Backlash (2023)

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Backlash
Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot
Attendance17,944[1]
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The 2023 Backlash was the 18th

Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, Puerto Rico. This was the first WWE pay-per-view event held in Puerto Rico since New Year's Revolution in January 2005, and the second Backlash event held outside the continental United States following the 2004 event. After the previous two years were titled "WrestleMania Backlash", the 2023 event reverted to its original name while still maintaining its post-WrestleMania concept, with the 2023 event based around the backlash from WrestleMania 39
.

Puerto Rico native and

San Juan Street Fight against Damian Priest, also of Puerto Rican descent, a match that Bad Bunny won. The match also saw appearances by Puerto Rican wrestlers, Carlito, who made his first WWE appearance since the February 1, 2021, episode of Raw, and Savio Vega, who made his first WWE appearance since the 2020 Survivor Series
. This match and the event's final match were promoted as a double main event.

Seven matches were contested at the event, including Bad Bunny's aforementioned Street Fight. In the event's final match, which was the other main event,

Raw Women's Championship
, subsequently becoming the title's longest-reigning champion.

The event received positive reviews, with fans and critics lauding the San Juan Street Fight and the Raw Women's Championship match, deeming them highlights of the night, while also praising Rollins vs. Omos, the six-man tag team match, and the main event.

Production

Background

Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, Puerto Rico
.

Backlash is a recurring professional wrestling event that was established by WWE in 1999.[2] It was held annually from 1999 to 2009, but was then discontinued until it was reinstated in 2016 and has been held every year since, except in 2019. The original concept of the event was based around the backlash from WWE's flagship event, WrestleMania. The events between 2016 and 2020 did not carry this theme; however, the 2021 event returned to this original concept and the event series was in turn rebranded as "WrestleMania Backlash". With the announcement of the 2023 event, the event reverted to its original name of Backlash while still maintaining its post-WrestleMania theme.[3]

Announced on March 8, 2023, the 18th Backlash featured backlash from

Friday Night SmackDown would air live from the same venue. Tickets for both events went on sale on March 21.[6]

It was initially announced that

Eastern Time.[8]

Storylines

The event included matches that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands,

Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown.[11]

On Night 1 of

six-man tag team match pitting The Bloodline (The Usos and Sikoa) against Riddle, Zayn, and Owens was scheduled for Backlash.[17]

In the main event of Night 2 of WrestleMania 39,

tag team match, which Reigns accepted on two conditions: Rhodes' partner was someone who competed at WrestleMania 39, and that person could not challenge Reigns for his titles as long as Reigns was champion. Brock Lesnar answered, with the latter stipulation not applying to him due to the stipulation of his match with Reigns at the 2022 SummerSlam. However, the match never occurred due to Lesnar viciously assaulting Rhodes before the match could begin.[15] It was later reported that Lesnar was irate due to his position on the WrestleMania card, as his match had opened Night 2 instead of the main event slot. Rhodes addressed the attack on the following Raw and challenged Lesnar to a match at Backlash.[19] The following week, Rhodes appeared ready to fight, however, Rhodes was deemed unable to compete by medical personnel. To keep Rhodes from fighting Lesnar that night, WWE official Adam Pearce made the match for Backlash official.[20]

In mid-March,

SmackDown Women's Championship at Backlash. Vega made this request not only because of the ongoing rivalry between their respective stables, but also because Vega was the only female roster member of Puerto Rican descent and she wanted to represent that at Backlash due to the event taking place in Puerto Rico. The match was later confirmed.[23]

At WrestleMania SmackDown on March 31,

triple threat match at Backlash.[23]

On April 21, it was announced that

Seth "Freakin" Rollins would be facing Omos at Backlash, despite the two never having any conflict to have a match.[23] Three days later on Raw, Omos' manager MVP explained that he was the one who arranged the match, opining that because Rollins was one of the greatest wrestlers in WWE history, a win over Rollins would be huge for Omos' career. Rollins stated that he was not afraid of Omos and would give him the greatest match of his career.[24]

On the April 10 episode of Raw,

Raw Women's Championship.[19] On April 24, the match was confirmed for Backlash.[25]

During Rey Mysterio's match against his son Dominik at WrestleMania 39, Dominik's Judgment Day stablemate Damian Priest attempted to interfere in the match while Bad Bunny, who was a guest commentator and was previously friends with Priest, cost Dominik the match.

