On Saturday, May 4th WWE presented Backlash in Lyon, France. It was the first Premium Live Event since WrestleMania and the WWE Draft and it did not disappoint. There were surprises, title changes, champions retaining, and fantastic matches in an overall great PLE.
Big congrats to Jade Cargill & Bianca Belair who became the new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. This is Jade’s first Championship in WWE. Now let’s take a look at the 5 takeaways from this PLE in Lyon France.
#1 Lyon, France Needs More WWE PLE
After WWE Backlash the first thing that comes to mind is WWE needs to do more Premium Live Events in France. At this point maybe they should consider WrestleMania 41 or 42 in Lyon, France. The fans were some of the most enthusiastic and upbeat fans in any WWE PLE. Sometime halfway through the PLE, the camera was shaking because of how loud the fans were.
Some of the special moments that stood out were with Randy Orton, Jey Uso, AJ Styles, & Cody Rhodes. Never in my life had I ever seen a WWE crowd sing Randy Orton’s theme song the way they did. The fans loved Orton as they would sing his song from beginning to end of his entrance.
The fans also posed with Orton whenever he would do his signature pose in the middle of the match. The French crowd also jumped up and down and joined alongside Jey Uso during his entrance music.
Whenever The Phenomenal AJ Styles would come out the fans would cheer and chant his name. The fans even sang Rhodes’ Kingdom song in the main event of Backlash. It was one of the best WWE crowds I have ever seen and they were cheering like it was WrestleMania for every single match. WWE needs to reward France with more PLE in the future, hopefully, a WrestleMania too.
#4 The Bloodline Storyline Continues Strong
At WWE Backlash Bloodline members Solo Sikoa & Tama Tonga defeated Randy Orton & Kevin Owens. This was a great match that went back and forth. It was a Street Fight type of match and it favored the Bloodline. Randy Orton would hit an RKO on Solo on top of the announce table hurting Orton’s back.
Meanwhile, in the ring, Owens would hit a brainbuster from the top rope into four chairs on Tama Tonga. As the referee is about to count to three, someone pulls the ref to the outside. This ended up being the debut of Tama Tonga’s brother, Tanga Loa.
Tanga Loa would hit both Orton & KO with steel steps. This allowed Solo to capitalize with a Samoan Spike on Owens for the win. People were worried after Roman Reigns lost at Mania that the Bloodline storyline would stop but it is still going strong. Now that Reigns hasn’t been seen since Mania, it seems that Solo Sikoa is taking over the Bloodline.
Solo’s Bloodline includes two new additions, Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa who are more famously known as Guerrillas of Destiny in the Indies. With a new member in Tonga Loa, The Bloodline storyline is still going strong and better than ever.
#3 The Bloodline Is Not Done With Jey Uso
Before Jey Uso’s matchup against Damian Priest for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship there was a brief segment with Jey Uso & The Bloodline. As Jey was getting hyped up before his big match for a major championship the Solo would stare down Jey Uso. Solo would smirk and sneer at Jey and as he leaves he is followed by both Tanga and Tama who also stare down the former bloodline member.
Jey Uso then looks at Paul Heyman, who does not say anything but looks at Jey Uso with a pleading look asking for help. Jey Uso would shrug it off and focus on his match right after.
This little backstage segment at Backlash shows us that The Bloodline is not done with Jey Uso. Solo will probably never forgive Jey for leaving the Bloodline and helping Rhodes defeat Reigns at WWE WrestleMania 40. Not too long ago Tama Tonga made his WWE Debut at Smackdown by attacking Jey’s twin brother Jimmy Uso. This could lead to a Bloodline Civil War in the future maybe at Survivor Series.
#2 The Judgement Day Is Falling Apart
For weeks after winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania, Damian Priest has been distancing himself from Judgement Day. Every time a member of the Judgement Day would help him in a match, Priest would get upset.
At Backlash it was no different, when JD McDonagh interfered to try and help, Priest would yell at him and push him to stay back. Then when the match ended and he found out Finn Balor also got involved to help him win, Priest would put his hands on Balor as well.
Ever since Rhea Ripley has been out with an injury and relinquished her Women’s World Championship, Judgement Day seems to be falling apart. Rhea Ripley seems to have been the glue that has held them together. With both Ripley and Dominik Mysterio out with injuries, what will happen to the Judgement Day? Damian Priest has made it clear he wants no help from Judgement Day.
Ever since he won the championship he thinks he can do everything on his own without their help, and it seems we might get a babyface Priest in the future. A Finn Balor vs Damian Priest could be shortly for the World Heavyweight Championship. One thing is for sure The Judgement Day might not last for another year.
#1 Cody Rhodes Looked Incredible in his first Championship Defense
It is so refreshing to see a WWE Championship match with a clean defense and no outside interference. Since Roman Reigns had been champion we haven’t seen that at all for a couple of years thanks to the Bloodline Interferences.
Now that Cody Rhodes is champion, his first PLE defense was without any interference in a fairly fought matchup. This WWE Backlash main event match was a match of the year nominee type of match. Both the challenger and champion looked incredible.
AJ Styles lived up to his namesake phenomenal and Rhodes shined as the champion. Both pulled out all the stops but at the end of the day, Cody Rhodes proved why he is one of the best wrestlers in the world right now and why he is our Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. From Undersirable to Undeniable to Undisputed, who will be the next challenger for Undisputed WWE Champion, Cody Rhodes?
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