WWE Backlash (April 2007)

Original Airdate: April 29, 2007

From Atlanta, Georgia; Your Hosts are Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Joey Styles, and Tazz

Opening World Tag Team Title Match: The Hardy Boyz v Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch: They've got the aisle on the right side of the screen, which is one of the few times I've seen that in the modern era. Matt Hardy starts with Cade, and tries to control with a headlock, but gets decked. Lance hammers him, but runs into a hiptoss, and Matt goes back to the mat-based side-headlock on his challenger. Cade forces him into the heel corner for the tag to Trevor, but Murdoch runs into a bodyslam and a fistdrop. Over to Jeff Hardy with a slingshot dropkick for two, then back to Matt for a double-legdrop/elbowdrop combo for two. The Boyz deliver a somersault senton splash/elbowdrop combo for two, and Jeff hits the Whisper in the Wind, but Cade breaks up the count. That brings Matt in to clothesline both challengers to the outside, and Jeff is ready with a springboard dive to follow-up! Back in, Matt hits Murdoch with a 2^nd rope pointed elbowdrop for two, but Trevor blocks a bulldog by shoving Matt chest-first into the corner, and Lance tags in. The challengers cut the ring in half on Matt, but he catches Cade with a neckbreaker, and Jeff gets the tag. He comes in hot, but ends up taking a bump to the outside when trying a baseball slide on Cade, and the heels go to work on Jeff. Or, well, I think they're the heels. They're meant to be the heels, certainly, but then I'm not sure a dude with the Confederate flag on his ass in Georgia is necessarily going to get booed. It's funny how disorienting having the aisle on the right side is, because old school shows always had it on either side interchangeably, and it wasn't at all distracting. Just goes to show how rarely they change things up nowadays. Jeff fights both guys off, but Murdoch cuts off a tag at the last moment, and bodyslams Hardy. Elbowdrop misses, however, and there's the hot tag to Matt - Roseanne Barr the door! Bulldog on Murdoch gets two, but Cade helps Trevor dodge the Poetry in Motion. Murdoch blocks the Twist of Fate as well, but doesn't have the same luck with the Side Effect, and Lance is forced to save at two. That allows Murdoch to capitalize with a standing sunset bomb for two (you wouldn't expect that move from him, by the looks of him), but he runs into the Twist, and Jeff comes off the top with the Swanton Bomb at 15:18. Nothing special, but solid work. **

WWE Women's Title Match: Melina v Mickie James: Feeling up process to start, with James dominating, so Melina pretends she has something in her eye, then attacks when the referee intervenes. It doesn't work, and Mickie mounts her with some punches, but gets shoved to the floor while climbing the ropes! Mickie beats the count, so Melina hairpull slams her for two. That looked weak. Choke on the ropes gets two, and Melina grounds her challenger with a unique double-underhook hold - using her legs instead of arms. Mickie tries to escape, so Melina rolls the hold into a cradle for two, but a suplex is countered with an inside cradle for two. Melina cuts her off with a choke, and a seated senton drives James to the mat for two. Crossface chickenwing is applied, but Mickie escapes, and both girls end up in splits on the mat for a slugfest from that position! Unique! Mickie gets the better of it, and a dropkick gets her two. She starts mounting a comeback, and a neckbreaker is worth two. Flying bodypress gets two, but she runs into trouble in the corner, and Melina puts her away with an inverted DDT at 9:03. Much better than the usual T&A fests from this era. ** ¼

WWE United States Title Match: Chris Benoit v Montel Vontavious Porter: The announcers note that Benoit is a 'sure fire Hall of Famer.' Definitely true at the time, though he's all but erased from history now. Even the reference points on the Network's status bar for this show (and all others that he's on) omit his name. What he did was unforgivable, and I'm not saying we should celebrate the guy, but I'm also not sure that erasing him from history is the right answer. I mean, purely from the standpoint of his ring work, Benoit was a master, in the same class as Hart, Michaels, Flair, or Steamboat. They size each other up a bit to start, but MVP ends up trapped in a front-facelock while trying to shoot at the leg. He actually manages a reversal, but Chris is quick to escape, and a drop-toehold nearly puts Porter in the Crippler Crossface, but the ropes save him. MVP bails, and back in, he tries working a headlock, but Chris counters with a headscissors, and grinds it on. Porter escapes with a somersault cradle for two, but Benoit counters into a backslide for two, then drops his challenger with a side suplex. Sharpshooter is applied, but Montel has the ropes, so Chris hammers him in the corner instead. Cross corner whip is reversed, however, and Porter adds a big boot to the back of the head for two. Cravat is cranked on, as the announcers note that Benoit's neck is practically a bull’s-eye, after years of abuse. Chris slugs free of the hold, so Porter tries another big boot, but Benoit dodges. He tries a follow-up, but Porter is ready with an overhead suplex for two, and he grounds the champion in a half-nelson. Benoit escapes and throws down a three-alarm rolling German suplex, but MVP hooks the ankle to prevent Chris from going upstairs to finish. Benoit responds with a northern lights suplex, but Montel lands in the ropes, so no count. Frustrated, Chris charges, but walks into a hotshot for two, and Porter adds a neckbreaker for two. Suplex, but Benoit counters to the Crossface, and Porter needs the ropes to escape. He goes after Chris as soon as the hold is released, again targeting the neck with a snapmare, down into a reverse armbar. MVP gets caught using the ropes for leverage, so he delivers a big boot for two when forced to release the hold. Again, but Chris ducks, and counters into another rolling German - this time five alarms for the challenger! To the top for the flying headbutt, but Porter lifts his knees to block, and he capitalizes with an elevated half-crab, but Benoit has the ropes. Suplex, so Chris tries countering to the Crossface again, but Porter blocks, so Benoit shifts into a small package instead at 13:10. Benoit didn't have too many standout great performances during this period, but he was reliable for three-stars pretty much every time he stepped into the ring, and this was no exception. ***

