As we draw closer to WWE Backlash France this Saturday the 4th of May – which will be WWE’s first-ever PLE / PPV event to be held in France – let’s look back at WWE’s long history with the country dating back to the mid-80s.
With the launch of the Canal+ subscription channel in 1984, France got its first taste of WWF programming as one of the channel’s early pickups (similar to the WWF on Sky Channel in the UK).
The WWF had already begun producing content in French for their Canadian market in Quebec, particularly Montreal, so the same tapes could be sent to France with French-language commentary already available.
WWF TV was a big hit on the channel, which led to the WWF holding their first show in France – and in Europe in general – on the 23rd of October 1987 at Bercy Stadium in Paris in front of a sell-out crowd of 12,000.
The show was broadcast on the Canal+ station and several of the matches were later featured on episodes of WWF Prime Time Wrestling in the U.S. and released on the “Best of the WWF Volume 16: Around the World” Coliseum Video release.
What Matches Took Place At WWE’s First-Ever European Show?
The top of the card featured King Harley Race beating the Junkyard Dog via disqualification, with Andre the Giant returning to his native land as the guest referee and siding with his fellow Heenan Family stablemate to award Race the victory. Also, the Rougeau Brothers defeated Greg Valentine & Dino Bravo in the closing match of the show.
Almost a year later on October 7th, 1988, WWF returned for its second live show in Paris and brought more big guns with them this time with WWF Champion Randy Savage defeating Akeem in the main event, and WWF Tag Team Champions Demolition defeating the British Bulldogs in another title match.
The show also featured a historic title change as Rockin Robin ended Sensational Sherri’s near 13-month reign as WWF Women’s Champion. The entire show was aired a month later as part of a 3-hour Prime Time Wrestling special on the 8th of November and drew a 3.6 rating on USA Network.
Closing out the 1980s, one more show took place in Paris in October 1989 for Canal+ airing, with WWF Champion Hulk Hogan making his first appearance in the country to defeat Randy Savage in a WrestleMania V rematch, a match later released on Coliseum Video’s “World Tour 1990” release. A 5-day tour of other cities in France followed the event with shows in Clermont, Grenoble, Lyon, and Marseille and finishing in Toulouse on the 18th of October.
A non-televised event took place in Paris in October 1991 to close out a one-week tour of Europe, with attendance down to 7,000 at this point Similar to the Battle Royal at Albert Hall show 6 days earlier, Davey Boy Smith won a battle royal to close the show. This event also marked Andre The Giant’s final ever WWF appearance.
A return to Paris and Canal+ began a mammoth 2-week+ European tour in April 1993 following WrestleMania IX. Attendance had dropped to 5,000 at this point with Yokozuna defeating Jim Duggan in the main event.
Later in the year in Toulouse on August 5, now-WWF Champion Yokozuna faced Hulk Hogan in the main event of what was Hogan’s second-to-last WWF appearance until 2002. Hogan’s final appearance was the following night in Sheffield, England. This would also be the WWF’s final appearance in France for 14 YEARS!
WWE Returned To France After 14 Years
Finally returning on the 24th of April, 2007, WWE closed out an 11-day tour of Europe with a return to Paris which featured WWE Champion John Cena pinning Edge in the main event with guest referee Ricky Steamboat.
The show also featured an unplanned Women’s Title change as Mickie James defeated Victoria and the Champion Melina in a triple threat match, by pinning Victoria with a hurricanrana; that was not the planned finish but Victoria failed to kick out of Mickie’s cover.
Later in the show, Melina pinned Mickie in an impromptu match by using the ropes for leverage; prior to the bout, Melina appeared and said Mickie had beaten Victoria for the title and not her, with Jonathan Coachman giving her the rematch.
WWE was now in demand in the country and regular tours took place every year going forward including a record 10 shows in 2010, although less frequently since 2015 and a few year gap when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
WWE Returns To France For The Country’s First Ever PLE Broadcast
And now to this weekend, where WWE returns to France for 3 shows including the first Friday Night SmackDown to be taped in France at the LDLC Arena in Décines-Charpieu in Lyon Metropolis, France on the 3rd of May. This will be the first WWE event to be recorded in France since the April 1993 Canal+ live special 31 years ago!
The following night, and from the same LDLC Arena, WWE presents Backlash France with a packed card featuring WWE Undisputed Champion Cody Rhodes defending the title against AJ Styles in their first-ever match together!
Also, Damian Priest defends the World Heavyweight Championship against Jey Uso, WWE Women’s Champion Bayley defends against Naomi and Tiffany Stratton, and the Kabuki Warriors defend their Women’s Tag Titles against Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill.
The final match currently scheduled is Kevin Owens and Randy Orton going up against The Bloodline – Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga.
WWE will close up their 3 days in France with a live event on the 5th of May at Arena Aix in the Aix-en-Provence featuring the stars of Smackdown. Will Cody Rhodes still be the Undisputed WWE Champion, will the Women’s title have changed hands once again in France? Will Kevin Owens and Randy Orton be able to overcome the Bloodline?
Tune in to WWE Backlash France this Saturday the 5th of May to find out – streaming on Peacock in the U.S with a 1 pm ET start time, and everywhere else on the WWE Network with a 7pm local start time (6pm in the UK)
Written by Richard Land of TheHistoryOfWWE.com