Bad Bunny Wins Instant Classic Match At Record-Breaking ‘WWE Backlash’ In Puerto Rico

Bad Bunny stole the show at WWE Backlash this past weekend. The 29-year-old defeated Damian Priest in an instant classic match during the record-breaking premium live event held in Puerto Rico.

Benito was initially scheduled to be the evening’s host, but after Priest slammed him through an announcer’s table on Monday Night Raw back in April, he challenged The Judgment Day member to a San Juan Street Fight. The former friends got into a shoving match during the Friday (May 5) press conference, making their impending battle on Saturday (May 6) that much more anticipated.

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The GRAMMY winner entered the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot for their match, labeled one of the evening’s two main events, to his 2017 record “Chambea” and a raucous crowd. He came prepared for the Street Fight’s violent environment, unveiling a shopping cart full of weapons such as a trash can, chairs, axe handles, and a Puerto Rican-themed kendo stick he received from WWE legend Savio Vega earlier in the evening.

Things looked bad for Bad Bunny at one point when Damian Priest slammed him from the top of a storage bin through a table with his “Broken Arrow” maneuver. Later in the match, Priest’s Judgment Day affiliates came out to assist him and jump the Un Verano Sin Ti artist. This led to one of the evening’s most exciting moments when Rey Mysterio, the entire Latino World Order faction, Savio Vega, and the Puerto Rican former WWE superstar Carlito came out to assist Bunny. With Priest all to himself, he hit the “Bunny Destroyer” finisher and pinned him to secure the victory.

This thriller of a match, and the show as a whole, made WWE Backlash a rousing success. The PLE, their first in Puerto Rico in over 18 years, saw a viewership increase of 28% from the 2022 Backlash event. It was also the highest gate, otherwise known as revenue from ticket sales, in the history of the event.

Backlash took over social media, with Bad Bunny and Damian Priest’s match earning over 40 million views. Lastly, their sponsorship revenue exceeded every Backlash event in history, breaking last year’s record with a 98% year-over-year increase. All in all, it was a huge success for the WWE in their return to PR in large part thanks to Bad Bunny.

Elsewhere on the card, Cody Rhodes defeated Brock Lesnar in the evening’s second main event, Bianca Belair, Rhea Ripley, and Austin Theory successfully defended their respective championships, and The Bloodline defeated Matt Riddle, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn in a six-man tag team match.

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