John Cena’s first championship defense after the WWE Backlash 2025 event won the undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania 41.
A one-on-one showdown between the highly anticipated last true champion, John Cena, and legendary killer Randy Orton, finally happened, exceeding all expectations. The game started with Cena trying to gain an early advantage by cheating, but his efforts proved futile. As the battle unfolded, Cena gained momentum and performed several AAs (attitude adjustments) to move towards Orton, who retaliated against his iconic RKO.
The referee was accidentally knocked down twice throughout the game, resulting in a chaotic moment. Senna even tried to use the title belt as a weapon against Orton, but his initial attempt failed. In the subsequent incident, the referee lost power outside the ring, allowing Orton to slam Cena onto the announcement table and then cross it.
Inside the ring, Orton sent another devastating RKO on Cena and went to the pin. The second officer rushed in until Cena took him away with the championship belt. This leads to confusion as the audience counts restrictions.
No officials were present, SmackDown manager Nick Aldis and his entourage intervened, but was handled quickly only by Orton’s RKO. Orton refocused on Cena, but before he was able to make the final blow, famous Cena supporter R-Truth interrupted the game. Orton quickly sent out the truth with RKO, but Cena took the opportunity to beat Orton with a low blow and a championship belt.
R-Truth comes to save John Cena but eats an RKO.#wwebacklash
– Wrestleops (@wrestleops) May 11, 2025
When the initial referee finally returned to the field, Cena paid the chaos, fixing Orton to successfully retain his title.
The event kicked off an exciting and lethal four-way match for the WWE U.S. champions, including Jacob Fatu, Damian Priest, La Knight and Drew McIntyre. Unsurprisingly, the battle was intense, but the incident took a surprising turn. Solo Sikoa has a dramatic entrance that saves Fatu from La Knight’s potentially devastating move. Solo’s intervention caused interference, causing Jeff Cobb to launch a surprise attack on Knight, ultimately helping Fatu retain the championship. Despite the victory, FATU seems to be unhappy with the results.
It’s Jeff Cobb! ! ! #wwebacklash pic.twitter.com/sbmsbqsikn
– WWE (@WWE) May 10, 2025
In another exciting match, Lyra Valkyria successfully defended her WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship against her former idol rival Becky Lynch. The intense showdown sent both competitors swapping strong blows and performing impressive Grand Slams. Despite Lynch’s attempt to gain an advantage by revealing the turnbuckle, Valkyria took the attack through a series of rolls up and secured victory.
Lyra Valkyria rolled up Becky Lynch and successfully retained the women’s intercontinental championship.
A great game, but Valkyria’s heart and perseverance are amazing. WWE is a very bright future for her. #wwebacklash pic.twitter.com/bxmx9dnzcw
– PW Chronicle (@_pwchronicle) May 11, 2025
With the assistance of El Grande Americano, Dominik Mysterio also retained his WWE Intercontinental Championship against Penta. The match features participation on Judgment Day when El Grande Americano made Penta stand out using a headbutt with a loaded mask. Seizing the opportunity, Mysterio completed the game with a frog splash and maintained his championship dominance.
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