Here are 10 of the greatest WWE Backlash matches ever.
As has been the case in the 14 iterations of WWE’s Backlash Pay Per View, the fallout from WrestleMania season has historically been the overriding message heading into the event.
Whatever bad blood that has carried over or formed in the weeks following ‘Mania, it makes for some fun and sometimes underrated feuds. Though Extreme Rules in a sense replaced Backlash in 2010 for a handful of years, and essentially nothing was in its place in 2019 save for The last-minute Shield’s Last Stand event in Moline, Illinois in late April.
Backlash in 2020 will be slightly different in what it aims to accomplish, as several matches appear just to be placeholders (see Miz and Morrison vs. Strowman for example), while matches like the U.S. Championship match (Appolo Crews vs. Andrade) could serve to further build Crews’ profile.
As for the past, a healthy dose of Last Man Standing, Hardcore and other themed matches make up a large chunk of Backlash’s history, falling in line with the “SOMETHING’S GOT TO GIVE” billing of an event that is hyped as the way to find closure for or highlight new tensions following some of the biggest matches of some of these performers’ careers in the weeks prior.
There are a hefty amount of extremely fun matches from the event that did not make this list. Stellar matchups like Brock Lesnar and John Cena’s 2003 WWE Championship match, Chris Benoit and Edge’s 2005 Last Man Standing match, Shinsuke Nakamura’s 2017 PPV debut against Dolph Ziggler, Seth Rollins’ 2018 Intercontinental title defense against the Miz, and a goofy comedy match between Big Show and Kurt Angle in 2000 all come to mind for me personally.
With that said, WWE Backlash has an excellent history of some serious stars going head to head. I watched every single match from the history of the PPV over the last few weeks, and I’ve detailed my favorites.
Just missed
Tag Team Championship – Team Angle (Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas) vs. Los Guerreros (Eddie and Chavo Guerrero) – Backlash 2003
A portrait on an easel of Kurt Angle watching Team Angle was enough, evidently to boost Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin to victory over Los Guerreros, in what was Team Angle’s first big tag title defense in the embryonic stages of both wrestler’s careers.
One of only two tag team matches on this list, I most appreciate the technical soundness demonstrated in this match, along with the Guerrero’s shenanigans.
Intercontinental Title Match – Chris Jericho vs. Shelton Benjamin – Backlash 2005
For two guys who could absolutely go and put on a good match darn near anyone, putting these two together with each other was destined to get the crowd going, and boy did they. The finish is particularly fun.
Inaugural SmackDown Women’s title match – 6-pack challenge – Becky Lynch, Natalya, Naomi, Alexa Bliss, Nikki Bella, Carmella – 2016 Backlash
Fairly fresh off being the top woman drafted to SmackDown by then co-general managers Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan, Becky Lynch entered Backlash with something of a chip on her shoulder to prove her worth. This version of Backlash, hosted Sept. 11, was the lone instance of the event to not be held before June 15.
This match is particularly meaningful to my fandom as a longtime fan of Lynch.
Mauro Ranallo on commentary in the minute following the finish of the match calls Lynch “the brightest star in the Smackdown Live constellation.”
Little did he know how correct he would be.
With all that said, what follows are 10 of my most memorable Backlash matches.
SmackDown Tag Title match – The Usos vs. The Fashion Police – 2017 Backlash
Few WWE performers have brought more grins to my face in a short amount of time as Fashion Police/Breezango, while few in-ring moments have ever made me laugh harder than this match.
The vignette before the match of Tyler Breeze as a bald-cap-wearing, paper-mustache-adorned, and jumpsuit-sporting goofball was fun enough, but Breeze actually going to the ring in said attire, and then wrestling in it with his mop as a prop, only to then become a hyper-athletic granny, well it was just comedy gold.
Lo and behold, the Usos were in the midst of a run that yielded wonderful in-ring matches pretty much whenever they were involved. That continued in this match, a relatively short barnburner that had the broadcast team cracking up, the Usos trying to stifle grins in the midst of the showdown, and plenty of shenanigans.
While The Usos have carried some of these types of matchups between new challengers to the throne, Fashion Police/Breezango certainly rose to the occasion in this one, transitioning seamlessly from silly nonsense to a splendid sprint to the finish.
Last Man Standing Match for the World Heavyweight title – The Undertaker vs. Batista – 2007 Backlash
Sometimes you just can’t beat big dudes beating the snot out of each other, and that’s what then champion the Undertaker and Batista did to one another. When this feud was happening back when I was 13 years old, these were two of my absolute favorites in the company. SmackDown was where it was at, at the time, and middle school me was absolutely loving any interaction between these two.
Between some early offense from Taker (leg drop on the apron, superplex), it becomes obvious the Dead Man needed to dig into his bag of tricks. Batista, hobbled with a banged up and bandaged leg, responds back with his own powerful offense, enough to keep the audience going throughout, and answers some near-10 counts while battered and bloody.
And as far as double count-out-finishes go, I won’t ever complain too much about this one. Michael Cole’s “Holy S***” response still gets me, too.
Winner-Take-All match Shelton Benjamin (Intercontinental champ) vs. Rob Van Dam (Mr. Money in the Bank) – 2006 Backlash
When few wrestlers on the planet were more over among the crowd than Rob Van Dam, Shelton Benjamin was still over partially due to the presence of his TV “Mom,” Thea Vidale, who said in 2014 of her experience that “I genuinely hated that place,” after facing persistent sexual harassment.
