WWE Backlash 2026 Review, Highlights and Grades: Danhausen Wasted Our Time

WWE Backlash took place on Saturday, May 9, 2026, live on ESPN Unlimited, at the Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida. WrestleMania 42 was in the books, as the fans witnessed five new champions in Roman Reigns, Liv Morgan, Rhea Ripley, Trick Williams, and Becky Lynch as well as two surprise returns in Bron Breakker and Paige. Night 2 was definitely better than Night 1, as the only match that felt WrestleMania worthy that entire weekend was CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns.

Now that the hype has died down a bit, WWE decided to phone it in with a follow-up Backlash PLE that featured five matches, which is a “significant” upgrade from the usual four matches on B-level PLEs. WWE was really throwing caution to the wind and breaking the fourth wall here. Those fives matches were: Bron Breakker vs. Seth Rollins, Trick Williams (c) vs. Sami Zayn, Danhausen & Mystery Partner vs. The Miz & Kit Wilson, Iyo Sky vs Asuka, and Roman Reigns (c) vs. Jacob Fatu.

WWE is now on the road to Clash in Italy with one roadblock at Saturday Night Main Event XLIV in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Before getting to those events on Memorial Day Weekend, it is important to cover the biggest event that already occurred in May, especially after that “historic” John Cena “Cyber Sunday” Classic Announcement. With that being said, it is now time for the WWE Backlash 2026 Review, starting with Bron Breakker vs. Seth Rollins, which was an absolute show stealer.

Bron Breakker vs. Seth Rollins – Vision Rivalry

Result: Bron Breakker blindsided Seth Rollins with Vision interference

Bron Breakker and Seth Rollins had the best long term storyline and best match for the entire evening. They had one noticeable botch in this match but they improvised quite well and had impeccable chemistry. The interferences by the Vision were expected and assured that Breakker nefariously defeated Seth Rollins to protect Rollins in defeat after he already lost to Gunther at WrestleMania. Breakker really needed this victory to solidify his spot in the main event scene, so this was the right call.

This was solid booking all around, and this trilogy will get even more interesting this summer when the Street Profits get involved after targeting Austin Theory and Logan Paul for the World Tag Titles. They will need Seth Rollins’ help to win the tag titles and they could be an insurance policy to assure that Rollins gets his lick back against Breakker this summer. WWE was smart to start the show off hot with this banger, but the show gradually sank like the Titanic after this incredible match.

Rating (Grade): 4.5 Stars (A-)

Trick Williams vs. Sami Zayn – U.S. Title

Result: Trick Williams Whooped Sami Zayn To Retained The U.S. Title

Trick Williams and Sami Zayn executed a double turn of sorts in their feud. They executed that turn with the “Gingerbread Man” as the intermediary, as Zayn felt he was not be taken seriously with Trick’s antics. Their match here was a lot longer and better than their match at WrestleMania. Although it was questionable that Zayn did not get a victory in this feud to solidify his heel turn, WWE did well by embracing the heat Zayn was getting and capitalizing on the popularity that Trick was garnering.

It’s quite ironic that WWE booked two of the best matches on the card for free on ESPN2. Most of the fans could have stopped watching after this match and not pay a dime for Backlash. However, some fans probably took the bait and thought the show would get better if they paid the $30 subscription for ESPN Unlimited. If they thought that, they were truly in for a rude awakening because the next match was an absolute disaster. They really got tricked for the rest of the night (pun intended).

Rating (Grade): 4.0 Stars (B+)

Danhausen & Mystery vs. The Miz & Kit Wilson – Bathroom Break

Result: Danhausen & Minihausen (???) clowned The Miz and Kit Wilson

Remember when everyone was trying to figure out who was in that mystery crate at Elimination Chamber back in February? Most fans thought it would be a big name like Chris Jericho when he was a free agent, The Rock since he has some unfinished storylines, or maybe even Stone Cold Steve Austin with his beer bottles. Instead, WWE stretched out that mystery to debut Danhausen. The fans were disappointed, and WWE decided it would be a good idea to tease another mystery with Danhausen.

