"WrestleMania Backlash" Announced For Sunday, May 16
The connection between events is now less subtle
Apr 12, 2021
Historically, WWE Backlash was the WrestleMania rematch show, in which the big 'Mania angles were blown off with gimmick bouts and the like one month later. But now, WWE is more overtly linking the two events by branding.
During WrestleMania 37 on Sunday night, WWE announced that "WrestleMania Backlash" will take place on Sunday night, May 16, presumably at the Yuengling Center in Tampa.
Previous reports had Money in the Bank scheduled for May 16 and Backlash for June 20, before opting to instead go with Backlash in May.
The event will be the sixteenth in Backlash's total chronology, which began in 1999. The event ran as an April/May staple through 2009, before getting rebranded amid WWE's mass shake-up of secondary events that began later that year.
Backlash returned in 2016 after the second brand split, and was SmackDown exclusive for the time. It became an all-brand event once more in 2018.
The last Backlash took place on June 14 of last year. It was headlined by the "Greatest Wrestling Match Ever" between Edge and Randy Orton.
