WWE Backlash’s Top 10 Matches of All Time, Ranked

4. WWE Championship Match – WWE Backlash 1999
Stone Cold Steve Austin (c) vs. The Rock

In the main event of the very first Backlash event, Stone Cold Steve Austin battled The Rock in a rematch from WrestleMania 15. For those of you who don’t know, the fifteenth installment of WrestleMania marked the night where Austin won his third WWE Championship. It also marked the first time he defeated the Great One at the Show of Shows, so you can bet Rock wasn’t happy.

Eager to gain revenge over the humiliation he suffered in Philadelphia, Rock was keen on winning yet another world championship. He seemed poised to do just that, especially when it was announced that Shane McMahon was the guest referee. At the time, Rock was the crown jewel of the McMahon regime, and so it was of no surprise they wanted to aid him. That, and their utter hatred of Austin fueled the McMahon’s thirst for success in this regard.

Despite the odds being stacked against him, Austin entered the event and proceeded to lay waste to anything that stood in his path. Later on in the contest, he had the match won when things began to turn south for him. Refusing to finish the count during a pinfall attempt, Shane would flip Austin off before running for his life. This distraction, in turn, offered Rock a great chance to get back into the contest.

Even with the crooked referee in his corner, Rock was unable to stop Austin from retaining his championship. The win propelled the Rattlesnake even further in terms of popularity, but his feud with the McMahon family was far from over. As for Rock, by the end of the year, he was entertaining audiences throughout his partnership with Mick Foley.