RHR Weekly Review (5/12 to 5/16/25) & WWE Backlash Review

I intended to do a Backlash review and my weekly review, but got sidetracked by Mother’s Day, the sad passing of ECW legend Sabu, and the general discontent among wrestlers. Here are my thoughts on Backlash.

WWE Backlash: St. Louis
Backlash in St. Louis was an okay show. The opening fatal 4-way for the US title was the highlight, featuring Jeff Cobb’s surprise debut as part of Solo’s team, possibly hinting at tension between Fatu and Sikoa.

Lyra Valkyria vs. Becky Lynch for the Women’s Intercontinental title was solid and could spark a series of matches this summer, which I’m hopeful for.

The men’s Intercontinental match was disappointing, despite the potential of Dominik Mysterio and Penta. Gunther’s match against Pat McAfee also fell flat, though Gunther’s win could elevate him back to the main event picture.

The main event between Randy Orton and John Cena for the undisputed WWE title was okay. With possible referee bumps and R-Truth’s unexpected involvement, Cena retained. It seems R-Truth may be set as Cena’s next opponent after putting him through a table at the post-show conference.

Overall Show Rating: 3 out of 5.

Now, let’s move on to what was interesting about wrestling this week.

Monday Night Raw (5/12/2025)
The main event scene on Raw is getting spicy, especially with Rollins & Heyman’s new alliance, CM Punk, and MITB coming up. What Sami Zayn will do makes it exciting to see what unfolds over the next month or so.

Anytime we get Finn Balor and AJ Styles in a match is added bonus, but if they face each other is even better! Awesome match just wish it was in the main event spot for the championship, I am still holding out hope it will happen one day.

Rusev’s pre-tape promo gave some fascinating insight into Rusev this time around in WWE. The Women’s tag match was fantastic. Giulia and Roxanne Perez, as a team, are undoubtedly exciting. Still, their loss to Iyo Sky and Rhea Ripley feels like a misfire when they should get Perez and Giulia over as the new threats to the Women’s division on Raw. Hopefully, they will win the Women’s tag titles soon to make an honest attempt to make those titles meaningful.

NXT (5/13/2025)
Trick Williams vs. Joe Hendry for the TNA world championship at Battleground was made official on Tuesday; I won’t lie, I would like to see some chaos with Trick winning the title, and the NXT/TNA collaboration kicks up a notch this summer.

Myles Bourne’s win in the number one contenders’ battle royal was a pleasant surprise, and his promo this week was good (Bourne’s promo on Tuesday was better than any recent promos from some AEW talent, which says a lot).

Oba Femi vs. Charlie Dempsey was a good match! We need more of these matchups going forward. Bourne vs. Ethan Page was a fine match. I have only seen a match or two of Bourne’s, but he looks ready to be in the mix with the other big stars in the men’s division.

AEW Dynamite (5/14/2025)
The lead-up to Hangman Page and Will Ospreay has been a bit bland, which is surprising since this should be the marquee match for Double or Nothing. Hopefully, things spice up, and this doesn’t fall for the old “just ring the bell” file for this to be interesting.

Daniel Garcia and Nigel McGuinness seem like good things. Hopefully, they will give Garcia some much-needed traction that fans desperately want for him. Still, I will hold off on my judgment until the PPV happens.

Anarchy in the Arena is apparently going to be a tradition AEW wants to adopt for this show, so another chaos mess of a match with the usual suspects and multiple feuds intertwined sounds complicated and looks like it will end this past week’s Dynamite. Hopefully, this is one of the last matches because what else can be done?

Friday Night SmackDown (5/16/2025)
Solo’s Bloodline story between Solo and Jacob Fatu gets more interesting, and the addition of JC Mateo (Jeff Cobb) seems to get the road to a match between them finally underway. I’m probably in the minority, but Solo Sikoa has been under the radar good in this feud, along with the overwhelming popularity of Fatu.

Alexa Bliss and Solo Sikoa being the first to qualify for the Money in the Bank matches is an interesting start to seeing who else will make those big matches coming up in June. Jeff Cobb (again, it’s going to take a bit to say JC Mateo) had an impressive first match and win over LA Knight that seems to be a promising sign for what is possible with him in WWE.

The tag team division continues to be cooking on Friday nights! #DIY, MCMG, and the Street Profits have been significant division features. Fraxiom’s joining the division can only mean more insane matches to continue reviving men’s tag team wrestling in WWE.

The night’s best match was Friday’s main event for the WWE Women’s title between Tiffany Stratton and Nia Jax. Both ladies put on a good damn match, and the ending was exciting, with Stratton winning. This makes the Women’s division on Friday nights exhilarating and promising as we enter the summer.