Danhuasen was doing “Tom and Jerry” skits with The Miz and Kit Wilson for weeks to hype up a tag match that should not even be on a PLE. However, the fact that it was on a PLE made fans think that Danhausen’s mystery tag partner would be a big star like Oba Femi who was feuding with Miz and Kit Wilson this year, Royce Keys who has history with Danhausen from AEW, or even his best friend, CM Punk. Instead, Danhausen entered a clone machine and brought back El Torito.

Remember when El Torito was in a WeeLC match with Hornswoggle? When the fans witnessed this reveal at Backlash, they probably wanted to go “wee wee wee” all the way home because this was absolutely ridiculous. Imagine teasing and overhyping mysteries like this and expecting the intelligence of the fans to not be insulted? There is time for fun and games in pro wrestling, but putting this disaster on a PLE instead of a SmackDown is as egregious as American Idol without Simon Cowell.

Rating (Grade): 1.0 Star (F)

Iyo Sky vs. Asuka – Kabuki Warriors Rivalry

Result: Iyo Sky humbled Asuka for Kairi Sane

There should be more women’s matches on this show, but the only women’s match on the card was not enough to save this show. The fans already got their energy drained from that bathroom break and had to go into this match with a bad mood. Like Breakker vs. Rollins, this match between Iyo Sky and Asuka has a compelling long term storyline that involved Kairi Sane. The only unfortunate aspect of this match is that Kairi Sane was fired by WWE and was not even here for this match.

The fans were preoccupied with hijacking this match with “We Want Kairi Sane” signs to the point that the magic these two created in the ring lacked the sugar and spice that would have made everything nice. Granted, the spitting of the mist and the deflection from Iyo Sky was a nice touch to the match and their chemistry produced a decent match. However, the unceremonious firing of Kairi put a damper on this match and the payoff fans were looking for should have been in her favor.

Rating (Grade): 3.5 Stars (B-)

Roman Reigns vs. Jacob Fatu – World Heavyweight Title

Result: Roman Reigns buried Jacob Fatu to retain the World Heavyweight Title

Roman Reigns is probably the worst World Heavyweight Champion in history. How did WWE go from a memorable CM Punk title run to a rehashing of the Bloodline story from 2021? Nobody wants to see Jacob Fatu “fall in line” and become a sidekick in The Bloodline, like the Usos. There are so many positive platitudes that could be attributed to the Bloodline storyline in the WWE, but it ran its course five years ago and has become as stale as a moldy bread on a filthy kitchen counter.

The Usos promised to be singles stars, be their own men, and become leaders of the locker room who don’t have to follow Roman’s orders to succeed. Yet, they hypocritically did the opposite of what they set out to do, as they are back to being the Tribal Chief’s spineless subordinates. CM Punk pointed out that Roman always needed help to handle business. Roman defeated Punk clean at ‘Mania without help yet hypocritically went right back to recruiting the Usos on the Raw after ‘Mania.

The antithetical pivots in this storyline have become completely asinine and come across as a contrived methodology to stretch out a profitable storyline that has already lost its steam. As for this match, seeing Roman’s usual five moves of doom and a plethora of Samoan Drops is not entertaining. It’s boring, and WWE should be ashamed of themselves for relegating to what is safe and established instead of taking risks on fresh talent and rising stars. This main event was average, at best.

Rating (Grade): 2.5 Stars (C-)

May 9, 2026 WWE Backlash Results:

• Bron Breakker defeated Seth Rollins via pin-fall with the Spear, thanks to nefarious interferences from The Vision.
• Trick Williams retained the U.S. Title against Sami Zayn via pin-fall with the Trick Shot.
• Danhausen & Minihausen defeated The Miz & Kit Wilson in a bathroom break,
• Iyo Sky humbled Asuka for Kairi Sane and defeated her via pin-fall with the Moonsault.
• John Cena announces a “historic” John Cena Classic Tournament
• Roman Reigns defeated Jacob Fatu via pin-fall with the Spear, retaining the World Heavyweight Title.

If you’re not down with just that and would like even more WWE PLE Coverage from Mark Justice, check out more of his articles right here on LTW, on Last Word on Sports (LWOS), and subscribe to his popular YouTube channel by clicking HERE.