
WWE Backlash 2026 Date & Location Confirmed
Triple H has confirmed the date and location for WWE Backlash 2026. The announcement was made ahead of the WWE Royal Rumble event.
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Triple H has confirmed the date and location for WWE Backlash 2026. The announcement was made ahead of the WWE Royal Rumble event.

Becky Lynch called out AJ Lee and another former rival ahead of her participation in the 2026 WWE Royal Rumble. Lynch discussed the potential AJ Lee feud in advance of the Royal Rumble event.

Triple H officially announced that WWE Backlash 2026 will take place on Saturday, May 9 at the Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida. The announcement was made in a Twitter video posted on January 31, just hours before Royal Rumble 2026 in Saudi Arabia, shutting down speculation that the event would be held in Puerto Rico. The event is scheduled for three weeks after WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

WWE has revealed the referee assignments for Royal Rumble 2026 in Riyadh, with Charles Robinson officiating the Undisputed WWE Championship match between Drew McIntyre and Sami Zayn, and Dan Engler calling the Career Threatening Match between AJ Styles and GUNTHER. Both Royal Rumble matches will feature four referees at ringside: Danilo Anfibio, Eddie Orengo, Jessika Carr, and Ryan Tran, with Anfibio and Orengo working double duty after officiating pre-show matches.

According to a new report, the planned referee assignments for the 2026 WWE Royal Rumble matches have been revealed. The report indicates that referee assignments for the premium live event have now emerged.

Former WWE star Daria Rae (formerly known as Sonya Deville) has explained how her TNA debut came about. She made the move to TNA after taking a break from wrestling following her 2025 release from WWE.

Two matches have been added to the WWE Royal Rumble 2026 pre-show in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: The New Day & Grayson Waller vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & The Motor City Machine Guns, and The Wyatt Sicks vs. The MFTs. It remains unclear whether these matches will be broadcast during the two-hour Countdown show or will only be available to the live audience in attendance.

WWE is expecting over 25,000 fans for the Royal Rumble 2026 at the King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with Michael Cole and Wade Barrett confirmed as the commentary team. ESPN's SportsCenter promoted the event with a feature on WWE's greatest finishers and segments with Cole and Barrett previewing the card, which includes both Royal Rumble matches, AJ Styles vs. GUNTHER with Styles' career on the line, and Drew McIntyre defending the WWE Undisputed Championship against Sami Zayn.

Two pre-show matches have been added to the WWE Royal Rumble 2026 card taking place January 31 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The matches were announced for today's event.

According to Bully Ray, there isn't much left for Finn Balor to do in WWE's current landscape. Bully Ray believes that outside of creating a new championship for Balor, the wrestler has limited options within the company.

John Cena has commented on WWE Royal Rumble 2026, which is the first premium live event since his retirement in December. Cena retired from WWE in December 2025.

WWE is testing drones to form a massive WrestleMania 42 logo display during the Royal Rumble 2026 broadcast in Saudi Arabia. The drone tests took place after the January 30 episode of SmackDown at the newly constructed stadium in Riyadh, with internal WWE discussions comparing the Rumble's production plans to WrestleMania-level scale.