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|match1 = [[Bobby Lashley]] (c) (with [[MVP]]) vs. [[Drew McIntyre]] vs. [[Braun Strowman]]
|match1 = [[Bobby Lashley]] (c) (with [[MVP]]) vs. [[Drew McIntyre]] vs. [[Braun Strowman]]
|stip1 = [[Triple threat match]] for the [[WWE Championship]]<ref>{{Cite web|first=Michael|last=Burdick|title=WWE Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Braun Strowman|url=https://www.wwe.com/shows/backlash/bobby-lashley-drew-mcintyre-braun-strowman-wwe-title|work=[[WWE]]|date=April 12, 2021|access-date=April 13, 2021}}</ref>
|stip1 = [[Triple threat match]] for the [[WWE Championship]]<ref>{{Cite web|first=Michael|last=Burdick|title=WWE Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Braun Strowman|url=https://www.wwe.com/shows/backlash/bobby-lashley-drew-mcintyre-braun-strowman-wwe-title|work=[[WWE]]|date=April 12, 2021|access-date=April 13, 2021}}</ref>
|time1 =
|time1 =
|match2 = [[Bianca Belair]] (c) vs. [[Bayley (wrestler)|Bayley]]
|match2 = [[Bianca Belair]] (c) vs. [[Bayley (wrestler)|Bayley]]
|stip2 = [[Singles match (professional wrestling)|Singles match]] for the [[WWE SmackDown Women's Championship]]<ref>{{Cite web|last=WWE.com Staff|title=SmackDown Women's Champion Bianca Belair vs. Bayley|url=https://www.wwe.com/shows/backlash/2021/bianca-belair-bayley|work=[[WWE]]|date=April 23, 2021|access-date=April 23, 2021}}</ref>
|stip2 = [[Singles match (professional wrestling)|Singles match]] for the [[WWE SmackDown Women's Championship]]<ref>{{Cite web|last=WWE.com Staff|title=SmackDown Women's Champion Bianca Belair vs. Bayley|url=https://www.wwe.com/shows/backlash/2021/bianca-belair-bayley|work=[[WWE]]|date=April 23, 2021|access-date=April 23, 2021}}</ref>
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|match6 = [[Damian Priest]] vs. [[The Miz]]
|match6 = [[Damian Priest]] vs. [[The Miz]]
|stip6 = [[Lumberjack match]]<ref>{{Cite web|last=WWE.com Staff|title=Damian Priest vs. The Miz (Lumberjack Match)|url=https://www.wwe.com/shows/backlash/2021/damian-priest-vs-the-miz|work=[[WWE]]|date=December 10, 2021|access-date=May 11, 2021}}</ref>
|stip6 = [[Lumberjack match]]<ref>{{Cite web|last=WWE.com Staff|title=Damian Priest vs. The Miz (Lumberjack Match)|url=https://www.wwe.com/shows/backlash/2021/damian-priest-vs-the-miz|work=[[WWE]]|date=December 10, 2021|access-date=May 11, 2021}}</ref>
|time6 = }}
|time6 =
}}


==Notes==
==Notes==

Revision as of 07:45, 15 May 2021

WrestleMania Backlash
File:Backlash WM37 logo--41d6e3d1b7267a9f1a072f956e02cd4e.png
Promotional poster featuring Bobby Lashley, Bianca Belair, Roman Reigns, and Rhea Ripley
PromotionWWE
Brand(s)Raw
SmackDown
DateMay 16, 2021
CityTampa, Florida
VenueYuengling Center
Attendance0 (behind closed doors)[Note 1]
WWE Network event chronology
← Previous
WrestleMania 37 		Next →
NXT TakeOver: In Your House
Backlash chronology
← Previous
2020 		Next →
—

WrestleMania Backlash is an upcoming professional wrestling pay-per-view and WWE Network event produced by WWE for their Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. It is scheduled to take place on May 16, 2021 and will be broadcast from the WWE ThunderDome, hosted at the Yuengling Center in Tampa, Florida. It will be the 16th event in the Backlash chronology and will be WWE's first pay-per-view to present the ThunderDome from the Yuengling Center during the COVID-19 pandemic, following a four-month residency at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. The 2021 event returns Backlash to its original position as the post-WrestleMania PPV, as the event was known for from 1999 to 2009. It was in turn renamed to "WrestleMania Backlash."

