WWF Backlash (April 2001)

From Chicago, Illinois; Your Hosts are Jim Ross and Paul Heyman

Opening Six-Man Tag Team Match: The Dudley Boyz v X-Factor: Big brawl to start, with the Dudley's cleaning house, then press-slamming Spike Dudley out of the ring onto the heels. The dust settles on Spike and Justin Credible to start, and Spike hooks a crucifix for two, then a schoolboy for two. Tag to Albert, so Spike immediately goes for the Acid Drop, but gets dropped on his ass, and Credible comes back in to work him over - only to miss a baseball slide to crotch himself on the post. You know, I'd almost forgotten that Credible was even a part of the WWF during this era. He'll always be Aldo Montoya to me, dammit! Tags to D-Von and X-Pac, and D-Von quickly runs into a cheapshot to allow the heels to cut the ring in half. And, hey, wow, are those some ugly new tights for X-Pac. D-Von manages to dodge a double-team to get the tag to Bubba, and he's a house of arson! Credible takes the Wassup Drop during the six-way brawl, but D-Von takes too long fetching the tables, and Justin superkicks Bubba for X-Pac to pin at 8:00. Fine for an opener, but certainly nothing memorable. *

WWF Hardcore Title Match: Rhyno v Raven: If the first two matches are any indication, ECW never folded. They waste no time bringing the weapons into things, as Raven cracks him with a stop sign for two within the first five seconds. Trash can shot follows for two, but a cross corner whip gets reverses, and Rhyno spears him against the turnbuckles. Rhyno returns fire with the trashcan for two, and out on the floor, he sits Raven down on a chair, then springboards off the steps with a shoulderblock - only for Raven to move, and Rhyno to crash right through the chair. That gives Raven two, and he tosses Rhyno into the rail. They brawl up the aisle to trade more weapon shots, and back into the ring, more weapon shots, and Raven finds a bulldog for two. The move, not an actual canine, to be clear. Rebound clothesline, but Rhyno whacks him with a road sign to block, then adds a few trashcan shots. Gore, but Raven sidesteps, and Rhyno crashes right through a shopping cart in a really simple, but impressive spot. That gets Raven two, and Rhyno hits the Gore out of nowhere for the pin at 8:12. The ending was out of nowhere, but this was actually one of the more entertaining Hardcore matches in a while, mostly because they kept the shenanigans in the ring, as opposed to wandering around the arena. *

Duchess of Queensbury Rules Match: William Regal v Chris Jericho: The idea here is that an actual Duchess sits at ringside, and can make rulings at will. Or something. They don't really make it clear. Reversal sequence to start, won by Jericho with a Greco-Roman punch to the face. Chris follows with a flying forearm, and a dropkick knocks Regal out to the floor. Back in for a missile dropkick, but William sidesteps him, and hits a vertical suplex for two. Regal with a few European uppercuts to setup a chinlock, but a trip to the top gets him rana'd down by Jericho. Chris with a diving forearm and a bulldog to setup the Lionsault, but the bell rings before he can cover, as the Duchess rules that the time limit for 'Round One' has expired. Jericho argues, and gets rolled up for two, then dumped into the ropes with a slingshot, and suplexed. Regal Stretch, but Chris makes the ropes. Hmm, I'm surprised they didn't have the Duchess rules that rope breaks don't count, or something, there. Chris fights out into the Walls, and Regal taps, but now the Duchess says that submissions don't count. The crowd is losing patience with this, and I don't blame them. Jericho goes out to the floor to give the Duchess a piece of his mind (and a few pieces of his fist), but Regal whacks him with her scepter, and is disqualified - only for the Duchess to rule that DQ's don't count. William rolls him in to get a two count off of the shot, and a double-underhook suplex is worth two. Chris fires back with an enzuigiri, and they stagger to their feet for a Jericho-won slugfest. Cross corner clothesline sets up the Walls, but again, no submissions. Regal bails and ends up face first in the Duchess' lap, and with Regal pulling the hairs out of his teeth, Jericho decides to put the Duchess in the Walls. Of course, that allows Regal to grab a chair, and a shot with it finishes Jericho at 12:34. Eh. This would have been far better as just a regular match - like their three-and-a-half star one at WrestleMania. These sort of stipulations are fun when done correctly (think, Austin/Foley from 1998), and will get a crowd going when done correctly, but when done incorrectly (like this, or all the times WCW tried it), it's a crowd killer, and hinders the match. * ¼

