The Contentious Ten 04.12.10: Backlash Matches

Backlash has been the unofficial after-party for Wrestlemania since 1999. Usually featuring Wrestlemania rematches with different stipulations, it’s the lower budget, less big time follow up to the biggest show of the year. However, the WWE has decided to put the PPV to bed and replace it with Extreme Rules, which fills the same role, but without the awesome name. Sometimes Backlash has been bad, but it has also provided some great PPVs (2000, 2004, 2007 and 2009 were all varying degrees of awesome). So, here is 411’s eulogy for Backlash.

Honorable Mentions:

The Undertaker vs. Batista, Backlash 2007: A perfectly acceptable follow-up to their excellent match at Wrestlemania 23. While it wasn’t as fast paced, it made up for it with big spots and storytelling. The spot where Batista hits multiple spinebusters to keep Taker down is great, but the lack of a proper finish hurts it.

Mankind vs. The Big Show, Backlash 1999: An unsung brawl with Foley taking tons of huge bumps. Big Show looked like a world beater and Mankind looked indestructible. The most memorable thing for me is Foley’s nasty cut on his hand, which leaves red hand prints on the floor and wall before he escapes.

The Undertaker vs. Ken Shamrock, Backlash 1999: I’ve never been the biggest Ken Shamrock fan (as a wrestler, not as a fighter) but this is a match that I really enjoyed. I loved the styles clash and it served as a good preview of the classics that the Deadman would have with Angle a few years down the road.

Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle, Backlash 2001: This is certainly not for all tastes, but as a former amateur wrestler and casual MMA fan, I love everything about this match. Great, realistic work that showed off great Angle was on the mat, and worked a very different style that has grown in popularity in recent years.

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Dean Malenko vs. Scotty 2 Hottysize=6>
Light Heavyweight Championship Match, Backlash 2000size=4>

Cracking the top ten are two of the most unlikely wrestlers. Dean Malenko was a fantastic technician but never really got much of a chance to showcase his skills in WWE. Scotty 2 Hotty was extremely over thanks to The Worm and his dance routines with Rikishi and Too Cool, but wasn’t exactly known for his history of mat classics. But when you put a great worker in there with a great entertainer and give them the time to work, sometimes you’ll get an expected gem. That was the result here. It was Dean’s best match in the WWF and Scotty’s best match ever, and part of what Backlash 2000 one of the best PPVs ever.

Scotty started the match at a fast pace to get all of his moves in near the beginning before Malenko started to take over by going after the legs. If you’ve never seen Dean work a body part, you are missing out; he’s not called “The Man of 1,000 Holds” for nothing. While Scotty’s W-O-R-M leg-hopping probably wasn’t the best idea considering the hard work that Malenko put in, it was still over like rover. Dean gave Scotty a nice bit of respect by letting him kick out of the Tiger Driver, before hitting a sickening top rope DDT to counter an attempted superplex. As I said, this was Dean’s one chance to show the WWF fans what he can do, and he did a great job.

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Edge vs. Shawn Michaels vs.
Randy Orton vs. John Cenasize=6>
WWE Championship Match, Backlash 2007size=4>

After John Cena and Shawn Michaels attempted to have a wrestling clinic at Wrestlemania, and then succeeded in their epic rematch in London, this was quite the change of pace. Multi-man matches can be very difficult to pull off: if there’s only ever two guys in the ring, it strains credulity, but if everyone is involved in every second, it devolves into a spotfest. This one leans toward the latter, but it’s a pretty glorious spotfest. Each man got a chance to shine and each played a different role. Cena was the valiant champion trying to retain his title despite really poor statistical odds. Michaels was the veteran who had found his passion again and was trying to achieve former glory. Edge was the manipulative and opportunistic villain, reforming and breaking his alliances as the mood suited him. Orton was pretty much the whipping boy for the good guys and the puppet for Edge, but he was able to get his licks in.

HBK was really the most valuable player in this match, taking everyone out with a moonsault in the early going, continuing his competitive rivalry with Cena and playing face in peril for a brief Rated-RKO reunion. One of my favorite things about this match is how it builds to the Tower of Doom spot by having HBK do the slam and elbow spot on two guys, but when he tries it on the third the others have recovered enough to stop him. The build up to the end, with constant finishers and counters of finishers, is a brilliant sequence with an even better ending. HBK gets the final blow with Sweet Chin Music, but Cena lands on Orton and gets the pin.

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Kurt Angle vs. Edgesize=6>
Backlash 2002size=4>

2002 was a rough year for the WWF. From becoming World Wrestling Entertainment to the Brand Extension to the overall awful booking and the ratings decrease, it wasn’t a happy time. Two of the bright spots were Kurt Angle and Edge, who were rapidly ascending to full time main event status. Angle was pretty much the best wrestler in the world at this point, and Edge looked to be the next big babyface in the company. With Angle’s scientific mastery and Edge’s high-flying, high-impact offense and both men’s natural sense of humor, it made sense to have the two feud with each other.