ECW World Title Handicap Match: Bobby Lashley v Umaga, Vince McMahon, and Shane McMahon: Vince with any sort of hat or head covering is a weird look. Shane starts with the champion, and tries to dance around, but Lashley quickly takes him down, and hammers away. Rotating spinebuster hits, and McMahon wisely bails, then tags out to Umaga. Bobby pounds him, but hits foot while charging in the corner, and Umaga smacks him down with a backelbow. Bobby tries a suplex, but Umaga blocks, so Lashley clotheslines him over the top instead. That brings Shane in without a tag, but Bobby quickly dispatches him, and that leaves Vince! He teases coming in, but Shane is back before he has to, so Lashley hits the younger McMahon with a hanging vertical suplex. Umaga is back to save Vince again, and a double team with Shane ends in Lashley taking a spill over the top. Vince quickly capitalizes with a few cheap shots on the outside, and Umaga sends Lashley into the steps. Back in, Umaga delivers a legdrop, and he works the champion over with backrakes. No wonder Vince loved this guy - it's no secret he was always on the lookout for the next Hulk Hogan. Shane tags in to work the arm, then back to Umaga for a bearhug. Lashley having no one to tag out to is making it difficult to get invested in his hope spots. Shane with a camel clutch to continue the Nasty Boy Memorial Resthold Parade, but Bobby powers out, and this time manages an exploder suplex on McMahon. Torture rack drop gets two, so in comes Umaga, but Lashley is ready with a spear to get rid of him. Shane eats a running powerslam, but Vince breaks up the count at two, so Bobby sets up a powerslam on Vince next. The rest of the team saves before he can execute it, however, and Shane blasts him with the title belt, but Lashley gets a shoulder up at two! Vince is pissed, and sends Umaga in to finish the job with a flying splash, but it still only gets two for the senior McMahon. He sends Umaga back in for another flying splash, and that's enough to allow Vince the pin - and the title - at 15:45. Vince's giddy victory celebration is absolutely hilarious, and fantastic. Started off well enough, but got really dull when it was Umaga and Shane working Lashley over for an extended period. This could have easily stood to lose five or six minutes. ¾*

