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Cody Rhodes Says Unique History Will Be Made At WWE Backlash France

By John Canton • Published 4th May 2024
Cody Rhodes AJ Styles WWE Title

Cody Rhodes has revealed something very unique about the WWE Backlash France main event and it has nothing to do with the two men in the match.

The WWE Backlash France PLE on May 4th is already a history-making type of show because it’s the first-ever WWE Premium Event Live taking place in France. The WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque has made it clear WWE will go anywhere that makes sense for them and he meant it due to how many international PLE events there are this year.

It was also noted by Triple H on Twitter/X that WWE Smackdown in France headlined by a Cody Rhodes-AJ Style face-to-face confrontation was officially the highest-grossing Smackdown of all-time, which broke a record that was set four weeks earlier in Philadelphia one night before WrestleMania 40.

That Undisputed WWE Championship match between champion Cody Rhodes and challenger AJ Styles will main event the five-match show in front of what should be a very vocal crowd in Lyon, France.

On Twitter/X, Cody Rhodes also revealed that the referee of the match will be Jessika Carr, who will be the first woman to main event a PLE main event for the Undisputed WWE Title.

Wanted to mention this after the contract signing, (and forgive me if I’m wrong but I don’t think I am…) It’ll also be the VERY FIRST PLE Main Event for The Undisputed @WWE Title officiated by a woman @WWELadyRefJess

Referee Jessika Carr has made WWE history numerous times since she was the first woman to referee a Hell in a Cell match, an Elimination Chamber match, and be a referee in a WWE match in Saudi Arabia too.

Cody Rhodes Had A Message For WWE Fans After SmackDown

After the electric crowd in Smackdown, Cody Rhodes had a message for the fans. This came after Cody won a dark match over Shinsuke Nakamura and the video was posted to WWE’s social media channels.

“Are you guys ready for Backlash? Hopefully, you can understand me. If not, forgive me. Question for the audience. Who was here when WWE came to Paris? I don’t know if you remember what I told you, but what I said was, if you stay that loud, if you stay that proud, WWE will bring a PLE to France. Tonight is the first time in my entire career where, during an interview segment, I could not hear myself. I could not hear AJ Styles. I gotta be honest, I loved it.”

“Please, I know you’ve seen me twice already. You’ve been wonderful. But I’m gonna give you every single thing I have in my body tomorrow against AJ Styles. What I ask in return, France, is you to do the same, and we do this together. How do you say it in French? I love you. I mean it from the bottom of my heart, guys. I love you very much. Enjoy tomorrow.”

“This is your PLE. If you bring the same energy you had today, and you bring it tomorrow, who’s to say another PLE doesn’t come to France? God bless you. I want to quickly think this wonderful crew, who’s standing by, waiting. Samantha [Irvin], who’s been willing it all night long. God bless you guys. Enjoy this evening. I cannot wait to see each and every one of you tomorrow. Have a great night. Take care of one another. I love you. Be safe, guys. Good night.”