Jacob Fatu lost to Roman Reigns at WWE Backlash, but a statement was made

The stakes were high in WWE’s Backlash premium live event. Jacob Fatu looked to make a statement against Roman Reigns, Trick Williams hoped to prove he wasn’t a fluke, and The Miz and Kit Wilson tried to escape a “curse.”

For the most part, Backlash went as planned. Reigns defeated Fatu to retain the World Heavyweight Championship, but took a vicious beating after the match ended. Williams was defending the United States Championship against Sami Zayn when the challenger was distracted by Lil Yachty during the match.

The WWE Universe was abuzz with who Danhausen’s mystery partner would be. Wilson and The Miz watched as Mini-hausen emerged from a “cloning machine” to provide backup for the “Very Nice, Very Evil” superstar. Danhausen got a whole heap of help from a couple of Mini-hausens throughout the match. In the end, it was Danhausen who scored a pin on The Miz.

Meanwhile, Bron Breaker picked up one of the biggest wins of his career when he defeated Seth Rollins. Breaker hit Rollins with a torpedo spear at the end of a hard-fought match.

Then there was the Iyo Sky-Asuka match

ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!

A new chapter

Iyo Sky and Asuka arguably had the match of the night at Backlash. The bad blood that had simmered between the two competitors reached a boiling point. Asuka had painted Sky with her poison mist in a pre-match confrontation.

But it was Sky who would get the better of Asuka. Two bullet train attacks from Sky and the Over the Moonsault is what helped Sky to the win. Asuka tried to blind Sky with poison mist, but Sky set up Wade Barrett’s notebook to block the blue.

Sky hit the Over the Moonsault perfectly and got the three count. But what happened next may have signaled a new path for Asuka.

Asuka was seen in tears as she and Sky embraced in the middle of the ring. Before the match, Asuka posted a cryptic photo of herself looking out the window. Then Sky sent a message about her match for Asuka at X.

“Our story comes to its final chapter with today’s fight,” she wrote. “The moment the match ended, my heart was filled with all kinds of emotions.

“Meeting ASUKA-san, spending the same time together, being able to learn so much up close — These are irreplaceable treasures for me. Thank you so much ASUKA-San. We love you ASUKA-San.”

This didn’t seem to be the end for Asuka, but it definitely felt like a “see you later” moment.

WWE STAR DANHAUSEN REFLECTS ON FIRST MONTHS WITH BUSINESS, GIVES UPDATE ON DANHAUSENETTES

“Fairway to Hell” scores hole-in-one

It was only a one-hour event, but All Elite Wrestling’s (AEW) special “Fairway to Hell” was highly praised on Saturday night. The matches were held at the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, which is an indoor golf center that hosts The Golf League events.

The green and the sand traps stayed in place when the ring was set up in the middle of it all.

Darby Allin defended the AEW World Championship against Pac, Mark Davis became the new AEW National Champion with a victory over Jack Perry, The Divine Dominion of Megan Bayne and Lena Kross made easy work of Rachel Ley and Ruthie Slay, and “Speedball” Mike Bailey defeated Kiran Grey.

Aside from the wrestling, the great shots of Allin throwing Pac into a bunker and Pac throwing Allin out of the second deck made fans happy.

It was definitely a risk to use the venue for pro wrestling, but it paid off in AEW’s favor. There will definitely need to be another recording or two from the facility in the future.

All eyes on Leon Slater

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) has a big star in Leon Slater, and as fate would have it, he will set a record should he defeat Cedric Alexander for the title later this week.

Slater and Alexander will battle it out Thursday night on “Impact.” If Slater wins, he will be the longest reigning X Division Champion, surpassing Austin Aries.

Aries held the TNA X Division Championship for 298 days after winning it at No Surrender 2011. He later vacated the championship in exchange for a shot at the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Slater won the title in July 2025 at Slammiversary.

Aries reacted to Slater approaching his record in late April.

