The show opens with a quick explainer for people who haven’t spent a tenth of their life poring over old maps to explain where in France the city of Lyon is, unlike the cool girls like me who did in fact do that and already knew.
The now-familiar montage of people arriving at the arena follows, and then into the usual hype reel opening video.
Brawling on the floor before the bell, referees and road agents (including “Hurricane” Shane Helms, Jamie Noble, and Petey Williams) and security pulling them apart, but these four men are out for blood!
Nick Aldis comes down the aisle and tells them to knock it off, and if they want to ignore the rules, they can do whatever they want, because it’s a street fight!
R-KO (Kevin Owens & Randy Orton) vs. the Bloodline (Solo Sikoa & Tama Tonga) (Street Fight)
Chaotic brawling, Orton ends up at ringside out of the action while the Bloodline double-team Owens in the crowd but soon enough Randy returns to help his pal! Orton taking Tama to the announce tables, suplexing him into both of them! Brawling continues, Randy sets a table up in the ring but Solo puts him through it with a Samoan drop!
Tonga and Owens come in, Tama beats the hell out of him, setting him up in the corner, Ode to Rikishi connects! Continuing to smash Kev and beat him down, trash can shots, Tonga gets another table, soon enough Orton returns, ducks a lariat, snap scoop powerslam on Tama Tonga!
Big nearfall, Solo breaks it up, battering Orton to the floor! Sikoa wants the Samoan Spike, Randy counters with the RKO and both men are down! KO with a steel chair, walloping Tama, he unfolds the chair, grabs a second, hits Tong with that one, sets that one up, and so on until he has a nice little section of four chairs set up, up top… AVALANCHE FISHERMAN BUSTER THROUGH THE CHAIRS!
It’s almost enough… TONGA LOA IS HERE AND HE PULLS OWENS OFF THE COVER! Smashing KO with the chairs, Sikoa takes advantage, Spinning Solo puts KO through a chair! Solo draws him back up…
The Bloodline win by pinfall with a Samoan Spike from Solo Sikoa on Kevin Owens.
Post-match, the all-new, all-different Bloodline throw their ones up.
Randy Orton helps Kevin Owens to the back.
Bayley (c) vs. Naomi vs. Tiffany Stratton (WWE Women’s Championship)
Trading arm drags early, Naomi blocks one from Stratton, whips her off, handspring over, stalemate. Trading pins, still no deal, some back and forth three-way cut-offs, Tiffany completes a sunset flip for Bayley and then breaks up the resulting pin with a basement dropkick!
Naomi down and out on the floor, Tiffany whips the champion to the corner, back handspring back elbow, the Role Model catches her, back suplex, Stratton lands on her feet and hits an Alabama Slam… NOPE! Naomi back in, Tiffany with an elbow but Naomi spears her clean through the ropes and to the floor!
Brawling against the barricade, Stratton sets her up, handspring back elbow against the barricade and she throws Naomi clean over into the timekeeper’s area! Turning around, Bayley dives on her! Naomi cuts Bayley off, perches on the barricade, diving Blockbuster to the floor!
Up on the apron, Heatseeker, split-legged moonsault… BAYLEY BREAKS IT UP! Naomi and Bayley up in the turnbuckles, Stratton pulls Naomi away, climbs up, Naomi under her, powerbomb connects, crucifix neck crank… BAYLEY BREAKS IT UP WITH A DIVING ELBOW DROP FOR TWO!
Sunset flip powerbomb puts Naomi into the corner, Bayley tries one with Tiffany and gets countered into a pin! Bayley-to-Belly connects but it’s a little loose… STILL NO! Stratton with a fireman’s carry, thinking More Bang for Your Buck but Naomi pulls her out of the ring and brawls with her!
Cartwheel Alabama slam into the announce desk! One for Bayley too! Match breaks down, 3D takes Stratton out! Hammering elbows, trading pins…
Bayley wins by pinfall with a lateral press on Naomi, retaining the WWE Women’s Championship.
Post-match it’s no hard feelings and Naomi hugs Bayley and they stand tall together as Naomi raises her hand.
We get a recap of the Bloodline match.