Production

Background

Backlash is a recurring pay-per-view (PPV) and WWE Network event that was established by WWE in 1999 (then known as the World Wrestling Federation). The event continued annually as the post-WrestleMania event until 2009, which was the final event until 2016. It was brought back that year following the reintroduction of the brand extension, where WWE again split its roster between the Raw and SmackDown brands where wrestlers are exclusively assigned to perform; the 2016 event also ended its previous tradition of being the post-WrestleMania pay-per-view. The event then continued annually until 2018 when it was replaced by Stomping Grounds the following year,[1][2] but was reinstated in 2020.[3] The 2021 Backlash was initially scheduled for June 20,[4] however, during WrestleMania 37, it was revealed that Backlash would take place on May 16—switching dates with that year's Money in the Bank—and would be titled "WrestleMania Backlash," thus returning the event to its original position as the post-WrestleMania PPV, and being the first Backlash to have an altered title. It will be the 16th event in the Backlash chronology and feature wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brands.[5][6][7]

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Main article: WWE ThunderDome

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic that began affecting the industry in mid-March 2020, WWE had to present the majority of its programming from a behind closed doors set. Initially, Raw and SmackDown's television shows and PPVs were done at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.[8] A limited number of Performance Center trainees and friends and family members of the wrestlers were later utilized to serve as the live audience.[9][10] In late August, these programs were moved to a bio-secure bubble called the WWE ThunderDome. The select live audience was no longer utilized as the bubble allows fans to attend the events virtually for free and be seen on the nearly 1,000 LED boards within the arena. Additionally, the ThunderDome utilizes various special effects to further enhance wrestlers' entrances, and arena audio is mixed with that of the chants from the virtual fans.[11] After being hosted at Orlando's Amway Center,[12] the ThunderDome was relocated to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida in December.[13][14]

Due to the start of the 2021 Tampa Bay Rays season, as Tropicana Field is the home venue of the Tampa Bay Rays, on March 24, 2021, WWE announced that they would relocate the ThunderDome to the Yuengling Center, located on the campus of the University of South Florida in Tampa, which began with the April 12 episode of Raw. Subsequently, WrestleMania Backlash will be the first WWE pay-per-view produced from the ThunderDome at the Yuengling Center.[15][16]

Storylines

The show will include matches that result from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portray heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results are predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands,[17][18] while storylines are produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown.[19]

At WrestleMania 37, Bobby Lashley defeated Drew McIntyre to retain the WWE Championship.[20] On the following night's Raw, Lashley's manager MVP declared that no one could defeat Lashley. McIntyre interrupted and wanted another opportunity at Lashley, claiming that he would have defeated him if MVP had not distracted him and prevented him from performing the Claymore Kick on Lashley. Braun Strowman and Randy Orton then interrupted and stated their respective cases to challenge for the title. WWE official Adam Pearce then scheduled a triple threat match between McIntyre, Strowman, and Orton with the winner facing Lashley for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania Backlash, which was won by McIntyre.[21] On the April 26 episode, Strowman challenged McIntyre to a match with the added stipulation that if Strowman won, he would be added to the championship match at WrestleMania Backlash. Strowman defeated McIntyre thus the championship match became a triple threat match.[22]

At WrestleMania 37, Bianca Belair won the SmackDown Women's Championship.[20] On the following episode of SmackDown, The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford, the latter of whom is Belair's real-life husband) threw Belair a championship celebration. Later, Bayley challenged Belair for the title.[23] The following week, the championship match was scheduled for WrestleMania Backlash.[24]

