Backlash (2000)

Last updated
Backlash
Backlash 2000 poster.jpg
Promotional poster featuring Chris Jericho
Promotion World Wrestling Federation
DateApril 30, 2000
City Washington, D.C.
Venue MCI Center
Attendance19,101
Buy rate 650,000 [1]
Pay-per-view chronology
← Previous
WrestleMania 2000 		Next →
Insurrextion
Backlash chronology
← Previous
1999 		Next →
2001

The 2000 Backlash was the second Backlash professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took place on April 30, 2000, at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C., and presented by Castrol GTX. Nine professional wrestling matches were scheduled on the event's card. The concept of the pay-per-view was based around the backlash from WrestleMania 2000.

Contents

The main event was a singles match for the WWF Championship with Shane McMahon as special guest referee, in which The Rock (aided by the returning Stone Cold Steve Austin) defeated Triple H to win the championship. Featured matches on the undercard included Chris Benoit defeating Chris Jericho by disqualification to retain the WWF Intercontinental Championship and a six-man Hardcore match for the WWF Hardcore Championship, which Crash Holly won to retain the championship.

Production

Background

In 1999, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) held a pay-per-view (PPV) entitled Backlash as the post-WrestleMania XV event. The first show was originally titled "Backlash: In Your House", but the promotion discontinued the "In Your House" series of events to establish monthly PPVs in which Backlash was the first. The concept of the pay-per-view was based around the backlash from WWF's flagship event, WrestleMania. [2] [3] [4] A second Backlash event was scheduled for April 30, 2000, at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C., and featured the backlash from WrestleMania 2000. This in turn established Backlash as an annual PPV for the WWF. [4] [5] [6]

Storylines

The event featured nine professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers were portrayed as either heels or faces as they followed a series of events which built tension, culminating in a wrestling match or series of matches.

After Vince McMahon betrayed The Rock at WrestleMania, Vince joined forces with Triple H, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, Shane McMahon, and D-Generation X to fully complete the formation of the heel faction, the McMahon-Helmsley Regime. The Regime's new objectives primarily revolved around keeping Triple H as WWF Champion through dirty tactics of interfering in matches, and ambushing dissenters at inopportune times. On the April 10th, 2000 episode of Raw Is War, The Rock won the right to face Triple H for the WWF Championship at Backlash, but the Regime made stipulations to the title match that would give Triple H a full advantage: Vince and Stephanie would be allowed to be ringside for the match, and Shane was named the referee for the match.

In addition to The Rock, another noted figure who opposed the Regime was referee Earl Hebner, who started to feud with Triple H, culminating on the April 17th episode of Raw is War, where Triple H defended his WWF Title against Chris Jericho. During the match, Hebner came to relieve the original referee, who had gotten knocked out, which caused Triple H to argue with Hebner. The distraction allowed Jericho to take advantage and pin Triple H to win the title, though Hebner visibly called a fast pinfall. The Regime then brought Hebner and the original referee Mike Chioda to the ring, where Chioda admitted that Hebner made an unfair pinfall. Triple H then forced to Hebner reverse the decision, allowing Triple H to regain the title, subsequently firing him in the process. Later that night, WWF CEO Linda McMahon, the only member of the McMahon family to not be a member of The Regime, arrived to the arena and announced that she declared The Rock to be "outnumbered" at Backlash, and decided that she would allow one WWF wrestler to be in The Rock's corner at Backlash.

Stone Cold Steve Austin, who had not been seen in the WWF since the previous year's Survivor Series. On the final episode of SmackDown! prior to Backlash, Austin made his first WWF appearance in 6 months, where he dropped a concrete barrier from a crane onto the "DX Express" bus, causing it to explode, as a warning to the Regime.

Event

Other on-screen personnel
Role:Name:
English commentators Jim Ross
Jerry Lawler
Spanish commentators Carlos Cabrera
Hugo Savinovich
Interviewers Jonathan Coachman
Michael Cole
Ring announcer Lilian Garcia
Referees Mike Chioda
Earl Hebner
Jim Korderas
Jack Doan
Tim White
Theodore Long
Chad Patton

Preliminary matches

- The event opened with Edge and Christian defending the WWF Tag Team Championship against D-Generation X (X-Pac and Road Dogg). X-Pac performed an X-Factor on Edge but the referee was distracted, allowing Christian to attack X-Pac with the ring bell. Christian pinned X-Pac to retain the titles.

- Dean Malenko defended the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship against Scotty 2 Hotty. The finish of the match saw Scotty attempt a Superplex on Malenko, who countered into a Super DDT on Scotty to retain the title.

