It’s been exactly a month since WWE’s grandest PPV and to follow it up, we have WrestleMania Backlash set to take place on the 16th of May. The PPV got rebranded from Backlash to WrestleMania Backlash as it served as WWE’s post WrestleMania event for a decade. Here are some of the greatest moments of WWE Backlash that we’ll never forget:
5. Seth Rollins VS The Miz, 2018
The 2018 Backlash PPV had some great bouts. Despite all the big names, the match for the Intercontinental Championship between The Miz and Seth Rollins was all that people talked about soon after. The Miz was desperate to get his hands back on the championship and put in an incredibly entertaining performance. With near falls every second, the match could have gone either way and Miz did well to come out of two skull-crushing finales which ended with two near falls. In the end, Rollins landed his finishing move – the Curb Stomp, which helped him retain his Intercontinental title.
4. Dean Ambrose VS AJ Styles, 2016
After a seven-year gap, WWE’s Backlash PPV was back with a bang. The PPV was headlined by a match where Dean Ambrose had to defend his WWE Championship title against AJ Styles. Ambrose was all fired up as he is often known to be and landed a couple of suplex’s and elbow drops to take the advantage early in the fight. Styles got back into the encounter after he tried a calf crusher on Ambrose and then landed a springboard splash for a near fall. Ambrose did well to fight back and almost retained his WWE title but a distraction to the referee gave Styles the opportunity to execute a low blow and put an end to the title fight.
3. John Cena VS Edge, 2009
The feud between John Cena and Edge back in the day was quite intense. Both wrestlers were a thorn in each other’s career and this rivalry began with Cena ending Edge’s reign as the Champion at WrestleMania and ended at a Last Man Standing Match at Backlash 2009. Both superstars were giving it their all, and John Cena had victory in his grasp as he was about to perform an AA on Edge, which would’ve definitely taken him out. There were no rules in the match though remember, and The Big Show intervened and choke slammed Cena into the lights close to the entrance. This, as you can imagine, ended Cena’s match and therefore his reign as the WWE Champion.
2. Randy Orton VS John Cena VS Edge VS Shawn Michaels, 2007
A match between some of the WWE’s greatest wrestling stars definitely makes it into the top moments of WWE Backlash. It’s a throwback to 2007 this time when Cena, Randy Orton, Edge, and Shawn Michaels fought for the WWE Championship. The match undoubtedly lived up to its expectations and lasted for more than twenty-five minutes before it ended in a completely unpredicted manner, leaving fans at the edge of their seats the entire way. There was a time in the match where every one of the superstars were looking to land their finisher and it was only Shawn Michaels’ Sweet Chin Music that landed on John Cena. Cena, incredibly, then landed on top of Orton and stayed there until the count of three and retained his Championship.
1. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson VS Stone Cold Steve Austin, Backlash 1999
We rewind to the first-ever Backlash PPV which took place in 1999 and was headlined by two of the greats in the industry, The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin for the WWF title with Shane McMahon as referee, which was always going to add a bit of spice to the mix. Stone Cold thought battled the odds to successfully defended his championship belt in his war against the WWF managing committee. Being the underdog in the match, Austin revealed how tough and gritty a wrestler he was. Despite multiple suplexes on the floor, a reverse Irish Whip into the entrance set, getting choked with cables AND a Rock Bottom through the announcers’ table, he stood up to his opponent and took the fight to the Rock. With some thanks to Vince McMahon, who knocked Shane McMahon out, Austin landed a Stone Cold Stunner and we all know there is no coming back from that!!!
Shashank Iyer