John Cena warns media, he will ruin wrestling, he is the last real champion in WWE
After making history at WrestleMania 41, John Cena warns the media that he will ruin wrestling and he is the last real champion in WWE
WrestleMania 41 has come and gone. Now, it’s time to deal with the fallout.
WWE Backlash kicks off the next slate of premium live events in 2025, and it’s headlined by the (likely) last matchup between two icons of wrestling. John Cena and Randy Orton reignite their longstanding rivalry with the Undisputed WWE Championship on the line. As if the match needed any more juice, it will take place in Orton’s hometown, which should make for an incredible atmosphere.
Four other matches are on deck, including Becky Lynch challenging for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship and Pat McAfee’s return to in-ring competition.
Follow USA TODAY Sports for all of the results, highlights and analysis from Backlash:
The crowd was loving both sides as the match began, and there was no real advantage to start with shots coming from both sides. Mysterio continued to show his growth in the ring with an early suicide dive turned into a DDT on Penta. The champion focused on his opponent’s lower body, trying to slow down Penta with some fatigued legs. There was also a nice tribute to Liv Morgan by Mysterio with an ObLIVion on Penta.
Match in progress.
From idol to foe, the veteran Lynch had a little showmanship for the champion out of the gate, trying to get in the head of Valkyria. The youngster wasn’t rattled, and she toyed with Lynch by swinging her around and lifting her up in the air for an impressive submission roll. Lynch had an early cut on the elbow.
Even as Lynch tried to play mind games with the champion, Valkyria still showed fight, almost inspired by any words her opponent was throwing at her or her fiancé at ringside. The two traded blows on one of the turnbuckles and Valkyria executed a superplex on the challenger in a hard fall. Valkyria went for a pin and Lynch kicked out.
After getting out of a potential Manhandle Slam, Valkyria tried a flying leg drop and moonsault to finish her opponent, only for Lynch to get her knees up. The two then traded punches and after attempted armbar submissions from both side, Lynch got the Manhandle Slam and looked to have the title. However, Valkyria kicked out, much to the surprise of the crowd.
A frustrated challenger brought a chair into the ring and tried to hit Valkyria with it before the referee stopped it. Lynch exposed the turnbuckle while the referee wasn’t looking, and later on landed her finisher on Valkyria, and the champion again kicked out. Valkyria turned around and landed Nightwing, but the referee was trying to fix the turnbuckle and didn’t get to the pin in time.
Lynch recovered and tried to get Valkyria to submit, but a flurry of rollups happened and Valkyria ended up on the right side of it to get the victory over Lynch.
Almost as soon as the bell rang, an upset Lynch didn’t rest and she continued to beat down on the champion. She did the Disarm-her as officials came to the ring and tried to stop it. It eventually happened as Lynch strutted her way backstage, but Valkyria got up and was able to raise her hand in victory despite the injured arm and likely injured nose she suffered.
Analysis: If you didn’t expect the Women’s Intercontinental Championship match to be a banger, you should have known better. Lynch showed there’s no rust from her absence in her first singles match in nearly a year, but it was Valkyria that really stood out. She had been needing a signature performance in her title reign, and she made the most of it in what was the biggest match of her career.
There were some missteps and botches in this one, but it didn’t take away from the quality of the match. The two sides were given plenty of time to show off their skills, and Lynch remains a powerhouse while Valkyria gets a quality victory. The after match tirade from Lynch signifies she isn’t done with Valkyria yet, and Bayley could be coming to the fold soon to aid the champion.
Of course, the rivals in the match started beating up on each other, with Fatu and Knight in the ring and others outside. The former United States champion in Knight was the one with early momentum, getting strikes in and countering all moves from his foes. McIntyre was next to get the advantage with neck breakers to all three opponents, followed by Priest. There clear goal from the challengers was to limit Fatu from causing the destruction he’s known for.
McIntyre and Fatu shared a tense stare down in the ring, and the champion finally got into his rhythm. He showed off his athleticism that got the crowd going. However, Knight stopped it with a BFT on the champion. IT started a string of finishers between the challengers, and Priest nearly had a pin on Knight before McIntyre broke it off.
All of the star laid in the ring and McIntyre landed two Future Shock DDTs on Fatu and Knight. He geared up for a Claymore and landed it on Knight. He was set to get the pin but Priest pulled the referee out of the ring before he could finish the count. The heated rivals then battled outside of the ring, essentially taking themselves out of the match. Priest executed a diving South of Heaven chokeslam onto tables in the spot of the match.
With Knight and Fatu essentially the last two stars left, the challenger propped Fatu on the announcer’s table. He was about to leap from the turnbuckle when Solo Sikoa emerged to help his family member. Someone blindsided Knight, and it was Jeff Cobb, the newest WWE signing that unleashed a vicious assault on Knight.
It was easy work for Fatu. He leaped off the top turnbuckle onto Knight and pinned him to retain his title. Fatu walked past Sikoa and Cobb on his way backstage.
Analysis: The dynamic between Sikoa and Fatu gets even more intriguing.
