WWE WrestleMania Backlash (2022)

The 2022 WrestleMania Backlash was the 17th Backlash professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on May 8, 2022, at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island; this was the third Backlash held at Dunkin' Donuts Center after the 1999 and 2009 editions. It was also the second and final Backlash held under this name, after the previous year's event, as the following year, the event reverted to its original name. The concept of the 2022 event was based around the backlash from WrestleMania 38.

WWE WrestleMania Backlash (2022)

Backlash is a recurring professional wrestling event that was established by WWE in 1999.[2] 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 event returned to this original concept and the event was in turn rebranded as "WrestleMania Backlash".[3] Announced on February 11, 2022, the 2022 event was also confirmed to be held under this name. It was the 17th Backlash and featured the backlash from WrestleMania 38. The event was scheduled to take place on May 8, 2022, at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island and featured wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. It aired on pay-per-view (PPV) worldwide and was available to livestream on Peacock in the United States and the WWE Network in international markets.[4]

The original concept of the pay-per-view was based around the backlash from WWE's flagship event, WrestleMania. From its inception until 2009, Backlash held this position as the post-WrestleMania PPV and was held annually in April, with the exception of the 2005 event, which was held in May. After the 2009 event, Backlash was discontinued and replaced by Extreme Rules in 2010, but after seven years, it was reinstated in 2016 and held in September as that year's post-SummerSlam PPV. The events in 2017 and 2018 were then held in May, but other PPVs were held between WrestleMania and Backlash those two years. An event was originally scheduled for June 2019 but was canceled and replaced by a one-off event called Stomping Grounds. Backlash then returned in 2020 and was held that June. The 2021 event moved Backlash back to May as the first PPV held after WrestleMania 37, thus the event returned to its original concept with the event series renamed as "WrestleMania Backlash", but the 2023 event reverted to its original name while maintaining the post-WrestleMania theme.

From 1995 to 1999, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) ran a series of monthly pay-per-views (PPV) titled In Your House, which were held between the promotion's five major PPVs at the time: Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, King of the Ring, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series. In April 1999, the WWF phased out the In Your House events to establish permanent names for monthly pay-per-views to be held between these five major events.[1] Backlash was subsequently established to be held after WrestleMania XV, and it took place on April 25, 1999, at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island.[2] Early advertising for the inaugural Backlash had featured the "In Your House" branding until it was quietly dropped in the weeks leading up to the pay-per-view. The concept of the pay-per-view was based around the backlash from WWF's flagship event, WrestleMania.[1][3][4]

After Backlash was discontinued following the 2009 event, it endured a seven-year hiatus. During this time in February 2014, WWE launched their online streaming service, the WWE Network, and in addition to traditional PPV, the events also became available on the Network.[25] In mid-2016, WWE reintroduced the brand split and also brought back brand-exclusive PPVs.[26] Due to the need for more PPV events, Backlash was reinstated, and the 2016 event was held exclusively for the SmackDown-brand and was WWE's first brand-exclusive PPV of the second brand split. Backlash that year was also held in September after SummerSlam, thus ending its previous tradition of being the post-WrestleMania PPV.[27][28] The 2017 event was moved up to May and was again SmackDown-exclusive.[29][30] While the event was technically SmackDown's first PPV held after WrestleMania 33, none of the matches were backlash from that WrestleMania. Furthermore, the Raw-exclusive PPV, Payback, was held between WrestleMania 33 and Backlash.[31] The 2018 event was originally scheduled to be a Raw-exclusive PPV,[32][33][34] but following WrestleMania 34 that year, WWE again discontinued brand-exclusive PPVs, thus events held since have featured wrestlers from both Raw and SmackDown.[35][36] Although the 2018 event was held in May, the Greatest Royal Rumble was held between WrestleMania 34 and Backlash.[37]

Backlash 2022Overview Gallery Merchandise PromotionWWEBrandRawSmackDownDateMay 8, 2022VenueDunkin' Donuts CenterCityProvidence, Rhode IslandLast EventWrestleMania 38Next EventNXT In Your HouseWrestleMania Backlash 2022 was the 17th Backlash professional wrestling live event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event aired on pay-per-view (PPV) worldwide and was available to stream through Peacock in the United States and the WWE Network internationally. It took place on May 8, 2022 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island. It was the second Backlash held under this name after the previous year's event, thus officially renaming the event series as WrestleMania Backlash. The concept of the event was based around the backlash from WrestleMania 38.

Backlash is a pay-per-view (PPV) and Peacock/WWE Network event that was established by WWE in 1999. It was held annually from 1999 to 2009. Backlash was discontinued after 2009 but 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 from 2016 to 2018 and in 2020 did not carry this theme; however, the 2021 event returned to this original concept and was aptly named "WrestleMania Backlash". The 2022 event was also confirmed to be held under this name, thus renaming the event series to WrestleMania Backlash. It will be the 17th event in the Backlash chronology and will feature the backlash from WrestleMania 38. It is scheduled to take place on May 8, 2022, at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island and will feature wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brands.

A number of WWE's PPV names have stood the test of time. WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Royal Rumble. However, one of the longest surviving names outside of the big four is Backlash, now known as WrestleMania Backlash. While WWE attaching the WrestleMania brand to as much as it possibly can does water it down somewhat, at least in this instance it sort of makes sense as the event is supposed to play host to the backlash following the events of this year's WrestleMania. 041b061a72