Ultimate Submission Match: Kurt Angle v Chris Benoit: Most submissions in thirty-minutes wins. Cautious start, as both guys carefully avoid falling into submissions through the initial lockups. Angle shoots at the leg first to take Benoit down, but Chris quickly counters, and a reversal sequence ends in a stalemate. Kurt goes for the leg again, but an attempt to turn it into a guillotine choke ends in the ropes. Kurt goes for the leg again, but Benoit counters with an anklelock, but Angle powers out before he can hook it on, and Chris nearly manages to slap on the Crossface, but Kurt's in the ropes. He bails to regroup on the outside, and DAMN, that was a hell of a sequence. No explosive fireworks in terms of spots, but just great technical mat wrestling. Back in, Kurt shoots the leg again, but can't get a hold on before Benoit escapes, and tries for the Crossface again, but Kurt grabs the ropes and bails. Back in, Benoit gets a go-behind, but Kurt manages to fall into the ropes before Chris can turn it into a suplex - both guys falling out of the ring with the waistlock impressively still applied. Out there, Chris quickly turns it into the Crossface, and Angle taps, but they're on the floor, so it doesn't count. Good strategy by Angle there, as he taps to get Benoit off, because he knows it's meaningless. Kurt stalls on the floor to break the momentum, with Benoit getting increasingly frustrated, but since there are no countouts, he can't do shit about it. Back in, Kurt disorients him with a surprise schoolboy, which he shifts right into a grapevine before Benoit realizes what's happening, and gets a quick submission at 6:33. Quick submission makes sense there, as they still have some twenty five minutes to go, and Benoit is better off submitting and trying to make the difference up, than getting himself injured. Kurt goes right after the leg with some kicks and a pair of clips, but a third try gets countered into a cross armbreaker for a submission at 7:54. Again, makes sense within the psychology of the match. Chris keeps after him with some chops in the corner, and he keeps after the shoulder with a toss into the corner. Armbreaker, but Kurt makes the ropes, so Benoit scoops him up for a shoulderbreaker. More chops (aimed right at the shoulder), but the referee tries to pull him off when Kurt gets into the ropes - allowing Angle to whack him with a chair, and slap on the Anklelock for a submission at 10:19.

Kurt decides to get cute, and slaps Benoit's own Crossface hold on him - giving himself a 3-1 advantage at 11:03. Now with a solid lead, Angle hits a side suplex, but before he can slap on another Anklelock, Benoit grabs the ropes preemptively. Kurt punishes him with some closed fists, but ends up getting backdropped out of the ring when Chris fakes him out during a criss cross. Benoit follows to post him, but a whip into the steps gets reversed, and Kurt slaps on the Anklelock out there. Back in, Kurt capitalizes on the shot into the steps with a cross armbreaker of his own, but Chris makes the ropes. Kurt stays right on him with an abdominal stretch, but gets reversed. Angle quickly hiptosses out, but Chris is ready for that with another armbreaker, so Kurt grabs the ropes, and kicks at Benoit's shoulder to try and cutoff a potential comeback - only for Benoit to trap him in a Sharpshooter. Kurt makes the ropes, but Benoit stays on him with a victory roll into a half-crab for a submission at 18:03. Angle still has a one point advantage, and with the clock winding down, decides to keep his distance.