San Juan Street Fight at the event.[24]

Event

Other on-screen personnel
Role: Name:
English commentators Michael Cole
Corey Graves
Spanish commentators
Marcelo Rodriguez
Jerry Soto
Ring announcer
Samantha Irvin
Referees Jason Ayers
Jessika Carr
Dan Engler
Eddie Orengo
Rod Zapata
Pre-show panel Jackie Redmond
Peter Rosenberg
Matt Camp

Preliminary matches

The pay-per-view opened with Bianca Belair defending the Raw Women's Championship against Iyo Sky. This was a competitive back-and-forth match between Belair and Sky. In the climax, Sky's Damage CTRL teammates, Bayley and Dakota Kai, came out to aid Sky and distract, however, Belair fought them off. Sky grabbed Belair's ponytail, however, Belair lifted Sky up for the Kiss of Death, knocking over Kai, who stood on the ring apron. Sky countered into a pinning combination for a nearfall. Sky attempted a Moonsault, but the referee caught Bayley grabbing Belair's ponytail, causing Belair to avoid the move. Belair then performed the Kiss of Death on Sky to retain the title. With this win, Belair subsequently became the longest-reigning Raw Women's Champion, as well as the longest-reigning WWE women's world champion of the modern era, breaking Becky Lynch's record at 400 days.[1]

In a backstage promo, Bad Bunny was confronted by Rey Mysterio and Savio Vega. Vega gifted Bunny a kendo stick to use in his Street Fight against Damian Priest which would take place later.[1]

Next, Omos (accompanied by MVP) faced Seth "Freakin" Rollins. Before the match began, Omos attacked Rollins with a big boot. After the match officially began, Omos dominated Rollins. Rollins performed a Tornado-DDT and a Frog Splash on Omos who kicked out at one. As Rollins attempted a Stomp on Omos, Omos countered into a Chokeslam on Rollins for a nearfall. Rollins applied the Sleeper Hold on Omos, who countered into a sideslam. Rollins performed a Stomp on Omos and performed a superkick on MVP, who stood on the ring apron. Rollins performed a second Stomp on Omos for a nearfall. In the closing moments, Rollins performed a third Stomp on Omos, this time from the top rope, to win the match.[1]

After that, Austin Theory defended the United States Championship against Bobby Lashley and Bronson Reed in a triple threat match. During the match, Theory countered a Hurt Lock attempt by Lashley into a pinning combination for a nearfall. Reed then performed the Tsunami on Lashley, only for Theory to break up the pin attempt. In the climax, Reed attempted a Moonsault on Lashley, who moved out of the way. Lashley then performed a spear on Reed, however, Theory threw Lashley out of the ring and pinned Reed to retain the title.[1]

In the fourth match, Rhea Ripley defended the SmackDown Women's Championship against Zelina Vega, WWE's only female wrestler of Puerto Rican descent. During the match, Ripley would dominate Vega, until the latter performed a comeback, which would include a 619 and diving meteora onto Ripley for a nearfall. In the end, Ripley performed a kick on Vega and followed up with the Riptide on Vega to retain the title. Following the match, Vega received a standing ovation from the Puerto Rico crowd.[1]

Next, Bad Bunny faced Damian Priest in a San Juan Street Fight. Bunny came out to his single "Chambea" and paid homage to Extreme Championship Wrestling wrestler New Jack by pushing a shopping cart full of weapons to the ring. During the match, Priest performed a chokeslam on Bad Bunny, however, during the pin attempt, Priest picked Bad Bunny's shoulders off the mat thus voiding the pin. Bad Bunny and Priest attacked each other with a variety of weapons and Bunny then performed a Michinoku Piledriver on Priest for a nearfall. Priest and Bad Bunny fought in the crowd where Priest performed the Broken Arrow on Bunny from an elevated platform through a table. After Priest carried Bunny to the ringside area, Priest attempted to perform a corkscrew spinning heel kick on Bunny who was leaning against the ring post, however, Bad Bunny evaded, resulting in Priest's leg colliding with the ring post thereby injuring his leg. Bad Bunny attacked Priest's injured leg with kendo sticks, a chain and a chair. Bad Bunny attempted to attack Priest with a chair, however, Priest pleaded with Bad Bunny to not attack him only to strike Priest with a kick. After Bad Bunny attacked Priest with a low blow, Priest's Judgment Day teammates, Dominik Mysterio and Finn Bálor, came out and attacked Bunny. Rey Mysterio then came out to Bad Bunny's aid only to be taken out by The Judgement Day. Former WWE Puerto Rican wrestler Carlito made a surprise return (his first appearance since the February 1, 2021, episode of Raw) and drove Bálor and Dominik out of the ring. Rey performed a 619 on Dominik followed by Carlito performing his signature trademark of spitting an apple on Dominik's face. Dominik and Bálor attempted to escape only for another former Puerto Rican WWE wrestler, Savio Vega, to make his return (his first appearance since the 2020 Survivor Series), followed by the Latino World Order (LWO) (Santos Escobar, Cruz Del Toro, and Joaquin Wilde) and they drove Bálor and Dominik out from ringside. Back in the ring, Bad Bunny applied the Figure Four Leg Lock on Priest and performed Sliced Bread No#2 on Priest for a nearfall. Following this, Bunny struck Priest with a chair multiple times and performed the Bunny Destroyer on Priest to win the match. Following the match, Bad Bunny celebrated by displaying the Puerto Rican flag with the LWO, Carlito, and Vega.[1]

