The first SmackDown after WrestleMania is always a reset button — new directions, new champions, new faces in the building. This one arrived with a detonator. As WWE Backlash 2026 takes shape just two weeks away, the Roman Reigns era is entering a chapter nobody has fully mapped yet: Jacob Fatu, a man who has been building quietly and dangerously for months, just delivered the clearest statement of his career — a clean pin over Solo Sikoa in the SmackDown main event while Roman Reigns watches from a distance. The message was not subtle. The match at Backlash is coming, and Fatu intends to finish the story his way.
That storyline was not even the biggest news of the evening. Before the first bell rang on SmackDown, WWE had already shaken its own foundation — a post-WrestleMania roster purge that sent shock waves through the industry. Aleister Black and Zelina Vega. Kairi Sane. The Motor City Machine Guns. Santos Escobar. The entire Wyatt Sicks faction, including Bo Dallas, Dexter Loomis, Nikki Cross, Eric Rowan, and Joe Gacy. Alba Fire. Zoe Stark. Apollo Crews. Released, all of them, in a single afternoon. What it means for WWE’s creative future, and who wins the free-agent scramble that follows, was a central conversation on Wrestling Uncensored Episode 779. Dave Simon and Johnny North were live on SmackDown when the list dropped — and they didn’t hold back.
There was also the matter of the Hulk Hogan Netflix documentary, which Dave had consumed in a single sitting the night it dropped, and AEW Dynamite’s continued rebuild around new champion Darby Allin. This was one of the fuller Wrestling Uncensored episodes of the year. Here is the complete breakdown of everything that matters as we head into WWE Backlash 2026.
🎯 Key Takeaways
- Jacob Fatu is ready for Roman Reigns: A clean SmackDown main event win over Solo Sikoa — with the entire MFT trying and failing to tip the scales — is the credibility-builder the Backlash main event needed. Fatu is believable now.
- WWE cut deep in the post-WrestleMania purge: Over a dozen names released, including the shocking departures of Kairi Sane, Aleister Black, Zelina Vega, and the entire Wyatt Sicks. The roster is being rebuilt, and it’s happening fast.
- Dave has serious problems with Triple H’s Hogan documentary comments: The Netflix doc was excellent — but Triple H’s attempt to rewrite the history of Hulk Hogan’s 2002 title reign did not go unchallenged on this show. Not by a long shot.
- AEW is building toward something real at Double or Nothing: Darby Allin vs. Tommaso Ciampa was a main event match that would have main evented any pay-per-view. MJF wants a title shot. And a street fight between Edge & Christian and FTR is taking shape.
Table of Contents
Why WWE Backlash 2026 Already Has Its Most Important Match
Jacob Fatu has been the most interesting man in WWE for the past six months. Not the loudest. Not the most decorated. But every time he gets a microphone or a meaningful match, the audience feels it. Thursday’s SmackDown main event — a clean, decisive victory over Solo Sikoa, with the MFT attempting and failing to interfere on his behalf — was the kind of wrestling segment that changes how fans think about a character. Fatu walked in as a challenger with momentum. He walked out as a legitimate threat.
The storyline has been built with care. Roman Reigns, back with the Usos after winning the championship at WrestleMania 42, met Jacob Fatu’s challenge with the particular brand of condescension that has defined Roman’s decade on top. You’re not ready, he told him. Come back when you’ve grown. Fatu’s response — first in a passionate promo that Dave Simon called “maybe the best he’s cut since coming to WWE,” and then with his performance in the SmackDown main event — made the answer obvious.
“I like that Jacob is not feuding with Drew McIntyre or somebody else. He’s involved with the family. He’s involved with Roman, and he’s coming for what Roman has — the money, the fame, everything — and he wants that for his own children.” — Dave Simon, Wrestling Uncensored
The interplay between the Usos and Solo Sikoa adds texture. Jimmy and Jay showed up in the SmackDown ring and offered Fatu a spot in the group — the classic Bloodline recruitment play. Fatu declined. Solo came out and told him he was making a mistake, that the Usos didn’t believe in him, that Solo was the one who brought him into WWE. And then Tama Tonga offered the counter: Fatu can’t even beat Solo, so why is he talking about Roman? Fatu super-kicked Tama and accepted the match. This is wrestling booking done correctly — every beat earned, every character motivated, the stakes escalating in a way that feels inevitable rather than manufactured.
