Backlash (2026)

Last updated

Backlash: Tampa
Promotion WWE
Brand(s) Raw
SmackDown
DateMay 9, 2026
City Tampa, Florida
Venue Benchmark International Arena
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WrestleMania 42 		Next →
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Backlash chronology
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The 2026 Backlash, also promoted as Backlash: Tampa, is an upcoming professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It will be the 21st Backlash event and will take place on Saturday, May 9, 2026, at the Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida. It will be held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The concept of the event will be based around the backlash from WrestleMania 42.

Contents

Production

Background

The event will be held at the Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida. Amalie Arena.jpg
The event will be held at the Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida.

Backlash is a recurring professional wrestling event that was established by WWE in 1999. [1] It was held annually from 1999 to 2009, but was then discontinued until it was reinstated in 2016 and has been held every year since, except in 2019. The original concept of the event was based around the backlash from WWE's flagship event, WrestleMania. The events between 2016 and 2020 did not carry this theme; however, the 2021 show returned the event to its original concept. [2]

On January 31, 2026, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque announced that the 21st Backlash, promoted as Backlash: Tampa, will take place on Saturday, May 9, 2026, at the Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida, and will feature wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. In addition to airing on traditional pay-per-view (PPV) worldwide, the event will air on ESPN Unlimited in the United States and on Netflix internationally. This marks the first WWE Premium Live Event (PLE) held in Tampa since Hell in a Cell in 2021 during the ThunderDome era and the first Backlash event to air on ESPN as a result of ESPN acquiring the rights to exclusively livestream WWE PLEs in the United States on August 6, 2025. [3] [4]

Storylines

The event will include matches that result from scripted storylines. Results will be predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands, [5] [6] while storylines are produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown . [7]

References

  1. ↑ "WWE Backlash". The History of WWE. Archived from the original on February 6, 2010. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
  2. ↑ Lambert, Jeremy (April 11, 2021). "WWE Announces WrestleMania Backlash For May". Fightful. Archived from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  3. ↑ Triple H [@TripleH] (January 31, 2026). "Breaking news…" (Tweet). Retrieved February 2, 2026– via Twitter.
  4. ↑ Sapp, Sean Ross (August 14, 2025). "Additional Details On WWE PLE Shows Moving To ESPN". Fightful. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  5. ↑ Grabianowski, Ed (January 13, 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE . Archived from the original on February 18, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  7. ↑ Steinberg, Brian (May 25, 2016). "WWE's 'Smackdown' Will Move To Live Broadcast On USA (Exclusive)". Variety . Archived from the original on May 26, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
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