World Wrestling Federation – Backlash 2001 – 29th April 2001
WrestleMania 17 was an incredible event, serving as a fitting curtain call to a great hot period in the World Wrestling Federation’s history. However, as the Houston Astrodome started to empty that glorious April night, Vince and his creative team faced a serious problem. Steve Austin’s saga was at an end. He’d sold out to the boss, won back the WWF Championship and completed an unlikely heel turn. The storyline was fantastic, but the age-old dilemma of ‘what next’ was about to rear it’s ugly head. The Rock left for Hollywood and Triple H was teamed up with Austin, forming the ‘Two Man Power Trip’ which, whilst on paper was a really cool idea, couldn’t help but spotlight the fact that HHH always seemed to find a way to be part of the main event storyline – even now when Austin should be the top heel, not him. The Power Trip needed enemies, with the WWF famously overlooking the likes of Jericho and Benoit (who, at that stage, people were clamouring to see in the main event), or even someone like the Hardyz or the Dudleyz (it was a tag team rivalry after all) in favour of the ‘old guard’ – Undertaker and Kane. Tonight’s main event sees a ‘Winner Takes All’ Match for all the major titles, with the Two Man Power Trip defending the WWF (Austin) and Intercontinental (HHH) titles, and the Brothers Of Destruction putting up the tag straps. To be fair, the undercard is very decent however. Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit continue their rivalry in a 30-minute Ultimate Submission Match, Chris Jericho faces William Regal in a Duchess Of Queensbury Rules Match, Rhyno defends the Hardcore Title against Raven and Big Show faces Shane McMahon in a Last Man Standing Match. JR and Paul Heyman are in Chicago, IL.
Dudley Boyz vs X-Factor
This is a trios tag, meaning Spike is considered part of the Dudley Boyz and they face the newly formed group of X-Pac, Justin Credible and Albert. I’d forgotten how awful X-Factor’s Uncle Kracker entrance music was. No wonder that group never got over.
Spike leaps into a super ugly double stomp on Albert, and is them press slammed at the rest of X-Factor by his big brothers. Albert counters the Acid Drop (Dudley Dog – although I refuse to call it that) handing the heel group the advantage as they try to isolate D-Von. It’s noticeable that only Pac is getting any heat on his team. Credible hits a Black Hole Slam, followed by a stalling butterfly suplex from Albert – only delaying the inevitable before D-Von gets the hot tag to Bubba Ray. Cactus Clothesline from D-Von to Albert whilst Bubba sets Justin up for the Wassup Headbutt. Waltman and Credible hit the X Marks The Spot for the win at 08:00
Rating - ** - A perfectly serviceable opening match. The logic is pretty sound too – the Dudleyz are super over, didn’t need a win to maintain that, and giving X-Factor a clean win over them helps legitimise the new heel group. Perhaps it would have been more memorable if the match hadn’t been quite as average/forgettable as it was.
X-Factor try to put Bubba through a table to make a statement. They should have left when they had the chance…X-Pac ends up being 3-D’d through the table
The Duchess Of Queensbury arrives in a limousine, to be greeted by William Regal, who saves a ridiculous skit with his smarminess.
Kurt Angle brags about beating Benoit at WrestleMania, and appears equally confident and another victory in the Ultimate Submission Match tonight.
EARLIER TONIGHT – Jerry Lynn beats Crash Holly for the Light Heavyweight Title.
Rhyno vs Raven – WWF Hardcore Title Match
Former ECW Champions collide here, with Raven looking to regain the Hardcore Championship having been in and around the title for most of the year thus far. Rhyno has made a major impression since joining from the now-defunct ECW, assisting Edge & Christian to victory in TLC2 at WrestleMania and claiming a championship for himself.
Great work by Raven, countering the charging Rhyno into a drop toehold on a ‘Stop’ sign as the bell rings. He gets caught second time of asking though, with the Man Beast driving a shoulder into his guts. Trash can BOOTED into Raven’s face! That connected with such force that the challenger collapses through the ropes to the floor. He sits Raven in a chair…then sprints up the steps to MISS a flying tackle and go through the open chair! Raven connects with a diving lariat off the same steps for 2. The champ strings together a succession of weapon shots to the head – including ramming his own shopping cart into his face. SHOPPING CART DROP TOEHOLD by Raven! Rhyno tries to swing it at him again, so Raven counters by jabbing a trash can into his face – and the Man Beast drops the cart across his own chest too. Rhyno levels Raven with multiple garbage can shots then crouches in the corner. GORE MISSES…HE GOES STRAIGHT THROUGH THE SHOPPING CART! Raven bashes the fallen champion repeatedly with a sink, and still can’t get the win. GORE! Rhyno retains at 08:10
Rating - *** - What a fun Hardcore Title Match this was. This really shows what strong workers Rhyno and Raven are in this kind of environment, because they weren’t doing anything that others in the ‘Hardcore division’ hadn’t done previously. It was still all aluminium trash cans, comedy weapons and ‘Stop’ signs – but the difference was these guys were good enough with their body language and demeanour to elevate it above comedic relief and make it seem like a genuine fight.