At WrestleMania 37, Rhea Ripley defeated Asuka to win the Raw Women's Championship.[6] The two had a rematch the following night on Raw, however, the match ended in a no-contest after interference from a returning Charlotte Flair, who attacked Asuka. Prior to the match, Flair, who had been off TV for the past month, returned that night after missing her first WrestleMania since WrestleMania 32 in 2016.[21] The following week, Flair lost to Asuka thanks to a distraction from Ripley. Following the match, an irate Flair attacked the referee.[25] Adam Pearce subsequently suspended Flair, however, fellow WWE official Sonya Deville, who primarily appears on SmackDown, reinstated Flair the following week after Flair made a public apology on Raw.[22] On the May 3 episode, another rematch between Ripley and Asuka for the Raw Women's Championship was scheduled for WrestleMania Backlash. However, Deville allowed Flair a chance to present a proposal and after hearing Flair's case, Deville added Flair to the championship match to make it a triple threat match.[26]

On the April 16 episode of SmackDown, Universal Champion Roman Reigns, along with Paul Heyman and Jey Uso, boasted about retaining his championship at WrestleMania 37. Reigns was then interrupted by Cesaro, but before he could speak, Reigns, Jey, and Heyman left the ring and departed backstage. Later, Cesaro confronted Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville about facing Reigns that night, even as a non-title match. However, instead of Reigns, Cesaro faced Jey in the main event, which ended by disqualification when Seth Rollins, who Cesaro had defeated at WrestleMania, interfered and attacked Cesaro, proclaiming that their rivalry was not over.[23] On the special Throwback SmackDown on May 7, Cesaro was scheduled to face Rollins with the added stipulation that if Cesaro won, he would earn a Universal Championship match at WrestleMania Backlash. Cesaro defeated Rollins once again, securing the championship match. Also that episode, Jey's brother Jimmy returned from injury, last appearing at Hell in a Cell in October 2020, and although conflicted at first, particularly because of what Reigns did to them at Hell in a Cell, Jimmy also eventually aligned with Reigns.[27]

Matches

Note: As WWE typically does not reveal the order of the match card before an event, the matches are in order of when they were announced.

No.Matches*Stipulations
1Bobby Lashley (c) (with MVP) vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Braun StrowmanTriple threat match for the WWE Championship[28]
2Bianca Belair (c) vs. BayleySingles match for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship[29]
3Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Asuka vs. Charlotte FlairTriple threat match for the WWE Raw Women's Championship[30]
4The Dirty Dawgs (Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode) (c) vs. Rey Mysterio and Dominik MysterioTag team match for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship[31]
5Roman Reigns (c) (with Paul Heyman) vs. CesaroSingles match for the WWE Universal Championship[32]
6Damian Priest vs. The MizLumberjack match[33]
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match
*Card subject to change

Notes

  1. ^ The event will be held without a paying audience due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, though it will feature a live crowd of virtual fans via WWE's ThunderDome viewing experience.

