It’s hard to believe that WrestleMania 41 was only three weeks ago. The WWE is nonstop and, on the go, and we have Backlash St. Louis. This is the 20^th anniversary of Backlash, and it takes place in the hometown of Randy Orton. Speaking of Randy Orton, he took on John Cena for the Undisputed Championship. This has been billed as their final meeting seeing that Cena is retiring at the end of the year. “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio put up his newly won Intercontinental Championship against Penta. Speaking of the Intercontinental Championship, Lyra Valkyria defended her Women’s title against Becky Lynch. Jacob Fatu put up his newly won United States Championship against L.A. Knight, Drew McIntyre, and Damian Priest. Gunther took on Pat McAfee to finish out the show. Check out Trav’s Backlash from St. Louis PLE review below.

The United States Championship match started off the show. L.A. Knight and Fatu battled while Priest and McIntyre fought to begin the match. All four had moments to shine afterwards. With this being a Fatal 4-Way, it was a no-DQ match. They fought on the outside and Priest and McIntyre battled into the crowd. While in the crowd, Priest delivered the South of Heaven from a road case through a table. The medical team attended to both, and it was reported that McIntyre was injured on the bump. Knight and Fatu fought and Solo Sikoa appeared when Knight was about to jump on Fatu while on the announce table. The debut of Jeff Cobb occurred as he attacked Knight. Fatu looked confused and upset, but he took advantage of the fallen Knight. Fatu hit the hip check and moonsault to score the pinfall. Winner and Still United States Champ: Jacob Fatu

Match Rating: 4/5– Amazing opener! First, we hope that Drew isn’t hurt too badly. Fatu winning was the right call. Things will be interesting seeing that Fatu just stared at Solo and Cobb while walking off.

We had Lyra Valkyria defending her Intercontinental Championship against Becky Lynch. The match came about when Lynch turned on Valkyria after their match at WrestleMania 41. This was Becky Lynch’s first singles match in almost a year. These two went at it as soon as the bell rang. Lynch showed very little ring rust. Lynch hit a couple of Man Handle Slams on Lyra but couldn’t put her away. Valkyria showed why she’s the champ throughout the match because she’s a great worker. At one point, the referee was trying to fix the turnbuckle pad, and it prevented her from seeing Valkyria pin Lynch. Lynch then rakes Valkyria’s eyes and rolls her up, but Valkyria counters into a pinfall of her own for the win. Winner and Still Women’s Intercontinental Champ: Lara Valkyria

Match Rating: 3.5/5- This was another good match. An enraged Lynch attacked Lyra after the match. Lynch locked in the Dis-Arm-Her while officials ran down and got her off Lyra.

“Dirty” Dominik Mysterio defended his Intercontinental Championship against Penta. This is a rematch from Raw where Mysterio cheated to win. Dominik goes right after Penta as soon as the bell rang. There was some great action from the beginning of the match. Dominik even hit a nice Oblivion, which is paying respect to Liv Morgan. After Penta hit the Canadian Destroyer, Finn Balor, Carlito, and Carlito showed up. They tried to jump Penta, but the referee caught Finn trying to use the chair. The referee ejects the trio, but Balor reemerged to distract the referee. While the referee was distracted, Penta was going to the top rope. El Grande Americano showed up, delivered a headbutt with the metal piece to Penta. Dominik delivers a Frog Splash to Penta for the win. Winner and Still Intercontinental Champ: “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio

Match Rating: 3/5- This was another good match from Backlash. I’m wondering what’s the end game with the El Grande Americano gimmick and his constant interference. Will this lead to the rumored reunion of Penta and his brother Rey Fenix as the Lucha Brothers?

We had Pat McAfee challenging Gunther in this match. The Monday Night Raw after WrestleMania show Gunther confronts Michael Cole. Gunther tried to choke out Cole, but McAfee came to his rescue. Gunther turned his attention to McAfee and eventually choked him out. After being suspended for his actions, McAfee cut a tremendous promo and challenged Gunther to a match at Backlash. These two battled with Gunther hitting strikes and chops, but McAfee returned the favor. Gunther played around with McAfee, which prompted Cole to go ringside to cheer on McAfee. Gunther grabbed Cole and brought him in the ring, but McAfee made the save before Gunther attacked him. Gunther put McAfee in the sleeper, but McAfee reversed it and put the sleeper on Gunther. Gunther eventually put McAfee to sleep to score the win. Winner: Gunther

Match Rating: 3/5– This wasn’t a bad match at all, and Gunther protected McAfee throughout. Gunther showed McAfee a sign of respect before leaving the ring. The crowd gave McAfee a standing ovation as Gunther left.

We had the main event as John Cena defending his Universal Championship against Randy Orton. The match was called the Last Time Ever, these two faced each other. The match came about when Orton hit the RKO on Cena from behind at the Smackdown after WrestleMania. This match had it all from numerous Attitude Adjustments and RKOs. Orton tried to bring back the Punt, but Cena countered with the Attitude Adjustment. We had referees being laid out left and right throughout the match. Towards the end of the match, Nick Aldis made his way to the ring with officials after another referee was hit by Cena with the championship. Orton hit Aldis with the RKO and Orton hit the RKO on the officials also. Orton was going for the Punt again, but R-Truth showed up trying to stop him. Truth received an RKO for his troubles also. Cena hit Orton with a low blow and the championship. The first referee crawled back in the ring to deliver the three count. Winner and Still Universal Champion: John Cena

Match Rating: 3.5/5– This match delivered in my eyes. There was a lot going on with the near finishes and referee bumps.

Overall Rating: 7.5/10- Backlash overdelivered as it was an excellent PLE. Below are my top 5 happenings from Backlash from St. Louis.

Trav’s Top 5 Happenings from Backlash

1. The United States Championship Match
2. Jeff Cobb Debut
3. Cena vs. Orton
4. Lara Valkyria vs. Becky Lynch
5. Overall PLE

What did you think about Backlash? What was your favorite match from Backlash? What were some of your favorite moments? Leave some feedback below about anything related to Backlash.

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