John Cena will be back on the road with next week’s WWE Smackdown after a gap of one week, as confirmed on the latest bygone episode. The Undisputed WWE Champion is all set to appear on the go-home Backlash edition on May 9, as confirmed by the WWE. Cena will also defend his title against career-long rival Randy Orton just a night later at Backlash in Orton’s hometown of St. Louis.
In Cena’s absence this week on WWE Smackdown, Randy Orton addressed the upcoming Undisputed WWE Championship match at Backlash. Randy said it took the world two decades to find the selfish and arrogant Cena who faked being a cartoonish superhero for the kids to sell them all kinds of merch.
Randy said Cena only raised the price of his merch to earn more as he sold his soul a long time ago, along with loyalty and respect. Randy closed the promo on WWE Smackdown, promising to Punt Kick Cena at Backlash alongside the pendant RKO. Later, R-Truth met Randy Orton backstage and said the following:
“You got no chance at Backlash. My childhood hero John Cena is going to beat Randy Orton.”
WWE Backlash 2025: Fatal-4-Way Championship Match Announced For PLE
A number-one contender’s match having potential Backlash implications is also set for next Friday’s episode of WWE SmackDown, with Jade Cargill facing Nia Jax. The winner will face Tiffany Stratton for the WWE Women’s Championship at the premium live event. WWE hasn’t officially announced that the winner will get the title match opportunity at Backlash.
A tag team match has also been made, official for WWE Smackdown with Jacob Fatu and Solo Sikoa of The Bloodline facing the unlikely tag team of Damian Priest and LA Knight. Priest, Knight, and Drew McIntyre will challenge Fatu for the United States Championship in a fatal-4-way at Backlash.
WWE Raw: Multiple Superstars Added To Go-Home Backlash 2025 Episode
WWE Smackdown May 9 episode match card
The May 9 episode of WWE Smackdown takes place at the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio, marking the go-home edition for the annual Backlash premium live event, next week. At present, the announced match card for the show goes as follows,
– Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena appears
– WWE Women’s Championship number one contender’s match: Jade Cargill vs. Nia Jax
– Jacob Fatu and Solo Sikoa vs. LA Knight and Damian Priest