References

  1. ^ Currier, Joseph (April 29, 2019). "WWE Stomping Grounds PPV set for Tacoma, Washington". F4W Online. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  2. ^ "WWE Announces "Stomping Grounds" Pay-Per-View For June, Possibly Replacing Backlash". Fightful Wrestling. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  3. ^ Powell, Jason (May 10, 2020). "WWE Money in the Bank results: Powell's review of the Climb The Corporate Ladder MITB matches, Drew McIntyre vs. Seth Rollins for the WWE Championship, Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt for the WWE Universal Championship, Bayley vs. Tamina for the Smackdown Women's Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  4. ^ Johnson, Mike (April 6, 2021). "WWE MONEY IN THE BANK, BACKLASH 2021 PPVS WILL BE..." PWInsider. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  5. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (April 11, 2021). "WWE Announces WrestleMania Backlash For May". Fightful. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  6. ^ a b Powell, Jason (April 11, 2021). "WrestleMania 37 results: Powell's live review of night two with Roman Reigns vs. Edge vs. Daniel Bryan in a Triple Threat for the WWE Universal Championship, Asuka vs. Rhea Ripley for the Raw Women's Championship, Big E vs. Apollo Crews in a Nigerian Drum Fight for the IC Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  7. ^ Nason, Josh (April 11, 2021). "WWE announces 'WrestleMania Backlash' for May 16". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  8. ^ Johnson, Mike (March 21, 2020). "WWE TAPING UPDATES". PWInsider. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  9. ^ Casey, Connor (May 25, 2020). "WWE Fans Are Thrilled to See Crowds Back on WWE Raw". ComicBook.com. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  10. ^ Oestriecher, Blake (June 17, 2020). "WWE Live Events With Fans Could Reportedly Return Very Soon". Forbes. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  11. ^ "WWE introducing new state-of-the-art viewing experience with WWE ThunderDome". WWE. August 17, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  12. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (August 17, 2020). "WWE Announces ThunderDome Arena; Enhanced Fan Experience, Residency At Amway Center; First Look Video Shown". Fightful. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  13. ^ "WWE ThunderDome will head to Tampa Bay's Tropicana Field beginning Friday, Dec. 11". WWE. November 19, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  14. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (November 19, 2020). "WWE ThunderDome Moving To Tropicana Field On December 11". Fightful. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  15. ^ Williams, Randall (2021-03-24). "WWE Moves ThunderDome to USF's Yuengling Center". Sportico.com. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
  16. ^ "WWE ThunderDome takes over Yuengling Center". WWE. March 24, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  17. ^ Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  18. ^ "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on February 26, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  19. ^ Steinberg, Brian (May 25, 2016). "WWE's 'Smackdown' Will Move To Live Broadcast On USA (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on May 26, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  20. ^ a b Powell, Jason (April 10, 2021). "WrestleMania 37 results: Powell's live review of night one featuring Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair for the Smackdown Women's Championship, Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods vs. AJ Styles and Omos for the Raw Tag Titles, Bad Bunny and Damian Priest vs The Miz and John Morrison". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  21. ^ a b Powell, Jason (April 12, 2021). "4/12 WWE Raw Results: Powell's live review of the night after WrestleMania 37, Rhea Ripley vs. Asuka for the Raw Women's Championship, Miz TV with Maryse, Firefly Funhouse, new broadcast team, new venue". Pro Wrestling Dot net. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  22. ^ a b Powell, Jason (April 26, 2021). "4/26 WWE Raw Results: Powell's live review of Drew McIntyre and Braun Strowman vs. Mace and T-Bar, Asuka, Naomi, and Lana vs. Rhea Ripley, Nia Jax, and Shayna Baszler, Damian Priest, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods vs. The Miz, Elias, and Jaxson Ryker". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
  23. ^ a b Powell, Jason (April 16, 2021). "4/16 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review of the WrestleMania 37 fallout show with champions Roman Reigns and Bianca Belair, Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler vs. The Street Profits for the Smackdown Tag Titles, Rey Mysterio vs. Otis". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  24. ^ Barnett, Jake (April 23, 2021). "4/23 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review of Apollo Crews defending the Intercontinental Championship, Cesaro and Daniel Bryan vs. Seth Rollins and Jey Uso, the build to WrestleMania Backlash". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  25. ^ Powell, Jason (April 19, 2021). "4/19 WWE Raw Results: Powell's live review of Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka, Randy Orton vs. Riddle, The Viking Raiders vs. Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin, the continued build to WrestleMania Backlash". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  26. ^ Powell, Jason (May 3, 2021). "5/3 WWE Raw Results: Powell's live review of AJ Styles and Omos vs. Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods for the Raw Tag Titles, Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler vs. Naomi and Lana for the WWE Women's Tag Titles, Bobby Lashley facing Braun Strowman or Drew McIntyre". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  27. ^ Powell, Jason (May 7, 2021). "5/7 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review of the throwback edition featuring Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro, and Rey Mysterio vs. Dolph Ziggler". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  28. ^ Burdick, Michael (April 12, 2021). "WWE Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Braun Strowman". WWE. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  29. ^ WWE.com Staff (April 23, 2021). "SmackDown Women's Champion Bianca Belair vs. Bayley". WWE. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  30. ^ Burdick, Michael (May 3, 2021). "Raw Women's Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair (Triple Threat Match)". WWE. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  31. ^ Burdick, Michael (May 7, 2021). "SmackDown Tag Team Champions Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode vs. Rey Mysterio & Dominik Mysterio". WWE. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  32. ^ Burdick, Michael (May 7, 2021). "Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Cesaro". WWE. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  33. ^ WWE.com Staff (December 10, 2021). "Damian Priest vs. The Miz (Lumberjack Match)". WWE. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
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