The first hour of this Saturday’s Backlash premium live event will be airing on ESPN2 and yesterday WWE announced which matches will be part of that hour.
The first hour will feature Seth Rollins taking on Bron Breakker and then Trick Williams defending his Intercontinental title against Sami Zayn.
Backlash is starting an hour early at 6PM ET. The broadcast will air in full on the ESPN app with Unlimited plan for viewers in the United States and on Netflix internationally.
Tickets for the show remain available via Ticketmaster.com and are 20% off if you use the code CLUBWWE.
Days after shocking the wrestling world with their departure from WWE, both Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods broke their silence to discuss their decision.
The two refused to restructure their existing WWE deals which was signed last year and this led to their release.
Kingston said that he was overwhelmed by the messages he received and can’t help but to be filled with gratitude.
He wrote that his story has been nothing short of remarkable and he’s blessed to have such a career. He thanked his friends and co-workers, who he’s very proud to call his family.
“Most people go through life without ever experiencing a love like I have for Woods and E. That bond alone would have made this whole experience worth it,” Kofi wrote.
Kofi noted that his mission was always to provide a comfortable life to his family filled with heartwarming memories. He achieved that, because of the fans, but had to give some advice.
“Do your best to live a life without regrets, control what you can control, always give it your all, and fight hard for what you believe in,” he wrote. “Do not ever compromise or accept less than your due when it comes to your worth. Find the courage to believe in yourself and fearlessly pursue your goals and dreams, because anything is possible.
He finished by saying that as the sun sets on one chapter, it must rise in another and “tomorrow is indeed…a New Day.”
Xavier Woods reflected on his 16-year journey in WWE, calling it his home where he grew up and found himself.
“When I first walked into FCW, I just wanted a chance to prove I belonged and to bring something different to professional wrestling,” he wrote. “That chance became a life full of moments I’ll carry with me forever — WrestleMania, championships, King of the Ring, arenas around the world, and the gift of connecting with all of you by being myself.”
He said that the bond he has with Kofi and Big E is something that he’ll cherish forever and was also thankful to everyone who helped build his UpUpDownDown channel.
Woods thanked the whole locker room and staff who he worked with throughout the years and had an extra shoutout to the props department, who he called the hardest-working department you’ll ever find.
“And to everyone who has been part of this ride: thank you for believing in me. Thank you for letting me be Xavier Woods. Thank you for giving me the confidence… to walk away as Austin Creed,” he concluded.
Both men are under 90-day no-compete clauses and while they cannot work anywhere else during that time, they will continue getting paid by WWE until the expiration of those three months.
Several industry insiders are reporting that TKO is undergoing several contract restructuring at WWE, where several Superstars have been asked to take a pay cut.
PWInsider.com reports that one particular individual was asked to take a 50% pay cut and agreed. Dave Meltzer of the Observer added that none of the top stars have been asked to undergo a restructure of their deal.
The restructuring is what led to the departure of Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, the beloved duo known as The New Day. Both men were asked to take a pay cut on their current deal which was only signed last year and both refused to do so.
The pay cut seems to be ill-timed considering just a few weeks ago, the pay structure of the top TKO brass was revealed in a SEC filing, showing millions of dollars being paid to Ari Emanuel, Mark Shaprio, and Nick Khan.
It also comes at a time when WWE continues to announce record or near record revenues.
Impact last week drew 209,000 viewers, up 34,000 viewers from the prior week. The show had a 0.03 rating in 18-49, the same number it did the previous episode. The show went head-to-head with both NBA and NHL playoffs. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)
WWE Raw finished with Jacob Fatu locking Roman Reigns in the Tongan Death Grip for the second week running but after the show went off the air, Reigns promised that come Backlash, the ending will be different.
The two signed their contract for the match in the main event segment of the show and Fatu had Reigns’ number once again.
“Saturday at Backlash will not look like this, I promise you,” Reigns told the crowd after cameras stopped rolling. “I’ve busted my ass for too long, I’ve held my ground in this company for too long, and I ain’t letting it go just yet. In Tampa, that’s where we have to hold it down.”
He said there in Omaha it’s where he realizes what has to happen come Saturday night.
