Chris King’s WWE Backlash 2026 Takeaways

Chris King breaks down WWE Backlash 2026, featuring Jacob Fatu challenging Roman Reigns and more!

Chris King has gone back and rewatched WWE’s latest PLE Backlash and is dissecting the
matches. Bron Breakker looks to defeat Seth Rollins and prove he’s ready for the spotlight; Trick
Williams defends his United States Championship against Sami Zayn; Iyo Sky looks to defeat
her former mentor Asuka; and Jacob Fatu challenges Roman Reigns for the World Heavyweight
Championship in a family affair!

Seth Rollins VS. Bron Breakker

This match was orchestrated together so perfectly with Rollins utilizing his fast-paced offense to
begin the match and outsmart the young up-and-comer. Breakker was able to showcase his
insane strength at the perfect times, which kept his rival down.

The more Rollins kicks out, the more frustrated Breakker gets as he trash-talks his former Vision
leader. Breakker hit a stunning Frankensteiner off the top rope for a near fall.
‘The Visionary’ intercepted a massive spear on the outside with a nasty-looking superkick.
Breakker should not be able to move this fast as he blasts Rollins with a clothesline. The
veteran was setting up for The Stomp, but Breakker laid his head where he could only deliver a
stiff kick. Rollins tried to counter an attack, but his body couldn’t follow through. Rollins hit a
buckle bomb on his opponent. Breakker took out his opponent with a massive splash onto
Rollins over the announce table. The young upstart countering Rollins’s patented Superplex into
a Falcon’s Arrow of his own was incredible.

Breakker went to the wheel too many times as Rollins landed on his feet from another
Frankensteiner. Rollins has mastered the art of being able to counter a Spear into a pedigree
like no other. Logan Paul and Austin Theory tried to interfere, but The Visionary was prepared.
Breakker thought it was over with a massive spear. Rollins went for a Super Stomp, but it was
intercepted by a Spear. A huge Spear sealed the deal for the young up-and-comer!

• This was a great match with tons of drama and textbook wrestling. The veteran was
  trying to prove that the young upstart wasn’t ready for the main event. Breakker utilized
  his insane speed and freakish power to get the biggest win of his career. The
  interference by The Vision signifies that Rollins and The Street Profits will face off in a
  six-man tag team match in the near future. Under the mentorship of Paul Heyman,
  Breakker will be the main event of WrestleMania in the near future!

Trick Williams VS. Sami Zayn (United States Championship)

Trick Williams made his million-dollar entrance with the Tampa crowd chanting “Whoop That
Trick.” Everything this man touches turns to gold, including the gingerbread man’s funeral
segment on the go-home episode of Friday Night SmackDown.

The irate challenger tried to gain the advantage early, but Trick was not having it. Zayn rolled outside to stop the champion’s momentum, but it didn’t work. The challenger threw Trick headfirst onto the steel steps.

Trick continues to prove why he’s one of the fastest-rising superstars in a long time. A Blue
Thunder Bomb almost gave Zayn the victory, but only a two-count. He feigned an injury to
sucker the champion and hit him with a candy cane behind the referee’s back. Zayn continued
his descent into a full-fledged heel as he used more aggressive moves and even attacked Lil
Yachty on the outside. Trick countered another knee strike and delivered Trick Shot for the
victory.

• Trick successfully retained his United States Championship against a game Sami Zayn.
  He continues to prove why he’s the future of WWE. Zayn continues to portray a more
  aggressive character, and using cheap tactics to try and win the title screams “heel.”
  Despite Zayn saying that he has ride-or-die fans, the Tampa crowd was booing the hell
  out of him.
• Trick’s next title defense should be against Carmelo Hayes, who never got his rematch
  after losing the title to Zayn.

Danhausen & Minihausen VS. The Miz & Kit Wilson

Danhausen arrived in his Danhausen mobile and opened his cloning machine to reveal the
MiniHausen for this tag team match, as The Miz and Kit Wilson were already in the ring. The
MiniHausen is actually El Torito, who was the mascot for Los Matadores back in 2013. This was
a fun little match where, of course, we saw MiniHausen start things off with some surprising
luchador high-flying action. The heels got frustrated and beat down the little man until
Danhausen made the tag.

