WWE Stars Removed From Backlash 2026

Published: 2 hours ago by SP3 | Last Updated: 2 hours ago by SP3

Born in Harlem, New York and now living in the Bronx, Sid Pullar III aka SP3 is a lifelong wrestling fan who has been covering the industry for over nine years as a podcaster and writer. His passion for the industry has been documented with over 3,000 videos on YouTube and 8,000 written pieces across multiple outlets, such as WrestleTalk, Sports Illustrated and more.

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WWE will present the follow-up to WrestleMania 42 with the Backlash 2026 premium live event from Tampa, Florida.

Coming off the heels of ‘The Showcase of the Immortals,’ there were plans set for this major show that might not be going down as originally intended.

From stars getting injured to plans being changed, there are various names who were subsequently removed from the card for WWE Backlash 2026.

Here are 10 WWE stars seemingly removed from Backlash 2026.

10. Randy Orton

At WrestleMania 42 night one, Cody Rhodes defeated Randy Orton to retain the Undisputed WWE Championship.

After the loss, Orton attacked Rhodes by hitting him with the WWE Title belt and punting his rival in the head.

This looked to set up a logical rematch between the former Legacy members, but Orton has not been seen on WWE television since then.

With the original plans reportedly having Orton team with Pat McAfee for a tag team match, it seems like “The Viper” has been removed from the Backlash 2026 lineup.

9. Pat McAfee

Heading into WWE WrestleMania 42, Pat McAfee was a central figure in the build to the Cody Rhodes vs Randy Orton main event.

Aligning with Orton, McAfee looked to help save the business by taking the Undisputed WWE Championship from ‘The American Nightmare.’

However, WrestleMania 42 saw McAfee taken out by his former ally in Orton with an RKO after he failed to help him get the win for his 15th world championship.

Just when it looked like McAfee was going to have a bigger role coming out of WrestleMania 42, plans have reportedly changed significantly and the ESPN host will not even be on the WWE Backlash 2026 card.

8. Jelly Roll

While Pat McAfee aligned himself with Randy Orton against Cody Rhodes heading into WrestleMania 42, Jelly Roll tried to play the peacemaker between these two friends.

Being friends with both Orton and Rhodes, Jelly wanted their Mania battle to be a competitive rivalry instead of something personal.

However, Jelly was laid out by Orton with an RKO when he tried to settle down both men during a pull-apart brawl. This led to the country music star aligning himself with Rhodes against the partnership of ‘The Legend Killer’ and Pat McAfee.

Just when it looked like Jelly would team with Rhodes against McAfee and Orton at WWE Backlash 2026, the Grammy Award winner will not be taking some time away from the company to focus on his music career.

7. Stephanie Vaquer

At the WrestleMania 42 night one premium live event, Liv Morgan defeated Stephanie Vaquer to win the WWE Women’s World Championship.

Then on the April 20 WWE Raw after Mania, Morgan picked up a win over Sol Ruca. Post match, Vaquer appeared to confront her rival and signal that she was coming for her title.

However, The Judgment Day attacked Vaquer backstage and injured ‘La Primera’ in the process.

With Vaquer now sidelined with an AC joint sprain in her shoulder, whatever plans there were for a Mania rematch for the WWE Women’s World Championship at Backlash 2026 are now off the books.

6. Liv Morgan

Liv Morgan now sits back at the mountaintop of the Monday Night Raw women’s division as the new WWE Women’s World Champion.

After defeating Stephanie Vaquer at WrestleMania 42 night one, Morgan looks to have just as dominant a run as her first time with the title.

With The Judgment Day by her side, it looks like Liv will be a top priority that feels worthy of having a major match at the first PLE since Mania.

However, it seems like the injury to Vaquer will now see Morgan with the night off on May 9 when WWE returns to Tampa for Backlash 2026.

5. Fatal Influence (Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley & Lainey Reid)

On the April 24 WWE SmackDown after WrestleMania 42, Fatal Influence made their main roster debut by attacking Paige, Brie Bella, Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss.

After this attack, Fatal Influence once again appeared later in the show by confronting WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley.

While Jacy Jayne stood toe-to-toe with the champion, it looked like she was on the verge of losing to Ripley until Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid caused the disqualification before Fatal Influence put a three-on-one beatdown on ‘Mami.’

This looked to set up a rematch between Ripley and Jayne for the WWE Backlash 2026 PLE, but it will instead lead to a trios match with Rhea teaming with Flair and Bliss to face Fatal Influence on the May 8 episode of Friday Night SmackDown.

4. Rhea Ripley

At WrestleMania 42 night two, Rhea Ripley defeated Jade Cargill to win the WWE Women’s Championship.

With this win, Ripley has officially moved from Monday Night Raw to Friday Night SmackDown as the top of the food chain.

Sitting at the mountaintop, Ripley has been challenged and attacked by Fatal Influence after a competitive bout against Jacy Jayne on the April 24 WWE SmackDown after Mania.

While this should have led to a rematch with the WWE Women’s Championship on the line at Backlash 2026, Ripley will instead team with Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss to face Fatal Influence in a six-woman tag team match on the May 8 SmackDown.

3. LA Knight

LA Knight got back to winning ways at WrestleMania 42 by teaming with The Usos to defeat IShowSpeed and The Vision in a six-man tag team match on nighto ne.

‘The Megastar’ has kept his goal on one focus and one focus only – that being the World Heavyweight Championship.

On the April 20 WWE Raw after Mania, fans witnessed a confrontation between Knight and GUNTHER that seemed to tease a potential number one contender’s match.

However, GUNTHER appearing on the May 1 Friday Night SmackDown to attack Cody Rhodes has seemingly scrapped that planned match with Knight from the WWE Backlash 2026 card.

2. GUNTHER

At the WWE WrestleMania 42 night one premium live event, GUNTHER defeated Seth Rollins in a singles match.

Coming off the heels of Mania, ‘The Ring General’ looked like he was setting his sights back on the World Heavyweight Championship. The WWE Raw after WrestleMania 42 saw GUNTHER confronted by LA Knight to tease a match that would determine the next challenger.

However, GUNTHER then made a surprise appearance on the May 1 episode of Friday Night SmackDown to attack Cody Rhodes from behind before raising the Undisputed WWE Championship in the air.

With ‘The Career Killer’ now seemingly taking aim at the top prize on the blue brand, it feels like the teased showdown with LA Knight to determine the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship will not be taking place at WWE Backlash 2026.

1. Cody Rhodes

Coming out of WrestleMania 42, Cody Rhodes retained the Undisputed WWE Championship after overcoming Randy Orton in a personal battle.

While Rhodes was worse for the wear after a punt kick from Orton, he has been cleared to compete and could have been ready for WWE Backlash 2026.

Plans heading into Mania saw reports being leaked that Rhodes was set to team with Jelly Roll to face Orton and Pat McAfee in a tag team bout at the Backlash 2026 premium live event.

Despite those plans and being attacked by GUNTHER on the May 1 SmackDown, it seems like Rhodes will not be on the Backlash 2026 card from Tampa, Florida.