WWE continues to broaden its international reach by hosting premium live events in various countries. Last year, they experimented with this model with Backlash in Puerto Rico before bringing Money in the Bank to Europe. They have announced a number of events in international markets this year.
On Saturday, the WWE Backlash France premium live event was broadcast live from the LDLC Arena in Lyon-Decines, France, and featured Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes vs. AJ Styles as the main event.
The show broke gate records by being the highest-grossing SmackDown TV taping ever, as well as the largest gate for any Backlash event or arena show.
However, Félix Gouty of POST Wrestling reports that the company was not paid a site fee for the event, which they had hoped to receive with previous shows such as last year’s Backlash in Puerto Rico, which received a site fee of $1.5 million as well as $300,000 for the value of using the venue for free. Mark Shapiro has previously stated that TKO earned $16 million from a series of events held in Australia beginning in February. A government press release from 2022 implied that $2.8 million was spent on lash at Cardiff Castle.
The report also stated that Paris was the first choice for Backlash. Fightful Select first reported in October that Paris was internally scheduled to host the show in the spring. It was claimed that due to the upcoming Olympics, the city did not have a venue for WWE to use for a four-day period.
Félix Gouty (@FxGouty) reports that while Backlash and Smackdown in Lyon set new gate records, neither Lyon Metropolis nor the region’s authorities paid a site fee for the event.

Félix reports Paris was the first choice for Backlash but with the Olympics coming up no venue in… https://t.co/5we9nWvcD6— Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) May 6, 2024
