WWE Backlash Preview: Tongan Death Grips and the Gingerbread Man


  • Greg WishinskyMay 7, 2026, 07:48 AM ET

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      Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.

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As a service to wrestling fans who have a general interest in WWE but may not have watched a match in months, we’re happy to provide this FAQ as a guide to WWE Backlash Tampa on Saturday (ESPN Unlimited, 6 pm ET).

Was Trick Williams vs. Sami Zayn the first wrestling feud sparked by a violent attack on a gingerbread man?

Since no wrestlers, as far as we know, have adopted A Lord Farquaad From the “Shrek” gimmick, we’re going to assume this is correct.

The Gingerbread Man, perhaps the greatest food-related In-ring performer from Luigi PrimoHe debuted on “SmackDown” prior to WrestleMania 42. Williams was ready to challenge Zayn at Mania for the US Championship and invited him to the ring for a discussion. Instead, someone dressed as the Gingerbread Man arrived … because, you see, Jane is a redhead. Whether it was because of this vicious trolling or not, Williams won the title.

Williams and his partner, Lil Yachty, celebrated a victory on the next “Smackdown” with the Gingerbread Man, who came out dancing and holding a candy cane. But oh no! It was actually Zayn in the gingerbread suit and then he attacked Williams and the yacht. A week later, Zayn wore a book to the ring in a gingerbread suit and jumped the defenseless figure, ripping off his dainty arm while tearing the suit to shreds.

A funeral is scheduled to be held for “Cookie Boy” before Williams wrestles in his honor at Backlash on Friday night.

But who was actually in the gingerbread suit? Perhaps “Jackass” star Johnny Knoxville, Zion’s old rival? We can only dream Sports and entertainment are like that again.

Can a gingerbread surpass an attack on humans for sheer ridiculousness?

We’ve got a word for you: Danhausen.

For the uninitiated: Danhausen is a goofy ghoul with a painted face, a voice inspired by Conan O’Brien, and the supernatural ability to “curse” his opponents, who then bring down some calamity on them.

Please note his powers extend beyond the squared circle, lifting a curse he placed on the New York Knicks before their history-making 140-89 blowout to eliminate the Atlanta Hawks in Game 6 of the NBA Playoffs.

He emerged from a giant coffin at Elimination Chamber in February to a lackluster fan reaction but has since won the hearts and minds of the WWE Universe with his charisma, comedy — and significant merchandise sales.

Danhausen “cursed” The Miz and his tag team partner Keith Wilson after The Miz threw him backstage. At WrestleMania 42, Danhausen led a group called the Littlehausens Little Man, dressed like him, is in the ring to face The Miz and Wilson, eventually landing a Five Knuckle Shuffle-esque move on The Miz, much to the delight of WrestleMania host John Cena.

Later, The Miz tricked Danhausen into believing he was a mentor before attacking him, leading Danhausen to ask “SmackDown” General Manager Nick Aldis for a match against The Miz and Wilson at Backlash. That request was granted … as long as Dannhausen could find a partner.

Mystery partners are always a fun match gimmick. Dunnhausen’s real talent is that he can be a companion anyone And it would still make for an entertaining story.

CM Punk? They knew each other from that other wrestling federation (All Elite Wrestling). Cena? He will be at Backlash “Break some history-making news.” Joe Hendry? Indie comedy wrestlers, unite. Oba Femi? He has nothing else to do at Backlash, so why not pancake two hated opponents while tagging along with some of the company’s other hottest talent?

Possibilities are endless—hausen.

These are fun setups, but are there matches at Backlash that are born out of true animosity?

Of course, and as one might assume, Paul Heyman is swimming in bile.

Please recall that Heyman and Seth Rollins formed The Vision with Braun Breaker and Bronson Reid when Rollins shocked the wrestling world by betraying both CM Punk and Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 41. Months later, Breaker and Reed turned on Rollins and injured him — an injury that resulted in him hitting the W-41.

Rollins was fired and The Vision added Logan Paul and Austin Theory, who were later revealed to target the group’s rivals as masked assassins. But at the Royal Rumble, another masked assassin attacked Breaker for a quick elimination and then did the same to Paul in the Elimination Chamber. And before anyone could say, “Hey, that masked guy likes to use The Stomp on his opponents,” the attacker was revealed to be the returning Rollins.

But the two could play the “return from injury to attack your opponent in a high-profile match” game, as Breaker ran down and put Rollins in to set up Gunther for the WrestleMania 42 victory. Frankly, Braun’s biggest crime was ruining a perfectly good match with a run-in.

Breaker was tired of fighting when Rollins was running the face as the leader of The Vision and playing the role of aggrieved former mentor. Rollins also called Breaker “Little Steiner” and said he wasn’t even the second best wrestler in his own family. If you hear Halla.

So, Breaker will enter Backlash with Heyman in his corner. And if Heyman is involved in a match, we’re watching that match. That’s the rule.

But there’s another fight between a student and a teacher — one that promises to be far more toxic than this one.

Are we finally getting Asuka vs. Io Skye at Backlash?

After inexplicably not making it to either night of WrestleMania 42, this grudge match between the two former tag team partners is finally happening at Backlash, eight months after their feud began.

You know the drill: Sky claims Asuka has changed; Asuka claims Skye is her biggest disappointment and plans to cut her out of her life to make good on Backlash. It’s all spelled out in this really well-done sit-down interview between the two on “Raw” …

… It ended before Asuka filled her mouth with poisonous mist and spoke softly drawing the sky with a Joker-like twitch.

This match may steal the show, but there’s a lingering question surrounding it: Will Kairi Sane come to finish her story? The former kabuki warrior was caught between these former allies … and then He is suddenly released April 23 from WWE, which was confusing to everyone. It’s still hard to fathom Sun not having some role in this long-awaited showdown.

Finally, is there a world title on the line at Backlash?

Yes, and it belonged to the Roman Empire.

Please remember Reigns won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Great no-frills WrestleMania 42 battle against CM Punk. It was OTC’s first title in over two years, and he wanted to celebrate the victory the next day on “Raw” with Jey and Jimmy Uso. But as they were putting their “K” in the air, Jacob Fatu interrupted.

Roman Reigns: “There can only be a few reasons why you’re here. I’m assuming it’s to admit me.”

Jacob Fatu: “Nahhhh it’s not.”

Fatu explains that while he doesn’t want to be a tribal chief — thus saving us another “tribal battle” match, thankfully — he wants everything a tribal chief has, from Rolexes to private jets to big houses to that shiny championship belt.

Things got really spicy when Fatu used the Tongan Death Grip on Reigns, popularized by the great King Haku.

The following week, Reigns and Fatu met in the ring for an official contract signing, which, again, did not seem to go over well with WWE.

Roman Reigns: “When you’re in a bar at 3 in the morning, and you’re surrounded 8-to-1, that’s when you pull out the Tongan death grip. That’s when you strangle somebody. You don’t do it to family. You don’t do it to yourself. You don’t do it to your tribal chief.”

Jacob Fatu: “Man, what’s up?”

Sure enough, Fatu puts Reigns in the dreaded Tongan Death Grip again and drops him onto a table that unfortunately doesn’t break, but, hey, that’s the thought that counts.

It’s a Roman Reigns match against a blood relative, so by nature it will be epic. Jacob Fatu has been crushing it lately. And if we don’t see a Tongan Death Grip, well, let’s just say backlash is going to be backlash.





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