WWE Backlash 2025 Preview ~ 5/9/25

In the wake of WrestleMania 41 last month, new and old scores will be settled at Backlash, WWE’s latest premium live event, this Saturday May 10 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, MO. After his surprising (and to many fans frustrating) victory over Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania, newly villainous John Cena will be defend his WWE Undisputed Championship against an old foe, fellow veteran and multi-time champ Randy Orton. Neither Rhodes nor Cena’s string-puller The Rock have been heard from since WrestleMania, and it remains to be seen if either one will intervene on Orton or Cena’s behalf.

On the subject of heel turns, fans were thrilled at WrestleMania to see Becky Lynch return from a long absence to join Women’s Intercontinental Champion Lyra Valkyria in a victory over Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez for the Women’s Tag Team Championship. The elation was short-lived however, as Morgan and Rodriguez won the belts back the very next night on Monday Night Raw. A fuming Lynch showed her true colors, battering Valkyria and revealing that she was the one who had attacked Lyra’s prior tag partner Bayley. Valkyria will defend the Intercontinental belt against her former friend and mentor, an uphill battle against a seasoned veteran like Lynch (though a timely return by Bayley could even the odds).

WWE commentator Pat McAfee ran afoul of Gunther after WrestleMania. Having lost the WWE Heavyweight Championship to Jey Uso, Gunther took out his anger on McAfee and fellow commentator Michael Cole, putting the former in a brutal sleeper hold. McAfee looks to give as good as he got at Backlash, even if the NFL veteran is decidedly the underdog against the immense and unrelenting Gunther.

Jacob Fatu barely had time to revel in his United States Championship (which he won off L.A. Knight at WrestleMania) before a long line of challengers presented themselves. In addition to L.A. Knight himself, former champions Drew McIntyre and Damien Priest will bring their feud into a Fatal Four Way match for the belt. If McIntyre and Priest can set aside their baggage long enough to take out Knight and Fatu, the United State Championship could be changing hands sooner than we think.

The Men’s Intercontinental Championship is also on the line at Backlash, as Dominik Mysterio takes on lucha libre powerhouse Penta. Penta was one of four contenders for the Intercontinental belt at WrestleMania, alongside then-champion Bron Breakker and Mysterio’s Judgement Day faction-mate Finn Balor. While Breakker is decidedly busy, having teamed up with Paul Heyman and Seth Rollins in WWE’s latest (and instantly most dominant) faction, Balor still covets the Intercontinental title, and only time will tell before he puts his own ambitions ahead of his loyalty to Mysterio and the Judgement Day.

In the wake of a slew of recent releases from the main roster (including Dakota Kai, Braun Strowman, and Shayna Baszler), Backlash could also see the reappearance of several long-absent WWE superstars, including Asuka, Alexa Bliss and the Wyatt Sicks, as well as new arrivals from development brand NXT, including Stephanie Vaquer, Oba Femi and Trick Williams. Either way, expect new twists and turns as WWE heads into the build-up for SummerSlam in a couple short months.