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Since its inception in 1999, Backlash has been known as the event that preceded WrestleMania.
It usually had a card with re-matches from WrestleMania and served as a PPV to completely end WrestleMania storylines. This continued until 2009 after which Backlash was discontinued.
Then, in 2016 WWE reintroduced it as a Smackdown PPV, but that year it was after SummerSlam.
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The following year it was again given back its previous position, and that is continuing this year as well.
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So, Backlash in its thirteen PPV appearances has witnessed a lot of memorable moments. Some have been great while others not so much.
There were many moments of shock, awe, and disgust which made them unforgettable.
Here is a list of ten unforgettable moments from Backlash history.
#10 Batista VS Shawn Michaels (Backlash 2008)
When Shawn Michaels retired Ric Flair from actively wrestling in the ring in WrestleMania 24, Batista was very upset about it. He even challenged Michaels to a match at Backlash.
In came Jericho, saying that both men were trying to act well when in reality both wanted to be the one to retire Flair.
This did not go well both the wrestlers, and Jericho was in the receiving end of both men’s finisher.
So, in classic WWE fashion, Jericho was assigned the special guest referee for the match.
The match was good, not a show-stealer by any margin, but the angle coming out of the match was the best.
Michaels, who had vowed that he would do anything to win, acted injured during the match. Jericho briefly stopped the match only for Michaels to capitalise on the moment and gain the victory.
A few weeks later, Michaels would reveal that he was not really injured, making Jericho attack him, and start one of their best feuds.
#9 Triple H VS Hulk Hogan (Backlash 2002)
Hogan was one of the hottest acts in 2002. The crowd cheering him in his match against The Rock at WrestleMania 18, even though he was a heel, showed how over Hogan was with the fans.
WWE taking advantage of this situation decided to put the Undisputed Championship on Hogan. So, he was put in a match against Triple H for the title at Backlash.
The match was underwhelming, and it looked like Triple H was wrestling himself for 20 minutes. Thank god there was a screwy finish; it made Triple H losing the match a little plausible.
But the match and all the shenanigans didn't matter to the crowd. Hulkamania was alive, again; and that was all that mattered.
#8 Randy Orton VS Cactus Jack (Backlash 2004)
Randy Orton in 2004 was carrying the gimmick of the Legend Killer and was one of the best heels at that time. He had attacked many WWE legends and Mick Foley was one of them.
Orton had continued to attack Foley even after Evolution had defeated the Rock and Sock connection at WrestleMania 20.
This finally made Foley turn to his old self and challenge Randy Orton for the Intercontinental Championship in a No Holds Barred Match at Backlash.
The match was a pure example of hardcore. Foley showed the world the carnage he could bring to the ring.
The amount of punishment the two men took was unprecedented. The use of weapons and the crazy spots reminded the fans of what No Holds Barred could actually look like.
This match made Orton look better, and set him up for the star he would become in the future. As for Foley, he cemented more into his legacy as the legend of hardcore.
#7 Dean Ambrose VS AJ Styles (Backlash 2016)
AJ Styles is one of the best wrestlers wrestling in the world right now. So, when he debuted in the Royal Rumble of 2016, everyone was extremely excited.
After the brand-split in 2016, Backlash was the first solo pay-per-view for the Smackdown brand. This was also a return of the Backlash PPV after last being used by the WWE in 2009.
In the main event of Backlash 2016, AJ Styles was poised to face-off against then WWE Champion Dean Ambrose.
The match itself was good, Ambrose did pretty well; he was having the best match of his tenure as champion.
Styles was being The Phenomenal One and doing what he did best, and him winning the WWE Championship was one of the highlights of 2016.
Nowadays we rarely see talent which has not been groomed by the WWE make it big in the wrestling business, but knowing Styles is not of them made him winning all the more memorable.
#6 Goldberg VS The Rock (Backlash 2003)
Over the years, many have made their WWE in-ring debut at the PPV of Backlash, but none was bigger than Bill Goldberg.
After WCW was overtaken by the WWE, many big names had not signed with WWE, and Goldberg was one of them.
Goldberg had a great record in WCW. He was former WCW Heavyweight Champion, former WCW US Champion, and his greatest record was his undefeated streak of 174 matches.
When Goldberg finally signed with the WWE in 2003, he was immediately put in a feud with The Rock.
On paper, Goldberg vs The Rock sounded very good, with all the achievements of both these men; it had classic written all over it. It was WCW's best VS WWE's best.
But the match failed to deliver. The entire match Goldberg only punched and used lock-ups, doing nothing creative.