“At Backlash, I’m whooping Jacob’s ass. At Backlash, it’s ‘and still.’ At Backlash, you’re looking at the Head of the Table and the Tribal Chief above all,” Reigns continued.
Raw rolls into Omaha, Nebraska tonight live from the CHI Health Center for the Backlash go-home episode.
Three matches and a couple of segments have been announced for the show so far, with the matches including:
Je’Von Evans and Penta vs Rusev and Ethan Page
JD McDonagh vs Finn Balor
Oba Femi in the open challenge
Plus, WWE World Heavyweight champion Roman Reigns and his challenger Jacob Fatu will sign their contract for Backlash, Sol Ruca signs her Raw contract, and Asuka and Iyo Sky will also be face-to-face days before their Backlash match.
While Backlash has sold relatively well, there are still hundreds of floor tickets available as well as in other sections with a few more days to go for the show.
If you’re interested in going, you can use the discount code CLUBWWE to unlock cheaper prices, starting from $99.10 in the 300 level of the arena.
Floor seats start with $627.80 but if you want to sit at ringside, it will still cost $4,489.60 to be front row.
The code was distributed to all those who signed up to be on the waiting list for the Club WWE program.
Three-time Emmy Award nominee Hunter Selby announced that he has joined WWE as the new Director of Show Production and Design.
“I’m excited to share that I’ve accepted a new position as Director of Show Production and Design at WWE,” Selby wrote. “I’m looking forward to this new chapter, and to working on some designs that will hopefully be debuting on screens soon!”
Selby was nominated Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for American Idol in 2023, for SNL50: The Homecoming Concert in 2025, and for American Idol in 2025 as well.
As a Lighting Director and Associate Lighting Director, Selby has a ton of shows under his belt, including the first-ever concert broadcasted live from Vatican City’s St. Peter’s Square, the F1 Las Vegas GP opening ceremony, The Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade, and others, including concerts with Luke Bryan, Nicki Minaj, Cyndi Lauper, Keith Urban, and more.
WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi announced that he is leaving the KnokX Pro wrestling school, a school he helped establish in 2009.
Located in Sun Valley, California, the school is headed by Reno “Black Pearl” Anoa’i, with Rikishi also involved in running of the operations of the school and promotion.
“Love and respect KnokX Pro Entertainment & Academy. As I take my leave, I appreciate your understanding and respect for my decision to rest now,” Rikishi wrote.
During WrestleMania 42 weekend in Las Vegas, the school set up a ring outside the Treasure Island hotel on the strip and hosted free meet and greets.
The school was affiliated with WWE ID but its credentials were revoked following Raja Jackson’s attack on Syko Stu which made headlines for all the wrong reasons last year.
John Cena will be appearing at Backlash this weekend and will deliver “history-making” news.
In a post on X, the 17-time world champion wrote, “After months of planning and effort, I am SO excited to break some history-making news! I can’t promise it’ll be perfect but I can promise it will change the WWE experience for Superstars and fans,” he wrote.
Cena was the host of WrestleMania 42 and seems to be getting more and more involved with the company since his retirement in December.
The former champ signed a new, long-term WWE deal which will see him become a WWE ambassador among other things.
Backlash takes place live from the Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida on Saturday, May 9.
WWE announced its return to Canada with three new dates in August.
The first is a rare non-televised live event as part of the WWE Summer Tour 2026 and will take place on Thursday, August 20 in London, Ontario at the Canada Life Place.
Friday Night Smackdown will follow the next day on August 21 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto and Raw will finish off the weekend on Monday, August 24 in Ottawa, Ontario at the Canadian Tire Center.
Tickets for each show go on sale Friday, May 8 at 10AM ET via Ticketmaster.ca. A pre-sale will start on Thursday, May 7 at 10AM ET.
The announcement was made by Kevin Owens, sitting in a car, in a video posted on his social media.
Andrade El Idolo won the IWGP Global Heavyweight title yesterday on night 1 of Wrestling Dontaku in Fukuoka, Japan, defeating Yota Tsuji in the main event of the show.
El Idolo secured the victory after a DDT on the ring post and then hitting his finisher in the ring, winning a title that he wasn’t even supposed to be wrestling for in the first place.
