WWE Reportedly Running Two Premium Live Events in May

Typically WWE runs one premium live event a month for the main roster, with NXT events being the only other events on the monthly calendar, and those aren’t all premium live events either. Every so often WWE does hold two events in a month, and a new report from Wrestlenomics’ Brandon Thurston indicates that this coming May could be one of those exceptions to the rule. The report says that WWE is planning on two events in May, with the first event reportedly being WWE Backlash and the other being WWE King and Queen of the Ring.

There ar a few other noteworthy details in the report, including that WWE Backlash is planned for Saturday, May 6th, and that the event is dropping the WrestleMania part of its branding. It’s had that name for a few years now, but it looks as if the event is returning to its original name, and that could mean it’s not tied as heavily to WrestleMania 39 across the board, including match-ups.

The other premium live event is planned for May 27th and will bring back the WWE King and Queen of the Ring pay-per-view since its last outing in 2002. There have been King of the Ring and Queen of the Ring tournaments since then, with Xavier Woods and Zelina Vega being the two most recent examples.

May 27th is also noteworthy because of it being Memorial Day, which is typically an AEW-focused weekend in years past. AEW has held its major Double or Nothing pay-per-view during that holiday, and AEW President Tony Khan has said that fans can expect the event to take place during that time again this year in Las Vegas, Nevada.

There will likely be about some questions for Khan regarding WWE moving into another AEW tentpole weekend, as there was substantial discussion around it when WWE held Clash at the Castle and NXT Worlds Collide during Labor Day weekend last year. In the past, AEW had that weekend to themselves, but last year Clash at the Castle took place on Saturday and then Worlds Collide took place on Sunday before All Out began. Khan was happy with AEW’s performance but wasn’t thrilled about the weekend suddenly being so crowded.

“There’s a big difference between this year and last year. We were the first professional wrestling show and the only professional wrestling show on Labor Day weekend last year, and we were the third professional wrestling show of the weekend this year. I don’t think that’s a coincidence,” Khan said.

“When I talk about things I wasn’t thrilled about, I was a little surprised we were the third professional wrestling show this weekend, and it’s probably a little bit more challenging in the marketplace when it becomes a little more crowded,” Khan said.

“Our performance – in prior years, we never had this kind of competition. This was kind of a first for us in AEW to see this kind of a crowded marketplace. I’m not sure if this is what we’ll see from now on. I am very happy with the numbers we did, given the competition we had. Khan said. “The number is the number and I have to face the competition that is out there.”

Are you excited about Backlash and the return of The King and Queen of the Ring? Let us know in the comments!

H/T Fightful