Bad Bunny will return to the ring at WWE Backlash.
As announced on Monday’s Raw episode, Bad Bunny is set to take on Damian Priest of The Judgment Day in a street fight at the Saturday, May 6 Backlash pay-per-view in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It will be the third career match for Bad Bunny.
Bunny appeared on Monday’s Raw, saving Rey Mysterio from a Priest attack. Bunny hit Priest with a kendo stick, then announced that he was no longer hosting Backlash, but instead would be facing Priest in a street fight at the event.
Bunny last wrestled in the 2022 Royal Rumble match. Prior to that, he teamed with Priest to defeat John Morrison and The Miz on night one of WrestleMania 37 in April 2021.
A Raw Women’s Championship match has also been added to the Backlash card.
Bianca Belair will defend the Raw Women’s title against number one contender IYO SKY at Backlash. SKY won a number one contender’s match on the April 10 Raw, defeating Michin and Piper Niven to set up the title bout.
The updated Backlash lineup:
WWE Backlash, Saturday, May 6, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock & WWE Network —
Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens & Matt Riddle vs. The Usos & Solo Sikoa
Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
Street fight: Bad Bunny vs. Damian Priest
Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair defends against IYO SKY
SmackDown Women’s Championship: Rhea Ripley defends against Zelina Vega
Triple threat match for the United States Championship: Austin Theory defends against Bobby Lashley & Bronson Reed
Date: April 24, 2023 Location: Allstate Arena in Chicago, IL
The Big Takeaway —
Triple H announced that a new World Heavyweight Champion would be crowned at Night of Champions on May 27th (in Saudi Arabia). Roman Reigns is eligible for the draft and will only be the champion of the brand that drafts him.
Cody Rhodes returned to action and defeated Finn Bálor. Brock Lesnar appears next week.
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn will defend the tag team titles against the Usos on Friday’s Smackdown. Bad Bunny will face Damian Priest at Backlash in a street fight.
There was no mention of CM Punk (obviously) nor were there any audible chants for him.
**********
Show Recap —
Cody Rhodes kicked off Raw in Chicago. He received a very big reaction.
Rhodes said they could talk about the upcoming draft or talk about his upcoming match against Brock Lesnar, the most decorated combat sports athlete ever. Rhodes had clips shown of the beating Lesnar gave him and said it was the worst beating of his career.
Rhodes removed his shirt (to the delight of some in the crowd) to show the scar from his pec surgery and noted this was the same arena he wrestled with the pec injury. Rhodes dared Lesnar to put another scar on him because that would show him that Lesnar hasn’t learned anything. He wrestled with that injury and still beat one of the best ever inside Hell in a Cell.
Rhodes said he never talks about that match, despite the picture of him wrestling with the injury being the one he is asked to autograph the most. He spoke about the fans in Chicago rallying behind him in that match. He’s had many great moments in Chicago and he wanted to thank them.
Finn Bálor interrupted. Bálor told Rhodes, “we all got scars, mate.” Bálor saw that Rhodes had Roman Reigns beat at WrestleMania and he got screwed. Bálor knew how he felt. The reason Rhodes got screwed was that no one had his back. Bálor said Rhodes trusted the wrong man in Lesnar the next night.
Bálor said Rhodes needed to be smarter, “like me.” Bálor called the match against Lesnar a match he can’t win — not on his own. Rhodes was under the impression that there was mutual respect between them but he was starting to doubt it and he wasn’t buying what Bálor was selling.
Bálor said Rhodes in Judgment Day would be unstoppable. Rhea Ripley became Smackdown Women’s Champion, Damian Priest put the biggest star in the world through a table, and Dominik Mysterio proved he was already greater than his father. The crowd told Bálor that he sucked as he told Rhodes they could have his back at Backlash.
Rhodes encouraged the crowd to keep chanting before politely declining Bálor’s offer. Rhodes offered a handshake but Bálor told him that he was either with them or against them. Bálor told Rhodes to watch his back or else he’d smack the bleach out of his head.
Rhodes informed Bálor that he was medically cleared as of a few hours ago and challenged him to a match tonight. Bálor seemed to agree before leaving the ring.
