WWE Backlash 2026: They Over Delivered

Backlash 2026
Date: May 9, 2026
Location: Benchmark International Arena, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Michael Cole

We’re already up to the next pay per view after Wrestlemania and in this case, there is only so much to be seen here. There are five matches announced for the show and one of them involves a mystery partner and a cloning machine. The main event is Roman Reigns defending the Raw World Title against Jacob Fatu. Oh and John Cena will be here for some announcement. Let’s get to it.

The opening video mainly focuses on Reigns vs. Fatu, which is the pretty clear main event for the whole show.

Seth Rollins vs. Bron Breakker

Paul Heyman is here too. Breakker misses the spear at the bell to start and Rollins sends him outside to hammer away. Back in and Rollins takes too much time going to the top and gets suplexed out to the floor. Breakker sends him inside again for a suplex, followed by a second, and we hit the chinlock. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker has Rollins in more trouble and Breakker insults him while putting the chinlock back on.

Back up and a heck of a running clothesline drops Rollins, followed by a German suplex. A release German suplex sends Rollins flying and the super Frankensteiner does it again. Rollins is sent outside, where he cuts off Breakker’s charge with a superkick. They both dive in to beat the count and Rollins hits a running knee to the face (looked like it was supposed to be the Stomp but Breakker wasn’t looking down) for two. Rollins kicks him down and blows Heyman a kiss, but the Stomp is grabbed instead.

A gorilla press gutbuster connects and they….I’m not sure what happens, though Rollins lands on the back of his head. Breakker hits a standing moonsault for two but gets caught in a Buckle Bomb. Breakker pops right out of the corner with a running clothesline and Rollins bails out to the floor. The diving clothesline knocks Rollins over the announcers’ table and they head back inside. Rollins runs the corner to catch Breakker with the superplex but Breakker reverses into a Falcon Arrow for two.

They go up again where Rollins rakes the back, only to get caught with another super Frankensteiner. Breakker tries a third but Rollins sticks the landing and hits a Pedigree. The Stomp connects so Heyman gets on the apron, and even the bottom rope. Rollins grabs a chair and cuts off the rest of the Vision as they run in for the attempted save. Back in and the Super Spear gives Rollins two but another is countered into the Pedigree (ala Roman Reigns). A super Stomp is loaded up but Breakker spears him out of the air and hits another Super Spear for the pin at 21:28.

Rating: B. This was a good enough fight but it had some sloppy moments and never got to that next level. What matters here is that Breakker won though, as it’s the biggest victory of his career. After being gone for so long, Breakker needed the big victory and they made it work. It’s not a great match, but they did what they needed to do.

US Title: Sami Zayn vs. Trick Williams

Williams, with Lil Yachty, is defending in a Wrestlemania rematch after they got in a fight over a Gingerbread Man (who had a funeral). Zayn tries to jump him to start and fires off the chops in the corner. Williams is back up with chops of his own and Zayn bails to the floor, where he gets clotheslined from behind.

Another shot puts Williams down again and Zayn hammers away back inside. Williams grabs a jumping neckbreaker but the Trick Kick is blocked. A Rock Bottom gives Williams two but a super version is broken up. Zayn’s Blue Thunder Bomb gets two but he seems to have hurt his knee. The goldbricking allows Zayn to roll him up for two but Yachty gets on the apron.

That’s enough for Zayn to get in the kendo stick shot for two more so Zayn loads up the Helluva Kick. Yachty hits Zayn in the back of the head with the kendo stick, setting up the Trick Kick for two. They head outside with Zayn DDTing Williams on the steps and beating up Yachty with the kendo stick. A Helluva Kick knocks Yachty silly again but the Helluva Kick misses Williams. The Trick Shot retains the title at 12:25.

Rating: B. The main question I have coming out of this is why Yachty isn’t the US Champion. He was the big focal point of the match and got most of the attention. That doesn’t make for the most thrilling result, but at least Williams won. He can move on to something else now, though it really doesn’t need to be the Open Challenge. I’m not sure about Zayn, but Kevin Owens has to be coming back for their latest reunion right?