The rivalry gave Angle a chance to showcase his incredible talent with someone who didn’t really have any physical limitations (Austin, Triple H), and gave Edge a chance to compete against a main event player. The results were spectacular. While they would later be acclaimed as part of the Smackdown Six, they were already having great matches before Benoit, Mysterio and the Guerreros joined them. This is the best example of thier pre-Smackdown Six work.

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Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rocksize=6>
WWF Championship Match, Backlash 1999size=4>

If you hate Attitude Era brawls, you aren’t going to like this one. Want to know how many wrestling moves are in this match? Two Stunners, two Rock Bottoms, a suplex, a neckbreaker, a scoop slam, and the Lou Thesz Press. The rest is a LOT of punching, clotheslines and throwing people into various debris. However, I tend to like anything in moderation so long as it is good. And for a sports entertainment, all over the arena brawl with no wrestling, this is excellent. With almost no down time, these two just beat the crap out of each other for most of the match, and it’s tremendous fun to watch.

My favorite moments in this match are the two guys throwing each other into the steel set and Rock taking the Spanish Announcer’s headset to add his own commentary for the match. As anyone could have predicted with a heel Shane McMahon as the referee, the brawl was a way to kill time until the finish. Shane tried to hit Austin with the belt but accidentally hit The Rock instead. He refused to make the count for Austin, so Vince McMahon (a babyface but not really because he was the higher power…don’t think about it too much) came out, decked Shane with the belt and had Earl Hebnar referee the rest of the match, which Austin won with a Stunner and a belt shot. Rock and Austin were pure concentrated awesome whenever they were in the ring, and this is no exception.

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Triple H vs. John Cena vs. Edgesize=6>
WWE Championship Match, Backlash 2006size=4>

Or “how to be a sadistic monster and get cheered for it”. Seriously, this is a great example of Triple H being a sore loser and still getting cheered like he’s the second coming of Hogan. And apparently, that was the plan. Odd booking aside, this is a really fun match. Right off of the heels of Wrestlemania 22, Cena was at the height of the love/hate relationship with the fans. Triple H was a tweener about to become a babyface as part of the reformed D-Generation X. Edge was on the verge of replacing Triple H as the top heel in the company. Aside from a brief assault on Edge that was basically a one-upmanship contest between Cena and Hunter, there was little teaming up and the action was nonstop, with quite a few three person spots that came off very well.

Edge was something of a third wheel in this match, whether it was sitting out the early minutes only to break up covers or being hit with a chair so he couldn’t break up Cena’s STF-U on a bloody Helmsley. However, he had his moments, breaking up an F-U attempt with a spear, busting the Game open and hitting a DDT on the announce table. But in the end, it was Cena’s night, as he rolled up Triple H in a counter to an attempted Pedigree. The shocking ending was capped off by sledgehammer shots on everyone from the King of Kings, who stood tall in the loss but would move out of the title picture. Cena and Edge would start to get into a big time rivalry that would not be finished for another three years.

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Chris Jericho vs. Chris Benoitsize=6>
Intercontinental Championship Match, Backlash 2000size=4>

Before the big money main event between The Rock and Triple H, Backlash 2000 gave us a terrific wrestling match between two of their young, fresh talents. Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit had competed all over the world in Canada, Europe and Japan and in WCW. But this was their biggest match to date and their first major one-on-one match in the WWF. As a result, these two were out to prove to the world that they deserved to be in the big leagues and could wrestle a great match that was just as exciting as what the main event players were giving. Since both men became world champions that were in the main event of Wrestlemania, I’d say they impressed some people.

Looking back on this match, there are a few problems with it; at times they are a bit sloppy and big spots are shrugged off like they are nothing. A back suplex over the ropes and to the floor would be a turning point in any match, but it hardly phases Jericho. It’s also really short and the sports-entertainment finish keeps it from being as good as it could have been. Even still, these guys were putting on an exhibition that nearly stole the show, and in the process, were setting new standards. Watching their intense grappling that spills to the floor, or their stiff chop fest, the creative submission counters that flow effortlessly into another; these guys were changing the style of American Wrestling. Whether you are watching John Cena and Batista counter their finishers at Wrestlemania 26 or Kurt Angle and AJ Styles doing the same thing in TNA, or Davey Richards and Bryan Danielson doing the same thing in ROH: that all came into the mainstream thanks to these guys and their rivalry here.

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John Cena vs. Edgesize=6>
WWE Championship Last Man Standing Match, Backlash 2009size=4>

Backlash may be over, but at least the last match at the event was a great one. Remember a few paragraphs I said that it took three years for Edge and Cena to finish their rivalry? This was the final blowoff, suitably, in a Last Man Standing Match. Edge and Cena is one of the biggest and best feuds of the last five years, and it deserved an epic final encounter. While this match suffered the usual problems of Last Man Standing matches (the modern audience isn’t going to buy a ten-count off of a sleeper, we know something crazy is going to happen) it does several things very well. They play off of their familiarity with each other, and it adds to the feel that this is truly the end. The spots get bigger and bigger as the match goes on, be it an F-U off of the second rope or an F-U into the crowd (who all happen to be athletic men in their twenties wearing Cena shirts), they don’t spare anything. Unfortunately, The Big Show’s interference at the end (which was to hurt Cena, not help Edge) brings this down just a big, but it’s still a great blow off…at least until the next time they meet.