Jey Uso is getting ready when Solo Sikoa rolls up with Guerrillas of Destiny in tow for a quick veiled threat.
Damian Priest (c) vs. “Main Event” Jey Uso (WWE World Heavyweight Championship)
Priest throwing him into the corner, Uso turns it around, punches, whip across, up and over, yeet. Off the ropes, Damian sidesteps the dive and Jey stops himself short with ease! Off the apron, caught, stampeded into the barricade! Back inside, Damian cracks him with a right hand and waits for him to get up!
Charging in, back elbow, off the ropes, another vicious elbow and Priest is fired up, cover for two! Cravate applied, clubbering him with Uso breaks free, Jey with hard right hands, big wind-up yeet punch, enzuigiri follows! Another enzuigiri, Uso off the top, diving crossbody… NOPE!
Suicide dive connects, Jey throws him back inside, referee distracted and JD McDonagh crotches him on the ropes, opening the path for a spear from Priest… JEY USO WON’T STAY DOWN! Superkick takes JD out, one for Damian as well, Uso off the top… PRIEST KICKS OUT OF THE SPLASH!
Trading elbows in the middle of the ring at some length, superkick gets a rolling elbow gets an enzuigiri and Damian throws one right back in return! Priest gets him up… RAZOR’S EDGE CAN’T KEEP HIM DOWN! Goozle, Jey slips out, off the ropes, spear connects… NOT ENOUGH! Priest tries again and can’t keep Uso down!
Circling, beckoning Uso up, 540 roundhouse kick puts him back on the mat! Jey posting up, he turns into it, another kick but Uso isn’t done yet! Hands and knees, spinning, superkick cuts him off! Another superkick, a third, another kick in the corner, a spear connects!
Jey off the top one more time… MCDONAGH PUTS PRIEST’S FOOT ON THE ROPES! Uso headed back up top, Damian crotches him, pops up to the second, draws him up… AVALANCHE SOUTH OF HEAVEN! IT’S OVER!
Damian Priest wins by pinfall with an avalanche South of Heaven, retaining the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Post-match, JD McDonagh and Finn Balor hit the ring and beat Jey Uso up but Damian backs them off!
Phillipe Chereau announces something or other in French, which turns out to be that Backlash has the largest gate of any arena show in WWE history.
Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill vs. Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane) (c) (WWE Women’s World Championship)
Belair and Asuka to start, the Empress in full Murder Clown. Side headlock from Bianca, slide to the mat, shot off, shoulder block, a shoving match breaks out and gives way to trading forearms! Hip toss into a pin, Asuka kicks out and puts her in the octopus hold!
Bianca gets away, delayed vertical suplex, tags on both sides! Waistlock, Cargill shrugs her off! Sane charges in, blocked again, float over, kick to the badk, duck a lariat, Kairi off the ropes, caught on the crossbody and swung into a backbreaker! A second Rock Bottom backbreaker, tag to the EST!
Double-team pop-up drop, standing moonsault from Belair! Into the corner, shoulder block, up top, mounted punches, Sane pulling at the braid but Bianca hops down and sends her packing! Slingshot plancha attempt, nobody home, Asuka comes over and clobbers Belair and Kairi comes off the top with a plancha of her own!
Double-teams take Belair out but can’t keep her down! Bianca reaching for the tag, Asuka cutting her off, tag to Sane, double whip, backsplash, sliding elbow, brutal diving forearm off the top breaks the EST in half… STILL NO! Tag to Asuka, Bianca trips them up, crawling, jawbreaker, schoolboy for two, superkick cuts Belair off!
Vertical suplex, both women down and out, Kairi tags in and steps up on Bianca Poetry in Motion style to knock Jade off the apron! Whip reversed, back elbow, tag to Asuka. Codebreaker connects, running blockbuster, Total Elimination… BIANCA BELAIR KICKS OUT!
Seated armbar attempt, Bianca powers up and hoists the Empress up into a backbreaker rack! Kairi tags in and saves Asuka from the KOD, buzzsaw roundhouse from the Empress, Sane off the top, the EST rolls under! Grabbing the braid, pulling her in, Bianca blocks with a lariat and both women are down and out!
