With such a large output of paid live events, WWE has a tall task in ensuring their big events don’t become oversaturated. Aside from the “big four” of Wrestlemania, Royal Rumble, Survivor Series, and Summerslam, the tertiary events are challenging to get as many fans to tune in. In 2023’s iteration of Backlash, however, it’s remembered fondly for its big fight feel for its hometown Puerto Rico talent, rambunctious crowd, and having the star power of Bad Bunny. In 2024, Backlash‘s card felt like a tad of an afterthought with just a handful of weeks to build, so did this PLE warrant a watch?

It’s always interesting tuning into a paid live event anytime that isn’t the usual 6 or 7 PM CST on a Saturday night, but WWE Backlash 2024 fit right into my Saturday perfectly. Having CM Punk and Big E in the preshow deliver some banter and deliberate in great spirits was a strong lead-up to the show that needed some extra hype.

Seeing The Bloodline in the PLE opener is a bit out of left field, but the card having so many title matches meant it had to make sense in that early slot. From the get-go and evident from the previous night’s Smackdown, this Lyon, France crowd was so loud that it was impossible not to notice from start to finish. Thankfully, they reacted favorably to every spot and made every moment feel huge.

While many WWE fans speculated that the recently-signed Jacob Fatu would debut into The Bloodline at WWE Backlash 2024, in a swerve, Tanga Loa (Camacho in a prior run) made the save at a crucial juncture in the barnstormer opening match for a Bloodline win.

I was afraid the follow-up match, a triple threat between Bayley, Tiffany Stratton, and Naomi, would see the crowd wane. However, this was not the case, as these women delivered an entertaining bout with Stratton getting some vital offense in to make her look like a real contender and not a fluke.

The storyline heading into WWE Backlash 2024 for Damian Priest vs. Jey Uso was Priest demanding his Judgement Day brethren not to interfere, as that would make him look like he needs them to win. To no surprise, when Finn Bálor and JD Mcdonagh did just that and Priest ended up retaining, it made sense for cracks in the Judgement Day to start to form for some juicy long-term storytelling.

The Women’s tag match to follow had about 5 minutes too much buildup and a big referee botch, but Jade Cargill woman-handling Kairi Sane in the final moments will be talked about for years to come.

There was no way Cody Rhodes was going to lose his championship in his first defense at WWE Backlash 2024. Still, AJ Styles certainly took him to the limit in a stellar defense that was undoubtedly better than the majority of Roman Reigns’ defenses that were marred by inevitable interference. With a red-hot crowd that never faltered and some solid booking, Backlash was a great middle-of-the-day watch that may spark serious interest in even more foreign markets for WWE to explore.

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WWE Backlash: France 2024

9

Score

9.0/10

Pros

• Best Crowd of All Time?
• Every Match Felt Important
• Low on Botches

Cons

• One Match Went Too Long