Jacob Fatu won the United States Championship at WrestleMania 41 on Saturday after defeating LA Knight in a hard-fought battle. Now, The Samoan Werewolf is set to defend his title for the first time at WWE’s upcoming premium live event, Backlash, on May 10—against three of the biggest names in the industry.
Jacob Fatu to Defend His Title in a Fatal Four-Way Match at Backlash
On last week’s SmackDown, Drew McIntyre interrupted a segment between Knight and the US Champion, making it clear he had his sights set on the gold. Later that night, The Scottish Psychopath and The Defiant One went head-to-head in a match to determine the new No. 1 contender.
The match saw interference from Solo Sikoa, but it ended in McIntyre’s favor via disqualification when his rival, Damian Priest, stormed the ring and attacked him. The two previously clashed in a brutal Sin City Street Fight at WrestleMania, which McIntyre won after delivering a devastating Claymore Kick.
Soon after, Fatu made his presence known, storming the ring and destroying everyone in the squared circle. The chaos continued on this week’s Friday Night SmackDown, where Damian Priest battled LA Knight. Yet again, interference occurred, and once more, the US Champion took out everyone.
Later in a backstage segment, Fatu and Sikoa were seen talking to SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis, who expressed frustration over the recent disqualifications. Aldis announced that Fatu would defend his title at Backlash in a Triple-Threat Match against Priest and Knight.
However, Sikoa reminded him that McIntyre technically won his contendership match (by DQ) against Knight the previous week. With that valid point, Aldis made it official: the title match at Backlash would now be a Fatal Four-Way, adding The Scottish Psychopath into the mix.
Rikishi is Proud of Jacob Fatu
WWE legend and proud member of the Anoa’i family, Rikishi, recently opened up on the “Off The Top” podcast about his joy over Fatu’s rapid rise in WWE:
“I’m just so proud of Jacob. I was thinking about this driving down, like what really happened at WrestleMania in Vegas this weekend. They should have called it FatuMania. It’s a YeetMania and then after I saw both finishes, that’s like FatuMania. I had a tear going down my eyes when I watched this kid walk down. Sold out, his first WrestleMania, less than a year in the business up there in WWE. And here he is, his face is all over Las Vegas.”
The Samoan Werewolf has been impressing the WWE Universe ever since his debut, and fans are now hyped to witness his first title defense. The question is—can Jacob Fatu survive Backlash and continue his reign as United States Champion?