They replay Shane McMahon’s comical ‘Shane & The Beanstalk’ promo hyping his Last Man Standing encounter with Big Show tonight. Back live with Stephanie pleading with Shane to apologise to their father in an attempt to get their match called off. Shane declines
Steve Austin arrives and yells at Kevin Kelly for implying he might lose the WWF Title tonight
More Duchess Of Queensbury lunacy next, with Coach trying to find out exactly what the ‘rules’ of a ‘Duchess Of Queensbury Rules Match’ are…only to be run off by Regal
William Regal vs Chris Jericho – Duchess Of Queensbury Rules Match
Y2J has been in the Commissioner’s firing line since his first day in the job. Regal tried to make his life miserable by booking him in ridiculous handicap matches…so Jericho pissed in his tea. At Mania we saw Jericho defeat Regal to retain the IC Championship, but having subsequently lost that his feud with the Commissioner has continued. Regal laid down the challenge for this match tonight, but hasn’t at any point revealed what the ‘Duchess Of Queensbury Rules’ actually are.
They run through some precise basics to start with, although the crowd are rather sullen as they have no clue what the rules are either. Jericho beats the Commissioner outside the ring, but misses a missile dropkick on the way back in, putting him on the defensive. Regal dominates until hopping to the second rope to wave at the crowd…and being dragged down with a frankensteiner by Y2J. Regal Cutter blocked and countered into the bulldog. Lionsault nailed…but the bell rings before Jericho can pin. Apparently that’s the time limit for ‘Round 1’ under Duchess Of Queensbury Rules. William starts Round 2 with a devastating German suplex then locking in the Regal Stretch. Jericho gets to the ropes and counters another German suplex into the Walls Of Jericho – forcing Regal to tap. However, under Duchess Of Queensbury Rules you can’t win by submission…so the match continues (again). An irate Jericho marches towards the Duchess herself (sitting at ringside)…but as he is distracted by the Duchess’ security team, the Commissioner levels Y2J with her royal sceptre. Tim White calls for a disqualification, but under DOQ Rules – you guessed it – it’s No Disqualification! Y2J struggles to stay in the fight, but uses the unique rules to his advantage by ditching the Walls Of Jericho to kick Regal straight in the ‘bollocks’. He picks a fight with the Duchess’ security guards…then drags the Duchess herself into the ring. WALLS OF JERICHO ON THE DUCHESS! Regal bashes Jericho in the back of the head with a chair, and wins the match (for real) at 12:31
Rating - ** - Some of the comedy was funny (particularly the Walls Of Jericho on the Duchess), but at over twelve minutes this was far too long. If they wanted to do a comedy match it needed to be shorter and snappier. In terms of wrestling, they actually did far more high quality stuff in significantly less time the previous month at WrestleMania.
Vince McMahon briefs the Big Show ahead of his match. Show isn’t allowed to hold anything back…
Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit – 30-Minute Ultimate Submission Match
The rules for this one are much simpler – it basically a half hour, submission only, Iron Man. Both Angle and Benoit have claims to be the best wrestler in the WWF. Kurt is an Olympic Gold Medallist, whilst Hart Dungeon-graduate Benoit has received global plaudits for the quality of his technical wrestling skills. They met at WrestleMania and put on a clinic, where they both appeared extremely even and apparently had a counter for everything the other person threw at them…until Kurt cheated and won the match by holding onto Benoit’s tights. Obviously the Crippler wanted a rematch, and tonight they put their vaunted submission skills to the ultimate test.