- The APA (Faarooq and Bradshaw) faced The Big Boss Man and Bull Buchanan. Boss Man attacked Bradshaw with a nightstick and Buchanan performed a Diving Scissors Kick on Bradshaw to win the match.

- Crash Holly defended the WWF Hardcore Championship against Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, Hardcore Holly, Perry Saturn, and Tazz. Tazz applied the Tazzmission on Hardcore Holly but Saturn hit Tazz with a Stop sign to break the hold. After Matt and Jeff dove onto Saturn and Hardcore Holly, Crash pinned Tazz to retain the title.

- The Big Show, impersonating Hulk Hogan as "The Showster", faced Kurt Angle. Big Show performed a Chokeslam on Angle to win the match.

- The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley) faced T & A (Test and Albert). Trish Stratus distracted Bubba, allowing Test to perform a Big Boot on Bubba to win the match. After the match, Bubba put Trish through a table.

- Eddie Guerrero defended the WWF European Championship against Essa Rios. Guerrero performed a Spinning Crucifix Toss dropped into a Neckbreaker on Rios to retain the title.

- In the semi-main event, Chris Benoit defended the WWF Intercontinental Championship against Chris Jericho. Benoit applied the Crippler Crossface on Jericho but Jericho countered the hold into the Walls of Jericho, with Benoit grabbing the ropes to force Jericho to break the hold. After the referee was incapacitated, Benoit hit Jericho with the title belt for a near-fall. Benoit attempted a Diving Headbutt on Jericho but Jericho countered by attacking Benoit with the title belt after the referee recovered, meaning Benoit won by disqualification and retained the title. Upset by the decision, Jericho put referee Tim White in the Walls of Jericho after the match.

Main event

In the main event, Triple H defended the WWF Championship against The Rock with Shane McMahon as the special guest referee. Vince McMahon hit Rock with the title belt and Triple H pinned Rock for a near-fall. After Shane refused to count out Triple H, Rock performed a double Rock Bottom through an announce table on Triple H and Shane. Triple H then performed a Pedigree on Rock whilst Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco appeared to officiate the match. Triple H pinned Rock for a near-fall. Vince hit Rock with a chair and told Patterson and Brisco to make a fast count. Stone Cold Steve Austin then appeared and hit Triple H, Patterson, Brisco, Shane and Vince with a chair. Linda McMahon appeared with Earl Hebner and Hebner officiated the match. Rock performed a Spinebuster and a People's Elbow on Triple H to win the title.

After the match, as the Rock celebrated, Austin returned to the ring, driving his truck and towing the burned-out wreck of the "DX Express" bus behind it, and joined the Rock in celebration with a couple of beers.

Reception

Backlash 2000 received 675,000 buys, up from 398,000 received by Backlash 1999. The event has been praised and cited by many as the best post-WrestleMania pay-per-view of all time and one of the best secondary pay-per-views of all time. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter rated the Intercontinental Title match 3.75 out of 5 stars, the same rating as the main event. The highest rated match was Dean Malenko vs. Scotty 2 Hotty for the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship, rated 4 out of 5 stars. Angle vs. Show was rated 0 stars, the WWF Tag Team Championship Match was rated 3 stars and Guerrero vs. Rios received 2.75 stars.

In 2015, Kevin Pantoja of 411Mania gave the event a rating of 9.0 [Amazing], stating "Not only is this among the best non Big Four Pay-Per-Views ever, but it’s also one of the best PPVs ever, period. The depth of this show is phenomenal as there is a little bit of everything. Benoit and Jericho put on a classic, Trish got what was coming to her, the Hardcore Title was a ton of fun, Eddie and Essa flew all over the place, we had a fun opener and the main event was pretty much the perfect WWE style big match. This show is not only must-see but it’s a must-own event." [7]

Aftermath

The ongoing feud between The Rock and the McMahon-Helmsley Regime would continue for the next couple months. On the next episode of Raw Is War the following night, Vince made The Rock defend his WWF Championship against Shane in a cage match, where The Rock was successful in defending the title. The Rock would then go on to successfully defend the title in a Triple Threat match against Triple H and Shane McMahon at Insurrextion. Triple H would end up getting a rematch at Judgment Day, an Iron Man Match, with Triple H's old friend, Shawn Michaels, as the guest referee. Triple H would get the deciding victory in the final seconds when The Undertaker interfered, attacking Triple H, which Michaels called as a victory by disqualification for Triple H, causing Triple H to win back the WWF Championship. The Undertaker, now in a new biker gimmick, joined The Rock in a feud with The Regime, with Kane joining in as well, which culminated in a 3-on-3 tag team match at King of the Ring against Triple H, Vince, and Shane, where The Rock once again won the WWF Championship by pinning Vince.

