WWE Backlash France 2024 review: Il Est Vraiment Phénoménal La La La La

Now that the dust has settled on WrestleMania XL and our new era is underway, we head to Lyon, France for the first ever WWE PLE in France and on the evidence of this crowd certainly not the last! The groundwork is set, the WWE Draft Rosters have been set and this event is the start of our Post-Mania season but after the loud and passionate Lyon crowd literally shook the building at Smackdown the night before, might we expect the same energy and atmosphere tonight? Oui!!

I cannot remember ever seeing a crowd this consistently red hot, it was an all timer audience making everything going on in the ring even better with their undying chants, love and excitement! It was incredible to witness, and they were into absolutely everything this weekend (and that includes The Final Testament on Smackdown, despite some on the internet doing their best to bury Karrion Kross and his stable, including some so called journalists too… Pathétique).

Anyway, was the action itself worthy of this audience? Well, let’s dive into Backlash France.

The show opens with shots of beautiful Lyon, while we see all our main eventers arriving at the building earlier today, as the commentators hype up the card. We also have French commentators Christophe Agius and Philippe Chereau at ringside, who are huge superstars to the French crowd and the chant after every two count the crowd does apparently is inspired by their catchphrase. Nice to see this glimpse into another audience’s viewing experience!

Before the first math even got underway and after the earth shaking entrances of Kevin Owens and especially Randy Orton, the action kicked off with an all out brawl breaking out among Orton & Owens and The Bloodline, aka Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga, in their new ruthless version of the group, which seems out of control and Paul Heyman sells the danger and chaos beautifully. I digress, officials tried separating these warriors but barely could and Smackdown GM Nick Aldis came out and made this a Street Fight, so off we go officially… 

1. Street Fight Tag Team Match

The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga) w/ Paul Heyman vs. Randy Orton and Kevin Owens

Starting off as an arena-spanning brawl, before they moved back to ringside to use some weapons, this street fight was anarchy from the off and Owens/Orton absolutely kicked the stuffing out of The Bloodline for the opening stretch, before a Solo samoan drop through a table left Orton down and out and brought the merciless Bloodline back into the match. This was a fierce and bruising street fight with some hard knocks and spots, particularly in that climactic top rope avalanche Fisherman’s Buster from Owens on Tonga onto chairs set up in the ring. It seemed all over, that is until Tonga’s brother Tanga Loa (known to some WWE audiences previously as Camacho) made his (re)debut to break up the pin, flooring both Owens and Orton with steel steps and leaving Owens defenceless to Sikoa’s samoan spike. 1-2-3, Bloodline win. Very enjoyable opener that was a bone-breaking start to the show, this feral splinter group Bloodline story is the most refreshing thing they could have done with this faction. Nicely done and Heyman looks genuinely petrified of his new masters!

2. Triple Threat Match for the WWE Women’s Championship

Bayley (c) vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Naomi

The crowd were red hot for Bayley, who was bound to get her first successful defence in here and it was a good back and forth match between these three women. Tiffany Stratton is clearly being primed to be the next big women’s superstar and had a decent showing here, while Naomi is getting more time to glow than ever before. In the end though Bayley would not be denied, and after a fun encounter, she got the win with a rather old school move countering Naomi’s cradle attempt for the pinfall win of her own. Afterwards, Naomi and Bayley hugged in a display of sportsmanship. Good match. 

Backstage Jey Uso prepares and The Bloodline walk by looking at him, as a bewildered Heyman just looks on. Nothing is said.

3. WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match

Damian Priest (c) vs. Jey Uso

After that unfortunate Mania match with Jimmy, Jey Uso’s star has in no way diminished, what an ovation he received here! The crowd were waving their arms with their phones lit and it made for a real spectacle on Jey’s entrance. As much as I like Damian Priest, for shock value, it may have been worth giving Jey a win here because this was a real happening. Nevertheless, Damian’s victory was inevitable and deserved to be fair because he has worked hard to get to this point. The match redeemed Jey’s Mania slip up, and despite a plethora of super kicks and back and forth strikes, it never slipped into egregious territory. This was an enjoyable title bout, with lots of near falls for both men, and after interference by JD McDonagh and Finn Balor, Damian still could not keep Jey down. Until a south of heaven chokeslam from the turnbuckle was all she wrote. I enjoyed this, it may have followed formula in some respects but the crowd’s energy was infectious and both guys delivered some back and forth heavy hitting action that kept it flowing. Also, the aftermath with JD and Finn attempting a post match beatdown only for Damian to frustratingly break it up and tell them off, suggests this group’s dissension is building. 