In the penultimate match, The Bloodline (Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, and Solo Sikoa) faced Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Matt Riddle in a six-man tag-team match. In the climax, Riddle, who was unaware that Sikoa was the legal partner, performed the Bro Derek on Jey but as Riddle attempted a pin on Jey, Sikoa entered the ring and performed the Samoan Spike on Riddle to win the match.[1]

Main event

In the main event, Cody Rhodes faced Brock Lesnar. During Lesnar's entrance, Rhodes attacked Lesnar at ringside with the mantlepiece of the announce table, the steel steps, and a steel chair. After both entered the ring, the match officially started. Rhodes performed two Disaster Kicks on Lesnar. As Rhodes attempted a third Disaster Kick, Lesnar countered into a German Suplex on Rhodes. Lesnar then dominated Rhodes with several German Suplexes. Rhodes then inadvertently removed the turnbuckle, after which, Lesnar performed another German Suplex. As Lesnar attempted to attack Rhodes, who was pinned on the corner, Rhodes escaped and Lesnar collided with the exposed turnbuckle severely cutting him open. Rhodes performed two Cross Rhodes on Lesnar for a nearfall. As Rhodes attempted a third Cross Rhodes, Lesnar reversed into an F-5 for a nearfall. In the end, as Lesnar applied the Kimura Lock on Rhodes, Rhodes countered by shifting his weight into a leverage pin on Lesnar to win the match.[1]

Reception

The event was WWE's highest-grossing and most-viewed Backlash in company history. The viewership of Backlash saw a 28 percent increase from the record set in 2022. The event received acclaim, with particular praise for the San Juan Street Fight and the Raw Women's Championship bout.[26][27][28]

Wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter gave the Raw Women's Championship match 4.25 stars, the United States Championship match 2.5 stars, the Seth "Freakin" Rollins vs. Omos match 3 stars, the SmackDown Women's Championship match 2 stars (the lowest rated match on the card), the six-man tag team match 3.75 stars, the San Juan Street Fight 4.5 stars (the highest rated match on the card), and the main event between Cody Rhodes and Brock Lesnar 3.75 stars.[29]

Aftermath

The 2023 WWE Draft took place on the April 28 and May 1 episodes of SmackDown and Raw, respectively, with draft results taking effect beginning with the Raw after Backlash on May 8. This subsequently ended possible rematches between wrestlers who were drafted to opposite brands. For example, SmackDown Women's Champion Rhea Ripley, as well as the rest of Judgment Day, were drafted to Raw, while Zelina Vega and the LWO were drafted to SmackDown, thus ending the rivalry between the two stables. Additionally, this would be Bronson Reed's last match for the United States Championship, as Reed was drafted to Raw while reigning champion Austin Theory was drafted to SmackDown, thus taking the title with him; Bobby Lashley was also drafted to SmackDown.[30]

Raw

On the following episode of Raw, Cody Rhodes participated in the World Heavyweight Championship Tournament to crown a new champion at Night of Champions. During the first round triple threat match that Rhodes competed in, Brock Lesnar interfered and attacked Rhodes, costing him an opportunity at the title. Lesnar subsequently challenged Rhodes to another match at Night of Champions, which Rhodes accepted.[31]

SmackDown

On the following episode of SmackDown, despite Roman Reigns praising Solo Sikoa for winning the match for The Bloodline at Backlash, he expressed his disappointment with The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) due to their inability to regain the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship prior to the event. Paul Heyman then revealed that instead of The Usos, Reigns and Sikoa would challenge Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship at Night of Champions.[32]

Results

No.ResultsStipulationsTimes
Singles match[39]
9:40
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match

See also

References

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External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Backlash_(2023)&oldid=1219197172"