It was all but known Fatu was going to retain given the hot streak he’s been on, but how he held on to his title was unexpected. Cobb made his WWE debut and has aligned himself with Sikoa as another weapon for the former self-proclaimed “Tribal Chief.” Fatu didn’t look all that thrilled with the help, which makes sense since Fatu doesn’t need it with all of the talent he possess. This pretty much guarantees a split between Fatu and Sikoa is going to happen soon. Sikoa will begin to favor Cobb, which will only make Fatu more frustrated and eventually fracture the relationship.
McIntyre and Priest continued their heated rivalry, and Priest got revenge from WrestleMania by sending his foe through a table outside of the ring. That storyline seems far from over, and one more match will be needed to settle the score. As for Knight, he gets pinned twice in less than a month, and it feels like the title is no longer within reach for him, so he either needs to chase other gold or find another person to feud with.
Some new help may be on the way for Solo Sikoa.
Jeff Cobb emerged from the crowd to assist Sikoa in beating down LA Knight and helped Jacob Fatu retain his United States Championship.
Cobb is a longtime wrestler that notably spent time in New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he won multiple tag team championships and is a one-time NJPW World Television Champion. Cobb also recently spent time in All Elite Wrestling. In April, it was announced Cobb was leaving NJPW, and it had been speculated he’d be headed to WWE.
Now he has arrived, and seems to be a new weapon for Fatu to use.
Pershard Owens, the national anthem singer for the St. Louis Blues, sung the “Star Spangled Banner” in the hockey team’s home arena.
When is Backlash 2025?
Backlash is Saturday, May 10.
What time does Backlash 2025 start?
Backlash starts at 7 p.m. ET. The preshow “Countdown to WWE Backlash” begins at 5 p.m. ET.
Where is Backlash 2025?
The 2025 event will take place at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.
How to watch Backlash 2025
The event can be streamed on Peacock, but you must have the premium or premium-plus subscription to watch. Internationally, it will be available on Netflix in most markets.
Watch WWE’s Backlash with Peacock
How to watch Backlash 2025 preshow
The preshow will be available to watch on Peacock, and on WWE’s social channels, including on YouTube.
Backlash 2025 match card
Matches not in order
- Undisputed WWE Championship match: John Cena (c) vs. Randy Orton
- Fatal four-way match for United States Championship: Jacob Fatu (c) vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest vs. LA Knight
- Intercontinental Championship match: Dominik Mysterio (c) vs. Penta
- Women’s Intercontinental Championship match: Lyra Valkyria (c) vs. Becky Lynch
- Pat McAfee vs. Gunther
Here are predictions for every Backlash match from USA TODAY Sports’ wrestling experts:
Pat McAfee vs. Gunther
- Jordan Mendoza: Gunther
- Richard Morin: Gunther
- James H. Williams: Gunther
Women’s Intercontinental Championship match: Lyra Valkyria (c) vs. Becky Lynch
- Jordan Mendoza: Lyra Valkyria
- Richard Morin: Lyra Valkyria
- James H. Williams: Lyra Valkyria
Intercontinental Championship match: Dominik Mysterio (c) vs. Penta
- Jordan Mendoza: Dominik Mysterio
- Richard Morin: Dominik Mysterio
- James H. Williams: Dominik Mysterio
Fatal four-way match for United States Championship: Jacob Fatu (c) vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest vs. LA Knight
- Jordan Mendoza: Jacob Fatu
- Richard Morin: Jacob Fatu
- James H. Williams: Jacob Fatu
Undisputed WWE Championship match: John Cena (c) vs. Randy Orton
- Jordan Mendoza: John Cena
- Richard Morin: John Cena
- James H. Williams: John Cena
To see the full predictions of what could unfold, read here.
Michael Cole and Wade Barrett will be on the call Saturday night. Barrett will be filling in for Pat McAfee due to his match against Gunther.
Two future hall of famers in the ring one more time.
After Cena won the title at WrestleMania 41, he detailed his plans to “ruin wrestling” in his final year of in-ring competition at the Raw After WrestleMania. However, he was interrupted by Orton and was dealt an RKO.
The two stars faced off on SmackDown, and Orton scolded Cena for his change in attitude and said he couldn’t let Cena ruin WWE. He challenged the champion to a match, but Cena said it will instead be done at Backlash, since it will be held in St. Louis, Orton’s hometown. Cena then attacked Orton, but “The Viper” countered with an RKO.
It will be the first singles match between Cena and Orton since 2017.
There aren’t many stars that have faced each other as often as Orton and Cena have. They first teamed up together in WWE in 2002, and the two had their first match against each other in 2005. Twenty years later, they’ll meet for the last time.
Saturday will mark the 94th time Cena and Orton will share the ring. In one-on-matches, Cena and Orton have faced each other 21 times. Cena has the edge with a 13-8 record against Orton in singles matches.
The tag team category has been overwhelmingly dominated by Cena, as his side is 28-6 whenever matching up against Orton and other stars. In matches where there’s been multiple wrestlers, they’ve each won six times.
The former NFL punter and sports media giant has thrived in the wrestling world, bringing his chaotic energy and fun-loving self as the commentator for WWE Raw. But while he’s great on the headset, he has shown some skill as a wrestler, and he will get a chance to do it again against a very formidable opponent.
Read the full match preview here.
