diff --git a/sh/gh/back-merge.sh b/sh/gh/back-merge.sh
index 3021f3e318..2a7142b42f 100755
--- a/sh/gh/back-merge.sh
+++ b/sh/gh/back-merge.sh
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 #
-# Open (or refresh) the pull request that merges `release` back into `main`,
-# and queue it to land as a merge commit once Check and Test pass.
+# Open (or refresh) the pull request that merges `release` back into `main`.
+# Check's `land` job merges it as a merge commit once Check and Test pass on its
+# head, bypassing the squash-only merge queue.
 #
 # The pull request's head is its own branch rather than `release` itself: the
 # repository deletes head branches on merge, and a conflict is resolved by
@@ -45,25 +46,12 @@ esac
 
 # Only a pull request from this repository's own branch: `gh pr list --head`
 # matches the branch name alone, so a fork's branch of the same name would pass.
-find_pr() {
-    gh api "repos/$repo/pulls?state=open&base=main&head=${repo%%/*}:$branch" \
-        --jq "[.[] | select(.head.repo.full_name == \"$repo\")][0].number // empty"
-}
-
-pr=$(find_pr)
+pr=$(gh api "repos/$repo/pulls?state=open&base=main&head=${repo%%/*}:$branch" \
+    --jq "[.[] | select(.head.repo.full_name == \"$repo\")][0].number // empty")
 if [[ -z "$pr" ]]; then
     gh pr create --repo "$repo" --head "$branch" --base main \
         --title "chore: merge release into main" \
         --body "Carries what \`release\` published (versions, CHANGELOGs, backports) back to trunk. Opened by the Back-merge workflow.
 
-**Merge with a merge commit. Never squash.** A squash leaves the merge base at the last cut, so the next back-merge conflicts. On a conflict, merge \`main\` into \`$branch\` and resolve it there."
-    pr=$(find_pr)
-fi
-if [[ -z "$pr" ]]; then
-    echo "error: no pull request from $repo:$branch into main" >&2
-    exit 1
+Check's \`land\` job merges it as a merge commit once Check and Test pass. **Never squash.** A squash leaves the merge base at the last cut, so the next back-merge conflicts. On a conflict, merge \`main\` into \`$branch\` and resolve it there."
 fi
-
-# Queue exactly the commit this run produced, so a later push cannot ride along.
-head=$(gh api "repos/$repo/git/ref/heads/$branch" --jq .object.sha)
-gh pr merge --repo "$repo" "$pr" --auto --merge --match-head-commit "$head"