WWE continues expanding its international reach by hosting premium live events in different countries. They branched out with this model last year with Backlash in Puerto Rico before taking Money in the Bank to Europe. They’ve announced several events in international markets for this year.
The WWE Backlash France premium live event aired live from the LDLC Arena in Lyon-Decines, France, on Saturday, and it was headlined by Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes vs. AJ Styles.
The show set new gate records as it was the highest-grossing SmackDown TV taping ever and touted as the largest gate for any Backlash event or any show in an arena.
However, Félix Gouty of POST Wrestling reports the company didn’t get paid a site fee for the event, something that they’ve looked to get with past shows such as last year’s Backlash in Puerto Rico, which got a site fee of $1.5 million along with $300,000 for the value of using the venue for free. Mark Shapiro has stated in the past that TKO earned $16 million for a combination of events in Australia from this past February. In 2022, it was implied by a government press release that they spent $2.8 million for lash at the Castle in Cardiff.
The report also noted Paris was the first choice for Backlash. Fightful Select first reported in October that Paris was internally listed to host the show in the Spring. It was said that because of the Olympics coming up, the city didn’t have a venue for WWE to use over a four-day period.
Félix Gouty (@FxGouty) reports that while Backlash and Smackdown in Lyon set new gate records, neither Lyon Metropolis nor the region’s authorities paid a site fee for the event.

Félix reports Paris was the first choice for Backlash but with the Olympics coming up no venue in… https://t.co/5we9nWvcD6— Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) May 6, 2024