We recap Miz/Kit Wilson vs. Danhausen/???, with the preview seemingly made by Danhausen. He wanted Miz to mentor him but got turned down, earning Miz a curse instead. Bad things started happening to Miz, who got Wilson to help him out. Miz jumped Danhausen, who wound up stealing $40,000 from Miz, along with Miz’s daughter’s bike. Either way, Danhausen will now have a mystery partner, which might be his clone (yes he has a cloning machine.

Miz/Kit Wilson vs. Danhausen/???

Danhausen comes out in the Danhausenmobile and has his cloning machine on the stage. It’s a big crate and we have a Mini Hausen. Wilson kicks Mini Hausen down as Barrett wonders if it’s a thing or a child. Mini nips up and strikes away, including a springboard spinning shoulder. Wilson cuts him off but gets sent outside, where Danhausen helps with a dive.

Danhausen gets sent into the post though and Mini gets planted back inside. Mini gets put in the Tree Of Woe but sits up to avoid a charge. Wilson is taken down and it’s off to Danhausen to clean house. Danhausen gets a bit winded but Hulks Up, setting up a pump kick to Wilson. Miz steals a rollup for two but Mini tags himself back in and knocks Miz out of the corner. A top rope hurricanrana sends Wilson outside and there’s the suicide dive, with Mini taking a nasty landing.

Mini chases Wilson up the aisle but gets sent into the cloning machine….which restarts. The door opens and it’s an army of Mini Hausens, with the original (the one without a cape) grabbing an airplane spin into Wasteland (Barrett: “THAT’S MY MOVE! DON’T YOU DARE DO THAT YOU DIRTY LITTLE GOBLIN!” Wilson blocks the curse with a mirror and the Skull Crushing Finale hits Mini, with Danhausen running in for the save. Miz knocks Danhausen outside but a fire extinguisher….only sprays himself in the eyes. Wilson is blinded too and Mini dives onto him, leaving Danhausen to hit a pump kick for the pin at 11:55.

Rating: B+. If you do not like this stuff, I won’t argue with you at all. I’ll accuse you have having a terrible sense of humor, but I get that it’s not for everyone. This was goofy, silly fun and that’s all it was supposed to be. Sometimes you need to just have a good time and they went insane with goofy stuff. I had a good time with this and Danhausen is still a blast. Of all the matches that I’ve seen involving a cloning machine, this had to be in the top four, with Barrett’s overreaction making it even better.

TripleMania is now two nights, but not consecutive nights for an odd change.

Asuka vs. Iyo Sky

This is basically mentor vs. mentee, with a bit of a twist as the mentor (Asuka) is going too far instead of the mentee for a change. They flip each other around to start and then trade forearms, with Sky sending her into the corner. Sky sends her into the ropes and kicks her into the apron, followed by more kicks to the face. Asuka grabs a Boston crab in the ropes before starting in on the arm.

Sky strikes back and hits a missile dropkick, allowing her to flip up into the crazy pose. Back up and Asuka goes for the arm again before hitting a jawbreaker. Asuka’s armbar is countered into an Asuka Lock from Sky, sending Asuka over to the ropes. They head outside with Asuka loading up the announcers’ table. Sky gets smart though and uses a laptop to block the mist, setting up a crossbody off the table to drop Asuka again.

Back in and Sky knocks her down again but Over The Moonsault is blocked. A cross armbreaker into the Asuka Lock has Sky in even more trouble but she rolls out for the break. The release German suplex sets up the Bullet Train Attack and now Over The Moonsault can connect for the pin at 18:08.

Rating: B+. Yeah shockingly enough, two incredibly talented wrestlers had a heck of a match, but dang this needed Kairi Sane to really complete the story. Sky had to win here, as otherwise Asuka is just a jerk who was right in the end. They can both move on to something else, if nothing else possibly as partners again. For now though, heck of a match and probably the best thing on the show thus far.