********
Kevin Patrick announced a sold-out crowd tonight and plugged Triple H’s announcement that would ‘rock the foundation of WWE.’
The LWO has new music which includes the “Viva La Raza” soundbite from Eddie Guerrero’s theme.
Six-man tag team match: The Usos & Solo Sikoa defeated LWO (Santos Escobar, Joaquin Wilde & Cruz Del Toro) (8:40)
LWO members hit dives ahead of an early commercial break. They showed replays of the dives upon returning but no clips to show how Bloodline gained control during the break. Santos Escobar made a tag and ran wild until he hit Jimmy Uso with a flying crossbody for two. Del Toro followed with a Phoenix Splash but Jey Uso broke up the cover.
Sikoa gave Joaquin Wilde a Uranage onto the edge of the ring while Del Toro set up for a coast-to-coast dropkick. Jey distracted the ref while Sikoa nailed Del Toro a Samoan Spike in mid-air. The Usos followed with 1D and Jey pinned Del Toro for the pinfall win. (The portion of the match we actually saw was good.)
— After the match, Jey Uso said they had just one bad night at WrestleMania 39 where they let down the Bloodline. Jimmy said they would become tag team champions again on this Friday’s Smackdown and they dedicated the match to Roman Reigns.
The announcers made it official: Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn defend the tag titles against the Usos on Friday’s Smackdown. They called it the biggest tag match in Smackdown history.
(As they announced this, there was a production mistake where they showed Cathy Kelley in the back getting ready for the next segment.)
********
Cathy Kelley tried interviewing Bianca Belair but they were interrupted by Damage CTRL. IYO SKY wanted to face her tonight and Belair seemed to agree but Bayley interrupted and said the three of them wanted to face Belair assuming Belair could find two partners. SKY and Bayley were obviously not on the same page.
********
Jey Uso was on the phone when he bumped into Sami Zayn backstage. Zayn thought it was funny that they dedicated Friday’s title match to Reigns. They had the chance to win the titles back and they should be doing it for themselves but instead, they’re doing it for Reigns. Now that they’ve attached Reigns’ name to it, Zayn wondered what would happen if they failed.
Zayn said Jey didn’t deserve what was coming for him if they lost. Jey asked Zayn why he cared and Zayn said he felt bad. Jey said he shouldn’t feel bad because he made his choice and Jey made his choice too.
********
Kelley interviewed Trish Stratus. Kelley wondered if Stratus knew why Becky Lynch wasn’t here for a second straight week. Stratus said Lynch was having trouble handling the pressure of being on top of the women’s division especially now that she was a mom. Stratus said she knew what the pressure was like but she was thriving. Stratus put Lynch out of her misery and should be thanking her for it.
(They went to break after the six-man tag/Belair interview, aired the Jey/Zayn segment and Stratus interview, showed the Street Profits’ entrance, and went to break again.)
********
The Street Profits defeated Cedric Alexander & Shelton Benjamin (2:18)
Alexander and Benjamin got some offence but the Street Profits won after Angelo Dawkins gave Alexander a spinebuster and Montez Ford pinned him with a frog splash.
********
[SECOND HOUR]
Triple H’s announcement
Triple H entered to his ‘King of Kings’ theme. He received a big reaction. He said he had the incredible privilege of competing in front of the fans as a superstar. He defended the WWE Championship in Chicago against one of the greatest of all time in John Cena.
Triple H was now privileged to ensure that WWE was all that it could be.
Triple H wanted to address the current champion Roman Reigns who was approaching 1,000 days as champion. Triple H shared the ring with some of the greatest ever and said Reigns was good enough to hang with any of them.
During his near-1,000 days as champion, Reigns negotiated it into his contract that he did not have to defend that title as often. That was great for Roman Reigns but not great for the fans. The fans deserved more. When Triple H said the draft would shake the foundation of WWE, he meant it.
Triple H said that when Roman Reigns gets drafted, he will take the championship with him and stay there.
On May 27th at Night of Champions, they would crown a new World Heavyweight Champion. The crowd cheered as he unveiled a new World Championship belt.
Triple H said this would be a champion to be proud of, respect and admire. A champion that would defend the title any place, any time, all over the world. This champion would not demand your acknowledgement but earn it.
********
Kelley approached Judgment Day for an interview. She specifically asked Damian Priest a question and Bálor was annoyed that he seemed invisible to her. Priest told Bálor that he had to get ready anyway so he left.
Priest thought it was great that Bad Bunny was here tonight. Priest mentioned all of Bad Bunny’s success and said he has even had success in WWE but only when Priest has had his back. If Bad Bunny got in his business again, he’d end up through a table again. Priest said he didn’t go on stage at Bad Bunny’s concerts and interfere.
Dom said Bad Bunny could watch Priest take out his dead-beat dad and Priest said he would exterminate Rey Mysterio tonight.
********
There was a Bronson Reed video package.
In the back, Jimmy tried hyping up Jey but he was clearly distracted. Jimmy asked him what was wrong. Jey asked if Jimmy was worried about what would happen to them if they lost. Jimmy brushed it off until Jey said he spoke to Zayn earlier. Jimmy flipped out and told Jey that he shouldn’t be talking to Zayn. Jey asked him plainly: what would happen if we don’t win?
Jimmy fired up and told him they would win back the belts and do it for the Tribal Chief. Jimmy left.
********
Six-woman tag team match: Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair & Tag Team Champions Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan defeated Bayley, IYO SKY & Dakota Kai (9:28)
After a break, Morgan failed to make a hot tag because SKY yanked Belair off the apron. Morgan gave Kai a backstabber and tagged in Rodriguez who hit Bayley with a clothesline, fallaway slam, and twisting senton but Kai broke up the cover. Rodriguez chucked Kai from the ring.
Rodriguez then powerbombed Morgan, her partner, over the top rope into Bayley. SKY dropkicked Rodriguez out of the ring and Belair tried to give SKY a KOD but SKY blocked it. Belair drove SKY into the ring post before Bayley tripped Belair.
Bayley tried to take advantage but Belair countered and hit KOD for the pinfall win.
(SKY was late breaking up the cover and had a brief face-off with Belair after the pinfall.)
********
Austin Theory/Bobby Lashley/Bronson Reed segment
Theory entered for a promo and welcomed us to “Austin Theory Live.” Theory called himself the greatest US Champion ever but wondered where his respect was. He didn’t even get to choose his next opponents.
Theory looked over at the new World title belt (which was on display at ringside) and said it should be around his waist because if anyone earned it, it was him.
Instead, Theory was forced into defending his US title in a triple threat where he can lose without being pinned or submitted. The crowd chanted “you suck” and he smiled (because he was getting heat) and reminded them that he beat John Cena at WrestleMania.
Lashley interrupted. Lashley wondered when Theory would step up and run toward the obstacles instead of away from them. Lashley knew how tough Theory was but didn’t think Theory even knew it. Lashley wondered if Theory was lazy or just scared. Lashley let him know that the triple threat match was his idea.
Theory asked Lashley why he didn’t have a match at WrestleMania if he was so good at making matches. Lashley threatened to knock his teeth out.
Theory tried to take a cheap shot but Lashley fought him off. Bronson Reed joined in and they double-teamed Lashley. Theory held Lashley against the ring post as Reed squished him into it.
Theory gave Lashley an A-Town down and bragged until Reed ran him over. Reed gave Theory a Samoan Drop and Tsunami.
********
Earlier today, Chad Gable explained the rules of the draft to Rick Boogs per Elias’ request. Gable said he got assurance that he would get drafted alongside Otis but Maxxine Dupri wasn’t so sure. Mustafa Ali showed up and said some stuff before calling Gable a loser. Gable told him to shoosh and Otis stood up for Gable.
Mustafa Ali defeated Chad Gable (w/Otis & Maxxine Dupri) (1:50)
They announced Ali as being from Chicago before his music hit.
Ali tried a rolling neckbreaker but Gable caught him and hit a dragon suplex. Ali spiked Gable with a tornado DDT and tried a splash but Gable avoided it. Gable tried a Chaos Theory suplex but Ali countered that into a roll-up for the pinfall win.
********
Jimmy Uso confronted Zayn in the back. Jimmy said Owens just used Zayn to get the tag titles and when they lost those titles, Owens would turn on him again. Jimmy told Zayn to worry about his own brother.
Finn Bálor entered ahead of a break.
[THIRD HOUR]
Cody Rhodes defeated Finn Bálor (11:05)
Rhodes used his size advantage early on and hit a delayed reverse vertical suplex. Bálor ducked a running crossbody and Rhodes went flying into the ropes. Rhodes sold his injured ribs as Bálor pushed him into the announce table. Bálor glanced at the new World title belt as they went to break.
Rhodes fought back after the break and hit a Disaster kick for two. Bálor blocked a Cody Cutter and hit a headlock elbow drop for two. Bálor stomped at Rhodes’ ribs and hit a slingblade but Rhodes came back with a superkick and Cody Cutter for two.
Bálor stomped Rhodes and hit a shotgun dropkick but Rhodes dodged a Coup de Grace. Bálor blocked a Cross Rhodes and applied a small package for two. Rhodes hit a Pedigree but did not go for a cover and instead hit a Cross Rhodes for the pinfall win.
The crowd really liked Rhodes and he celebrated with them after the match.
********
Seth Rollins segment
Rollins wore a gold tiger print jumpsuit with an open back.
Rollins mentioned his upcoming match against Omos at Backlash — but something bigger has caught his eye. Rollins turned his attention to the World title belt at ringside. (The crowd chanted “you deserve it” and Rollins asked if they were chanting that because he was a Bears fan.)
Rollins said he was not on the list of names that Roman Reigns has defeated. Rollins said a lot of people wanted to be Roman Reigns but some people still wanted to fight. He called the new belt an opportunity for “us” to fight, push the industry forward, and have a world championship that was about more than politics and part-timers.
Rollins was putting money on himself to win the title but before he could lead the crowd in singing his song, Omos and MVP interrupted.
MVP said they meant no disrespect because they respected Rollins immensely. MVP called Rollins one of the best superstars to embrace a WWE ring and he has accomplished virtually everything. MVP called Rollins brilliant — except for his fashion choices.
MVP said it was his job to get Omos big matches and a win over Rollins would be huge. MVP cautioned Rollins about making predictions about his future because he may not have one after Backlash.
Rollins said MVP undersold Omos and called him the strongest force in WWE. Rollins said Omos was once in a generation because he was born that way, while Rollins was once in a generation because he made himself that way.
Rollins should be afraid of Omos but he wasn’t. Rollins would make Omos famous after he gave him the match of his life before bouncing his big head off the mat. After Omos woke up from his three-second nap, he would hear the crowd singing his song.
*********
Matt Riddle was talking Kevin Owens’ ear off in the back when Zayn approached. Owens popped up and frantically asked where Zayn was all night (because he was annoyed at being stuck with Riddle). Zayn mentioned that he spoke with the Usos and Owens obviously didn’t like hearing that. Owens basically told him that they need to stay focused on Friday. Owens left.
Riddle told Zayn that he knew exactly what he was going through. Zayn didn’t know what he meant. Riddle mentioned his team with Randy Orton where everyone thought Orton would turn on him but that didn’t happen because they were bros. Riddle said Owens and Zayn were bros and everything would be cool — win, lose or draw. Zayn thanked him.
********
(I wasn’t going to mention this but there have been more production errors since the one I mentioned earlier, mostly involving random out-of-place camera cuts that show nothing in particular. It’s happened a few times and that is usually not the case with WWE programming.)
The announcers plugged Smackdown and ran down the Backlash card.
A couple of times tonight, they showed Bad Bunny’s social media posts live updating people as he made his way to the arena.
Brock Lesnar appears next week.
********
Rey Mysterio defeated Damian Priest via disqualification (11:06)
Bad Bunny was shown arriving at the arena about two minutes into the match. Priest dumped Rey from the ring and they went to break a minute later.