We have more shots of the gorgeous Lyon, as a QR Code quickly pops up, suggesting we sadly won’t be getting Uncle Howdy and his rumoured Wyatt 6 faction tonight. Disappointing to me because this crowd would have given them a monumental pop, that I’m not sure can be replicated! Still, looking forward to when the day comes, and the code opened up some more unsettling clues as to who is involved and confirmed a new group’s existence. Happy to see Bray Wyatt’s vision continue. And, as the French crowd chanted during Smackdown, we can all once again say, “Thank You Bray”.

In the ring Philippe Chereau announces in French that this show has broken the record for the largest gate in WWE History for an arena show, which seems just wild to me but my word this crowd deserves to enjoy every minute of it all, with the aura they have given this show!!

4. WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Match

Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill vs. The Kabuki Warriors (Kairi Sane and Asuke) (c)

In execution this was perhaps the weakest match on the card, as there were some slip ups and miscommunications along the way but all four women worked incredibly hard to keep the momentum going and ultimately I think they were successful. Again the end result was probably obvious but the reigning champions The Kabuki Warriors did not look like pushovers here and gave this new superhero-like powerhouse duo all they could handle and more. Bianca Belair was the match’s glue and kept everything going nicely, while Jade Cargill just has that superstar vibe and this title win here will be so beneficial for her to keep building on, in fact she looked great in this match and dished off some new moves and keeps improving in the ring. Enjoyable and did what it needed to. I personally far preferred this match, to the six-woman Mania match, and after winning with a KOD slam on Asuke on top of Kairi Sane, Bianca and Cargill might just give these often overlooked titles some much needed star power and prestige going forward.

5. Undisputed WWE Championship Match

AJ Styles vs. Cody Rhodes (c)

This match was entirely booked off of pure talent. And yet both men in the run up have done their best to give it some heat, hinting at their Bullet Club past in the process. Now, I really don’t mean this as a knock on AJ Styles but sometimes “dream matches” WWE have set up with Styles don’t quite seem to have come off (Shinsuke Nakamura at WrestleMania 34, Orton at WrestleMania 35) but I always think people are too nitpicky sometimes and hopefully this match will not only prove his doubters wrong but those already claiming Cody Rhodes’ title run is a bust wrong too (a lot of people still recovering from title Stockholm Syndrome we have had the last three years!). This was, pun intended, phenomenal. This match far exceeded expectation and was a genuinely thrilling encounter between a heart-driven champion and a skilled professional determined to prove something. Cody even unleashed an old Stardust reference here. AJ delivered his greatest performance in some time (again not a knock on him, more on his previous booking under the last regime), these two were give near 30-minutes and made use of every second with a barnstorming title main event that was escalated even further by the blistering crowd and their energy! In the end, after so many turns of momentum, Rhodes cinched the victory with a Cross Rhodes. A refreshing main event title match in every way, fast-paced, with a single finisher finish meaning something, and – for the first time in nearly two years – a main event title match that did not have any interference. A new era indeed. 

Overall, Backlash France could have been a really bad show and benefitted tremendously from this atmosphere. But thankfully it was a great PLE top to bottom. True there was little in way of surprises and the five-match cards may not be for everyone, and I am personally disappointed that tonight wasn’t the night for Uncle Howdy and his mysterious rumoured Wyatt 6 faction to appear because this crowd would have given them one hell of an ovation. Still, despite being able to predict the card, the ring work was brilliant and there was not one major misstep on this show. The main event was particularly stellar and perhaps a modern classic, and proof that Cody is the man and AJ’s ability is showing no signs of diminishing. I really enjoyed the show and it kept up the pace nicely, with the crowd making everything feel major. Like Puerto Rico last year, this was another international bobby dazzling Backlash. Vive La France!

Next up, we resurrect the King of the Ring, and indeed crown a second queen, heading to Saudi Arabia for King and Queen Of The Ring at the end of the month! Could be a promising tournament this year. Also fingers crossed we have someone to say Howdy to next time!