The match itself served its purpose cleanly. Jacob Fatu won. Solo lost. The MFT tried to get involved after the bell, and Solo fought them off alone — displaying the toughness that makes his own case as someone Roman should fear — while the Usos stood on the floor and watched. Solo splashed Tonga Loa through the announce table. That image — Solo, bloodied and dominant, surrounded by wreckage, with the Usos doing nothing — is the kind of visual that makes good wrestling storytelling stick. For WWE Backlash 2026, the question is no longer whether Fatu can hang with Roman Reigns. The question is whether Roman and the Usos will be able to stop him clean.
🤔 Did You Know?
Jacob Fatu is a real-life member of the Anoa’i wrestling dynasty — the same family as Roman Reigns, the Usos, Rikishi, and Yokozuna. The Backlash match isn’t just a story about a title. It’s genuinely family business.
Reality Check: Is Roman Reigns Turning Heel — And Does It Matter?
> **The Reality:** Roman Reigns is going to do dastardly things at WWE Backlash 2026 with the Usos beside him. Whether you call that a heel turn depends on how much the Tampa crowd is willing to forgive him. Roman has spent three years as one of the greatest heels in wrestling history, then returned as a babyface to massive reactions, and now is slipping back into Tribal Chief behavior. The fans have decided they love Roman regardless. If Fatu is the sympathetic underdog — and he is — then Roman and the Usos, as the obstacle, make them the heels by default. But Dave Simon’s point is apt: if the fans keep cheering Roman no matter what, is it really a heel turn? Or is it just Roman Reigns being Roman Reigns, and the story working in spite of the labels?
The Post-WrestleMania Bloodbath: Understanding the WWE Releases
Kairi Sane. That is the release that stopped Dave Simon mid-sentence. Not because it was unexpected in some bureaucratic sense — the post-WrestleMania roster cut is a WWE tradition at this point — but because of what it says about how WWE assesses value. Kairi Sane is, by any reasonable measure, one of the most talented women in the history of professional wrestling. She was involved in an active storyline. She took the pin in a tag match on Raw just days before being let go.
“Kairi Sane is to me the biggest one of the whole group. She is the most valuable. Like if I had to pick one person to sign if I was a wrestling promoter, I would try to get Kairi Sane.” — Dave Simon, Wrestling Uncensored
The full list from Friday’s release day is staggering in its breadth. Aleister Black and his wife Zelina Vega — both released simultaneously, a couple cut from the company together with no explanation offered and little time to understand why Black was brought back from AEW in the first place. The Motor City Machine Guns — Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley — veterans who had found modest new life in WWE but apparently not enough of it. Santos Escobar, an underrated talent who was never positioned in a way that showcased his actual ceiling. Alba Fire, recently cleared from injury and ready to return. Zoe Stark was cleared as well. Apollo Crews, a roster fixture for years, quietly disappeared.
And then the Wyatt Sicks — the entire faction, gone at once. Bo Dallas, Dexter Loomis, Nikki Cross, Eric Rowan, and Joe Gacy. The group assembled as a tribute to Bray Wyatt generated real anticipation in its pre-debut video packages, then spent its entire run failing to translate that atmosphere into matches that delivered. Dave’s verdict was honest:
“It had some momentum before it debuted. People liked the promos they were doing. But once the matches started, once the bell rang, it just lost everything. I’m not surprised, but it is kind of a bummer for those guys.” — Dave Simon, Wrestling Uncensored
The Wyatt Sicks had something on Raw — the lights-out attacks on Chad Gable generated real heat — and then got moved to SmackDown, where the slow death began. When the group finally got the lantern back, they got released the following week. That’s the brutal arithmetic of WWE’s roster management: if the return doesn’t spike the number, the run is over.
The winners of the free-agent sweepstakes will be interesting to track. Dave sees the Motor City Machine Guns landing in AEW or TNA. Santos Escobar in AEW makes obvious sense — he has the credibility and the style that plays well there. Zelina Vega in AEW would be a smart pickup. And Johnny North’s case for Nikki Cross deserves some attention: she hasn’t wrestled in years, went back to school, and may genuinely be done with the business. For the AEW women’s division in particular, the 90-day no-compete clause will be worth watching when it expires.