He makes Benoit chase him around ringside for a while, but his back/leg are giving him trouble from the Sharpshooter/crab spots, and Chris catches up with him - whipping him into the steps. Kurt keeps trying to run, and manages to sucker an overzealous Benoit coming in, then dumps him out - again putting distance between them. Angle stomps him to keep him outside of the ring upon each reentry attempt, then finally vertical suplexes him once he finally makes it. Drop-toehold, but Benoit's in the ropes before Kurt can turn it into a submission, so Angle dumps him to the safety of no-submission land again. Kurt takes his time tossing Chris into various things out there (steps, rail), but gets legwhipped as he stomps on Benoit on the way back in. Chris quickly turns it into an anklelock, but Angle is immediately in the ropes, and then dodges a dropkick attempt. That allows the Olympian to slap on a modified STF, and Benoit nearly passes out in the hold (see, now with less than five minutes left, and with Angle ahead in points, no one is going to sacrifice a submission), before managing to hit a stunner to escape. He's putty though, and Angle easily regroups with a belly-to-belly suplex, then an overhead suplex - just running down the final three minutes at this point. Kurt tries a corner whip, but Chris reverses, and grabs him in the three-alarm rolling-German suplexes - Kurt blocking the third, and turning it into the Anklelock! Chris goes for the ropes, but as Kurt tries to pull him back, Benoit uses the momentum shift to reverse - Kurt submitting at 17:50 to tie the score! Chris goes for the kill by clipping the ankle a few times, and he gets that missing third German suplex from earlier. Kurt mulekicks him to setup an Ankelock, but Chris scrambles for the ropes. Kurt rattles his brain with a side suplex to set the hold up again, but the thirty minute time limit expires before Chris submits. Okay, so it's a draw. Oh, but the referee decides to force them into a sudden death overtime, and the look on Kurt's face is a brilliant reaction. Angle goes right after him, and unloads an overhead suplex before slapping on a mat-based abdominal stretch. Kurt desperately grabs the ropes for leverage to finish him, but the referee catches it, and Benoit manages to counter into the Crossface for the win at 31:32. Whoo, that was a hell of a psychological war. Certainly not for everyone, but if you like psychology heavy mat wrestling, and dig the internal psychology of Iron Man matches, this is definitely for you. Brilliant timing, drama, and crowd control throughout - I actually thought this was better than the more famous Triple H/Rock Iron Man from 2000, though history has kind of forgotten this one given the participants. ****

Last Man Standing Match: Big Show v Shane McMahon: Shane makes him give chase for a while, suckering him into a brutal beating with a kendo stick, but getting clobbered when he tries diving off the rail at the big man. Show press-slams McMahon into the ring, but Shane grabs a chair as Show lumbers after him, and goes to town for a six count. Shane decides to help Show to sleep with an ether soaked rag (complete with surgical mask, and smell-o-vision from the announcers), but Vince McMahon runs down and beats his kid with a chair to break it up. And, also, likely prevent his imprisonment for murder. Show comes back to life and tosses Shane around, and hits the Final Cut for an eight count. Chokeslam gets another eight count, so Show slaps on a Torture Rack, but here comes Test to break that up with a well placed big boot. Man, if there were ever a spot to debut Lex Luger in the post WCW-era, that would have been it. Not that they should have brought Luger in, but that would have certainly been the spot to do it, and the pop would have been insane. So, Show refocuses and goes after Test, ignoring Shane entirely as he beats Test over to the entrance set. McMahon uses the time to climb the set, and as Test knocks Show out with some weapons, Shane comes off the top of the set (which is, basically, the ceiling of the damned arena) with an elbowdrop onto Show. He's dead too, however, so Test uses a camera crane to prop him up, and Show is down for the count at 11:55. That last spot was absolutely insane, but the match leading up to it was terrible in every way. No reason they couldn't have wrapped this up in half the time, and still done the crazy finish. ¼*

WWF European Title Triple Threat Match: Matt Hardy v Eddie Guerrero v Christian: Couldn't they have at least used the Shawn's and not the Marty's? Eddie and Christian gang up to toss Matt out of the ring, but Christian quickly turns on his new pal, and hits a flapjack. You'd think Eddie would have been smarter than that, all things considered. Christian with a powerslam, but Guerrero catches him with a rana, and tries a superplex, but Matt's back to ruin the fun. Eddie and Christian decide to give him an electric chair/flying clothesline combo (hey, they are in Chicago!), but Matt turns it into a victory roll on Eddie for two - causing Christian to splat as he dives. Twist of Fate for Eddie, but Christian saves. Eddie tries putting him in a surfboard for his efforts, but Matt saves, and hits Christian with a hangman’s clothesline for two. Everyone ends up on the floor until Eddie brings Matt back in with a pair of brainbusters for two. Superplex, but Matt ends up coming off the top with a flying clothesline onto both guys, and adds a 2^nd rope legdrop on Eddie for two. Cue Edge to spear Matt for Christian to finish, but Eddie shoves him out of the ring into Edge, and covers for two. Heh. That brings Jeff Hardy out to brawl with Edge, and he breaks up the Unprettier with a Swanton onto Christian. That allows Matt to hit the Twist of Fate on Christian, and he retains at 6:37. The usual quality spots, and speed, but the flow was a total mess, and it seemed both rushed and too long at the same time. *

