Backlash (2023)

The 2023 Backlash was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by the American company WWE, held for wrestlers from the promotion's main roster brands, Raw and SmackDown. It was the 18th Backlash and took place on May 6, 2023, at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, Puerto Rico. This was the first WWE pay-per-view event held in Puerto Rico since New Year's Revolution in January 2005, and the second Backlash event held outside the continental United States following the 2004 event. After the previous two years were titled "WrestleMania Backlash", the 2023 event reverted to its original name while still maintaining its post-WrestleMania concept, with the 2023 event based around the backlash from WrestleMania 39. Puerto Rico native and Grammy Award winning rapper Bad Bunny was featured at the event. He was originally promoted to be the host of Backlash, but it was later announced that Bad Bunny would compete in a San Juan Street Fight against Damian Priest, also of Puerto Rican descent, a match that Bad Bunny won. The match also saw appearances by Puerto Rican wrestlers, Carlito, who made his first WWE appearance since the February 1, 2021, episode of Raw, and Savio Vega, who made his first WWE appearance since the 2020 Survivor Series. This match and the event's final match were promoted as a double main event. Seven matches were contested at the event, including Bad Bunny's aforementioned Street Fight. In the event's final match, which was the other main event, Cody Rhodes defeated Brock Lesnar. In other prominent matches, Austin Theory defeated Bobby Lashley and Bronson Reed to retain the United States Championship, Rhea Ripley defeated Zelina Vega, who was WWE's only female roster member of Puerto Rican descent, to retain the SmackDown Women's Championship, and...