WWE Backlash PLE, Saturday May 4th – from the LDLC Arena in Lyon-Decines, France
CARD
UNDISPUTED WWE CHAMPIONSHIP
Cody Rhodes (c) vs. AJ Styles
WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
Damian Priest (c) vs. Jey Uso
WWE WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
Bayley (c) vs. Naomi vs. Tiffany Stratton
WWE WOMEN’S TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) (c) vs. Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill
Kevin Owens and Randy Orton vs. The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga)
WWE SmackDown will air tonight on FOX from the LDLC Arena in Lyon-Decines, France.
Dominik Mysterio is recovering from an elbow injury. Despite initial concerns about the possibility of Tommy John surgery, a procedure typically associated with baseball pitchers, the WWE star has confirmed that surgery will not be required.
As mentioned before, Mysterio has chosen to undergo physical therapy instead of undergoing surgery. The injury is believed to have occurred during a match with Andrade on April 15th and has been described as a freak accident.
Dave Meltzer reported the following in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter:
Dominik Mysterio, who was at first expected to need surgery for his elbow injury, will instead be avoiding surgery and going with personal therapy. He expects to be back in six to eight weeks. As noted last week, the injury was viewed as a freak accident in his 4/15 match on TV with Andrade
Source: eWn
Ronda Rousey has been in the news a lot over the past few weeks, as she’s had a number of things to say about her time in both WWE and UFC. Rousey’s comments come following the release of a new book in which she reveals the toxic culture backstage in WWE, her disdain for former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, and multiple concussion-related issues that she hid from people in order to keep fighting and wrestling. Now, former WWE commentator Jimmy Smith has fired back.
Speaking on SiriusXM’s “Unlocking the Cage” on Wednesday, Smith said Rousey is the type of person who wants all of the credit for her successes and none of the blame for her failures, and took issue with the logic of her claim that she chose WWE over UFC because of her issues with concussions. Smith then launched into a profanity-laden rant about how Rousey is perceived by her co-workers.
“Ronda, if you are listening,” Smith began. “The people behind the scenes, camera people, audio people, the people you can push around, the people you can bully, and the people you can talk down to can’t stand your f*ing a. Everybody behind the scenes that had to put a mic on Ronda Rousey couldn’t stand her.”
Rousey’s first WWE run was already over by the time Smith signed there in 2021; she returned in January 2022, however, and the two were concurrently active until Smith was dismissed from WWE in October 2022. Similarly, Smith’s brief stint as a UFC commentator didn’t begin until 2018, well after Rousey’s heyday as a fighter, something he readily admitted during the show. Nonetheless, Smith had ample opportunity to speak to various UFC crew members who he claimed were only too happy to witness Rousey’s 2015-26 fall from grace in the MMA world.
“They were cheering when she got knocked out,” Smith said. “Because those are the people you can be mean to and rude to, and they can’t fight back. Those people couldn’t stand Ronda Rousey … She didn’t have one defender. She didn’t have one person who went ‘She was alright.’ Everyone was like ‘She was horrible, we were thrilled when she got crushed.'”
Source: Wrestling Inc. with credit to SiriusXM’s “Unlocking the Cage”
WWE star Bray Wyatt’s passing hit the wrestling world hard, especially since he was reportedly close to being medically cleared, and fans have theorized that Wyatt’s brother, Bo Dallas (who played the mysterious “Uncle Howdy” during Wyatt’s final run) could continue Wyatt’s stories. This speculation only grew louder after the WWE documentary based on Wyatt’s life, “Becoming Immortal,” seemed to tease a continuation of his story, and now, a report from PWInsider Elite suggests WWE has re-signed original Wyatt Family member Erick Rowan. The move is not completely unexpected, having been foreshadowed by Rowan pulling out of an independent show due to “contractual obligations” two weeks ago.
Rowan is best known for his lengthy tenure in the Wyatt Family alongside the late Brodie Lee (Luke Harper) and Braun Strowman, who came in later. Rowan and Lee won tag team championships both in “WWE NXT” and on the main roster, but Lee was released back December 2019, and after a brief storyline (and second tag title run) with Bryan Danielson (aka Daniel Bryan) Rowan followed Lee out the door in April 2020.
Interestingly, Braun Strowman recently returned from injury just in time for the Draft, where he came to the aid of Jey Uso and got in the face of NFL star Patrick Mahomes. Fans have speculated that WWE could use Wyatt-centric supporting characters like Rowan and Strowman to make form a new faction led by Dallas. If this is the case, such a faction could also be a vehicle for re-introducing Alexa Bliss after she returns from maternity leave, and free agent Matt Hardy has also expressed interest. Meanwhile, WWE has been reusing flashing QR codes again, much like they did when they teased Wyatt’s 2022 return in the notorious “White Rabbit” storyline; these codes are reportedly indicative of Dallas’ return, with or without the Uncle Howdy costume.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
During last night’s WWE NXT Spring Breakin’ , a QR code appeared, which is believed to teasing the return of Uncle Howdy.
The code takes you to www.wwe.com/kintsugi. The QR code had the messages of “They were broken.” “I didn’t fix them.” “I accepted them.” “They opened the door.” “We can be family.”
Tonight is Night 2 of WWE NXT’s 2 week special Spring Breakin’ in Orlando, Florida at the Performance Center on the USA Network:
“The Monster Among Men” has returned to WWE after being on the shelf for almost a year, due to a serious neck injury that required fusion surgery. Braun Strowman was drafted to “WWE Raw” during Night Two of the WWE Draft, going to the red brand in the second round. Strowman was last seen on WWE television at the beginning of May 2023, when he was seemingly being poised for a tag team push alongside Ricochet.
Strowman was not just drafted on “Raw,” but also appeared to help Jey Uso against United States Champion Logan Paul and The Judgment Day’s Finn Balor and JD McDonagh. Paul and friend and streamer IShowSpeed announced the second round picks before Paul headed to the ring, cutting a promo on Uso before Balor and McDonagh showed up, entering the ring while Uso’s back was turned. As The Judgment Day’s Irish contingent beat down Uso, Paul headed ringside to Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who had been seen greeting Paul at the beginning of the show. Paul took Mahomes’ three Super Bowl rings and tried to attack Uso while wearing them, but hit McDonagh instead.
As the men looked at each other in the ring following Paul’s mistake, Paul and Balor looked to team up on Uso. Strowman’s music then hit and he stormed down to the ring. The former Wyatt Family member chased Paul out of the ring and delivered a chokeslam to Balor. He then got in the face of Mahomes at ringside, who was flanked by two Chiefs linemen, but was calmed down by Uso before things got physical.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Round 4:
Round 5:
Round 6:
No different than the first night of the 2024 WWE Draft, there was a pool of wrestlers still remaining from those eligible to be selected on night two who were not chosen on television. This time around, the promotion made clear those picks would be coming via social media after Monday Night Raw.
RAW:
SmackDown:
