Summary

Trick Williams retained the United States Championship against Sami Zayn at WWE Backlash 2026 after a match that kept spiraling into chaos around Lil Yachty at ringside.

The tone was set before the bell, with Sami going after Trick right away. Trick answered with his corner stomps, but the momentum swung once Sami sent him into the steel steps. From there, Sami controlled long stretches of the match while the crowd split between support for him and boos.

The title bout had been added after weeks of tension, including Sami Zayn destroying Trick Williams' Gingerbread Man on WWE SmackDown, and that bad blood carried straight into Backlash.

Winner

Trick Williams defeated Sami Zayn to retain the United States Championship after Lil Yachty struck Zayn with a kendo stick behind the referee's back, which helped keep the match alive. After more fighting on the floor and a missed Helluva Kick back in the ring, Trick finished Zayn with the Trick Shot for the pin.

Match turning points

Trick nearly put the match away earlier with a Bookend, but Sami kicked out. Sami then avoided an avalanche Bookend and answered with a sunset flip powerbomb out of the corner, followed by a Blue Thunder Bomb that still was not enough to win the title.

Sami also tried to steal the match by feigning a knee injury and catching Trick with a rollup. Later, when Lil Yachty got involved on the apron, Sami grabbed the candy cane kendo stick and used it as a weapon, but Trick survived that near fall as well.

What Trick Williams' win means for the US title

Trick Williams leaves Backlash with the championship intact, and the finish gives WWE an easy reason to keep Sami Zayn in the picture if the company wants to extend the program. Lil Yachty's interference was central to the result, so the loss does not close the door on Sami arguing he was beaten because of outside help rather than cleanly in the middle of the ring.

At the same time, Trick still got the final shot in with the Trick Shot, which protects him as champion coming out of a high-profile defense on a premium live event.

Sources

As reported by NoDQ