WWE Not Paid For Major International Show

Backlash France will best be remembered for the wild crowd but for the bean counters at WWE, they might have thought the show missed a certain je ne sais quoi.

Backlash France saw a WWE star return after a decade away from the company to join The Bloodline and solidify Solo Sikoa’s place as Tribal Chief.

The show also saw Jey Uso fail to dethrone Damian Priest for the World Heavyweight Championship and Jade Cargill claim her first gold in WWE as she and Bianca Belair defeated The Kabuki Warriors for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship.

Bayley retained her WWE Women’s Championship against Tiffany Stratton and Naomi and it was a clean sweep for the singles champions in action as Cody Rhodes defeated AJ Styles in the main event to remain WWE Champion.

The show continued WWE’s strategy of holding premium live events in new markets with many of these shows heading overseas. Wales, Puerto Rico, England, and Australia have joined Saudi Arabia in playing host to many of these shows outside of the continental United States.

The Welsh Government paid almost $3 million for Clash at the Castle in 2022 while Backlash in 2023 netted WWE $1.5 million from Puerto Rico in site fees. However, things were not the same for Backlash France held in Lyon-Decines.

WWE Received No Site Fee For Backlash France

Félix Gouty for POST Wrestling reported that WWE did not receive a penny in public subsidy for Backlash. The report also confirmed something reported several months ago on Fightful Select that the city was not WWE’s first choice to host the event.

Paris had been the favoured host for Backlash but the impending Olympic Games in the city later in 2024 meant no suitable venue could give WWE four days to get in and out for the event and the SmackDown on the previous night.

WWE President Nick Khan lifted the lid on the company’s strategy with international shows and it seemed to indicate bad news for those outside North America hoping for WrestleMania coming their way.