WWE Backlash is almost ready to ignite the fans of San Juan, Puerto Rico, but they’ll get a chance to see some of their favorite wrestlers — and the biggest recording artist in the world — a night ahead of time tonight on WWE SmackDown.
Bad Bunny was announced some time ago as the host of Backlash, which made all the sense in the world. But he’s been embroiled in some drama involving The Judgment Day since WrestleMania, and it all boiled over once Damian Priest put him through an announce table.
As tends to happen in WWE, Bad Bunny came looking for Priest with a kendo stick, and the two men ended up getting booked for a San Juan Street Fight for Saturday night. Before that takes place, we’ll see if Bad Bunny gets the final word on SmackDown.
Another superstar who figures to want to say his piece ahead of a big Backlash match is Cody Rhodes. What will the American Nightmare want to talk about ahead of his showdown with Brock Lesnar?
Matches? Yep, there have been a couple of those promoted for SmackDown as well. Shinsuke Nakamura will take on Karrion Kross in singles action, while the Viking Raiders take on Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows of The O.C. in a tag team match.
Neither of those jumps out as a main event, so figure we’ll get another prominent match added to the card during the show that will fill that spot and whip the crowd into a proper pre-Backlash frenzy.
WWE SmackDown results from San Juan:
- Rey Mysterio and the LWO hit the ring but are quickly joined by The Judgment Day, and San Juan hates Dominik Mysterio as much as any U.S. audience, and they end up agreeing to a mixed tag match before Dom gets in a cheap shot on his dad
- The O.C. def. The Viking Raiders by pinfall
- Michael Cole and Wade Barrett promote the World Heavyweight Championship tournament taking place next week
- Bianca Belair talks about how important SmackDown is to her before she’s interrupted by Damage CTRL; Bayley calls her conceited, and Belair gets assistance from Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez when it inevitably turns into a fight
#DamageCTRL just attacked the #WWERaw Women's Champion @BiancaBelairWWE ahead of her Title Match against @Iyo_SkyWWE tomorrow at #WWEBacklash!
Luckily the champ has some friends on #SmackDown… 😏 pic.twitter.com/9xidk1706l
— WWE (@WWE) May 6, 2023
- Karrion Kross delivers one last warning to Shinsuke Nakamura
- The Usos are getting psyched for their Backlash match, but Solo Sikoa just silently wraps his thumb before finally telling his brothers they better do their part
"Tomorrow I'mma do my part and all I know is, you two, you better do yours."@WWESoloSikoa had some WORDS for The @WWEUsos… 👀#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/MoB8TgRHhP
— WWE (@WWE) May 6, 2023
- Street Profits def. Imperium (Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci) by pinfall
- A lengthy hype video for the Cody Rhodes-Brock Lesnar match is shown
- “I don’t have any time to be scared of Brock Lesnar.” Rhodes hits the ring for his mic time, some of it in Spanish, and makes his case for calling Lesnar a gatekeeper while vowing to get back on track to finishing his story
LET'S GO! 😤😤😤@CodyRhodes is ready to TAKE DOWN #BrockLesnar, FINISH HIS STORY and claim his KINGDOM!
Can he do it tomorrow night at #WWEBacklash? #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/jbUxQTEq9j
— WWE (@WWE) May 6, 2023
- Nakamura has just one thing to say to Kross: Come on!
- Matt Riddle thinks he, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn have the Bloodline right where they want them for Backlash
- Shinsuke Nakamura def. Karrion Kross by pinfall
- A video package provides a closer look at the NXT talent drafted to SmackDown, including Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre, Cameron Grimes, Pretty Deadly and Grayson Waller
- Adam Pearce welcomes Cameron Grimes to SmackDown but their discussion is interrupted by the non-drafted Baron Corbin, and they end up agreeing to a match next week
- Zelina Vega and Rey Mysterio def. Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio by pinfall, only to be attacked by The Judgment Day right after the bell, but …
- … Bad Bunny leads the LWO to the rescue, though his kendo stick shots intended for Damian Priest are intercepted by Dom; Bad Bunny accepts and puts on an LWO shirt to end the show