Rey mounted a comeback and hit a springboard crossbody for two. Rey went for the 619 but ran into a boot by Priest. Priest blocked Rey’s offence again and hit a lifting flatliner for two. The crowd chanted for Rey as Priest grabbed a steel chair but Rey sent him flying off the apron with a dropkick. Priest grabbed him for a chokeslam but Rey fought him off and hit a 619.
Rey went to the top but Priest chucked the chair at Rey’s head for the DQ.
— Priest hit Rey with his finisher and cleared the announce table when Bad Bunny entered with a kendo stick. (Rey disappeared after this.)
Bad Bunny entered the ring and hit Priest with the kendo stick as Priest charged at him. Priest caught him and set up for a chokeslam on the announce table but Bad Bunny slipped out and hit him repeatedly with the kendo stick. Priest ran away and the crowd booed him.
Bad Bunny stood on the announce table and informed Priest that he wasn’t hosting Backlash anymore — “I’m going to Puerto Rico to kick your ass.” He said they would be in his house and it would be Bad Bunny against Damian Priest in a street fight.
(Bad Bunny did well here and the crowd cheered for him.)
The Grammy Award-winning artist and host of next month’s WWE Backlash event will return to WWE programming on the April 24 edition of Raw, as announced during this week’s episode.
After appearing at WrestleMania 39 as a guest commentator and aiding Rey Mysterio in his victory over Dominik Mysterio, Bunny made another appearance on the Raw after WrestleMania, where he was attacked and put through a table by Damian Priest of The Judgment Day.
While he has not been announced for in-ring competition at Backlash on May 6, Bunny’s involvement in the show will at least consist of hosting the event set for San Juan, Puerto Rico.
WWE’s chief content officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque would neither confirm nor deny whether or not Bunny will wrestle at Backlash when he was asked at the post-WrestleMania 39 press conference.
Bad Bunny’s return is the only segment announced for next week’s show to this point.
The April 24 Raw will be held in Rosemont, Illinois at the Allstate Arena.
Two matches have been confirmed for Backlash thus far. The lineup for the May 6 event:
WWE Backlash, Saturday, May 6, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock & WWE Network —
Bad Bunny hosts the event
Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens & Matt Riddle vs. Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso & Solo Sikoa
The Raw after WrestleMania 39 saw music superstar Bad Bunny get put through a table by Damian Priest.
After getting involved at WrestleMania, Bad Bunny made another appearance on WWE programming as he was ringside for Rey Mysterio’s match against Austin Theory on Monday night. The match ended with Theory winning after interference by Dominik Mysterio.
Dominik attacked Rey after the match and then got in Bad Bunny’s face. He went to sucker punch Bad Bunny, but Bad Bunny blocked it and decked Dominik.
Priest responded by pulling Bad Bunny over the barricade. Priest told him that he shouldn’t have gotten involved. When Bad Bunny punched Dominik again, Priest attacked Bad Bunny, including chokeslamming him through the announce table.
Adam Pearce confronted Priest backstage after the attack. Priest said that, if Bad Bunny wasn’t his friend, he would have really given Pearce a reason to be angry.
Priest was Bad Bunny’s tag team partner when Bad Bunny made his in-ring debut at WrestleMania 37. They defeated The Miz & John Morrison.
Bad Bunny helped Rey defeat Dominik at WrestleMania 39 night one. He took a chain away from Dominik when Dominik tried to use it as a weapon.
The story appears to be leading to Bad Bunny competing in the ring at Backlash next month. Bad Bunny has been announced as the host of the event, which is taking place in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Saturday, May 6.
With some help from Bad Bunny, Rey Mysterio was victorious in his father vs. son matchup at WrestleMania 39.
Superstar musician Bad Bunny returned to WWE programming as he joined Spanish commentary for Rey and Dominik Mysterio’s match at WrestleMania Saturday. He ended up getting involved when Dominik tried to cheat to win. Dominik went to hit Rey with a chain while the referee’s attention was turned away, but Bad Bunny took the chain away from him. Rey then gave Dominik a 619 and a frog splash to get the win.
The Rey vs. Dominik match also included interference by Judgment Day’s Damian Priest and Finn Balor. Legado del Fantasma, who were gifted Latino World Order shirts by Rey on Friday’s SmackDown, ran out to help even the odds.