Meanwhile, Austin would not appear on WWF television again until September at Unforgiven, when he would start to investigate who ran him over at the Survivor Series the year before.

Results

No.ResultsStipulationsTimes [8]
1 Christian and Edge (c) defeated D-Generation X (Road Dogg and X-Pac) (with Tori) Tag team match for the WWF Tag Team Championship 8:37
2 Dean Malenko (c) defeated Scotty 2 Hotty Singles match for the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship 11:47
3 Bull Buchanan and The Big Boss Man defeated The APA (Bradshaw and Faarooq)Tag team match8:37
4 Crash Holly (c) defeated Hardcore Holly, Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, Perry Saturn and Tazz Six pack hardcore match for the WWF Hardcore Championship 12:18
5 Big Show defeated Kurt Angle Singles match2:35
6 T & A (Albert and Test) (with Trish Stratus) defeated The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley)Tag team match11:06
7 Eddie Guerrero (c) (with Chyna) defeated Essa Rios (with Lita)Singles match for the WWF European Championship 8:38
8 Chris Benoit (c) defeated Chris Jericho by disqualificationSingles match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship 15:03
9 The Rock defeated Triple H (c) (with Mr. McMahon and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley)Singles match for the WWF Championship with Shane McMahon as special guest referee 19:22
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earl Hebner</span> American professional wrestling referee

Earl William Hebner is an American retired professional wrestling referee. He is best known for his time as senior referee for the World Wrestling Federation from 1988 to 2005. Hebner played a prominent role in the inaugural The Main Event card in 1988, in which André the Giant controversially defeated Hulk Hogan for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, as well as the infamous "Montreal Screwjob" during the main event of the 1997 Survivor Series. He also participated in a number of storylines, including feuds involving The McMahon–Helmsley Faction and The Alliance. Hebner was also the senior referee for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) from 2005 to 2017, and was inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WrestleMania X8</span> 2002 World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

WrestleMania X8 was the 18th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It took place on St Patrick’s Day, March 17, 2002, at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the second WrestleMania at that venue after WrestleMania VI in April 1990. The event marked the final WrestleMania event held under the WWF name and the Attitude Era, as the company was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in May and entered the Ruthless Aggression Era later that year. It was also the last WrestleMania held before the introduction of the brand extension just a week after the event. The record-breaking attendance for the SkyDome of 68,237 grossed approximately $6.1 million CAD. WrestleMania weekend also included WWF Fan Axxess at the Canadian National Exhibition's Automotive Building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WrestleMania X-Seven</span> 2001 World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

WrestleMania X-Seven was the 17th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It took place on April 1, 2001, at the Reliant Astrodome in Houston, Texas. It was the first WrestleMania held in the state of Texas. Twelve matches were contested at the event, including one broadcast exclusively on the Sunday Night Heat pre-show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WrestleMania 2000</span> World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

WrestleMania 2000 was the 16th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It took place on April 2, 2000, at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim in Anaheim, California. A total of nine matches were contested on the event's card.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWF Invasion</span> 2001 World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

WWF Invasion was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on July 22, 2001, at the Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. This event was initially planned to be the fourth Fully Loaded PPV, as it was advertised at the King of the Ring event, which immediately preceded Invasion, although the decision to replace Fully Loaded was made in May. Invasion was the first pay-per-view to feature the ongoing Invasion storyline, which featured wrestlers from the WWF taking on The Coalition, a combined force of wrestlers from World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), later known as The Alliance. The event featured WWF wrestlers facing WCW and ECW wrestlers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SummerSlam (1999)</span> World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

The 1999 SummerSlam was the 12th annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on August 22, 1999, at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Nine matches were contested at the event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SummerSlam (2000)</span> World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

The 2000 SummerSlam was the 13th annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on August 27, 2000, at the Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. Ten matches were contested at the event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Rumble (2002)</span> World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

The 2002 Royal Rumble was the 15th annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on January 20, 2002, at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. It was the final Royal Rumble event produced under the WWF name, as in May, the WWF was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was also the final Royal Rumble held before the introduction of the first brand extension in March. Six matches were contested at the event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Rumble (2001)</span> World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

The 2001 Royal Rumble was the 14th annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on January 21, 2001, at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. Six matches were contested, including one match for the Sunday Night Heat pre-show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Rumble (2000)</span> World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

The 2000 Royal Rumble was the 13th annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event and 100th PPV overall produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on January 23, 2000, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. Six matches were contested on the event's card.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Survivor Series (2001)</span> World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