The Mexican star replaced Gabe Kidd in the match, who suffered a shoulder injury at the Dynasty pay-per-view.
This is his first title in New Japan Pro-Wrestling in 13 years, with his last one coming in 2013 under his La Sombra gimmick, winning the IWGP Intercontinental title.
Roman Reigns, who was advertised for the Raw shows in May and June, has been pulled from all advertising surrounding the Raw June episodes and looks like he is no longer going to be there for those.
Reigns is advertised for the May 4, May 11, May 18, and May 25 episodes leading up to the Clash In Italy premium live event. But now he is absent from digital advertising for the June 1, June 8, June 15, and June 22 episodes, three of which are set to be in overseas markets.
Those episodes are the build for the Clash of Champions premium live event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia which takes place on June 27.
During the WrestleMania 42 Sunday post-show, Reigns told fans that he will be taking care of the “part-timer” crap and we would see him all Summer long.
It is currently unclear why Reigns was pulled from these shows at time of this writing.
While he did not write anything public, Big E reacted to the news of his former tag team partners Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods departing WWE with an illustration posted on his Instagram Stories.
The drawing shows Kofi and Xavier walking out towards a bright light outside, leaving their New Day gear behind, including Woods’ King of the Ring crown.
Big E was “kicked out” of The New Day in 2024 when Kingston and Woods turned heel on him. Big E has been unable to compete since suffering a neck injury on an episode of Smackdown in March 2022.
Several wrestlers continued to pay tribute to the legendary tag team on social media as well. Both Kingston and Woods were very well liked by their peers behind the scenes and their departure has obviously affected a lot of people.
Kingston and Woods decided it was time to go after they were asked to restructure their years-long deal to conform with new TKO contracts. The duo had signed a new deal last year and refused to do so.
Big E continues to work for WWE as a panelist during WWE premium live events.
Gavin O’Shea, a 25-year veteran working for WWE in television production, announced on his LinkedIn that he was also fired from his job.
He held the role of Senior Associate Producer, International TV, and Coordinating Producer, along with Director.
“After 25 years, losing my job wasn’t part of the plan,” he wrote. “For those memorable 25 years at WWE, I’ve seen, heard and experienced it all. After all, I grew up there, made friends and learned by doing. Like many people, I tied a piece of my identity to what I do every day. So when that suddenly changed, it felt unsettling, humbling… and honestly, a little scary.”
He added that he’s grateful for the people he’s worked with and the lessons learned along the way.
“I’m taking this time to reflect, reset, and refocus on what I truly want in my next chapter,” he continued.
WWE will be opening a Backlash Superstore in Tampa next weekend.
The store will be located at The Vault on 611 N Franklin St. and will feature the largest collection of Backlash merchandise and exclusive merch, including replica titles, collectibles, etc.
Opening hours will be Thursday from 1PM to 9PM, Friday from 10AM to 9PM, Saturday from 10AM to 11PM, and Sunday from 10AM to 2PM.
The Creed Brothers showed up on the AAA on FOX show last night, coming to the aid of the Original El Grande Americano.
The two have been associated with Chad Gable for a long time on WWE television.
There was a contract signing for the mask vs mask match yesterday and the Original wanted new terms put in the contract, which stated that if the other El Grande Americano attacks any time before their match later this month, he would automatically lose.
He also asked that interviewer Andrea Bazarte be removed from her role. Bazarte is dating the other El Grande Americano, Ludwig Kaiser.
Kaiser’s Americano eventually agreed to the new terms and signed the contract and that’s when Julius and Brutus Creed hit the ring to attack. Rayo and Bravo Americano then made the save.
It will be a while before we see Persephone back on television as AEW President Tony Khan announced before yesterday’s Collision that the CMLL Women’s champion has suffered an injury and would be out indefinitely.
Khan also pulled Persephone from the Survival of the Fittest match for the ROH Women’s title at the upcoming Supercard of Honor show on May 15.
It is likely that she has to also vacate the CMLL Women’s title, but that is a decision that CMLL will have to take.
Persephone last wrestled a week ago, teaming up with Alex Windsor and losing to the Triangle of Madness, with the ending coming when Julia Hart misted her.