Tiffany Stratton, Fatal Influence, and a SmackDown Getting New Blood
Tiffany Stratton walked into Friday’s SmackDown with one goal and left with the United States Championship. Her defeat of Julia was, by Dave Simon’s own admission, “clearly the plan” — the kind of title change that anyone watching the trajectory of the evening could see coming before the opening match ended. That doesn’t diminish it. Stratton is a star in the making, and the title gives her something to anchor a character that has been begging for a meaningful storyline. The US Championship is a real prize. Tiffany Stratton, as its holder, is a booking decision that makes sense.
The bigger debut story belonged to Fatal Influence — the three-woman group led by Jacy Jayne, who spent Friday’s SmackDown disrupting two matches and establishing themselves as the most aggressive new faction on the show. They attacked Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, Brie Bella, and Paige in a segment that shut down the women’s tag match. Then Jacy Jayne went one-on-one with Rhea Ripley in a main roster debut match that ended in a DQ when Fatal Influence interfered again. Two matches ruined, two targets established, one clear message: this group is here to start a war with the entire SmackDown women’s division.
The Rhea Ripley angle has an additional layer worth noting. Rhea is now a full-time SmackDown presence after winning the SmackDown Women’s Championship from Jade Cargill at WrestleMania. IYO SKY stays on Raw with Asuka as her ongoing program. The emotional farewell between Rhea and IYO on Raw — two allies separating across the brand split — was a genuinely well-executed moment. The immediate tension between Rhea and Charlotte Flair on SmackDown suggests the first real post-WrestleMania program for Rhea Ripley is coming into focus.
Also worth flagging: Ricky Saints — formerly Ricky Starks in AEW — is scheduled to debut on SmackDown next week. And Luca Crusifino, a new NXT talent, appeared on Raw this week in a debut that was more notable for the character work than the promo delivery. Joe Hendry, NXT Champion, is getting called up to Raw. The roster is turning over at a rapid pace, and the next few weeks will determine which of these new additions stick.
Why Cody Rhodes’ “0 for 3” Line Was the Best Promo of the Post-WrestleMania Week
Cody Rhodes stood in the ring on SmackDown with a bruised eye, a championship belt, and a three-year body of work, and delivered what Dave Simon called the definitive accounting of his WWE run. The phrase “0 for 3” was the anchor — three years, three attempts by outside forces to redirect his story, three failures.
The breakdown, as Dave laid it out: year one, the fans chose Cody over The Rock versus Roman, and “Finish the Story” became reality. Year two, TKO tried to engineer a Cody heel turn — Cody refused. John Cena stepped in, Travis Scott disappeared, The Rock faded, and Cody still won. Year three, Pat McAfee’s involvement tried to shift the narrative again at WrestleMania 42. It didn’t work. Cody’s line to the outside forces: “You’re 0 for 3. Send your best. Count your damn money and mind your damn business.”
“Three years in a row, Cody Cody Rhodes — the best. 0 for 3. They tried three times to take it away and three times they couldn’t.” — Dave Simon, Wrestling Uncensored
The CM Punk promo from Raw adds a longer shadow to all of this. Punk, gracious in defeat, talked about gratitude and about how title opportunities sometimes fall out of the sky. Cody came out, they exchanged words, and Cody essentially gave Punk an open invitation: whenever you’re ready, anytime. Dave Simon read that moment as a seed planted — not for Backlash, but for WrestleMania 2027. Punk versus Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship, with Punk potentially entering as the champion after winning it from whoever takes it next. That match, whenever it happens, is a genuine WrestleMania main event. The booking is already being arranged a year in advance.
💡 Pro Tip
The Raw After WrestleMania is where WWE plants the seeds for the following year’s big matches. The Punk-Cody promo wasn’t just closure on this year’s story. It was the first page of next year’s chapter.
The Hulk Hogan Netflix Documentary: What They Got Right, What Triple H Got Wrong
Dave Simon watched the entire four-episode Hulk Hogan Netflix documentary the night it dropped. His verdict: genuinely great television, recommended without reservation. The personal footage — home videos, final interviews with Hogan himself, the kind of footage you know was being kept for exactly this occasion — makes it something special. Jimmy Hart weeping on camera over Hogan’s death. Linda Hogan, often vilified publicly by wrestling fans, comes across as a complicated, loving figure who never fully stopped loving the man she married. Triple H addresses the WWE creative team on the day Hogan died. It’s remarkable access.
