On Saturday, May 10th, WWE returned to St. Louis, MO, for its first big event since its industry-changing show at WrestleMania 41, Backlash. The main event of the show saw the newly-crowned Undisputed WWE Champion, John Cena, put his title on the line against long-time rival, Randy Orton. This match comes three weeks after Cena defeated Cody Rhodes in the main event of WrestleMania 41 to win his record-breaking 17th world championship.

We also saw Jacob Fatu put his newly-won United States Championship on the line against LA Knight, Drew McIntyre, and Damian Priest in a fatal-four-way. Lyra Valkyria put her Women’s Intercontinental Championship on the line against her long-time friend turned bitter enemy in Becky Lynch, Dominik Mysterio put his Intercontinental Championship on the line against Penta, and Gunther go one-on-one with Pat McAfee. So, on a night filled with great action, what were the top three moments of the show?

3. Gunther Defeats Pat McAfee, but McAfee Stands Tall In The End

In one of the biggest matches announced for Backlash, we saw the former World Heavyweight Champion, Gunther, go one-on-one with Pat McAfee. This was a match that had become very personal. The night after WrestleMania 41, we saw an irate Gunther pick a fight with Michael Cole. This drew McAfee to go into protective mode. McAfee got choked out for his efforts to play hero, which led to the match between Gunther and McAfee getting announced for tonight’s show.

While McAfee doesn’t wrestle often, it’s important to note he is very talented in the ring. Gunther dominated most of the match with his hard-hitting style, often getting McAfee shaken up. Cole tried to plead with Gunther to end the match, but Gunther was having too much fun decimating McAfee. Cole got up from behind the announce table and came to the ringside to cheer on his best friend. This just angered Gunther more, leading to Gunther trying to take Cole out. However, McAfee hit Gunther with a big kick to save him. Ultimately, McAfee would fall to the Ring General after getting choked out.

After the match, we saw a big moment between Gunther and McAfee. Gunther showed a rare sign of respect to McAfee as McAfee stood tall with Cole by his side, even in defeat. Gunther made his way to the back, and McAfee got a standing ovation. It doesn’t seem likely that McAfee will wrestle often, but this match was just a reminder that McAfee can go in the ring, as well as behind the announce table. He even earned the respect of arguably the greatest wrestler of this generation, Gunther, tonight at Backlash.

2. Solo Sikoa Finds His New Soldier in Jeff Cobb, Jacob Fatu Retains

In the opening match of Backlash, Jacob Fatu put his United States Championship on the line against LA Knight, Drew McIntyre, and Damian Priest. This match comes three weeks after Fatu defeated Knight at WrestleMania 41 to get his first taste of WWE gold. The match was arguably the best match of the night as all four men truly gave it all to be called the United States Champion. Priest and McIntyre fought into the crowd, with Priest hitting a South of Heaven onto McIntyre through two tables.

Meanwhile, the action was still going on at the ringside area. Knight set Fatu up on the announce table and went to hit a big elbow drop on Fatu. However, before he could even climb up the turnbuckle, Solo Sikoa came to help Fatu and pulled him off. This angered Knight and got him to try and get a piece of Sikoa. Unbeknownst to Knight, Sikoa found himself a new soldier in the debuting Jeff Cobb. Sikoa complained that he had no soldiers left, but seemingly found the biggest and baddest before tonight.

Cobb took Knight out before sending him back into the ring for Fatu to finish off. Fatu retained the United States Championship, but it’s worth noting he didn’t look happy after the match. Fatu told Sikoa he didn’t need help in tonight’s match, but Sikoa went and found help to ensure the United States Championship stays in The Bloodline. Cobb looked like a million bucks side-by-side with Sikoa, and is seemingly going to be joining The Bloodline. It remains to be seen where they go from here. But Cobb, one of the hottest free agents, has found his next home in the WWE at Backlash.

1. R-Truth Saves John Cena, Helping Him To Defeat Randy Orton

    The main event of the show saw John Cena put the Undisputed WWE Championship on the line against Randy Orton. This renewed the 20-year-long rivalry between the two men. It was also an excellent callback to one of the top rivalries of the Ruthless Aggression era. Cena won the Undisputed WWE Championship from Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41 a mere three weeks ago. The very next night on Raw, Orton surprised Cena and the WWE Universe. Orton hit Cena, arguably Orton’s biggest rival in his historic WWE career, with a massive RKO, signifying he wants next.

    The crowd was firmly behind Orton at Backlash, in his hometown of St. Louis, MO. While this match had some low expectations heading into it, this was arguably the match of the night. Cena and Orton left it all out in the ring for their final match. Orton hit two attitude adjustments on Cena, one through a regular table and one through a table set up in the ringside area. Cena and Orton went through all of the referees on the SmackDown roster. This led to Aldis making his way down to the ring with other officials. They all ate an RKO courtesy of Orton before Orton measured Cena for the punt.

    As Orton was charging Cena for the punt kick, R-Truth randomly made the save, standing in front of Orton to protect his “childhood hero,” Cena. Truth ate an RKO from Orton for his efforts. However, this allowed Cena to grab the Undisputed WWE Championship belt and knock Orton out. This led to Cena pinning Orton to retain his Undisputed WWE Championship in their last-ever match. This was a blast to watch from a fan standpoint, and was a fantastic callback on the Orton/Cena rivalry, which led the Ruthless Aggression era.