Heel Turn: Jacob Fatu makes statement at Backlash, all eyes on TNA star Leon Slater and more
There was a lot on the line coming into WWE's Backlash premium live event. Jacob Fatu was looking 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 received a vicious beatdown after the match was over. Williams defended the United States Championship against Sami Zayn as the challenger was distracted by Lil Yachty during the match.
The WWE Universe was abuzz with who Danhausen’s mystery partner was going to be. Wilson and The Miz saw as Mini-hausen emerged from a "cloning machine" to provide backup to the "Very Nice, Very Evil" superstar. Danhausen received a whole bunch of help from a few Mini-hausens through the match. In the end, it was Danhausen who scored a pin on The Miz.
Meanwhile, Bron Breakker picked up one of the biggest victories of his career when he defeated Seth Rollins. Breakker nailed Rollins with a torpedo spear at the end of a hard-fought match.
Then, there was the Iyo Sky-Asuka match
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Iyo Sky and Asuka put on arguably the match of the night during Backlash. The bad blood that had festered between the two competitors came to a boiling point. Asuka had painted Sky with her poison mist in a confrontation before the match.
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 victory. Asuka tried to blind Sky with poison mist, but Sky put 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 road 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 posted a message about her match for Asuka on X.
"Our story comes to its final chapter with today's match," she wrote. "The moment the match ended, my heart was filled with all sorts of emotions.
"Meeting ASUKA-san, Spending the same time together, Being able to learn so much up close -- These are irreplaceable treasures to me. Thank you so much ASUKA-San. We love you ASUKA-San."
This didn’t appear to be the end for Asuka but it definitely felt like a "see you later" moment.
WWE STAR DANHAUSEN REFLECTS ON FIRST MONTHS WITH COMPANY, GIVES UPDATE ON DANHAUSENETTES
It was only a one-hour event, but All Elite Wrestling's (AEW) "Fairway to Hell" special received high praise on Saturday night. The matches were held at the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, which is an indoor golf center that holds The Golf League events.
The greenery and the sand traps stayed in place as 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 stunning visuals of Allin throwing Pac into a bunker and Pac tossing Allin off the second deck left fans delighted.
It was definitely a risk to use the venue for pro wrestling, but it paid off in AEW’s favor. There will certainly have to be another taping or two from the facility in the future.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) has a major star in Leon Slater and if fate has it, he will set a record should he defeat Cedric Alexander for the title later this week.
Slater and Alexander will battle it out on 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 at the end of April.
"Big fan of @LEONSLATER_ and I have no doubt he will surpass my record, but he will also do it having never stepped in the ring with me. Number of days is great, but quantity ≠ quality," he wrote on X.
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 off.
D’Angelo hit Heights with Dead to Rights and won the match. As D’Angelo was paying his respect to Heights, Rook attacked him from behind. Rook picked up D’Angelo over his shoulders and drove him into Heights, who was seated in the corner.
Rook was the one standing tall.
"My name is Mason Rook and I’ve arrived in 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 Britain 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 know."
John Cena also showed support for Rook.
Darby Allin and Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) have to hash out the final details but it looks like they are trending toward a hair vs. title match at Double or Nothing for the AEW World Championship. Allin still has to defend his title on "Dynamite," but MJF will be expected to show up and sign the match contract if he wants to keep contending for the title.
On its face, the card is pretty stacked. Double or Nothing will take place on May 24 at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York.
While John Cena’s earth-shattering news was announced at Backlash, another significant reveal was made that would affect the pro wrestling world.
Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) will host its premiere event, TripleMania, over the course of two nights in September. The first night will be Sept. 11 at a location still to be announced. The second night will occur on Sept. 13 at the Mexico City Arena.
It’s the first time that Triplemania will be held over two nights. It will be the 34th Triplemania in the company’s history.