Jacob Fatu Beats LA Knight, More, Retains WWE IC Title as Jeff Cobb Debuts at Backlash

Jacob Fatu beat Drew McIntyre, LA Knight and Damian Priest in a Fatal 4-Way match at WWE Backlash on Saturday to retain the United States Championship.

After a chaotic clash featuring high-flying moves, shattered barriers and bodies everywhere, McIntyre appeared to have the match won—until Priest dragged him out of the ring, breaking up the count and halting his momentum.

As McIntyre and Priest brawled into the crowd, Knight nearly stole the win with back-to-back top-rope assaults on Fatu. But the tide turned again when The Archer of Infamy launched the Scot several feet into the air with a thunderous South of Heaven slam amid the crowd.

Just as Knight prepared to drive Fatu through the announcers’ table, Solo Sikoa and a surprise run-in by Jeff Cobb intervened, saving Fatu from a crushing blow.

With the unexpected backup, Fatu capitalized and retained the title via pinfall after Knight took a brutal beating from the ambushing duo.

At WrestleMania 41 last month, Fatu became a singles champion in WWE for the first time when he beat Knight for the U.S. title in a hard-fought encounter.

Coming out of ‘Mania, Knight made it clear he wanted a rematch, but McIntyre also threw his hat in the ring on the heels of his victory over Priest in a Street Fight at WrestleMania.

SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis booked Knight and McIntyre against each other in a No. 1 Contender’s match to determine Fatu’s first challenger, but it had a controversial finish.

Sikoa attacked Knight and Priest took out McIntyre. Since the referee only saw what Priest did to McIntyre, The Scottish Warrior was declared the winner by disqualification.

One week later, Knight faced Priest in a singles match in an effort to get revenge for costing him the No. 1 contendership, but Sikoa got involved once again, causing the match to be ruled a no-contest.

Knight, Priest, Sikoa and Fatu duked it out afterward, prompting Aldis to intervene and book a Triple Threat United States Championship match between Fatu, Knight and Priest at Backlash.

In an effort to prevent Fatu from having to defend against two Superstars at the same time, Sikoa spoke up and pointed out that McIntyre earned the right to a title match the previous week on SmackDown.

Rather than changing the Triple Threat to a one-on-one match between McIntyre and Fatu, Aldis simply added the Scot to the match, making it a Fatal 4-Way, much to the chagrin of The Samoan Werewolf.

Despite the odds being stacked against him, though, Fatu prevailed at Backlash, getting past three top Superstars to retain his title.

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