After the incredible success of WrestleMania 40, WWE held its first Premium Live Event (PLE), Backlash, on May 4, 2024. Cody Rhodes returned against AJ Styles to defend his WWE Undisputed Championship. After ‘finishing his story’ and winning the belt, it was the first time when Rhodes was defending the strap. Other than that, superstars like Tiffany Stratton, Randy Orton, and Bayley also featured on the card.
This is going to be fun. #WWEBacklash France is streaming LIVE right now from @LDLC_Arena. @peacock pic.twitter.com/4m8PcgHo5n
— Triple H (@TripleH) May 4, 2024
The event took place inside the LDLC Arena in Lyon, France. There was a lot of interest in seeing how the overseas fans would react to the WWE product. If anybody had any doubts, they went away during the ‘go home’ SmackDown episode to the PLE in the same city. Fans were so loud that they even received warnings about the noise levels. And, the crowd was even hotter for Backlash 2024. So how did the event go? Let’s find out.
Backlash 2024: Results
Randy Orton and Kevin Ownes vs. The Bloodline: As WWE fans already know, ‘The Tribal Chief’ Roman Reigns has been away from the company after losing to Cody Rhodes in the WrestleMania 40 Night 2 main event. In his absence, Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga have taken over the faction. Their first major competition came against Kevin Owens and Randy Orton.
😲😲😲😲😲😲#WWEBacklash pic.twitter.com/rDlJH6K6BB
— WWE (@WWE) May 4, 2024
The match was utter chaos from the beginning to the end. Orton, Owens, Sikoa, and Tonga beat each other up mercilessly all over the arena. Suplexes off the top rope to tables, the match had all the high spots that the fans expected. Just when it seemed like the new Bloodline was about to suffer a major setback, a debuting Tanga Loa saved the faction. The Bloodline beat Randy Orton and Kevin Owens via pinfall.
Bayley vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Naomi: WWE Women’s Champion Bayley defended her belt in a triple-threat match against Bayley and Tiffany Stratton. Although it was Bayley who was the champion, Stratton received all the love during her entrance. If it was not apparent previously, the crowd ovation for Tiffany should solidify her as a bonafide superstar.
BAYLEY RULES at #WWEBacklash #AndStill pic.twitter.com/FkcX0w60xK
— WWE (@WWE) May 4, 2024
Her in-ring performances have also improved vastly since her debut. But, majority of the big moves in this match was performed by Bayley and Naomi. All in all, the match was quite fun with some great action and close near-falls. Although fans were desperate to see Stratton as the champ, the time was not right to take the belt away from Bayley who had just won it at WrestleMania 40. The 34-year-old retained the belt after pinning Naomi.
Damian Priest vs. Jimmy Uso: Damian Priest, who won the belt at WrestleMania 40 after cashing in on Drew McIntyre, had his World Heavyweight Championship defense against Jimmy Uso at Backlash 2024. The entrance for Jimmy was something out of this world! It felt like every single fan inside the arena turned on their cell phone lights and bounced to the ‘Yeet’ tune.
ALL RISE at #WWEBacklash!#AndStill pic.twitter.com/qUDIbj1zZ8
— WWE (@WWE) May 4, 2024
Although the whole match lasted about 16 minutes, it was a fast-paced match that made fans chant “This is Awesome.” Priest won the match via pinfall with some help from ‘The Judgement Day.’ However, it looks like WWE is teasing an implosion of the faction as Damian pushed around JD McDonagh and Finn Balor after the match. So it will be interesting to see what the future holds for the group going forward.
The Kabuki Warriors vs. Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill: Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair challenged The Kabuki Warriors for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship. Cargill, since her arrival from AEW, has not accomplished much. Hence, putting her with Bianca and making them a tag team gave both of them something to do.
Quite possibly the biggEST storm to ever hit this division.
— Triple H (@TripleH) May 4, 2024
Congratulations to @BiancaBelairWWE & @Jade_Cargill, your NEW WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. #WWEBacklash pic.twitter.com/P7w5DvvMT7
At Backlash 2024, the company finally decided to put the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship on Belair and Cargill. Although Asuka and Kairi Sane have been deserving champions till now, the belts will do more to elevate Jade and Bianca for the time being. So, the decision to give them a clean win over The Kabuki Warriors was the right one for sure.
Cody Rhodes vs. A.J. Styles: Fans have been asking Cody Rhodes to turn heel ever since his triumph against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40. However, the ovation he received, will make WWE think twice before turning Rhodes a heel. The matchup between Cody and AJ Styles was also a fresh one and the French fans absolutely loved it! Before the action picked up, both pro wrestlers showed off some impressive mat wrestling.
Rhodes also paid tribute to his time as the ‘Stardust’ and the fans immediately picked it up and started chanting ‘Stardust’ which showed the incredible knowledge that the French fans had about the product. It seemed to motivate both Cody and AJ, who left everything that they had inside the ring. Styles recently added that he was considering retirement. So he cherished another opportunity to fight for the belt.
ADRENALINE IN HIS SOUL!#WWEBacklash pic.twitter.com/zJHNQXyofD
— WWE (@WWE) May 4, 2024
While the contest did not have any so-called high-flying action or hardcore spots, it was an amazing contest that showed why these two are some of the most technical professional wrestlers in the world. The match went on for nearly 27 minutes and Rhodes won the bout via pinfall to complete his first successful title defense.