In this match, you see Benjamin put in a sunset flip, powerbomb from the apron to the floor, Benjamin leaping to the top rope for an explosive superplex, some near-miss top rope leaps, and RVD tossing the MITB briefcase to Benjamin, who gets booted in the noggin before the 5-star frog splash finish. The fans ate it all up for good reason.
Hardcore Title match Raven vs. Rhyno – Backlash 2001
Just an absolute cluster of nonsense all the way around, this mess of a match between Rhyno and Raven is dumb in a great way immediately. Raven brings a stop sign, a kitchen sink, and other nonsense to the ring right from the get-go.
Rhyno, looking like a Mid-American Conference defensive tackle minus about 15 pounds of chunk around the love handles, just viciously assaults Raven throughout. The number of times Raven smashed Rhyno over the head with road/parking signs has to have caused some persistent ringing in Rhyno’s ears. Rhyno going face-first into a shopping cart on an attempted Gore, only to turn around and hit it for the win is near perfect.
In one of the more enjoyable Hardcore matches, I can recall ever watching in an era when that particular match was contested all the time, this match is brutal in all the right ways.
Shawn Michaels vs. Batista w/Chris Jericho as special guest referee – 2008 Backlash
Not one month after Shawn Michaels *air quotes* “ended the career” of Ric Flair in one of the more emotional WrestleMania moments in history, Batista and Michaels had a spirited, unusual match that saw Michaels wear Batista’s limbs down mercilessly, demonstrating why some argue him to be the greatest in-ring performer in WWE history. Batista was livid with Michaels choosing to bring his all to Mania, defeating his former Evolution mentor Flair and ending his in-ring career
Jericho adds a little extra silliness to the match without getting into it really with either performer other than getting physical a few times to interrupt holds, but they at least tease he could cause tensions to rise.
The sluggish pace this match runs at for the majority of its runtime could have made this forgettable, but these two amp things up in the last 10 minutes to really elevate it while amplifying the strain these two are undergoing to make their point.
Michaels doing anything, including suckering in Batista with a fake knee injury, to get the upper hand, is magnificent.
Edge vs. Kurt Angle – Backlash 2002
“You Suck” fever hitting in full is just a great reminder of how easy it was to root against Kurt Angle, while fully appreciating how naturally excellent Kurt Angle is at the business.
The first time I jumped out of my seat watching this one back was certainly when Angle completes an over-the-top superplex, but it’s the back and forth excitement this match sustains in the arena during the course of the match that sticks out way more than any particular moment. The frantic near falls had the place in a frenzy, and the fans are hanging on seemingly every moment throughout. Angle smashing a steel chair against the ropes only for it to smack him in the dome, kick out of the near fall and initiate the sequence that led to an Angle Slam and victory was executed to perfection.
It was just a blast all the way through.
Last Man Standing WWE Heavyweight Championship match – John Cena vs. Edge – Backlash 2009
A small part of me is actually somewhat surprised Edge showed up on this list more than John Cena, but that part of me isn’t complaining about that result.
As a young fan, the rivalry that existed between these two stands out as starkly in my mind perhaps more than any other matchup. This match, treated the night of as something of a match to end the rivalry type — it ends up being such an occasion, as it stands as the two’s final singles encounter — with the bad feelings reaching a fever pitch at the conclusion.
Why Big Show needed to intervene for storyline purposes is still lost in me even after reading about it all after the fact, but it doesn’t take much away from the phenomenal match.
Intercontinental Championship Hardcore match – Mick Foley vs. Randy Orton – Backlash 2004
Maybe the most fun I had watching a match while also the match that made me cringe the most, this epic from Foley and Orton packed so much into a stipulation known for many twists and turns.
On the defensive throughout much of the affair, Orton takes an absolute licking from the experienced Foley, whose sadistic, fan-pleasing style is at its best. Barbed wire baseball bats, barbed wire boards, and other instruments of torture and destruction are wielded for the sadists’ pleasure.
It was perhaps, one of WWE Backlash’s best matches ever.
Intercontinental Championship Match – The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler – Backlash 2016
One of the best pure in-ring matches in a WWE ring in the last handful of years — Did I stutter? — Miz was in the midst of a magical run as champion, complete in all facets in his character work and commitment to putting on absolute bangers
Ziggler, who sells like no one’s business and like few have done before him or in his time, pulls off so many near falls like an absolute pro’s pro.
The Miz’s outside motivation of elevating the Intercontinental title while feuding with Bryan is a master class in his execution. When you pair someone like Ziggler, who can put on a great match with anyone, with Miz, who was more plugged in at this time than he has ever been in his career, what fans got was magic.
WWE Championship match – Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock, with special guest referee Shane McMahon – Backlash 1999
What many will remember for the buildup to the match, including Stone Cold and his WWF Championship title being thrown into a river in Detroit, was a huge blowoff with predictable McMahon family involvement.
Nothing makes getting into a match easier than hearing fans go absolutely bonkers over their investment in the characters involved, and this feud is one of the more memorable examples of this type of Attitude Era euphoria.
There’s little I can say about this match and feud that hasn’t already been said, so here’s an invitation to just relive it for yourself.