WWE Backlash: France is in the record books after a loud and raucous night in Lyon that saw Cody Rhodes retain his undisputed title.
Rhodes outlasted veteran AJ Styles in the main event of an action-packed show as WWE held a Premium Live event in the country for the first time.
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It was a successful first major outing for Rhodes after winning the company’s first men’s title at WrestleMania in April at the expense of Roman Reigns.
But while The American Nightmare rose to the acclaim of one of the liveliest crowds in recent memory, there were plenty of other major talking points of the evening.
Here, talkSPORT.com brings you five key takeaways from WWE’s Backlash: France.
WWE breaks another major record in France
WWE is in the money lately, it’s true. Records are falling, shows are getting bigger and bigger, and crowds are getting louder and louder.
While this is a lot of fun, it’s also fair to say that it’s expensive if you buy tickets.
WWE confirmed during Backlash that the event broke the record for the largest arena gate in company history – a staggering fact considering the crowd was less than 12,000 at the time. total that evening.
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Money in the Bank in London held this distinction last year at £3.32 million, according to note analyst Brandon Thurston, leaving his eyes teary at how much WWE had to take home Saturday night.
There’s plenty of depth in the women’s roster
As WWE’s Four Horsewomen move closer to the end of their careers – or at least their time as full-time performers for the company – a recent criticism of the company is the lack of time to invest in the future female stars.
Backlash might well have allayed some of those fears, thanks to superb outings at Backlash by Tiffany Stratton in the women’s championship match, and victories by Jade Gargill and Bianca Belair in the women’s tag team titles.
That Stratton and Cargill in particular were given plenty of time to shine at such an important show is no small feat. With seasoned pros like Bayley and Becky Lynch leading the way as singles champions, WWE’s women’s roster appears to be in good hands, from top to bottom.
The line could last forever
If you felt The Bloodline began to fall apart when The Usos first left the fray last year, and that it fell apart when Roman Reigns lost the WWE Undisputed Universal Title at WrestleMania, think again.
In Reigns’ absence, WWE has shifted gears with the Bloodline and appears to have installed Solo Sikoa as the de facto leader of the faction and strengthened it with the arrival of Tama Tonga in recent weeks.
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Sage Paul Heyman has seemed increasingly worried about the wild direction Sikoa seems to be taking the Bloodline – even more so at Backlash thanks to the arrival of Tonga’s brother and former tag team partner, Tanga Loa.
Loa helped Tonga and Sikoa defeat Kevin Owens and Randy Orton, leaving fans in doubt that there is even more mileage in the Bloodline.
European crowds are loud – very loud
Despite speculation chilling WWE chairman Nick Khan that London could host WrestleMania in the near future, boss Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque has invited Mayor Sadiq Khan to discuss organizing the megashow – a notion that Levesque repeated during the post-show press conference. after Khan’s re-election.
The reason for this will be, in part, because of the incredible atmosphere that reigns in WWE during the Backlash shows in Europe, the latest in a long line of events played in front of an almost frenzied live audience.
With Clash at the Castle coming to Scotland later this year and Bash in Berlin heading to Germany soon after, it seems WWE knows it’s a good thing to keep Europe soft.
Jey Uso is ready for the summit
If there were any doubts about Jey Uso’s credentials as a top-tier WWE superstar, Saturday night’s Backlash probably put them to bed.
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His outing – a loss to Damian Priest in the World Heavyweight Championship match – was pretty lukewarm on its own, but there were enough telltale signs that the former tag team specialist is on the right track for more. big, big things.
Although the Backlash crowd was loud and boisterous throughout, they did not come out for Uso, and the scenes of his entrance were noted by Lévesque as among his highlights of the evening.
Jey has the looks, charisma and popularity to lead the WWE line. Maybe it’s time to start betting on it. Yet !
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