line. Randy Orton controlled most of the match and seemed poised to win his 15th world championship until Cena decked the referee inadvertently with the title. In the closing minutes, Orton had Cena squared up for the punt only to be stopped by the man who calls Cena his childhood hero despite being older than him, R-Truth. R-Truth promptly received an RKO for his efforts. As Orton yelled at Truth, who had rolled out to the arena floor, Cena delivered a low blow to Randy. Cena then finished Orton off with a shot to the head with the Universal Championship and pinned him just in time for the referee to recover and count the pinfall.

WWE Wrestlemania Backlash 2023

By Steve Ward

WWE made it’s pay per view/premium live event debut this evening as they emanated from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Tonight’s card seemed to be overshadowed with the buildup to Night of Champions later this month where a new World Heavyweight Champion will be crowned for the RAW brand as Roman Reigns will be confined to Smackdown with his Undisputed Universal Championship following this year’s WWE Draft. With Reigns out of the picture for tonight, the show would be headlined by Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar. In addition to the colossal main event, the show featured seven matches in all, and three titles were contested.

WWE RAW Women’s Championship Bianca Belair (c) vs. Io Sky Winner: Bianca Belair via pinfall

Despite being drafted to Smackdown last week, Belair still holds the RAW Women’s Championship and would put it on the line this evening against Damage Ctrl’s Io Sky. Sky seemed poised to upset the champ in the closing moments of the match, but one could argue the late appearance by her Damage Ctrl stable mates cost her the title. Belair was laid out on the canvas as Sky ascended to the top turnbuckle for a moonsault attempt, however, Bayley decided to grab the hair of Belair and hold her down only to be caught by the referee. This distraction was enough for Belair to recover and roll out of harm's way as Sky leaped from the top rope. Belair then executed the KOD to retain her title.

Seth Rollins vs. Omos w/ MVP Winner: Seth Rollins via pinfall

Following the announcement recently of a soon-to-be-crowned World Heavyweight Champion on the RAW brand, Seth Rollins made his intentions known for targeting the new title only to be interrupted by Omos. Omos and MVP proceeded to challenge Rollins to a match this evening as a way for Omos to secure a signature win over “The Architect.” Omos proved to be quite the formidable opponent for Rollins in this contest. The Nigerian Giant withstood the frog splash and multiple stomps (the first of which he stopped with his neck), however, Rollins finally overcame the odds in the end as he delivered the Stomp from the top turnbuckle which allowed him to cover Omos for the victory. 

WWE United States Championship Bobby Lashley vs. Bronson Reed vs. Austin Theory (c) Winner: Austin Theory via pinfall

This bout created another interesting dynamic with the recent roster shake-up from the 2023 WWE Draft as new Smackdown Superstars, Theory and Lashley, competed with RAW’s Bronson Reed in a three-way dance for the United States Championship. In the closing moments of the match, Lashley speared Reed after he missed a moonsault attempt on Theory. The defending champ then snuck up on Lashley and tossed him out of the ring allowing him to easily cover Reed and steal another victory in familiar Theory fashion.

WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Zelina Vega Winner: Rhea Ripley via pinfall

In another situation where the defending champion was recently drafted to the brand opposite of the title which she holds, RAW Superstar Rhea Ripley would defend the Smackdown Women’s Title she just won a few weeks ago at Wrestlemania against Zelina Vega who represented the newly reformed Latino World Order, LWO. Despite the overwhelming crowd support for Vega, who’s family was seated at ringside, the size and power of Ripley was too much for her to overcome as she finally dispensed of Vega with Riptide to successfully defend her title.

San Juan Street Fight Match Bad Bunny vs. Damian Priest Winner: Bad Bunny via pinfall

In a battle of Puerto Rican natives, The Judgment Day’s Damien Priest went toe to toe with multi-platinum recording artist and ally of the LWO, Bad Bunny, in a San Juan Street Fight. Late in the match, Finn Balor and Dominik Mysterio came to the aid of Priest until Rey Mysterio, a surprising appearance by Carlito, the LWO, and Savio Vega all evened the odds and restored order to the match. Bad Bunny, moments later, was able to dispense of Priest with a Bunny Destroyer (a variation of the Canadian Destroyer) following a barrage of chair shots.