The opening minutes are tense, with the only significant incident being Kurt making an early grab for the Anklelock only for Benoit to quickly ensnare him in a grapple before they both spill into the ropes. Just when you thought Angle had the edge on Benoit when it comes to mat skills, he is nearly flipped into the Crossface from nowhere. He repeatedly leaves the ring trying to gain some distance from the Canadian…CRIPPLER CROSSFACE ON THE FLOOR! Kurt taps, although that doesn’t count outside. It’s done some damage though and makes the point that he can’t keep fleeing the ring for safety. He crouches in the ropes, but shoots up past the referee trying to enforce the rules…and slaps on a tight kneebar. Benoit taps out, giving Kurt the 1-0 lead at 06:32. Although Benoit tapped quickly to minimise the damage, Angle seizes the opportunity and begins assaulting his leg. He gets too excited though, and rushes blind into a cross armbreaker. The score moves to 1-1 at 08:04. Benoit stays on the arm and nearly goes to 2-1 seconds later with another cross armbreaker submission. Shoulderbreaker nailed, although it hurts his own knee. Kurt crawls to the ropes and levels Benoit with a chair out of sight of the referee. Anklelock applied on the woozy Wolverine, who quickly taps again to make it 2-1 at 10:20. Sensing a major opportunity, Angle repeatedly kicks at his leg during the mandatory rest period – then dives into the Crossface ON Benoit! He taps again, so it’s 3-1 at 11:05. Benoit has no choice but to head for cover…although the rampant Olympic Gold Medallist pursues him out of the ring to bash his brains into the announce tables a few times. HUGE back drop over the ropes by Benoit! He’d like some recovery time, but is two falls down with just over half the time already expired, so he aggressively chases Kurt – whipping him into the ringpost. Taking the fight outside the ring comes back to haunt him as Angle sends him flying into the steps then slaps on the Anklelock outside the squared circle.
Triangle choke locked in and this time there’s no quick submission – the Crippler is aware he can’t let it slip to 4-1. Amazingly he counters an abdominal stretch back to the cross armbreaker, but alas Kurt rolls to the ropes. SHARPSHOOTER! The crowd gasp in despair as Kurt refuses to tap again. German suplex…COUNTERED TO A HALF CRAP! Finally Angle does submit, making the score 3-2 at 18:07. At the restart Angle draws serious heat by rolling out of the ring and looking to spend the last eleven minutes running away and protecting his lead. That’s his prerogative of course, and as he’s losing Benoit has no choice but to give chase – even though he inevitably gets set up and ambushed as he chases Kurt back into the ring. Angle keeps going for the Anklelock, and when he can’t do that he instead opts to toss the Wolverine out of the ring for a SUPLEX ON THE FLOOR! It’s serious damage late into the match, and there’s no way Benoit can earn a fall out there either. Back in the ring Angle locks in a stiff rear chinlock, positioning himself between Benoit and the ropes and looking to run the clock down as much as get another fall. He eats well over a minute off the remaining time and suddenly there’s only three and a half to go. Belly to belly’s by Angle, tossing the fallen Benoit around with ease. But somehow Benoit hits back with ROLLING GERMANS! Sharpshooter blocked…then the Anklelock is blocked. ANKLELOCK ON KURT! HE TAPS! It’s 3-3 at 27:52! Benoit aggressively targets Angle’s legs in the dying seconds, with his opponent clinging to the ropes for a break whenever possible. He kicks Benoit in the nuts…ANKLELOCK! Benoit holds on though! The 30-minute match expires with the match tied at 3-3, even though Benoit technically tapped after the bell. The Fink announces we’re going into sudden death overtime which, at this point, favours Angle who spent much of the last thirty seconds putting Benoit in his submission finisher. He clings to a grounded abdominal stretch, only for Benoit to kick off the ropes INTO THE CRIPPLER CROSSFACE! ANGLE TAPS! Benoit finally wins 4-3 at 31:30
Tape Rating - **** - WrestleMania was a tremendously athletic and exciting wrestling match that everyone could enjoy. This one, I felt, was much more of an acquired taste. They told a really compelling and thoroughly realistic story, as they both looked for submissions whilst deploying believable and realistic strategies to thwart their adversary. That was the positive, however, on the negative side, it wasn’t always the most interesting match. We didn’t get as many electrifying counter sequences, or as many thrilling tit-for-tat mat-wrestling trade-offs. And although they used hints of it at times, they never really went with a unifying plotline throughout the match of Benoit attacking the shoulder, or Angle attacking the leg. It was refreshing in many ways, but that kind of thing really gives a live crowd a story they can get behind. I’d say it took the audience a good 20-minutes before they really started responding to what these tremendous workers were producing. They were brave to shoot for a match like this, and for detail and quality this one is better than WrestleMania. For mass appeal, in front of ‘casual’ fans I think the Houston encounter was probably more watchable though.
Somewhere in the arena Undertaker and Kane are arguing, apparently about the state of Kane’s injured elbow. Triple H is watching on a monitor and gloats about it to his wife.