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Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H vs. Chris Benoitsize=6>
World Heavyweight Championship Match, Backlash 2004size=4>

Sequels are very rarely as good as the original, and this is no exception. However, we are talking about the rematch of one of the best matches ever, so this is no knock on this match. The dynamic was a little bit different this time: Benoit was the returning hero ready to prove his worth in front of his hometown crowd, more confidant than ever before. Triple H was in the unfamiliar position of challenger, desperate to regain the world championship. Shawn was still trying to get revenge on Triple H and win the world title, but trying to take the title away from Benoit in Canada was going to make Shawn Michaels the most hated man in the match. Choosing to embrace that fact, the booking team decided to have Shawn apply the Sharpshooter on Benoit and sent Earl Hebnar out, obviously recreating the Montreal Screwjob, leading to massive “You Screwed Bret!” chants. In the end, we got the dream finish of Benoit forcing Michaels to tap out to the Sharpshooter.

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The Rock vs. Triple Hsize=6>
WWF Championship Match, Backlash 2000size=4>

While Steve Austin is pretty much synonymous with the “valiant babyface overcoming the odds because the boss hates him” formula, The Rock and Triple H proved they could do it just as well. If you are looking for a great catch-as-catch-can classic, you won’t find it here. If you are looking for an epic final confrontation, you won’t find it here. This match is the wrestling equivalent of a Summer Blockbuster; no, there’s no award winning acting or real artistic value, but the plot is simple, you hate the villains, you cheer the heroes, there’s big explosions, and there’s a big happy ending. This is sports entertainment, and while I don’t want matches like this to happen all of the time, sometimes it just works.

So there’s probably only about a dozen or so wrestling moves in this match, but they are all used well and mean something in the context of the match. More important is how Vince McMahon tries to keep the world title away from The Rock and around the waist of Triple H. Shane McMahon is a crooked referee who refuses to count when Rock could have gotten the pin off of a DDT. Just when it looks like Rocky can even the odds in his favor by putting Shane and Triple H through a table with a double Rock Bottom, Gerald Brisco and Pat Patterson come out and Vince interferes as well. But when the situation looks impossible, Steve Austin comes out to a THUNDEROUS ovation and lays out every villain with a chair. Then Linda McMahon and Earl Hebnar come to the ring; Linda shoves Stephanie down and Hebnar makes the count as The Rock finally gets the World Title by planting Triple H with the People’s Elbow. Pure entertainment and it makes me long for the days when Austin and Rock were still around as the most over wrestlers in the world.

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Randy Orton vs. Cactus Jacksize=6>
Intercontinental Championship Hardcore Match, Backlash 2004size=4>

Believe it or not, there was a time when Mick Foley coming out of retirement was a big deal. In late 2003, Foley was a temporary replacement for Stone Cold Steve Austin as co-general manager of RAW with Eric Bischoff. As the good authority figure, he was naturally at odds with Evolution, and specifically Randy Orton. Orton was the Intercontinental Champion and prided himself on being a Legend Killer. He would spit in the face of Foley, who would make his presence known by eliminating Randy at the Royal Rumble in 2004. But Evolution was there to aid Randy at every turn; the Hardcore Legend would have to enlist the help of an old friend, The Rock, to face Ric Flair, Batista and Orton at Wrestlemania XX, where Mick would come up short, taking the RKO and losing to his rival. Not satisfied, Foley would eventually get the match signed between Orton with his rules: no count outs, no disqualifications, and Evolution barred from ringside. One way or another, this feud would be settled in Edmonton.

Bringing back his Cactus Jack persona and weighing in at 274 pounds, Foley was at his absolute best here. The match served two major purposes: remind everyone of why exactly Mick Foley is a legend, and to put Randy Orton over the top. It achieves both goals easily. Foley brings all of his classic spots: the double arm DDT, the barbwire bats, the neckbreaker on the floor, the flying elbow drop. But he also brings some new tricks along. Marking the first American usage of barbwire boards by Foley, we are treated to sick bumps as he is power slammed into the barbwire, thrown into the barbwire, and dropkicked into the barbwire. However, the most memorable bump was taken by Orton. Attempting an RKO, Orton was thrown off and landed into a pile of thumbtacks that covered his back and arms. The sickening sight of Randy convulsing, trickles of blood pouring down under the shimmering metal is one of the greatest visuals in wrestling history and it made Orton a legitimate tough guy who deserved respect. Randy would win the match, and would brag about for the next four years. Star-making performances like this one are rare, and it tops my list of best Backlash matches.

*****

Next week, we are going to take a different road. Extreme Rules is all about being hardcore…well, in theory. So next week I count down the Top Ten Foreign Objects.