The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa, Jimmy Uso, and Jey Uso) vs. Matt Riddle, Kevin Owens, & Sami Zayn Winners: The Bloodline via pinfall

The ongoing feud between The Bloodline and Undisputed Tag Team Champions, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens (with the recent infusion of Matt Riddle in the fray), continued tonight in a six-man tag team encounter. The Bloodline was able to overcome several disagreements amongst themselves to dispense of the tag champs and Riddle in the end. The closing moments of the match saw Solo blind tag himself into the match without Riddle’s awareness. Riddle proceeded to focus on Jey Uso as he executed the Bro Derek only to be ambushed by Solo from behind and put down with a Samoan Spike.

Brock Lesnar vs. Cody Rhodes Winner: Cody Rhodes via pinfall

Following his betrayal of Cody Rhodes, the night after Wrestlemania, a bitter feud has embroiled between Brock Lesnar and Cody Rhodes. In the closing moments of tonight’s main event, a bloodied Brock Lesnar seemed to have a victory in his sights after he dropped Rhodes with the F5 and immediately followed it up with the Kimura Lock. Rhodes who appeared to be in dire straits, drove The Beast back onto his shoulders while still trapped in the submission hold to shock Lesnar with the pinfall victory in a rather abrupt match.

WWE Backlash 2020

By Steve Ward

Following last year’s hiatus where it was replaced by one of WWE‘s Saudi Arabian cash-grabs, the company’s June pay per view staple, Backlash made it’s return. This evening’s latest installment in the “Quarantine Era” emanated from The WWE Performance Center in Orlando. One glaring difference from last month is the WWE’s choice to follow suit with AEW and have members of NXT fill in as “fans” - of course WWE had to take it a step further and topped the ringside barricades with a plexi-glass shield which looked like a glorified sneeze guard. This evening’s card featured six matches with four titles contested.

WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Triple Threat Match
Bayley & Sasha Banks (c) vs. Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross vs. The Iconics (Peyton Royce & Billie Kay)
Winners: Sasha Banks & Bayley via pinfall

Blink and you would have missed the end of this frenetically paced contest. The former champs, Bliss and Cross, appeared poised to regain their titles in the closing moments as Alexa ascended to the top turnbuckle with Peyton Royce laid out in the ring. Bliss proceeded to execute a perfect Twisted Bliss and just as she covered Royce up for the pin, Sasha Banks emerged out of nowhere to roll Alexa up for the pinfall.

Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus
Winner: Sheamus

This match came to fruition as a result of Sheamus’ recent attacks on Jeff Hardy’s numerous battles with substance abuse and alcoholism over the years. These attacks culminated with Sheamus requiring Hardy submit to a urine test administered by a doctor during their contract signing - a course of events that lead to Sheamus having Hardy’s full urine sample thrown in his face. Throughout this evening’s bout, Jeff Hardy was subjected to an excessive level of punishment early, however, it appeared The Charismatic Enigma had turned the tide to pull out a late victory. Hardy was able to land the Twist of Fate and immediately followed it with the Swanton Bomb, a pairing which usually equates to victory for him. As the referee proceeded to count the pinfall Sheamus stuck his foot on the bottom rope to break it up and escaped the ring. Hardy attempted to mount additional offense as he ran along the top of the crowd barricade only to leap at Sheamus and be met with a Brogue Kick to the jaw. The Celtic Warrior then finished Hardy off with yet another Brogue Kick inside the ring to seal the pinfall victory.

RAW Women’s Championship
Asuka (c) vs. Nia Jax
Winner: No contest

Following last month’s Money in the Bank pay per view where Asuka retrieved the briefcase to earn a shot at the women’s champion of her choice, she was left shocked by then champion Becky Lynch’s announcement on RAW the following evening. Lynch informed Asuka that her victory the night before was not to earn a shot at the title but rather to crown the new RAW Women’s Champion as Becky announced she would be taking leave to give birth to her first child. Fast forward to this evening where Asuka was left to defend her newly earned title against the mountainous Nia Jax. Nia imposed her will for a great deal of this bout, however, the resilient Asuka refused to go silently. In the closing moments, the action spilled to the outside of the ring where both competitors were counted out allowing Asuka to exit with her title.

