John Cena has a familiar foe for his first undisputed WWE championship defense. Randy Orton returns home to St. Louis to add another chapter to the long-running rivalry between him and Cena. 25 years after their first meeting in person, Cena and Orton headline WWE Backlash on May 10.
Cena and Orton have wrestled each other 21 times, with Cena leading the rivalry 13-7-1. Their Backlash clash might be the last time they meet before Cena’s promised retirement at the year’s end. Backlash marks Cena’s first title defense since defeating Cody Rhodes for the undisputed WWE title at WrestleMania 41.
Three other matches are confirmed for Backlash: Gunther vs. Pat McAfee, a fatal four way for Jacob Fatu’s United States championship and women’s intercontinental champion Lyra Valkyria vs. Becky Lynch.
Look below at the confirmed matches for Backlash and glance at the crystal ball to see what may come. The event streams live on Peacock on May 10 with the main card starting at 7 p.m. ET.
2025 WWE Backlash matches
Undisputed WWE Championship — John Cena (c) vs. Randy Orton: These legendary rivals go at it for likely the last time. Orton struck Cena with an RKO on the Raw after WrestleMania, getting the ball rolling on this showdown. Cena and Orton last went one-on-one eight years ago on SmackDown. Orton is determined to give Cena’s new attitude an adjustment; meanwhile, Cena is committed to bringing the Orton family legacy to a close.
Women’s Intercontinental Championship — Lyra Valkyria (c) vs. Becky Lynch: A feel good story went south the night after WrestleMania. Valkyria pulled Lynch off the bench after 11 months, bringing “The Man” back from hiatus as her mystery tag team partner. The Irish superstars won the WWE women’s tag team championships but lost them back to Judgment Day the next night. Lynch attacked Valkyria in a rage, ending their short-lived team and beginning a feud that escalates at Backlash.
Gunther vs. Pat McAfee: Former world heavyweight champion Gunther has a surprising new direction. After losing to Jey Uso at WrestleMania, Gunther attacked WWE commentator Michael Cole. Gunther slapped a chokehold on Cole as punishment for Cole’s alleged bias against him. McAfee cracked Gunther with a forearm to save Cole, leading Gunther to choke out McAfee. The next week, McAfee accepted an opportunity to wrestle Gunther at Backlash.
United States Championship — Jacob Fatu (c) vs. Drew McIntyre vs. LA Knight vs. Damian Priest: McIntyre defeated LA Knight in No. 1 contender’s match on SmackDown, albeit by disqualification. Damian Priest then attacked McIntyre, extending their WrestleMania rivalry. It’s unclear what WWE plans for McIntyre and Fatu’s immediate future, but a U.S. title match is on the table. The following week, The Bloodline ruined a match between Knight and Priest. SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis’ solution was to book a fatal four way.
Intercontinental Championship — Dominik Mysterio (c) vs. Penta: Penta has had plenty of issues with Judgment Day already. He has also added in problems with Chad Gable, who was unable to successfully interfere and stop Penta from defeating JD McDonagh on Raw. Mysterio is navigating complicated issues within Judgment Day, especially his relationship with Finn Balor, but still might have enough people in his corner to retain the title he won at WrestleMania.
2025 WWE Backlash predictions
WWE Women’s Championship — Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Nia Jax: Stratton won the WWE women’s title by cashing in her Money in the Bank briefcase on former ally Jax. Their story never reached a natural conclusion, but it seems WWE is ready to revisit it. Jax attacked Stratton on the April 25 episode of SmackDown, planting the seeds for a title match between the friends turned foes.
Iyo Sky (c) and Rhea Ripley vs. Guilia and Roxanne Perez: Sky and Ripley have formed an uneasy alliance against NXT superstars Giulia and Roxanne Perez. There are two likely outcomes: Sky and Ripley team against Giulia and Perez, or the tag team match serves as a transition to a world title match on pay-per-view.
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