The crowd chanting, ‘Goldberg Sucks’ didn’t help either. The match exposed Goldberg as a bad worker with a limited move set.
Goldberg’s big WWE in-ring debut was a failure, and it only went downhill from there. Goldberg would leave the WWE after WrestleMania XX, until his recent return in 2015.
#5 Jinder Mahal VS Randy Orton (Backlash 2017)
When Jinder Mahal was traded to Smackdown in the superstar shake-up of 2017, it was not considered anything big.
Mahal was not a big name, he had so many losses under his belt; people didn’t even know if he had a finisher.
So, it was shocking when he won the chance to face Orton for the WWE Championship at Backlash.
But the most shocking thing happened at Backlash when the Modern Day Maharaja beat Orton to become WWE Champion.
His sudden push to the top was astounding, and as the shock waned the response from the WWE Universe was not pretty.
But when it came to shock-factor WWE had outdone itself. Mahal becoming WWE Champion was truly one of the unforgettable moments in wrestling history.
#4 Bobby Lashley VS Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon & Umaga (Backlash 2007)
Backlash 2007 witnessed a phenomenal fatal four-way between Shawn Michaels, John Cena, Edge and Randy Orton for the WWE Championship.
A great Last Man Standing match between Undertaker and Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship (though the ending was not good).
But the most unforgettable moment from Backlash 2007 was Vince McMahon winning the ECW Championship.
After losing his hair at WrestleMania 23, McMahon booked Lashley in a handicap match against himself, Shane McMahon and Umaga for the ECW Championship.
The match was surprisingly entertaining, even though it was a bit longer than expected. The finish came when Umaga hit Lashley with a splash, and then Vince tagged in and covered Lashley for the win.
A lot of people think that Vince ruined ECW with him winning the ECW Championship, but ECW was already heading towards its inevitable end.
This reign at least gave us some funny skits and Du-rag Vince.
#3 Vince & Shane McMahon VS Shawn Michaels & God (Backlash 2006)
After losing to Michaels at WrestleMania, Vince put himself in a tag-team match against Michaels at Backlash.
Vince announced that Shane was going to be his partner and Michaels’ partner would be none other than God.
The Chairman of the WWE is known to present some insane ideas, but this was more extreme than anything he had ever done.
Everything in the match from God entering the arena, Vince telling the referee to check God for weapons, and him grabbing the mic mid-way through the match, and declaring, ‘God has left the building,’ was stupid and bizarre.
After watching all this, it is not surprising Reigns has main-evented four WrestleMania’s. Vince knows everything; after all, he beat God.
#2 Stone Cold VS The Rock (Backlash 1999)
.Backlash 1999 was the first PPV of that name, and the main event was The Rock vs Stone Cold Steve Austin for the championship, with Shane'O Mac as the special guest referee.
Before the match had begun, Vince had kept Stephanie inside the limousine surrounded by guards protecting her from Undertaker’s Ministry. The Ministry had vowed to capture Stephanie and sacrifice her.
The main event started, and The Rock and Austin had a classic attitude era brawl. The match went back and forth, and Austin was on the verge of winning when Shane refused to count the pin.
At that moment Vince came out and knocked out his son, and brought another referee to make the count. Austin won and Vince handed the belt to Austin.
As the match ended, the cameras showed Stephanie being abducted by the Undertaker, who was disguised as the driver of the limousine, while Vince was still inside the arena.
This moment was made more memorable when Vince declared that he was behind it all, in the worst anti-climatic endings to a storyline. Well, that is wrestling for you.
#1 The Rock VS Triple H (Backlash 2000)
People have argued that WrestleMania 2000’s main-event should have been Triple H vs The Rock for the title, there is some weight to this argument.
But it would not have made Backlash 2000 the most bought Backlash PPV if they had crowned The Rock at Mania.
Before Backlash, Linda McMahon had reported that Austin was going to come back at Backlash. This had a lot of fans intrigued and Backlash became a must-watch PPV.
The time of the main event came, and Austin had still not shown up. Vince had even said that Austin was not going to come.
The match started, and Triple H and The Rock put on a great show. Vince tried to interfere in the match, and with Shane as the referee; The Rock was in dire straits.
As the match approached its end, Vince knocked down The Rock with a chair-shot, and just when Triple H was about to win; Austin’s music hit.
The place erupted, as Austin cleaned the house. Then Linda came out with referee Earl Hebner who made the count, as The Rock pinned Triple H 1,2,3, and became Champion.
Great booking and great story-telling, one of the greatest endings to a wrestling match.
