WWE Backlash 2023 LIVE — Bad Bunny defeats Damien Priest in his hometown as Carlito and Savio Vega make shock returns

WWE Backlash results

Below are the results from last night's premiere event from Puerto Rico:

• Seth Rollins defeated Omos
• Austin Theory defeated Bobby Lashley and Bronson Reed
• Bianca Belair defeated IYO SKY
• The Usos & Solo Sikoa defeated Matt Riddle, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn
• Rhea Ripley defeated Zelina Vega
• Bad Bunny defeated Damien Priest
• Cody Rhodes defeated Brock Lesnar

WWE upcoming schedule

Now that WWE Backlash has ended here’s a look at the upcoming premiere events fans can look forward to:

• WWE Night of Champions (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia) – May 27
• WWE Money in the Bank (London, UK) – July 1
• WWE SummerSlam (Detroit) – August 5

Fans praise the Puerto Rico crowd

WWE fans were raving over the crowd in San Juan, Puerto Rico last night praising them for their energy.

One fan wrote: “This crowd at #WWEBacklash is unbelievably into this. It’s incredible.”

Another wrote: “If all crowds at wrestling shows were how Puerto Rico is tonight. No show would have a boring moment haha. The crowd is more entertaining then some talent.”

Fans impressed with Bianca Belair and IYO SKY

Fans went wild on Twitter praising the match between Bianca Belair and IYO SKY with one writing: “The match not over and I’m already wanting them to run it back”

Another fan wrote: “I doubt many would’ve pegged this as a star maker or show stealer…but they didn’t ask Iyo Sky. Killing it.”

Bianca Belair ended up securing the victory and retaining the Raw Women's Championship.

Match of the year?

WWE fans flocked to Twitter last night to praise the match between Bad Bunny and Damien Priest.

One fan wrote: “And I’m gon always give Damien his props. He carried that match, I hope they’re all celebrating backstage”

Another wrote: “Who ever trained  did a great job, especially with that finishing move”

A third commented: “PRIEST. BUNNY. MATCH OF THE YEAR”

Everything to know about Roman Reigns

Leati Joseph “Joe” Anoa’i, a professional wrestler and former football player, was born on May 25, 1985, in the United States.

He is currently employed by WWE, where he can be seen performing on the SmackDown brand as Roman Reigns.

He defeated Cody Rhodes at Wrestlemania 39 for the title of Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

WWE is entertainment-based

WWE events are entertainment-based performance theater rather than actual competitions, as is the case with other professional wrestling promotions.

These contain narrative-driven, planned, and partially choreographed fights; nonetheless, fights frequently entail movements that, if executed incorrectly, can put performers at risk of injury, or even death.

Vince McMahon, the owner of WWE, recognized the predetermined nature of professional wrestling in public in 1989 in order to avoid paying taxes on athletic commissions.

Recognizing that wrestling has its roots in both dramatic theater and competitive sport, WWE markets its product as sports entertainment.

Everything to know about Kevin Owens, continued

Steen also wrestled for Combat Zone Wrestling, All American Wrestling, and International Wrestling Syndicate (IWS), where he held the AAW Heavyweight Championship and the IWS World Heavyweight Championship three times each (CZW).

Steen joined WWE in August 2014 and their developmental program NXT, where he held the title once before making his main roster debut in May 2015 wearing it.

He has held the United States Championship three times, the Intercontinental Championship twice, and the Universal Championship once each in the WWE.

He also served as the show’s opening act, facing “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in a special match 19 years after Austin’s retirement.

He has won the world championship in professional wrestling six times overall.

He is currently a tag team champion with his real-life best friend Sami Zayn and the duo competed with Matt Riddle to face off against the Usos and Solo Sikoa at last night's WWE Backlash,

Everything to know about Kevin Owens

Kevin Yanick Steen is a Canadian professional wrestler who was born on May 7, 1984. Currently under contract with WWE, he competes on the Raw roster as Kevin Owens.

At the age of 16, Steen began his career in 2000.

Before signing on with WWE in late 2014, he competed for Ring of Honor (ROH) using his own name, holding the ROH World Championship and ROH World Tag Team Championship.

He also competed actively for 14 years on the independent circuit, primarily for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), where he held both the PWG World Tag Team Championship and the PWG World Championship a record three times each.

Current WWE Champions on Raw

Below is a list of which wrestler holds what title currently for the brand Raw.

• WWE Champion (Roman Reigns)
• WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions (Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez)
• Raw Women’s Champion (Bianca Belair)
• United States Champion (Austin Theory)
• Raw Tag Team Champions (Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn)

Current WWE Champions on NXT

Below is a list of which wrestler holds what title currently for the brand NXT.