World Heavyweight Title Last Man Standing Match: Undertaker v Batista: Batista charges right into a big boot at the bell, and 'Taker stays on him with a series of elbowdrops. Into the corner, Undertaker hammers him, but a chokeslam is blocked. Undertaker recovers with the jumping clothesline, followed by the ropewalk forearm, and a pair of headbutts. Batista fires back with a powerslam, and he actually has the gall to ask for a count off of it. Really? Off your first move? That wouldn't even beat Barry Horowitz! To the surprise of literally no one, Undertaker beats the count, and they spill to the outside, where Batista rams his face into the apron a couple of times. The steps follow, but 'Taker reverses that one, and he starts targeting the challenger's taped up leg. Guillotine legdrop connects, but Batista beats the count, so 'Taker tries a whip into the steps, but it gets reversed on him. That looked awkward. Back in, Batista goes up, but 'Taker crotches him, and brings the challenger down with a vertical superplex. That leaves both guys down taking the count, but luckily they're both up before ten. I mean, can you imagine? The resulting slugfest ends in Batista hitting a lariat, but the champion beats the count, so Batista clotheslines his ass right back down again. Undertaker beats the count, so Batista bodyslams him to set up a legdrop, but 'Taker beats that count as well. He manages to dump Batista to the outside to buy recovery time, but ends up getting whipped into the barricade when he follows out. That allows Batista to try a front-powerslam through an announce table, but 'Taker counters with a backbreaker, then bashes the challenger with the steps to draw blood. Holy shit, Undertaker has got actual ABS at this stage in his career! Like, stomach muscles, not an antilock braking system. 'Taker puts Batista on a table, then dives off the barricade with a flying legdrop to put him through it, but he beats the count. In, Undertaker hits a snake-eyes, but the big boot follow-up is countered with a spear, and 'Taker fights to beat the count. Batista is ready with a spinebuster when he does, but 'Taker beats that, so Batista decides to give his ass two more. 'Taker beats THAT, so the challenger goes for the Batista Bomb, but gets countered with a chokeslam! Batista beats the count, so Undertaker decides to unload with a ten-punch count - only to get countered with the Batista Bomb out of the corner! I feel like some Dylan needs to start blasting over the arena's sound system to properly ask him how it feels. 'Taker beats the count anyway, so Batista tees off with a chair, but a Bomb onto the chair is countered with a backdrop - Batista landing on the weapon with his bad leg. Tombstone looks to finish, but Batista beats the count, so a pissed off Undertaker boots him out of the ring. They brawl up the aisle for a slugfest at the entrance stage, where Batista tries the Bomb, but 'Taker swipes at the leg to block. He tries a Tombstone off the stage, but Batista counters with a spear - crashing into the set, complete with an electrical explosion, and half the set collapsing! Pretty cool, though obviously gimmicked. That leaves both men down, and neither can answer the count - giving us a draw at 21:27. Not quite on par with the WrestleMania match, but still a fine brawl. This match type is not one of my favorites in general, as the counts disrupt the flow tremendously. ** ½

Main Event: WWE Title Fatal Four-Way Match: John Cena v Shawn Michaels v Edge v Randy Orton: First fall wins it. John and Shawn team up to clean house right away, but Michaels is quick to take a shot at the champ from there, swinging at him with a few chops. Cross corner whip is reversed, however, and Cena delivers a fisherman's suplex for two. Backdrop is countered with a swinging neckbreaker, but Orton clotheslines Shawn near out of his boots before he can follow-up. Edge tosses Cena out to clear the ring, then slugs it out with Orton - Randy controlling with a standing dropkick. Edge tries to bail, so Shawn pulls Randy to the outside from the floor - only for Cena to level both of them with a clothesline. Edge hits all three with a baseball slide, and he bodyslams John on the floor. Same for Shawn, but Michaels reverses, then comes off the top with a flying moonsault press onto all three opponents! Shawn decides to take Edge in to finish, but the Rated-R Superstar fights him off in the corner, and both guys throwing clotheslines result in a double knockout. Cena capitalizes with a double flying rocker dropper, but Orton stops the count, and hits John with a headlock backbreaker for two. Kneedrop gets two, but here comes Shawn to slug it out with Orton, and he hits Randy with a jumping forearm - only to get wiped out with a spinheel kick by Edge for two. Rated-RKO gang up on HBK, but Cena comes gunning in with a double Throwback to save Shawn from a tandem Boston crab. Cena starts slamming everyone around, and the Five Knuckle Shuffle on Edge connects, but Michaels and Orton pull the champion to the outside before he can go for the FU. They post him out there, but that's where the union ends, as Shawn immediately shoves Randy into the steel as well. Man, even bible thumping Shawn Michaels can't help himself when it comes to a partner, can he? He tries to piledrive Orton through an announce table, but Edge comes over with a chair to save, then tees off on Randy as well. Why not let Shawn hit the piledriver first, and then pick up the pieces? He heads in to beat Cena with the chair as well, but ends up trapped in the STFU! Edge gets the ropes, so John turns his attention to a groggy Orton - putting HIM in the STFU! Shawn saves, and hooks John in a small package for two, then nails Cena with a jumping forearm. Inverted atomic drop follows, and a bodyslam sets up the flying elbowdrop, but Edge is back before he can launch the Superkick. Shawn bodyslams Edge to set up a flying elbowdrop on him as well, but now Orton is back to interrupt. Michaels slams him to set up a flying elbow, but by now Cena has recovered, and he tries bringing Shawn off the top with an FU - only for Edge and Orton to come over and slam both down off the ropes! Cena recovers first with the FU on Edge, so Shawn tries saving with a Superkick - only to get cut off with an RKO. That forces Cena to let Edge loose to break Orton's cover, and that allows Edge to hit an implant DDT on John for two. Fun sequence there. And another equally fun one follows, with a bunch of missed finishers sending guys into counters from someone other than their original targets - ending in Michaels Superkicking Cena, but the knocked out champion falling on top of a knocked out Orton for the pin at 19:22! Awesome finish, to a very good four-way, with lots of action. *** ½

BUExperience: The decision to make all pay per views tri-branded immediately pays dividends here, as the presentation was a lot more focused than some of the previous split shows, giving us the cream of each crop, with minimal filler.

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