“I love him. I started watching because of Hogan. He got me into pro wrestling. I was there in Montreal the night after WrestleMania with the Rock — 30 minutes of standing ovation, 20,000 people going nuts. I’ve never heard a crowd louder for longer for anything. And Hogan talked about it in what turned out to be his final interview. That brings me joy and makes my heart warm.” — Dave Simon, Wrestling Uncensored
The documentary also contains footage from Hogan’s funeral, and closes on the note that his filmmakers had planned a second session of interviews in three months — only for Hogan to pass away before it could happen. The finality of that timeline adds weight to everything he says in the interviews. Watching him talk about Linda, about the happiest times of his life, about what Hulkamania meant to him — knowing it was the last time he would talk about any of it — is genuinely moving.
Dave’s praise for the documentary, however, ends when Triple H appears on screen. The criticism was pointed and specific. Triple H revealed in the film that he knew Hogan would be booed when presented at the Netflix WWE premiere — and sent him out there anyway. He spoke about “everyone” thinking Vince McMahon’s decision to put the title on Hogan in 2002 was a bad idea, without disclosing that he was the champion Hogan was put over. And he discussed firing Hogan — “I didn’t fire Hulk Hogan, I fired Terry Bollea” — with what Dave described as a gleeful smile.
“It’s important for us to say these things because we lived through it, and they are trying to rewrite history right in front of us. People out there will believe it. Triple H said ‘everybody thought it was a bad idea’ because he was the champ and he was pissed. He didn’t say that the guy they took the belt off to do it was him. Hogan, after WrestleMania with the Rock, was on fire like no one else in the wrestling business. Putting him on top was the move.” — Dave Simon, Wrestling Uncensored
Johnny North added a structural critique: the documentary downplays the extent to which Hogan’s arrival actually legitimized WCW. The conventional narrative — that Hogan’s WCW run was a disaster from the start — rewrites a period where the Hogan-Flair program and the early run genuinely put Nitro on the map and created the competitive landscape that forced the WWF to elevate its own product. As Dave put it: “They are rewriting history, and it will become the truth one day. It shouldn’t, because it’s not.” The WCW era section, in particular, glosses over a period that was far more commercially successful than Triple H’s involvement in the doc suggests. For Ringside Report’s full WrestleMania 42 preview and analysis, the larger WWE context is there for reference.
AEW Dynamite: Darby Allin as Champion Is Already Worth Watching
AEW Dynamite delivered its best episode in several weeks, and the reason is simple: Darby Allin defending the AEW World Championship against Tommaso Ciampa in the main event was the kind of match that reminds you why AEW exists as a concept. Ciampa bled early and spent most of the match a crimson mess. Darby did a crossbody off the top turnbuckle to the outside onto Ciampa through a table — a spot that had no business being on a weekly television show. Both men were going for it. The match meant something. The result was a television main event that would have held its own on any pay-per-view card.
“Darby is incredible. Great champion. Great match with Ciampa. You could tell it meant a lot to both guys. They were going all out — and Ciampa was really going for it.” — Dave Simon, Wrestling Uncensored
The intrigue around the championship deepens with MJF, who came out demanding his rematch. Darby’s response was direct: You don’t get a shot just because you want one. Earn it. But if you do want a shot, you’re going to have to put something up — implying that MJF’s TNT Championship would need to be on the line in a title-for-title match. MJF versus Kevin Knight is booked for next week to determine whether MJF wins the TNT title, which would set up a potential Double or Nothing match with both championships on the line: MJF’s TNT title against Darby’s AEW World title. If that match is made, the Double or Nothing card at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens on May 24th already has its main event.
The rest of the Dynamite card was mixed. Samoa Joe’s return was welcome, but his squash opponent — a low-level enhancement talent who got too much offense — wasn’t the right vehicle for a returning star of Joe’s caliber. Will Ospreay versus Mark Davis ended in an injury angle, with Jon Moxley and The Death Riders intervening to carry Ospreay away — a storyline that neither Dave nor Johnny fully understands yet, but one they’re willing to give time to develop. Lio Rush’s new goblin-themed gimmick against Brody King was, by Dave’s assessment, genuinely good: “He’s got a gimmick that’s weird, that’s unique, that’s getting attention — and he seems to be playing it well. This might be the thing that makes it click for him.”