Universal Championship 2-on-1 Handicap Match
Braun Strowman (c) vs. The Miz & John Morrison
Winner: Braun Strowman via pinfall

After weeks of instigating the Monster Among Men, Miz and Morrison found themselves with a title opportunity this evening in the form of a Handicap Match. There was one key stipulation attached to the match where if Miz and Morrison were to win, the man who scored the pinfall or submission would become the champion- they would not become co-holders. It appeared the numbers game would pay off for Miz and Morrison as they had the champion in dire straits after Miz landed the Skullcrushing Finale while Morrison simultaneously struck Strowman from behind as he leapt from the top rope. Morrison proceeded to cover Strowman only to have Miz pull him off in a brief lapse in judgment. By the time Miz realized his mistake it was too late as this opened the window for Strowman. Braun recovered to choke slam Miz and then finished off Morrison with a running power slam to retain his title.
WWE Championship
Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Bobby Lashley w/ MVP
Winner: Drew McIntyre via pinfall

Over the past few weeks Bobby Lashley has found himself under the influence of MVP. This has proven quite fruitful as he has become reinvigorated leaving a path of destruction in his wake and earning a WWE Championship opportunity in the process. Before the opening bell rang tonight, Lashley ambushed McIntyre from behind and cinched in a Full Nelson. Several officials were needed to break the men up so the match could even begin. This presented an opportunity for Lashley to seize early control in the match, however, it wasn’t enough. In the final moments of the match, McIntyre kicked out of a pinfall attempt by Lashley following a devastating spear. This prompted Lashley’s “wife” Lana to make her way to ringside and climb to the ring apron. The distraction was all McIntyre needed as he laid out Lashley with a Claymore Kick to the mouth allowing him to solidify the pinfall victory.

Following this match, a backstage/back lot brawl ensued between The Street Profits and the Viking Raiders. The confrontation took a turn in the parking lot as the four men were confronted by Akira Tozawa who arrived with several “ninjas” on motorcycles. After they laid waste to them, a giant ninja arrived prompting them all to flee. Just moments later the two teams found themselves fighting each other again, now on the top of a trailer conveniently positioned just above a dumpster. This brief continuation of their brawl concluded with all of them in the aforementioned giant trash receptacle. Personally, I believed this to be a rather poor booking decision used instead of holding the anticipated RAW Tag Team Championship between the two teams.

The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever
Edge vs. Randy Orton
Winner: Randy Orton

The main event of the evening pit Edge and Randy Orton against each other in what became billed as “The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever.” The Rated R Superstar recently accepted Orton’s challenge to a straight up wrestling match as he was clearly dissatisfied with the outcome of their Last Man Standing Match at Wrestlemania. While both competitors are two of the greatest performers to ever lace up a pair of boots, one must ask the question if these two would put on the greatest wrestling match of all time. Edge had not competed in a conventional wrestling match in nine years as his only action since his surprise return in January was in the Royal Rumble and in the aforementioned Last Man Standing Match at Wrestlemania. Additionally, when you talk about the greatest match of all time there is some stiff competition such as Savage vs. Steamboat and Hogan vs. Andre just to name a couple.

Following a relatively even match, the closing minutes presented an intense exchange between the two competitors. First, Orton executed an RKO followed immediately by a pinfall attempt Edge kicked out of. Then Edge answered with a spear which could not put Orton away as he kicked out of a subsequent pinfall attempt. After yet another RKO Outta Nowhere, Edge quickly recovered to cinch in what the commentators labeled the Anti Venom submission. Orton appeared in danger of a potential submission loss when he struck Edge with a questionably low blow dropping him to his knees. The Legend Killer proceeded to nearly take Edge’s head off with his patented punt kick and sealed the deal with the 1-2-3. While this was a very competitive, entertaining match, I’m not prepared to label it “The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever.”

Support The Weigh-In: Your Home for Combat Sports by Shopping World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Products!