Date and location

Sunday, May 6 | 8 PMET/5 PMPT

Prudential Center
Newark, NJ

Where to watch

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When to watch

Sunday, May 6 | 8 PMET/5 PMPT

Ruby Riott def. Bayley (Kickoff Match)

Ruby Riott def. Bayley (Kickoff Match)

NEWARK, N.J. — Once again, Ruby Riott proved it pays to have friends at your side, while her opponent learned the hard way that going it alone against the leader of The Riott Squad is an uphill battle.

Ruby Riott takes control against Bayley: WWE Backlash 2018 Kickoff Match

As Sasha Banks looks on from backstage, Ruby Riott and Bayley clash in the WWE Backlash 2018 Kickoff Match.

This time, the unlucky recipient of this lesson was Bayley, who, to her credit, realized that she’d be facing a numbers disadvantage from the jump. Unfortunately, Bayley’s olive branch to her friend-on-the-outs Sasha Banks was declined because of The Huggable One’s conspicuous refusal to help The Boss against Riott and her cohorts on Raw. This left Bayley to go it alone, and Riott capitalized accordingly.

Bayley had clearly scouted Banks’ match well enough to be reasonably prepared for Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan’s inevitable interference. She even tried to dismiss them pre-emptively, taking out Logan despite competing on unsteady legs after Riott drove her face-first into the turnbuckle. Morgan, however, remained very much in play, and her distraction of Bayley after a top-rope elbow to Ruby opened the door for a fierce match-ending Riott Kick.

As always, Bayley’s effort cannot be denied, but if anybody wants to get past Ruby Riott, they’ll clearly need a little help from their friends.

NEWARK, N.J. — Once again, Ruby Riott proved it pays to have friends at your side, while her opponent learned the hard way that going it alone against the leader of The Riott Squad is an uphill battle.

Ruby Riott takes control against Bayley: WWE Backlash 2018 Kickoff Match

As Sasha Banks looks on from backstage, Ruby Riott and Bayley clash in the WWE Backlash 2018 Kickoff Match.

This time, the unlucky recipient of this lesson was Bayley, who, to her credit, realized that she’d be facing a numbers disadvantage from the jump. Unfortunately, Bayley’s olive branch to her friend-on-the-outs Sasha Banks was declined because of The Huggable One’s conspicuous refusal to help The Boss against Riott and her cohorts on Raw. This left Bayley to go it alone, and Riott capitalized accordingly.

Bayley had clearly scouted Banks’ match well enough to be reasonably prepared for Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan’s inevitable interference. She even tried to dismiss them pre-emptively, taking out Logan despite competing on unsteady legs after Riott drove her face-first into the turnbuckle. Morgan, however, remained very much in play, and her distraction of Bayley after a top-rope elbow to Ruby opened the door for a fierce match-ending Riott Kick.

As always, Bayley’s effort cannot be denied, but if anybody wants to get past Ruby Riott, they’ll clearly need a little help from their friends.