Bad Bunny has been announced as the host of WWE’s Backlash pay-per-view in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Saturday, May 6. Bad Bunny’s involvement in Rey vs. Dominik appears like it could lead to Bad Bunny competing in the ring at Backlash.
Bad Bunny made his in-ring debut when he teamed with Priest to defeat The Miz & John Morrison at WrestleMania 37 in 2021. Bad Bunny also appeared as an entrant in the 2022 men’s Royal Rumble match.
WWE will receive $1.8 million in subsidies from Puerto Rico tourism groups to hold May’s Backlash in San Juan.
Wrestlenomics’ Brandon Thurston reported the news Friday via information from Mariela Vallines, the executive director of the Puerto Rico Conventions District Authority.
According to Thurston, the breakout is a $1.5 million subsidy and a non-monetary “in kind contribution” of $300,000 to hold the Saturday, May 6th pay-per-view/premium live event.
The $300,000 will cover use of the Coliseo de Puerto Rico Jose Miguel Agrelot.
Vallines also noted that while there was no bidding process to host Backlash, she is under the understanding other cities were interested.
On past WWE investors calls, CEO Nick Khan had said to expect the company to earn more site fees for bringing events to cities, similar to the process with the Cardiff, Wales, government for last September’s Clash at the Castle.
Popular musician and past WWE wrestler Bad Bunny will host the event which will be preceded by SmackDown the night before in the same city and venue. It will be their first trip to Puerto Rico for an event like this since 2005’s New Year’s Revolution.
Bad Bunny and Rey Mysterio performed in a sketch on The Late Late Show on Tuesday.
Bunny took part in a carpool karaoke segment with host James Corden and was asked about his love of wrestling. Mysterio was later brought out to wrestle a quick match with Corden.
Bad Bunny said:
I love wrestling ever since I was a kid. In my songs, I have a lot of wrestling references. WWE said, ‘Woah, this guy is a fan of us so we should [do] something with him.’ So, they ask, ‘You want to be a referee, you want to be at the side?’ And I said, ‘I want to fight.’
When asked if he was nervous performing in a WWE ring, Bunny responded:
I was, I really was. That day, I’m not 100% sure but I think it was the best day of my life.
Bunny teamed with Damian Priest and defeated The Miz & John Morrison at WrestleMania 37. He also participated in the men’s 2022 Royal Rumble match.
Corden and Bad Bunny then performed a sketch where Bunny taught Corden some wrestling moves, including a Camel Clutch and Ankle Lock. Bunny then brought out Rey Mysterio to help with Corden’s training.
Corden would exit and re-enter the scene dressed in a cape and purple mask. Shortly after, Mysterio pinned Corden in an impromptu match with a sunset flip.
Bad Bunny’s WWE career continues on May 6, 2023, when he will serve as host of WWE Backlash from Coliseo de Puerto Rico Jose Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Announced on Wednesday, the music star will host WWE Backlash, set for Saturday, May 6th from Coliseo de Puerto Rico Jose Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, Puerto Rico — his native island.
It will be the first WWE pay-per-view to be held in Puerto Rico since 2005’s New Year’s Revolution, a show headlined by an Elimination Chamber match. Presale registration has opened up, but the onsale date was not announced.
It will be Bad Bunny’s first WWE appearance since the 2022 Royal Rumble when he was a surprise participant in the Rumble match. He made his in-ring debut at 2021’s WrestleMania when he and Damien Priest defeated The Miz & John Morrison and has also appeared on Raw.
In a statement, he said, “In 2005 when I was a kid, I wasn’t able to attend New Year’s Revolution at el Coliseo. Finally, 18 years later WWE returns to the island with a massive event and this time I won’t miss it.”
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about including Impact’s weekend PPV with MOOSE VS. JOSH ALEXANDER and ISHII VS. JONAH, plus A GOOD EPISODE OF RAW, and so much happiness and joy that it’s presumed Bryan has been kidnapped and held hostage by WWE. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Music superstar Bad Bunny is putting his pro wrestling training to use for an upcoming movie role.
