4 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE Backlash 2025 (Results & Review)

by Scott Carlson

1. Lynch, Valkyria Deliver

Lyra Valkyria Becky Lynch
WWE

At some point, the wider wrestling universe needs to have a conversation about Becky Lynch and her contributions to the industry these past few years. Arguably one of the biggest figures of the past decade, she has repeatedly used her star power to elevate other wrestlers, and Saturday night was no exception.

Lynch challenged Lyra Valkyria for her Women’s Intercontinental Championship at Backlash, trying to wrest the title from her former mentee but failing to get the job done. Lyra immediately outwrestled Becky from the jump and constantly had answers for Lynch’s best offense. She escaped a Bexploder and a Disarm-Her, countered multiple Manhandle Slam attempts (and kicked out of others), and repeatedly frustrated The Man.

The finish looked a bit janky, with Valkyria grabbing a rollup almost immediately after it looked like Becky might have inadvertently broken Lyra’s nose. Still, the story of the match, with the student outclassing the teacher, was on full display here. Becky showed a fair amount of tail in losing cleanly, and it wasn’t like Lyra “escaped” with the win either.

What’s more important is that Valkyria has managed to get herself over on the strength of her matches, not her character. This feud with Becky increased fans’ connection with Lyra’s character the past couple weeks, and then they delivered in the ring on Saturday, rallying the fans behind the champ. Really solid stuff overall.

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Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.