WWE Backlash notes and results: Cody Rhodes defeats Brock Lesnar, Bad Bunny wows the crowd

May 6, 2023 Neal Flanagan NEWS, Show Reports
Image Courtesy: WWE

News and notes from WWE Backlash at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

** Michael Cole and Cory Graves were on English commentary. Cole opened the show by announcing a sold-out attendance of 17,944. Whatever the accuracy of that figure, the crowd certainly sounded at capacity.

** In the opening contest for the Raw Women’s Championship, the majority of the San Juan crowd were vocal in their support for IYO SKY, chanting her name and often booing Bianca Belair, who retained.

** Savio Vega appeared in a backstage segment, handing Bad Bunny a Kendo stick with a Puerto Rican flag design for Bunny’s street fight with Damian Priest.

** Omos was given plenty of “monster” spots in his match with Seth Rollins. Rollins sold expertly throughout. The story of the match was Omos’ resistance to the stomp, kicking out until Rollins hit a “super-stomp” from the top rope for the win. Omos took the finishing move well.

** Austin Theory retained the United States Championship in a brief triple-threat match. Theory capitalized on Bobby Lashley’s offense to pin Bronson Reed.

** Zelina Vega was visibly emotional before the bell rang for the SmackDown Women’s Championship match. She greeted her family at ringside and was bedecked in the Puerto Rican flag. She got an enormous reaction when she grabbed a chancla from her mother at ringside and threw it at Ripley. Despite getting in a decent amount of offense, Ripley retained with the Riptide. In spite of the loss, the crowd gave Vega an enormous reaction after the match.

** Bad Bunny got an incredible ovation from the San Juan crowd as he made his way to the ring for a hugely entertaining Street Fight match with Damian Priest, which the musician won. This co-main event had plenty of run-ins, including surprise appearances from Savio Vega and Carlito, but it was certainly not overbooked if the crowd reaction was any indicator.

** The crowd stayed very hot for the six-man tag match that saw Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens & Matt Riddle take on The Usos & Solo Sikoa. The placement on the card could have hurt this contest, after the crowd reached near-frenzy for the Bad Bunny match. Dissent between Sikoa and The Usos featured heavily here, with frequent arguments breaking out. Despite this, Sikoa was able to hit the Samoan Spike to score the pinfall victory on Matt Riddle.

** The main event saw a rare instance of blood in a WWE match that did not halt the match. During the contest, Brock Lesnar went head-first into an exposed turnbuckle, busting him open. Planned or not, it made for a compelling visual. Rhodes scored the victory with a reversal of a Kimura for a flash pinfall.

Full results from Backlash 2023:

  • Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair (c) def. IYO SKY
  • Seth Rollins def. Omos
  • United States Championship: Austin Theory (c) def. Bobby Lashley & Bronson Reed
  • SmackDown Women’s Championship: Rhea Ripley (c) def. Zelina Vega
  • San Juan Street Fight: Bad Bunny def. Damian Priest
  • The Usos & Solo Sikoa def. Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens & Matt Riddle
  • Cody Rhodes def. Brock Lesnar

Join John Pollock & Wai Ting straight after Backlash on the POST Wrestling YouTube Channel for their review of the PLE.

About Neal Flanagan 793 Articles
Based in Northern Ireland, Neal Flanagan is a former newspaper journalist and copy editor. In addition to reporting for POST Wrestling, he co-hosts The Wellness Policy podcast with Wai Ting and Jordan Goodman.
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