AEW Double or Nothing: Three Matches Already Taking Shape
AEW Double or Nothing is on May 24th at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens — and the card is filling in rapidly. Kazuchika Okada versus Konosuke Takeshita for the International Championship is confirmed. Edge cut a promo challenging FTR to a New York street fight for the AEW Tag Team Championships, with the stipulation that if Edge and Christian lose, they will never team again — not retire from wrestling, but retire as a team, permanently. Dave’s read on that promo: FTR is going to accept, the match is happening, and it will be excellent.
The third potential match — Darby Allin defending the AEW World Championship against MJF, with MJF’s TNT title on the line — is not official but feels inevitable given the storytelling on this week’s Dynamite. A title-for-title match in New York, with a hometown guy in MJF fighting for the biggest prize in the company, at an outdoor stadium: that’s a Double or Nothing main event. If the booking follows the thread that was laid this week, that’s what the show is building toward.
Johnny North also noted what looked like the early stages of a heel turn for a veteran AEW women’s competitor — a slow burn that could set up a match against Kris Statlander at Double or Nothing. The AEW Women’s division is in an uncertain period with Tony Storm’s departure, but bringing in new opponents from the post-WrestleMania WWE free agent pool — once the 90-day no-compete period expires — could inject the division with exactly what it needs.
The Bottom Line
WWE Backlash 2026 is two weeks away and arrives on May 9th, sharing a date with UFC 328 — a collision of combat sports programming that gives wrestling fans and MMA fans alike a reason to block the entire day. Roman Reigns versus Jacob Fatu is the match, assuming the announcement comes on Monday. Cody Rhodes’ future is in the air — whether he competes at Backlash or not, the seeds of his next major program are already planted. The roster has been shaken loose by the biggest release day in recent memory, and the new arrivals are beginning to fill in the gaps. And Triple H’s version of Hulk Hogan’s legacy has been formally contested on this program, for the record, by people who were actually in the building when Hulkamania returned. That matters. That’s what Wrestling Uncensored is for.
Wrestling Uncensored airs live every Friday at 10 PM ET on YouTube, Rumble, Twitch, and all major platforms. For full WrestleMania 42 coverage — including how Roman Reigns won the title that Jacob Fatu is now chasing — everything is at ringsidereport.net.
What is the main event of WWE Backlash 2026?
The expected main event of WWE Backlash 2026 is Roman Reigns defending the WWE Championship against Jacob Fatu. Fatu challenged Reigns publicly, and the match is anticipated to be confirmed on Raw. Cody Rhodes’ presence on the Backlash card has not been confirmed.
Who was released by WWE after WrestleMania 42?
WWE released a significant number of talent after WrestleMania 42, including Aleister Black, Zelina Vega, Kairi Sane, the Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley), Santos Escobar, the entire Wyatt Sicks faction (Bo Dallas, Dexter Loomis, Nikki Cross, Eric Rowan, Joe Gacy), Alba Fire, Zoe Stark, and Apollo Crews, among others.
Who won the SmackDown main event on the post-WrestleMania SmackDown?
Jacob Fatu defeated Solo Sikoa clean in the SmackDown main event, building toward a WWE Backlash 2026 match against Roman Reigns. After the match, Solo Sikoa fought off multiple members of the MFT who attempted to attack him, while the Usos watched from the floor.
Who is the new WWE United States Champion?
Tiffany Stratton defeated Julia to win the WWE United States Championship on the post-WrestleMania 42 SmackDown. The title change was the opening match of a significant episode of the roster reset.
What is AEW Double or Nothing 2026?
AEW Double or Nothing 2026 is scheduled for May 24th at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York. Confirmed matches include Kazuchika Okada vs. Konosuke Takeshita for the International Championship. Expected additions include Darby Allin vs. MJF (title-for-title) and Edge & Christian vs. FTR in a New York street fight.
Is the Hulk Hogan Netflix documentary worth watching?
According to Dave Simon on Wrestling Uncensored, the Hulk Hogan Netflix documentary is genuinely excellent and worth watching — particularly for the personal home video footage, final interviews with Hogan, and the emotional through-line of his relationship with Linda. He does note concerns about Triple H’s characterization of Hogan’s 2002 WWE title reign, which he argues misrepresents what actually happened.