The 2001 Survivor Series was the 15th annual Survivor Series professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on November 18, 2001, at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex in Greensboro, North Carolina. It was the last Survivor Series to be produced under the WWF name, as the company would be forced to change its name several months later as the result of a verdict in the World Wildlife Fund's lawsuit against the company; the company became World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in May 2002. It was also the last Survivor Series held before the introduction of the brand extension in March 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attitude Era</span> Adult-oriented period of WWF (now WWE) (1997–2002)

The Attitude Era was a major era of professional wrestling within the World Wrestling Federation. The term "WWF Attitude" was used to describe its programming from November 9, 1997, to May 6, 2002. It began during the Monday Night War, a period in which WWF's Monday Night Raw went head-to-head with World Championship Wrestling's (WCW) Monday Nitro in a battle for Nielsen ratings each week from September 4, 1995, to March 26, 2001. The era officially started on November 9, 1997, at Survivor Series 1997, when a video package aired ending with the first use of the "WWF Attitude" scratch logo; this was immediately before the main event featuring Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels, which retrospectively would be known as the Montreal Screwjob due to the match's controversial finish. WWF's programming in this era featured adult-oriented content, which included increased depicted violence, profanity, and sexual content. This era was part of a wider surge in the popularity of professional wrestling in the United States and Canada as television ratings and pay-per-view buy rates for the WWF and its rival promotions saw record highs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No Way Out (2002)</span> World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

The 2002 No Way Out was the fourth No Way Out professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. The event took place on February 17, 2002, at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was the final No Way Out promoted under the WWF name as the promotion was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in May. It was also the final No Way Out event held before the WWF introduced the brand extension in March.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No Way Out (2000)</span> World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

The 2000 No Way Out was the second No Way Out professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on February 27, 2000, at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut. Although it was the second No Way Out event, it was the first held under this name, as it was preceded in 1998 by an event named No Way Out of Texas, which was the 20th In Your House event; the event's title was truncated to "No Way Out" as it was not held in Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judgment Day (2003)</span> World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view event

The 2003 Judgment Day was the fifth Judgment Day professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions. The event took place on May 18, 2003, at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. This event is notable in the fact that is the last non-Big Four pay-per-view that was not brand-exclusive until Backlash 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Backlash (2001)</span> World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

The 2001 Backlash was the third Backlash professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on April 29, 2001, at the Allstate Arena in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois and was presented by Castrol GTX. Seven professional wrestling matches were scheduled on the event's card. The concept of the pay-per-view was based around the backlash from WrestleMania X-Seven.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judgment Day (2000)</span> World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

The 2000 Judgment Day was the second Judgment Day professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on May 21, 2000, at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. The inaugural Judgment Day was an In Your House event held in October 1998. As a result of Owen Hart's death at Over the Edge in May 1999, Judgment Day was reinstated to replace Over the Edge in 2000 and was rebranded as an annual WWF pay-per-view event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King of the Ring (2000)</span> World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

The 2000 King of the Ring was the eighth annual King of the Ring professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWE) that featured the 14th annual King of the Ring tournament. It took place on June 25, 2000, at the Fleet Center in Boston, Massachusetts. The main event was a six-man tag team match between the McMahon-Helmsley Faction and the team of The Rock and The Brothers of Destruction. Triple H's WWF Championship was defended in the match. Rock pinned Vince to win the title. The undercard featured the 2000 King of the Ring tournament, which was won by Kurt Angle. The 2000 edition was the largest King of the Ring tournament, with 32 competitors taking part.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unforgiven (2000)</span> World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

The 2000 Unforgiven was the third annual Unforgiven professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on September 24, 2000, at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Eight matches were contested at the event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fully Loaded (2000)</span> World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

The 2000 Fully Loaded was the third annual and final Fully Loaded professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWE). It took place on July 23, 2000, at the Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas. The event was replaced by Invasion in 2001, which was in turn replaced by Vengeance in 2002.

References

  1. ↑ "WWE Pay-Per-View Buys (1993-2015)". Wrestlenomics. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  2. ↑ Cawthon, Graham (2013). the History of Professional Wrestling. Vol. 2: WWF 1990–1999. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ASIN   B00RWUNSRS.
  3. ↑ "Backlash (1999) information". Complete WWE. Hoff Co. Archived from the original on December 16, 2018. Retrieved May 12, 2009.
  4. 1 2 "WWE Backlash". The History of WWE. Retrieved August 23, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Backlash 2000 results". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved July 1, 2009.
  6. ↑ "Backlash 2000 Results". World Wrestling Entertainment . Retrieved August 23, 2009.
  7. ↑ "411Mania".
  8. ↑ Powell, Jason (May 1, 2000). "Rock victorious at Backlash, Game Over for Triple H". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on July 19, 2012. Retrieved December 17, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.