At CinemaCon on Monday night, Sony Pictures announced that Bad Bunny will star in the Spider-Man spinoff movie “El Muerto.” The film is scheduled to be released on January 12, 2024.
The El Muerto character is a “super-powered wrestler.” Bad Bunny is a lifelong pro wrestling fan and has partnered with WWE for appearances in both 2021 and 2022. He teamed with Damian Priest against The Miz & John Morrison at WrestleMania 37, appeared in the 2022 men’s Royal Rumble match, and is a former WWE 24/7 Champion.
“It’s amazing, it’s incredible. I love wrestling,” Bad Bunny said about playing El Muerto. “I grew up watching wrestling and I’m a wrestler. I’m a former champion, so this is why I love this character. I think it’s the perfect role to me and it will be epic.”
El Muerto will be the first Latino Marvel character to get their own live-action film.
Marvel wrote about the El Muerto character:
The powers and mask of the super powered wrestler el Muerto have been passed down generation to generation. Each wrestler had to prove themselves to their oppressor, el Dorado, so that they could remain alive and keep their powers. When Marcus Estrada presented his son Juan Carlos to el Dorado, Juan Carlos cowered in terror, unwilling to fight him. Marcus Estrada sacrificed his life to try and save Juan Carlos. Out of respect for his father’s courage, el Dorado granted Juan Carlos ten years to travel and to become brave, and then to duel a masked wrestler and unmask him.
Ten years later, el Muerto traveled to New York City and approached J. Jonah Jameson to set up a charity event: A wrestling match, in which el Muerto would fight Spider-Man. Jonah organized the match, hoping that el Muerto would defeat and unmask Spider-Man. El Muerto and Spider-Man both attended the match, and Spider-Man was confident he would easily defeat el Muerto. The tide turned, and el Muerto nearly unmasked Spider-Man. Reflexively, Spider-Man stabbed el Muerto with his stingers, injecting him with a paralyzing poison.
Spider-Man rescued el Muerto in the hospital when el Dorado came to claim his life. El Muerto came to and aided Spider-Man in defeating el Dorado. El Dorado still managed to escape before they managed to defeat him.
Bad Bunny and Shane McMahon returned to WWE at the Royal Rumble event as surprise entrants in the men’s Royal Rumble match.
Both made their first WWE appearances since last year’s WrestleMania 37 event at the Rumble. Bunny entered the match 27th, while McMahon entered 28th.
McMahon was also the 28th elimination in the match, which was won by Brock Lesnar. Bunny was the 26th elimination in the bout. Both were thrown out by Lesnar, who last eliminated the returning Drew McIntyre to win the Rumble.
Before being eliminated, Bad Bunny threw Sheamus and Dolph Ziggler out of the Rumble, while McMahon eliminated Kevin Owens.
WWE released Bad Bunny merchandise for the show describing his return as “one night only.”
Bunny held the 24/7 Championship for 28 days during his prior WWE tenure.
Lesnar has yet to declare which title he will challenge for at WrestleMania, but after Universal Champion Roman Reigns cost Lesnar the WWE title earlier in the show, Reigns vs. Lesnar appears to be the WrestleMania direction for the Rumble winner.
A recent back injury had originally kept Damian Priest on the sidelines of the Bad Bunny vs. The Miz match at Saturday’s WWE WrestleMania 37 night one, but a recent medical clearance paved the way for it to change to the tag team match that took place instead.
On the post-WrestleMania edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said that he was told Priest was cleared “last minute” and it was even “touch and go” whether Priest could still go in the match against Miz and John Morrison.
“He was hurting,” Meltzer said.
Priest and Bunny defeated Miz and Morrison Saturday in a match where Bunny was involved nearly the entire way.
Originally, the match was a singles affair between the pop star and Miz but on last Monday’s Raw, they made it a tag match instead. The show was taped the week prior, but it’s unknown if that was when he was originally cleared. Meltzer had assumed the reason it was a singles match was due to a Morrison injury, but that apparently wasn’t the case.
It’s unknown when or how the injury occurred. Priest had wrestled twice in March with his last one a 35-second squash win over Jaxson Ryker on the March 15th Raw. Saturday’s tag match was only his seventh of the calendar year including his debut at the Royal Rumble.