Big Show vs Shane McMahon – Last Man Standing Match
Bitter about his son stealing WCW from under his nose, and angry after suffering defeat to him at WrestleMania, Vince had an evil plan to put a stop to his son’s actions. After Shane tried to recruit Big Show for a return to WCW, at the behest of Vince, Show sided with WWF and assaulted him. Vince booked this match, and has ordered Big Show to go any length needed to teach Shane a lesson tonight.
Shane runs from the Show, finally popping out from under the ring to wear him out with a kendo stick. Chokeslam blocked with yet more kendo stick shots…before Big Show has seen enough and clobbers McMahon to the deck with a violent clothesline. The WCW Chairman starts swinging a chair, but only manages to keep Big Show on the ground for around four seconds. Next he mounts Show’s back and tries to gas him to unconsciousness with some ether. It looks like he has it won…only for Vince to run in and deck him with a chair. It buys Big Show enough time to recover, and he sets about fulfilling Mr McMahon’s wishes by punishing his son. Final Cut scores but every time the referee looks like he could count Shane out, Big Show pulls him up again. Test runs in and attacks Show (as revenge for an assault on Raw the previous week). Their fight goes all the way up the aisle, giving McMahon plenty of time to recover. He wearily trots after them to bash Show with a sign…but when Show pulls out a lead pipe Shane starts climbing the set to get away from him. Shades of Summerslam 2000 as Shane climbs all the way up to the TOP of the Titantron! Beneath him Test beats Big Show unconscious. SHANE HITS A FLYING ELBOW OFF THE TITANTRON! It looks set to be a draw until Test hauls the boon camera round and props Shane up on it! He wins at 11:52
Rating - ** - The Titantron dive was incredible – and looked even more spectacular than the bump Shane took at Summerslam last year (because it was an offensive move). In truth the rest of the match was basically stalling before we got to that spot although it told a coherent enough story and was easy enough to watch. I didn’t like the fact that Vince appeared early in the match, but then was nowhere to be seen when Shane and Test basically teamed up on Big Show. Surely Mr McMahon would have made his presence felt again to ensure he got the outcome he wanted?
Steve Blackman is at WWF New York and tries to give his thoughts on Shane’s latest tron dive. He’s interrupted by Grand Masta Sexay. Less said about him the better…
Matt Hardy vs Christian vs Eddie Guerrero – WWF European Title Match
How do you think Edge, Christian and the Hardyz (and the Dudleyz) feel about the Two Man Power Trip angle? They killed themselves (again) in TLC2, one of the main event draws for WrestleMania, but now, a few weeks later are barely even relevant to this card at all. Matt defeated Eddie for the European Title on Smackdown. This is Eddie’s last ppv match before his release, and eventual return at Backlash 2002 (although he did work the UK-only Insurrextion show, and is at Judgment Day 2001)
Guerrero suggests a temporary alliance with Christian to take out Hardy, meaning the champion is immediately on the back foot. With Matt dumped unceremoniously out of the ring, Christian and Eddie begin fighting amongst themselves. Eddie scores with an AMAZING mid-air hurricanrana counter, a real glimpse of his exceptional talent even when he was barely motivated to show up. Christian saves Eddie from the Twist Of Fate, with his reward being Guerrero trying to put him in a Mexican surfboard. HANDSPRING REBOUND DDT TO THE FLOOR from Hardy to Christian! He doesn’t even have time to celebrate before Guerrero drags him over the ropes for a series of ROLLING BRAINBUSTERS! Hardy blocks a super rana attempt…then drops Christian on top of Eddie with an avalanche gourdbuster. Edge runs in, dropping Matt with a Spear on the floor. Jeff Hardy comes out to attack Edge…then hits the SWANTON on Christian as he looks set to win after dropping Guerrero with the Unprettier. Twist Of Fate wins it for Matt at 06:52
Rating - ** - This was actually pretty good, and fought in front of a surprisingly lively crowd considering they got shoved into the popcorn slot separating Shane’s crazy bump from the main event. Eddie looked awesome, and was at the heart of everything good in the match even though he was clearly much less of an attraction than Christian, Edge or the Hardyz.
Steve Austin/Triple H vs Undertaker/Kane – WWF Title/Intercontinental Title/Tag Title Match
All the titles are on the line here. Undertaker and Kane are defending their Tag Titles, and at the same time if either of them pins Austin or HHH then they’ll win that championship too. The Power Trip was formed the night after WrestleMania, when Triple H aligned himself with Stone Cold and Vince McMahon – effectively beating The Rock out of the company. They went on a rampage, massacring the Hardyz then taking Chris Jericho’s Intercontinental Championship. Taker and Kane stepped up to stop their reign of terror, and defeated Edge & Christian to win the Tag Championship and set up this as our Backlash main event. Kane comes in with an injured and heavily strapped elbow – resulting from an attack at the hands of the Power Trip a couple of weeks previously.
