WWE will be running this year’s Backlash premium live event from Puerto Rico at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot on Saturday, May 6. They will also hold a live edition of SmackDown the night before at the same venue.
This will be the first PLE following WrestleMania 39, but two top stars won’t be there. As previously reported, Charlotte Flair is taking time off from WWE after dropping the SmackDown Women’s Title to Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania 39.
Now, we know Roman Reigns won’t be there, either. Reigns beat Cody Rhodes to retain the Undisputed WWE Universal Title on the second night of Mania. There had been some speculation after the match that WWE may do a tag team match with Rhodes taking on Reigns with partners of their choosing, but WWE is moving away from that for now with Brock Lesnar feuding with Rhodes.
In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that Reigns is not booked for Backlash.
Meltzer wrote, “Reigns will not be on the San Juan card, or at least that wasn’t the plan on Monday, but he will be doing other major events over the next few months.”
As noted, Reigns is not scheduled for tonight’s SmackDown, but WWE will be doing some notable with The Bloodline.
