It was announced on tonight's episode of WWE Monday Night Raw that Dominik Mysterio will defend the men's Intercontinental Championship against Penta at this Saturday's upcoming premium live event, WWE Backlash 2025.
Penta was one of the WWE Superstars competing against Mysterio for the title at WrestleMania 41 (alongside Bron Breakker and Mysterio's fellow Judgment Day member Finn Balor, who took the pin to allow Mysterio to win the championship in the first place).
So far, Penta and Mysterio have faced each other four times, with Mysterio coming out on top all but their first singles bout. Most recently, Mysterio beat Penta two weeks ago on Raw. Nevertheless, Penta defeated JD McDonagh on tonight's episode, and this match was announced shortly after.
The immediate reaction was annoyance and fear on Mysterio's behalf, as he complained backstage to the rest of The Judgment Day about that, as well as someone else who is on his back. That is because AJ Styles made his way into their room (supposedly via R-Truth) and told Dirty Dom that it doesn't matter who wins at Backlash, as he plans on challenging next for the Intercontinental Championship. Dom asked Finn Balor for his help in taking care of The Phenomenal One, which at first was met with bewilderment as Balor doesn't want to be Mysterio's errand boy. However, in true fashion of how the tension within the group has been going as of late, Balor then smiled and said that of course, he would do that.
WWE Backlash is set to take place next Saturday, May 10, 2025 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
There's still time to add more matches to the card on the next episode of Friday Night SmackDown, but as it stands right now, here is the currently advertised lineup for WWE Backlash 2025:
- Singles Match for the WWE Men's Intercontinental Championship: Dominik Mysterio (c) vs. Penta
- Fatal 4-Way Match for the WWE United States Championship: Jacob Fatu (c) vs. Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre vs. LA Knight
- Gunther vs. Pat McAfee
- Singles Match for the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship: Lyra Valkyria (c) vs. Becky Lynch
- Singles Match for the Undisputed WWE Championship: John Cena (c) vs. Randy Orton
What do you think will happen with the Intercontinental Championship? Who will win? Drop your predictions below!