Austin is wrestling in red knee braces, which really looks unsettling for some reason. He and HHH have no desire to get into the ring with the Brothers, and spend the first minute on the floor stalling. Eventually Undertaker and Kane lose their patience and decide to engage their opponents outside the ring. Triple H doesn’t waste a second trying to attack Kane’s arm, although the Big Red Machine keeps him at bay at this stage. Austin, meanwhile, wants no part of a fight with the Phenom. Undertaker is noticeably hesitant to tag his brother in, and is then proven right as Austin lands a single kick to the injured arm – forcing him to immediately tag out again. Old School rope walks for both the singles champions…and the Two Man Power Trip look to walk out. Kane retrieves them but his injury means he is restricted to the apron whilst HHH and Austin manage to land a few double teams on his brother. Undertaker feels unable to make a tag – a predicament which leaves him vulnerable to isolation from the Game and the Rattlesnake. He hits a running DDT on Helmsley but takes one look at his brothers arm…and turns back into another attack from Austin. Finally Kane forcibly tags his way into the match, and looks set to finish Stone Cold with a Chokeslam…before Triple H crunches into his arm. Austin delivers an armbar DDT, then takes him to the floor to hammer it with a chair whilst the referee finds himself distracted with Undertaker and HHH. There is some really outstanding limb work from the heel team, with the majority of their offence now targeted at the bad limb. Even Austin, who isn’t a renowned worker of that style, does a great job switching up his standard offence in order to target the injury. Even when the Monster finally inches towards a crucial tag HHH is on hand to drag Taker off the apron. PEDIGREE! Austin demands he gets the chance to cover Kane, and the Power Trip pay for their arrogance as Undertaker marches into the ring for an illegal Chokeslam on Stone Cold. Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley tries to interfere only to be shoved off the apron by Earl Hebner! In the melee Hebner misses Kane make a tag to Undertaker…not that the Deadman cares as he rips into both members of the Power Trip. LAST RIDE on Triple H, only for Hebner to refuse to count the fall. Austin returns with a Stunner on Kane, then brawls on the floor with the apparently-illegal Taker. Stephanie tosses title belt to her husband…then charges in to take the hit for him when he fails to level him with it. Vince McMahon runs in and tosses HHH a sledgehammer! SLEDGEHAMMER TO THE ARM! THEN TO THE HEAD! The Power Trip are Tag Champions at 27:10
Rating - *** - This angle, and to a lesser extent this match, have a lousy reputation. It had the old guard clinging to their main event spots, and the WWF refusing to put some new blood in the spotlight even in the face of falling buyrates. However, this is actually a pretty decent match. It probably could have done with having five minutes shaved off it’s run-time, but it featured some decent wrestling. The work on Kane’s arm was really strong, both in terms of offensive work by HHH and Austin and in how Kane sold it. They actually kept the overbooking to a minimum and worked in a finish which paid off what they’d done earlier in the match too, which helped. The reality is that neither Undertaker or Kane had the skillset of a Mitsuharu Misawa at this stage, and simply weren’t equipped to work main event 30-minute tag matches. In the circumstances this really was as good as they could have done
Tape Rating - ** - The notorious post-WrestleMania 17 slide was well and truly on. The Attitude Era ended at WrestleMania when Austin shook hands with Vince McMahon in my opinion. With the two top babyfaces now gone (Rock in Hollywood, Austin turned heel) it was time to embrace the new generation rather than cling to the remnants of the Attitude main event scene looking to repeat past glories. People didn’t want to see Kane in the main event. After well over a year at the forefront of the company, was it really right that HHH continued to cling to his top billing? Although he’d go on to be a revered part-timer in his later years, during his American Bad Ass run Undertaker was a distant third as a babyface title contender – and pushing him into the main event drew suitably reduced numbers than when Austin or Rock were headlining. As I said, under the circumstances the main event is actually really solid – but it just wasn’t the right booking decision. By the time they realised their errors and started pushing Jericho and Benoit the rot had well and truly set in. On the undercard, the usual suspects carry the show, whilst the rest is filler, overbooking and silly skits. Angle/Benoit is the only outstanding match worth going out of your way to check out
Top 3 Matches
3) Rhyno vs Raven (***)
2) Steve Austin/Triple H vs Undertaker/Kane (***)
1) Chris Benoit vs Kurt Angle (****)