WWE BackLash 2025: John Cena Retains, Results & Reactions

Heading towards the match’s third act, the veterans started to show what separates them from today’s best ‘workers,’ and that vibe is a tough one to check. It was, to a degree, the same aura of ‘Michaels-Taker’ at Mania 25 in that these two men were able to match each other’s star power as it rose with the match.

The number of referees that went down was technically two, but each of them was taken out a number of times leading up to the finish. In one weird spot, WWE officials rushed down to check on the second ref (despite the first ref still down on the outside), and that prevented Orton from taking advantage of his huge momentum swing. Commentary made a comment about other refs having possibly ‘left for the night,’ and it was as if Orton heard the cheap excuse because he landed an RKO on SmackDown GM Nic Aldis and several other backstage guys like Jamie Nobel and Hurricane.

At one point, R-Truth, who has been peppered into backstage segments with Cena over the past couple of weeks, came out to stop Orton from delivering ‘the punt’ on Cena as promised. Truth took an RKO for his loyalty, allowing Cena to find his opening for a comeback.

Cena hit Orton with his now patented low blow before, once again, using the belt for the win and retention. It was an overbooked finish, but it also fit for a match of this magnitude and with this much on the line.

After Cena grabbed the mic to declare he ‘needs competition’ and not the fans, an interesting chain of events began to develop post-match. Still, he was seen looking perplexed and then getting emotional after exiting the ring as the crowd started chanting, “Thank you, Cena. If we didn’t know better, it almost seemed like Cena was starting to feel ‘guilty.’

Without any sign of direction for whatever is left of the 37 dates, one thing is certain: Cena’s playing the long game.

Jacob Fatu(c) vs. LA Knight vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest—U.S. Title

The first ten minutes of this segment were spent giving every competitor in the 4-way U.S. title match an entrance. They treated this stacked four-way with the individuality that each superstar deserved. In the match, each man got a chance to showcase offense.

The biggest surprise was Priest, after what has felt like months of bad bookings and flat performances, he was able to leave his mark on the match. Unfortunately, his biggest impression was left on McIntyre, which indicates their feud is not over after what felt like a fittingly violent end at Mania.

LA Knight also raised his own bar in the match, but it was the champion, Jacob Fatu, who looked like the ‘top guy’ in the ring. To be clear, the three challengers have proven they belong at the top of the card, but Fatu is confirming a ceiling that he’s long been placed under from his time on the indies and MLW.

Fatu landed in trouble late in the fight, but Solo Sikoa was there to ensure victory. However, Solo was not alone, and after debuting both Tongas and Fatu himself under his banner, he brought out Jeff Cobb of NJPW fame.

Cobb has been a beast on the indies for years, but his work in New Japan made him a prolific free agent for almost every wrestling company in the world. He has had offers to join the company in the past, but at this stage of his career, with the intro provided by Solo, it seems like the time is finally right.

The pair aided Jacob in retaining, but it was clear that he did not expect to see Cobb. Fatu had a confused look on his face and walked past both Solo and Cobb without uttering a word—though he did give them a very ‘hard look.’ Jacob has been gaining momentum and confidence from within WWE, and his need for Solo has shrunk, especially considering the number of injuries that led to the destruction of ‘The Bloodline: Solo Ed.”

With this edition, Solo has gained back some of that power he once willed and went to war with his family for, but where Cobb fits in all this remains to be known.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Penta—Intercontinental Title

Mysterio attempted to go on vacation immediately after winning the title. Instead, he was booked twice in singles action with Penta. Tonight’s match was better than the RAW schmoz, and Dom was able to keep up with Penta—getting the better of the luchador in a few sequences.

As scheduled, The Judgement Day interfered, but Balor, who has a very passive-aggressive relationship with Dom since Mania, seemed reluctant to help—at the very least, Finn did not express enthusiasm, initially. But in the end, Finn did the job by distracting the ref to allow Grande El Americano to land the headbutt with the ‘loaded mask.’

Dom was able to pick up the win, but the image of Finn, once again, on the outside of the faction spoke volumes. For Penta, the drama with Chad and his masked clone will almost surely mean the combination of Rey Fenix and Penta on RAW.

Gunther vs. Pat McAfee

It started off looking like the ‘squash’ was in, but McAfee needed to show his athleticism early to give it some semblance of a wrestling match. The narrative that started with Michael Cole running his mouth led to Pat’s throat being crushed. The storyline was a meta commentary on the media being silenced through intimidation—Gunther confronted Cole at the commentary desk on the ‘RAW after Mania’ for the language the longtime color guy used when describing his ‘choke out loss’ to Jey for the title at Mania.

The situation escalated and left Pat to take the chops tonight, but Cole made it clear that he was rooting for Pat and did not hide his biased views of Gunther. Cole would continue to scream into the mic and the ring as Gunther beat down Pat and played with his food. The commentating partner and friend of Pat, Cole, urged Gunther to ‘just pin’ Pat and get it over with—he would keep explaining the importance of ‘journalistic integrity’ while throwing his own out the window.

Even though it was Gunther who eventually dragged Cole into the ring, it was Cole who left his duties at the desk to ‘corner’ Pat for some reason. Gunther took a kick to the face when he set Cole up for a power bomb, but Gunther returned the favor to McAfee right away, leaving Cole to weasel his way out of the ring.

Then, in one of the most egregious moments in wrestling history, Cole interfered in the match by tripping Gunther with Pat in a suplex position. Cole did not stop there as he held down the boot of Gunther when Pat landed on him in a pinfall position—luckily, Gunther was able to kick out and Cole did not directly play a role in the outcome (in that case, termination would be appropriate).

Gunther got the win, and the cameraman got ‘the shot’ of Cole checking on his beaten down friend, both looking up at their monster—Gunther. To Pat’s credit, he showed some brief but bright spots, and, for Cole, the crowd actually cheered him on and chanted his name—proof of Gunther’s heat that fans would ignore such a disgusting move by a man paid to be balanced.

Lyra Valkyria (c) VS Becky Lynch—Women’s Intercontinental Title

The match was as forgettable as the buildup, and in a program that did not have the best start, the ending of the match leads us to believe that this program is not finished. Many assumed Becky would win the title, but Lyra was able to make the successful title defense in her first PLE with the title on the line. The action was not bad, and the story Lyra was able to tell of finally overcoming Becky’s shadow was a good kind of simple.

After the match, Becky threw the champ a post-fight beatdown, and the segment did its job as the ‘cooler’ for the night—a rare spot for Becky.