WWE Backlash 2026: Biggest Winners & Losers

Now that the post-WrestleMania PLE has come and gone, it's time to say something, one last time...*Danhausen voice* Backlash!

Alright, now that that's out of my system, it's time to break down the winners and the losers from last night's big show in Tampa. Obviously, the literal winners and losers are available on the WWE Backlash 5/9/2026 results page.

Now it's time to talk about the proverbial, metaphorical, and other holistic Winners and Losers. Sometimes a loser is a winner, like Jacob Fatu, and sometimes a winner is really a loser, like the poor son-of-a-b**** that will have to be the first John Cena Classic Champion.

Enough of my bloviating, let's break it down.

At the 1989 Academy Awards, there was an elaborate musical number, dedicated to the "Stars of Tomorrow." I will not bore you with the full breakdown. If you want to see it, it's on YouTube and it's one of the many reasons why that year's ceremony was an embarrassment.

During the segment, Tyrone Power Jr. does a bit of dancing, and even does a swashbuckling sword fight with Christian Slater, ala Power's father's role as Zorro in the 1940 remake of "The Mark of Zorro." Power Jr. is a perfectly cromulent matinee idol, in the vein of his namesake. Strong jaw, plenty of hair, he looks the part, but just a little hollow. He doesn't quite have the charisma, and even worse, his name is supposed to conjure one of the great movie stars of the 1940s and 50s. There was no hope for Tyrone Power Jr. to be what his father was, and I think you know where I'm going with this.

The convoluted rules, the vague promise of some kind of tertiary championship, the fact that the inaugural winner will have to essentially wear John Cena's name in their introduction, it all feels like whoever the inaugural winner of the John Cena Classic will be is being set up to fail.

I hope that whoever they are proves me wrong, but there is something a little terrifying about the idea of wins and losses finally being shed in the name of fan support. It could be a riveting change to the structure of professional wrestling, or the death of any semblance of kayfabe or logic. It's deconstructionist at best, accelerationist at worst. I cannot wait to see what happens, but I feel bad for the poor bastard who has to be the first champion.

Jacob Fatu is bulletproof. I'm not going to pretend he's the best wrestler in the world. I'm not going to pretend the main event of Backlash was perfect. But as a foil to Roman Reigns, there might not be anyone better.

He is like a funhouse mirror version of "The Tribal Chief" and a brutal motherf***er at that. Where CM Punk and Reigns had a relatively safe match, give or take some stairs and some blood, Fatu and Reigns had a truly violent confrontation on Saturday. Ever since his debut, Fatu's stock seems to just go up and up and up, and while he still hasn't won the big one yet, he feels closer than ever.

Even if he just ends up a perennial almost-champion, like Hirooki Goto in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Fatu is carving a pretty sturdy place for himself in the pecking order of WWE. I'm sure WWE has someone flashier picked to dethrone Reigns, if they have anyone even picked at all, but like Goto, considerations should be made for Fatu.

I feel like WWE is working as hard as it can to get the Seth Rollins/Vision feud back on track, after much more interesting feuds took over in the wake of various injuries. It is snake bit, and there was something downright depressing about watching Rollins try to conjure the ghost of his 27-year-old self, while Bron Breakker just did his best to make sure the Spear looked good at the end.

WWE also seemed to admit that this match was a glorified "Raw" main event by broadcasting it on ESPN2, and even then it took second-billing to Trick Williams and Lil' Yachty avenging a Gingerbread Man.

WWE just isn't interested in the kind of match Seth Rollins is selling anymore, and Bron Breakker feels like collateral damage as everyone learns this fact together. This is the company of Danhausen, and Tribal Chief Community Theater. By being a company man to the end, Seth has started to stick out like a sore thumb, as his proto-AEW style doesn't quite fit any of WWE's three-ring circus anymore, as one of the rings has been sold for ad space, so he's sharing one of the rings with the Gingerbread Man, while WWE fans pay $30 for Minihausen.

Speaking of which...

It is Mascarita Sagrada's world, and we are merely living in it. The former El Torito made his return to WWE on Saturday as Minihausen, and while the match wasn't quite the vaudeville classic Wee-LC, it was still a great time.

Danhausen is riding a wave of popularity that is in no way sustainable, but until that wave breaks on the shore, it is undeniable that he is one of WWE's pillar attractions. His sensibilities and the company's Disney-like Imagineering are a refreshingly simpatico combination. Miz is one of the greatest comedy foils in WWE history, and taking Kit Wilson under his wing hopefully ensures that this kind of buffoonery can continue when he's done.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, WWE charged $30 for Danhausen, and damned if it wasn't the right call.