For someone that not only wrestled their first match but had that first match at WrestleMania, pop star Bad Bunny made a great accounting of himself Saturday as he and Damian Priest defeated The Miz and John Morrison at WWE WrestleMania 37.
Bunny surprised many by working the majority of the match, both dishing out offense and taking a beating from both Miz and Morrison throughout the match. He eventually got the hot tag to Priest with the two hitting stereo falcon arrows at one point. Later in the match, Bunny hit a destroyer on Morrison on the outside of the ring, leaving both Miz and Priest with mouths agape looking on.
The end came when Priest hoisted Miz on his shoulders and Bad Bunny hit a flying crossbody to pick up the pin and win.
A self-described lifelong WWE fan, Bunny trained for the match at the Performance Center and drew rave reviews from Paul “Triple H” Levesque on several media calls for his work ethic and dedication to learning the game. He made his debut at January’s Royal Rumble with a performance of “Booker T” which is where the angle with Miz and Morrison kicked off.
WWE has announced a change to one of the matches for WrestleMania 37.
At WrestleMania 37 night one this Saturday, it will now be Bad Bunny & Damian Priest teaming together against The Miz & John Morrison. The bout had originally been announced as a singles match between Bad Bunny and Miz.
The change to the match was made official when Miz & Morrison accepted a challenge from Bad Bunny & Priest on Raw tonight. In an angle earlier on the show, Miz and Morrison defaced Bad Bunny’s $3.6 million Bugatti by painting on it. When Bad Bunny came to see what Miz and Morrison had done to his car, Miz and Morrison attacked him from behind.
Bad Bunny will be making his in-ring debut at WrestleMania 37. The music superstar first appeared for WWE when he performed his song “Booker T” at the Royal Rumble this January. Bad Bunny & Priest have been feuding with Miz & Morrison since then.
WrestleMania 37 is taking place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida this Saturday and Sunday. Both nights will air live on Peacock in the United States and live on the WWE Network everywhere else.
Here are the updated cards for both nights of WrestleMania 37:
WrestleMania 37 night one (Saturday, April 10) —
SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks defends against Bianca Belair
WWE Champion Bobby Lashley defends against Drew McIntyre
Bad Bunny & Damian Priest vs. The Miz & John Morrison
Raw Tag Team Champions The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) defend against AJ Styles & Omos
Steel cage match: Braun Strowman vs. Shane McMahon
Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro
Tag Team Turmoil match for a WWE Women’s Tag Team title shot at WrestleMania 37 night two
WrestleMania 37 night two (Sunday, April 11) —
Universal Champion Roman Reigns defends against Edge and Daniel Bryan in a triple threat match
Raw Women’s Champion Asuka defends against Rhea Ripley
“The Fiend” Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton
Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn
Intercontinental Champion Big E defends against Apollo Crews in a Nigerian Drum Fight
United States Champion Riddle defends against Sheamus
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler defend against the winners of the Tag Team Turmoil match from night one
Bad Bunny vs. The Miz has been made official for WrestleMania 37.
On tonight’s episode of Raw, The Miz formally issued a challenge to Bad Bunny for a match at WrestleMania during an episode of Miz TV. After defeating Jeff Hardy later in the show, The Miz was laid out by Bad Bunny after he smashed a guitar into Miz’s back, payback for Miz attacking Bad Bunny in the same fashion last week. Bad Bunny then accepted Miz’s challenge for WrestleMania.
It was later announced that a new Dirt Sheet would take place next week on Raw, where The Miz and John Morrison will premiere their new music video “Hey Hey Hop Hop”, in honor of Bad Bunny.
Bad Bunny has been feuding with both The Miz and John Morrison since appearing at the Royal Rumble in January, laying both out with a dive during the men’s Royal Rumble match. He has been allied with Damien Priest, who debuted for the Raw brand following the Royal Rumble. Priest helped Bad Bunny win the 24/7 Championship. However, Bad Bunny later gave the title to R-Truth.
WrestleMania is scheduled to take place on two nights, April 10 and 11.