• NXT Champion (Carmelo Hayes)
• NXT Women’s Champion (vacant currently)
• NXT North American Champion (Wes Lee)
• NXT Tag Team Champion (Mark Coffey and Wolfgang)
• NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion (Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn)

Current WWE Champions on Smackdown

Below is a list of which wrestler holds what title currently for the brand Smackdown:

• Universal Champion (Roman Reigns)
• SmackDown Women’s Champion (Rhea Ripley)
• Intercontinental Champion (Gunther)
• SmackDown Tag Team Champion (Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn)

WWE SmackDown, explained

WWE SmackDown is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of January 2023 presently airs live every Friday at 8pm ET on Fox.

It is also known as Friday Night SmackDown or just SmackDown.

The show is simultaneously broadcast on Fox Deportes with Spanish-language commentary.

Characters from the SmackDown brand, for which WWE personnel are tasked with working and performing, appear on the show.

The program, along with Monday Night Raw, is presently regarded as one of two flagship programs as of October 2022.

Differences between Raw and Smackdown

Raw and Smackdown are the two brands of the WWE franchise.

Wrestlers rarely crossover, except for during WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and Royal Rumble.

The key differences between the brands are as follows,

• The ropes are blue in SmackDown, red in Raw.
• Raw wrestlers include Seth Rollins and Brock Lesnar.
• SmackDown stars include John Cena, Roman Reigns and Sasha Banks.
• Raw shows run for three hours, SmackDown for two hours.
• Different storylines, although they sometimes intertwine.

What are the WWE brands?

WWE is a huge franchise with multiple distinct brands.

The talent pool has been split between Raw and Smackdown since 2002.

The brands were originally the names of the two most popular shows but as the franchise expanded, they became their own brands.

Raw and Smackdown have separate storylines and are broadcasted at different times to give more wrestlers exposure.

More on WWE

With its main roster split into two main touring groups and a development roster situated in Orlando, Florida, it is the biggest wrestling promotion in the world.

More than 1billion homes globally have access to WWE in 30 different languages.

Stamford, Connecticut serves as the company’s global headquarters, and it also has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Dubai, and Munich.

WWE explained

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., known as WWE is an American professional wrestling promotion.

WWE, a multi-national integrated media and entertainment conglomerate, has also made inroads into other industries, like American football, movies, and other economic endeavors.

As the Capitol Wrestling Corporation, the promotion was established in 1953.

Logan Paul renews contract, continued

He was pictured alongside WWE legend and chief content officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque.

Paul sported a yellow jacket in the image with a bottle of his and KSI’s drink PRIME, with yellow being the color of the new flavor they announced recently.

On the new deal, Triple H said online: “A proven Superstar on the biggest stage.

“Can’t wait to see what’s next for @LoganPaul.”

According to , Paul’s deal is a multi-year offer.

Logan Paul reaches new deal with WWE

Like Bad Bunny stars from outside the WWE like Logan Paul have found success with the company.

Paul has recently announced he signed a new contract with WWE.

YouTuber-turned-Wrestler Paul has proven to be a popular addition to WWE, appearing most recently at Wrestlemania 39.

Paul, 28, had revealed his contract with the company was expiring after the event.

However, earlier last month  to announce his new deal with WWE – which recently merged with UFC.

Cody Rhode's return to WWE

Rhodes made his return to WWE in March 2022 after leaving All Elite Wrestling.

He appeared at , defeating Rollins following a six year absence.

He won the 2023 Royal Rumble and faced Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania 39 for the Undisputed Universal WWE Championship but was unsuccessful in capturing the titles.

More on Cody Rhode's gruesome injury

Before making his triumph return at the Royal Rumble, Cody Rhodes suffered an injury that required a lengthy recovery.

Rhodes tore his right pectoral tendon completely off the bone, while weight training on Friday, June 3, 2022, WWE announced.

In a tweet, WWE said: "@CodyRhodes suffered a partially torn right pectoral tendon during a brawl with @WWERollins this past Monday on #WWERaw.

"However, Rhodes has vowed to still step inside #HIAC tonight."

WWE upcoming schedule

Now that WWE Backlash has ended here's a look at the upcoming premiere events fans can look forward to:

• WWE Night of Champions (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia) - May 27
• WWE Money in the Bank (London, UK) - July 1
• WWE SummerSlam (Detroit) - August 5

There will be blood

Brock Lesnar has been cut open and his blood is all over Cody Rhode's body!

Rhodes seems to be unphased by the blood everywhere and has taken over control of the match.

Brock Lesnar dominating

Brock Lesnar has German suplexed Cody Rhodes eight times so far as the Puerto Rico crowd cheers "Suplex City."

Cody's early momentum has seemed to be extinguished as the crowd tries to get him back into the match by chanting "Let's Go Cody."