Despite not being in the match for more than a minute, DanHausen is out of breath. After some
quick offense, Miz and Wilson take the fight to their enemy on the outside. MiniHausen took
them both out with a mini suicide dive. Wilson threw MiniHausen back into the cloning machine,
which caused a plethora of MiniHausens to come out, which was hilarious. MiniHausen took out
Wilson on the outside, and DanHausen hit his signature Pump Kick for the victory!

• I’ve been saying this for years: everything The Miz touches turns to gold. His
  commitment to this DanHausen storyline has been incredible. He’s once again proved
  that he can make every angle/storyline fantastic and a must-see.
• I am quite impressed with how WWE has handled Danhausen over the last few months.
  His segments have been hilarious and very entertaining. I could easily see the new
  fan-favorite possibly winning a mid-card title by the end of the year or possibly at
  WrestleMania. I am a FanHausen of this DanHausen!

Iyo Sky VS. Asuka

Asuka has been portraying this maniacal and jealous heel over the past year. Playing an
integral part in Iyo Sky’s torn relationship with Kairi Sane. Unfortunately, due to her release, this
story is only being told by Sky and Asuka, but both Japanese superstars did not disappoint. This
was the case of anything you can do, I can do better. The mentor tried to silence her protégé in
their first PLE match.

Asuka played her role perfectly as the overconfident heel cutting off her opponent at every turn,
and Sky was the resilient babyface trying to put Asuka in her place. This is a MOTY candidate
that ended with Sky finally getting the best of her opponent and getting some justice for Kairi
wherever she is. Both superstars showed each other respect after an instant classic!

• I wish WWE could’ve gotten Kairi Sane for this beautiful storybook ending of this feud.
  She’s the missing piece of the puzzle, but Asuka and Iyo Sky told an incredible story
  together as mentor and protégé.
• This felt like a goodbye for Asuka, and days after her Instagram post, maybe it was. I’m
  not exactly sure where Sky goes from here. Maybe she gets into the Women’s World
  Championship picture and challenges Liv Morgan. Stephanie Vaquer will return soon,
  and there’s a perfect triple threat on the horizon!

John Cena Segment

• It’s always great to see the never-seen seventeen GOAT in the WWE, no matter what it
  is for. The John Cena Classic, being an annual event, will start off strong, but sadly, I
  fear the WWE universe will shit all over it. The new rising superstars of NXT facing the
  best superstars from the main roster has fantastic potential. I would like to see Mayson
  Rook VS. Kevin Owens, Tony DeAngelo VS. Seth Rollins, and Naruku VS. Shinsuke
  Nakamura. I’m excited that the fans decide the winner like a Cyber Sunday-esque event.

Roman Reigns VS. Jacob Fatu (World Heavyweight Championship)

Roman Reigns and Jacob Fatu had a brutal war over the top prize in professional wrestling. For
several weeks leading up to the PLE, ‘The Samoan Werewolf’ has obliterated ‘The Tribal Chief’
and made it look scarily easy. Fatu used The Tongan Death Grip to get his title shot at Backlash.
Everyone said that Reigns was going to beat the brakes off his opponent, but that wasn’t the
case. I’ve never seen anyone take this much damage and keep getting up.

Fatu took the world champion’s best and still kicked out at one after a devastating Spear. Reigns
had to resort to heel tactics as he took off the turnbuckle pad and slammed his challenger
headfirst and then hit another massive Spear for the victory. Immediately afterwards, though,
The Samoan Werewolf annihilated his cousin and anyone else in his path, including Adam
Pearce and the security team. Fatu stood over an unconscious Reigns, posing with the World
Heavyweight Championship to close the show!

• We all knew Reigns wasn’t losing his title in his first title defense, but this was the perfect
  ending to protect Fatu. The champion having to resort to nefarious tactics shows just
  how dangerous his opponent is and how desperate Reigns was to retain the world title.
• This booking also keeps the door wide open for an impending battle in the near future,
  possibly at Clash in Italy. After being humiliated by Fatu, I can see a major stipulation
  being added to their next family war.