“Big fan of @LEONSLATER_ and I have no doubt he will break my record but he will also do it after never stepping in the ring with me. Number of days is great but quantity ≠ quality,” he wrote on X.

Mason Rook arrives at NXT

Mason Rook has only been with WWE NXT for two weeks and he has already made it clear that he has his sights set on the NXT Championship.

NXT Champion Tony D’Angelo went one-on-one with Tavion Heights in a non-title match on Tuesday night. Kam Hendrix interfered in the match, but NXT North American Champion Myles Borne came in and chased him away.

D’Angelo hit Heights with Dead to Rights and won the match. As D’Angelo showed respect to the Heights, Rook attacked him from behind. Rook picked D’Angelo up over his shoulders and drove him into Heights, who was sitting in the corner.

Rook was the one standing tall.

“My name is Mason Rook and I have arrived at NXT,” he said to the camera.

Rook, formerly known as Will Kroos, made a name for himself in Progress Wrestling, where he was the Progress Atlas Champion. He also spent time on the independent circuit in the UK as well as Pro Wrestling Noah in Japan.

“Like I said, Mason Rook has arrived in NXT,” he said as he walked to the back. “And if you didn’t know, now you do.”

John Cena also showed support for Rook.

AEW Double or Nothing cards are coming together

Darby Allin and Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) need to work out the final details, but it looks like they are headed for a hair-against title match at Double or Nothing for the AEW World Championship. Allin still has to defend his title at “Dynamite”, but MJF is expected to show up and sign the fight contract if he wants to continue fighting for the title.

On the face of it, the card is pretty stacked. Double or Nothing takes place on May 24 at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York.

• Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Konosuke Takeshita for the AEW International Championship.
• Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler (c) vs. Adam Copeland and Christian Cage in an I Quit match for the AEW World Tag Team Championship.
• Chris Jericho, Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, Jack Perry, Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson vs. Ricochet, Bishop Kaun, Toa Liona, Mark Davis and three Don Callis family members in a stadium match.
• Thekla (c) vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Kris Statlander vs. Jamie Hayter for the AEW Women’s World Championship.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE Pakinomist APP

Triplemania 34 gets two nights

While John Cena’s earth-shattering news was announced at Backlash, another momentous revelation was made that would impact the world of professional wrestling.

Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) will host its premiere event, TripleMania, over two nights in September. The first night will be September 11 at a yet to be announced location. The second night will take place on September 13 at the Mexico City Arena.

It is the first time that Triplemania is held over two nights. It will be the 34th Triplemania in company history.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON Pakinomist

Other notes from a week in pro wrestling

• John Cena announced the formation of the John Cena Classic at Backlash.
• Trick Williams retained the United States Championship in a victory over Sami Zayn at Backlash
• Tiffany Stratton retained the Women’s United States Championship in a victory over Kiana James on “Friday Night SmackDown”.
• Darby Allin defended the AEW World Championship against Kevin Knight and Pac during the week.

• Kazuchika Okada defeated Bryan Keith to retain the AEW International Championship.
• Mark Davis won the AEW National Championship in a victory over Jack Perry at “Fairway to Hell.”
• AEW announced the return of the Owen Hart tournament.
• Bear Bronson and Brian Myers retained the TNA World Tag Team Championship over KC Navarro and Nic Nemeth.
• Lei Ying Lee captured the TNA Knockouts Championship in a victory over Arianna Grace.

• Wendy Choo retained the Evolve Women’s Championship when her match with Laynie Luck went to a no contest.
• La Catalina had her first match in AAA defeating Jessy Jackson. After the match, Flammer, La Hiedra and Lady Maravilla came out to attack her. Lola Vice and Bayley made the save.

• The South Korean boy band known as BTS took part in a Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) show over the weekend. The guys sat at the back. Místico and Titan defeated Angel de Oro and Barbaro Cavernario in a two-out-of-three falls match in the main event.
• Brick Savage signed with Major League Wrestling, according to Fightful.