Coming from the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, Puerto Rico, WWE Backlash 2023 had an energy unlike any other company event.
From the opening to the main event, Superstars received huge reactions from the crowd.
Fans chose to develop some new talent with raucous reactions for Zelina Vega and Iyo Sky, but none drew more from the crowd than Bad Bunny.
Omos had the best match of his career to date against Seth Rollins. The Visionary made him look like an animal.
Bloodline featured in perhaps the most memorable match of the night.
Cody Rhodes and Brock Lesnar felt out of place in the main event of this show and didn’t sell it as the most important match of the night.
Overall, Backlash was special, and some names benefited greatly to become the specific winners of the night. Others left San Juan in less spectacular fashion, though.
In her fight with Bianca Belair, few expected Iyo Sky to win.
EST of WWE is poised to become the longest-reigning Raw women’s champion in company history, and The Genius of the Sky barely wins a match.
Despite all this, the crowd went wild for Sky even before the bell. Fans in San Juan clearly wanted a surprise title change.
Because of that reaction, The Genius of the Sky put on his best WWE match to date. She pushed Belair to stay in WrestleMania mode for another amazing Raw women’s title match.
While the dream didn’t come true, the finish sold how close Sky were to winning. Injury to CTRL, especially Bayley, couldn’t hurt her, and that cost her a stunning victory.
WWE has a star-in-the-making in Sky. If he breaks away from The Role Model, WWE should consider giving him a rematch with Belair and, this time, give him the win.
The second match of the night also delivered a career performance.
Omos found his perfect opponent, as Seth Rollins pushed him past his limits and turned him into a monstrous heel.
This is the tournament that The Nigerian Giant needs. Even though he lost, he pushed the possible next WWE world heavyweight champion to his limit. He gets Rollins into his bag of tricks to come out with a super finisher.
The Visionary could probably have a good match with anyone, but it always takes two to get the nod. Omos needs more matches like this where his opponent plays to his strengths.
The Nigerian Giant can bounce back quickly from this defeat, depending on how long it takes The Visionary to defeat him. This may be a fight to revisit one day…with gold on the line.
Again, it wasn’t the match winner who got the big moment. Zelina Vega had the match of her career against Rhea Ripley, who was performing at her highest level.
While it wasn’t really in question whether The Eradicator would stay, the entire crowd was behind him as he fought his way from the bottom.
His underdog comeback, complete with a 619 and second-rope meteora, made an impression. However, nothing was more special than the ovation Vega received after the match.
Latino World Order is a stable that is just starting to build momentum. If the blue brand fully commits to the group in 2023, Vega could find herself in another SmackDown Women’s Championship match in the future.
If he makes the big win that second time, it all comes back to this moment. Vega has never been a bigger star than he is tonight.
As the first in what WWE dubbed a “double main event,” Bad Bunny and Damian Priest had a match for the ages, the ultimate crowd-pleaser in San Juan.
It was an amazing showing from the best celebrity performer in WWE history. Bad Bunny was the biggest star in the world in that arena on Saturday night. His only entrance was an impromptu concert.
While he had to win, he did everything to make Pari look special. He puts his rival down better than anyone in WWE.
It was only because The Archer of Infamy repeatedly decided to inflict more punishment instead of winning that he was unable to obtain a clear and dominant victory.
The contest got so much time and attention that the overbooking madness with LWO, Carlito and Savio Vega never lost to the complete match between the two Puerto Rican stars. Hopefully, Priest can push it to a massive 2023.
Meanwhile, Bad Bunny doesn’t have to wrestle again, but he’ll be accepted anytime.
For the first time in years, The Usos are not in a top angle at a WWE PPV.
Arguably, this is the lowest point The Bloodline story has ever been at a premium live event as the six-man tag team match was a cooldown between the two main tournaments.
Roman Reigns was sorely missed on this show. The crowd made that clear with a notable “We want Roman” chant that kicks off this slow phase of the match.
While people are on fire for Sami Zayn, the rest of the talent has to work hard to get the fans involved. It’s a surprising turnaround for what has been WWE’s hottest angle in a long time.
This story will heat up when Reigns returns, but this is the first strong indication that The Bloodline may not be the biggest story in WWE for much longer.
On paper, Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar was the biggest match at Backlash, but no one could sell it as worthy of the spotlight given as a “double main event” alongside Bad Bunny vs. Damian Priest.
It’s a fast-moving main mess that uses a surprise blood spot as an attempt to amp up the action. Instead, it derailed what should have been a triumphant return to form for The American Nightmare.
While Rhodes was definitely over for the most part, it was a cheap finish to an exciting show. He didn’t even get a chance to celebrate, running out as Lesnar looked shocked at his night’s end.
This was one of Rhodes’ weakest matches on the main roster, especially on a PPV. He worked like a heel at a time where he was supposed to be an underdog babyface fighting from the bottom to find success.
It would have been a nice middle-of-the-show contest to set up a future rematch, but it seemed out of place as the main event on a night of special moments.