Tag to Cargill, springboard crossbody takes both of them out! Lariat for Sane, big boot for Asuka! Stinger Splashes on both sides, goozle, chokebomb… ASUKA BREAKS IT UP! Military press slam, Jade is fired up, boot cuts her off, Asuka tags in, uraken after uraken, both Kabukis hammering her with kicks, running shiranui from Sane but she’s not the legal woman and referee Dan Engler warns her off!
Jade with an elbow, whip in, tags, Sane is legal now, goozle, chokeslam, Kairi with a cross armbar, Asuka with one on Belair as well, but both challengers swing them around for stereo powerbombs! Tag made, the EST in control, assisted Codebreaker into an assisted wheelbarrow suplex… SANE KICKS OUT!
Kairi sidesteps a charge, Bianca hard into the post, tags, hard elbow… CARGILL MAKES THE SAVE! Kairi off the second, Jade catches her, turns her around, pops her up, Jaded takes Sane out! Asuka in, Bianca gets her…
Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill win by pinfall with KOD from Belair on Asuka, becoming your new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions.
Commentary gives us some announcements about King and Queen of the Ring, including a couple frist-round matches.
AJ Styles vs. “American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes (c) (WWE Undisputed Championship)
Circling, Michael Cole says the words “two former Bullet Club leaders” out loud and my brain short circuits. Feeling out, Rhodes getting a little mad, Styles knees him back into the corner, they trade chops with violent abandon! Stalemate, test of strength denied, front kick, AJ backing him into the ropes with chops.
Whip across, dropkick on the button, Cody fighting back, delayed vertical dropped into the Gourdbuster! Rhodes drawing him up, Styles rams him into the corner, Divorce Court follows! Hammerlock applied, Cody trying to punch his way out of it, off the ropes, Kitchen Sink takes him off his feet!
Leg and chest kicks from the challenger, trading pinfall attempts, drop down slap gets an enzuigiri and both men are down! Rhodes sends Styles sprawling into the ropes and then the floor, off the ropes, AJ blocks a dive with an elbow and takes him to the announce desk, bouncing his head off the cover!
Cody with some separation by putting Styles into the steel steps, pulling himself up the ropes, up in the turnbuckles, AJ on the apron, pulling him up with him, jockeying for position, Styles floats over and slams Rhodes into the mat off the top, leaving him hurting in the corner!
AJ gets under him, electric chair drop to capitalize on the damage! Moonsault… CODY WITH THE KNEES UP! Rhodes running hot, up and over, snap scoop powerslam connects! Beautiful Disaster follows, cover… NOPE! Victory roll for two, AJ comes back with Ushigoroshi, only two!
Jockeying for position on the apron… AJ STYLES WITH A BRAINBUSTER ON THE APRON! Rhodes recovers and gets under him… CODY POWERBOMBS AJ THROUGH THE FRENCH ANNOUNCE DESK! Referee Jessika Carr counting… THEY BARELY BEAT THE COUNT TOGETHER! Trading forearms in the middle of the ring, stereo roundhouse kicks and both men are down and out!
Both men fired up, Cody charges in and just paintbrushes him with open-hand strikes! AJ returns punches, Rhodes with body blows, Styles Rush gets a Flip, Flop, & Fly into the Bionic Elbow… NOT ENOUGH! Up for the Styles Clash, reversed, AJ floats over, boot out of the corner, snap suplex into the turnbuckles!
Styles springboards into the 450 splash… THE AMERICAN NIGHTMARE WILL NOT LOSE LIKE THAT! AJ STYLES BURNING HAMMER DOESN’T DO THE DEAL! RHODES IS FIRED UP! Absorbing strikes from the Phenomenal One, Cody Cutter connects… STILL NO! AJ cuts him off, springboard, cut out of midair with a superkick!
Rhodes with a double wristlock, bodyscissors applied, Styles posts to his feet and counters with a slam! Inverted facelock, reversed, calling for the Styles Clash, Cody slips out, victory roll, only two! Off the top… DIVING CODY CUTTER! Inverted facelock applied…
Cody Rhodes wins by pinfall with a Cross Rhodes to retain the WWE Undisputed Championship.
Source: CageSideSeats
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