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A new report has revealed that WWE drew a massive $3.9 million with SmackDown and the Backlash premium live event in Puerto Rico.
The 2023 edition of WWE Backlash and the SmackDown preceding it took place earlier this month in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and the fans were all over it. The premium live event featured Bianca Belair taking on Iyo Sky of Damage CTRL and Seth Rollins vs. Omos.
Among other WWE Superstars, Zelina Vega and rapper Bad Bunny were the big guns pulled by the company as they drew massive support from fans in Puerto Rico. Bad Bunny defeated Judgment Day's Damian Priest in a San Juan Street Fight, which also featured the returns of Carlito and Savio Vega.
Although Rhea Ripley retained her SmackDown women's title, her opponent, Zelina Vega, was beloved by the crowd in Puerto Rico.
WrestleNomics' Brandon Thurston reported that Smackdown had a gate of $1,016,955 in Puerto Rico, while BackLash had a gate of $1,404,264. Brandon mentioned that WWE received an additional $1.5 million from the government to hold the premium live event there.
Check out the video below: [1:11:40 - 1:13:44]
The company pulled these massive figures despite the absence of Roman Reigns headlining the showcase.
After his WWE Backlash match, Bad Bunny feared he would die
Despite being a huge star, the Grammy Award winner faced some terrible obstacles in his match against Judgment Day's Damian Priest.
While the world-renowned rapper delivered a spectacular performance, Bunny feared he would die following the brutal street brawl.
Bad Bunny admitted to New Music Daily's Zane Lowe that he was genuinely hurt during his Backlash match with Damian Priest. Bunny was in so much pain that he thought he would die.
"I suffered. Yeah, I got hurt. I got hurt. My back, my back. My whole body, bro. My whole body. I felt that I was going to die after that match. I really thought that I was going to die after the match, but it's part of it. I was prepared then, and now I'm going to drop a song. I know. I'm a crazy guy. I love it. I love it, and that's what matters," he said.
The 29-year-old musician has repeatedly proven that he is a dedicated workhorse, and he provided another instance when he released a brand new song just a few weeks after embarking on a grueling pro wrestling task at Backlash.
What did you think of the Backlash this year? Sound off in the comments section below.
