10 WrestleMania Followup Pay-Per-Views with WrestleMania Rematches

#5. Backlash 2004: Foley A-Tacks Orton and WWE doubles down on a Triple Threat

The exact same main event at WrestleMania, with nearly an identical reception

WrestleMania XX was billed as "Where it all begins...again," and was an above-average (if not a bit overlong) WrestleMania card; two memorable matches on the show, however, were not the blowoff one typically assumes WrestleMania to be, and carried on into April.

Evolution, consisting of Randy Orton, Ric Flair, and Batista, took on The Rock 'N' Sock Connection in a three-on-two handicap match, which Orton won for his team with a surprise RKO on Mick Foley; using the finish as ammunition on Orton's "Legend Killer" gimmick, The Viper would continue to antagonize the Hardcore Legend, until Foley demanded that Orton put his Intercontinental Championship on the line at Backlash in a Hardcore Match.

Right around the same time Kanye West's The College Dropout was dominating the charts, Randy Orton sends Cactus Jack "Through the Wire"

Often credited as the match which "made" Orton's career, The Legend Killer and ECW's legend, in his Cactus Jack persona, fought through barbed wire, thumbtacks, baseball bats, and buckets of blood en route to an RKO onto a barbed wire baseball bat; the enduring image of Orton's bloodied back full of push pins is often credited with helping Orton's case for his first World Heavyweight Championship, which he would win four months after this contest.

Meanwhile, the main event of WrestleMania XX was a bloody and chaotic encounter itself, which set the standard for main event Triple Threat matches and resulted in the then-cathartic crowning of Chris Benoit as World Heavyweight Champion after forcing Triple H to submit while Shawn Michaels stared down death by blood loss on the outer edges of the action.

Chris Benoit victorious in his hometown.

The trio refused to separate in the weeks after the Showcase of the Immortals, and entered Benoit's original billed hometown of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, for a sequel to their classic clash; Canadian karma would get Michaels, as Benoit locked in the Sharpshooter on the Heartbreak Kid to force Michaels to tap out this time, allowing Chris Benoit to retain in his first pay-per-view defense of a world championship.

Which Worked Better?

In the case of Foley and Orton, the sequel undoubtedly eclipses the original; the WrestleMania handicap match was well worked and had some memorable spots, but Foley would cite its lack of a true "WrestleMania Moment," and its tepid reaction from Steve Austin backstage, as reasons for his return in his later hardcore clash with Edge. The Backlash match incorporates more intensity and eye-popping spots and is far more a star-maker for the third generation superstar than the March match allowed.

As far as the Triple Threat goes, it's a matter of personal preference as far as who you prefer to see tap out, and where; critical reception for the two matches was nearly identical, and proof that putting these three men together was a winning combination.