Main Event: WWF Title, WWF Intercontinental Title v WWF Tag Team Title Winner Takes All Match: Steve Austin and Triple H v The Brothers of Destruction: Sign in the crowd: 'Austin = Worst Heel Ever.' The funny thing is that he was a fantastic heel in earlier days, but at this point, yeah... no one wanted to see that. Especially the way they delivered it. The Brothers hold the high ground, and refuse to allow Hunter and Austin in, which is kind of ridiculous strategy given that both sides have titles on the line. And especially given that Austin's WWF Title is the most coveted. That leads to a long stall, as Triple H and Austin try to figure out how to get in. Finally, they decide to use some reverse psychology and walk out, and it works, as Undertaker and Kane follow them for a brawl in the aisle. I appreciate the thought, but seriously, that is some wonky psychology. Inside, HHH starts with Kane, and gets tossed around. He manages a kneelift to slow Kane down, and both guys tag - Austin immediately cowering, and running from Undertaker. See what I mean? This is like early 90s, WCW heel Austin, but once they let that Stone Cold genie out of the bottle, there was no getting him back in. Even when he was a heel in the early Attitude days, he was never a coward. And it just gets worse, as Austin gets on his knees to beg off repeatedly, and it doesn't even lead to a cheapshot - just Undertaker destroying him more. This is like bizzaro world, and I don't like it. Tag back to HHH, but he doesn't fare any better, and the Two Man Power Trip end up on the floor. Man, you'd think Steve Austin and Triple H as a heel team would be a license to print money, but instead of the Road Warriors, they gave us Money Inc - with Austin as IRS, to add insult to injury. They manage to use a cheapshot to take over on Undertaker, and they cut the ring in half - with 'Taker not struggling to make the tag, since you can't win the big one unless you score the fall yourself. Which, yeah, but you can lose the tag titles if you're not careful. Kane eventually forces a tag, and tosses Austin and HHH around like jobbers. You know, I get that they wanted to freshen Austin up (he'd been doing the same thing for nearly five years, after all), but was THIS really the best they could come up with? Kane keeps tossing them around, but gets overwhelmed when they go for his bad arm, and they cut the ring in half on their new, roasted victim. Austin tries a sleeper but gets side suplexed, so HHH cuts off the tag with a Pedigree, and Steve gets two off of it. Undertaker gets annoyed and comes in to chokeslam Austin, but HHH is there to cutoff the tag, so Kane enzuigiris him, and finally makes it. Undertaker is a morgue of fire, and it's Last Ride time for Hunter, but he's not the legal man, so no count. Holy shit, there's a first. I guess the Attitude Era really IS over. As Undertaker protests (and who could blame him, given that no one had enforced that rules since 1996), Austin sneaks in with a Stunner on Kane, but 'Taker gets rid of the referee. He dumps Austin out for a brawl into the crowd, as Stephanie McMahon passes Hunter one of the tag title belts to finish Kane with. It backfires, so Vince McMahon runs in with a sledgehammer, and Triple H pins Kane to win the tag titles at 25:02. And, unlike in 1995, it doesn't get overturned the next night. Not my cup of tea because the way Austin and Triple H were booked ruins the experience for me, but if you can get past it, it's not a bad match, with both Austin and HHH working hard for the classic Horseman formula, but the crowd just not getting behind Austin in the role - and understandably. **

BUExperience: As the first show of the post-Attitude Era, this serves as a good indicator for things to come, as it’s not at all a bad show in-ring, but fails at producing the exciting, memorable, water cooler moments that they had become known for, as well as shoving hated angles down fans’ throats now that they didn’t have to worry about competing. And, hey, from an artistic standpoint that’s great, but from a commercial standpoint, it bombed – badly.

This period also marks where I fell off as a hardcore fan, as after the Monday Night Wars ended, the direction of the promotion after WrestleMania alienated me pretty quickly, and while I continued to follow along, it became from a distance. This is the first time I’ve actually seen this show, for example, and while it was technically better than a lot of other stuff that came before it, it left me cold.

**