Post match respect is shown and everything seems to be ok again.

Here is John Cena for his big announcement. Cena seems rather thrilled to be here and says it’s fun to be able to be in the ring without having to get in a fight. The fans chant ONE MORE MATCH and Cena says he was expecting that. He talks about the last night of his career and how he wanted it to be about an opportunity. That night we saw people like Sol Ruca, Je’Von Evans and Oba Femi (pause for chant). Cena hopes Femi is listening because that’s what this is all about.

It worked so well that we can do it again, with the John Cena Classic. The best of today vs. the best of tomorrow in a one night event for a brand new championship. Cena has said before that the biggest stars are the WWE Universe and for the first time in history, the fans’ voices will be heard louder than ever before. The fans will vote to crown the first champion and every participant qualifies. Just because you don’t win your match, you could still win the fans’ vote and win the competition.

Cena thanks everyone for giving this a shot and it’s main event time. This was quite the rambling announcement (no date or participants were given) and while the last thing they need is another belt, if it’s something you win and then it’s not defended in any way, it’s not nearly as bad.

We recap Roman Reigns defending against Jacob Fatu. It’s another battling family thing, with Fatu saying Reigns didn’t help him up when he was on top. Now Fatu wants to win the title to boost his own family up and has brought back the Tongan Death Grip. Fair enough.

Raw World Title: Roman Reigns vs. Jacob Fatu

Fatu is challenging. Reigns shoulders him down to start so Fatu grabs a headlock. Fatu knocks him outside for the suicide dive and the Tongan Death Grip goes on, with Fatu sending him into the post. For some reason Fatu lets go and Reigns is in trouble as he gets tossed back inside. A neck snap across the top gets Reigns out of trouble but Fatu shoves him out of the corner.

Reigns’ arm gets trapped and Fatu drops him with a clothesline before sending him into the post. Fatu tries a big charge but hits the post, allowing Reigns to nail the Superman Punch for…one. Back up and Fatu knocks him into the corner for the running Umaga Attack, only for Reigns to come back with the Superman Punch for two. They head outside where the announcers’ table is loaded up, only for Fatu to powerbomb him through it instead.

Back in and a spear gives Reigns two but he charges into a pop up Samoan drop. The triple jump moonsault gives Fatu a VERY close near fall but his Swanton hits raised knees. The slugout goes to Fatu, who sends him into the corner for the running Umaga Attack. Fatu gets the Death Grip but Reigns stops at two arm drops. The referee gets bumped but Reigns hits a Superman Punch into another spear for two (with the referee stopping a bit early on the near fall). Fatu gets the Death Grip on again but Reigns rips off a turnbuckle pad and sends Fatu face first. Another spear retains the title at 18:04.

Rating: B+. These two beat the heck out of each other and there were some very nice near falls. Reigns basically had to go desperation to win and the ending felt like Fatu got pinned because he went a bit too nuts. It’s a heck of a main event and it wouldn’t shock me if we see these two run it back, which wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Post match Fatu lays Reigns out again and gets another Tongan Death Grip, even as agents come down. One of them is sent outside and Fatu Grips him again, with Reigns foaming at the mouth. Fatu comes back in and does it again before posing with the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. Heck of a show here, with five matches all delivering at worst and overdelivering in some spots. What mattered here was allowing some of the matches to actually go somewhere rather than cramming in a bunch of short matches like at Wrestlemania. This wound up being rather good and FAR better than I was expecting, which is a very nice surprise.

Results
Bron Breakker b. Seth Rollins – Super Spear
Trick Williams b. Sami Zayn – Trick Shot
Danhausen/Mini Hausen b. Miz/Kit Wilson – Pump kick to Miz
Iyo Sky b. Asuka – Over The Moonsault
Roman Reigns b. Jacob Fatu – Spear

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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