The first annual Backlash pay-per-view represents the end of WWF's In Your House branding, which had existed as a subtitle for non-Big 5 events since May of 1995, largely being ignored by the company as 1998 went along, finally getting the axe after this night. It seems fit, then, that Backlash '99 was one of the best shows to carry the In Your House name, sending it out with a bang after a hard-hitting and entertaining night of action. The main event is a rematch of the WrestleMania closer, with Steve Austin now in the role of champion defending against The Rock, while the rapidly ascending Shane McMahon essentially took over his father's spot as a corrupt guest referee attempting to screw over the "Texas Rattlesnake". Shane's stellar performance against X-Pac at WrestleMania showed that he had even more potential than Vince as the detestable heel at the top of the card, and to ensure that Shane wouldn't be overshadowed, Vince began to lean face, as The Undertaker's quest for power had focused on Vince's daughter, the recently debuted Stephanie McMahon. Yes, McMahon family drama was becoming the focal point of WWF programming, though it would be a few years before distaste for McMahon-centric feuds started to percolate through the fanbase.
- Backlash 1999 comes to you from the Providence Civic (now Dunkin' Donuts) Center in Providence, Rhode Island, the first visit from the WWF to this venue since Royal Rumble 1994. Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler are on the call.
- Our opening contest is a six man tag, as The Brood (Edge, Christian, and Gangrel) take on members of The Undertaker's Ministry of Darkness (represented here by The Acolytes, Bradshaw and Faarooq, and Mideon). The blood-drinking blondes have turned face after Undertaker threatened to crucify Christian for giving up the location of Stephanie McMahon to a vengeful Ken Shamrock (more on that later), though the trio aren't trying too hard to get the crowd to like them here. Edge spends most of the match being worked over by the heels, with the audience watching on in silence, before finally getting going to let their distaste for Mideon by known, as loud "Mideon sucks" chants fill the arena. Mideon then proves just how useless he is with a few weak power moves to Edge, before being cut off by a middle rope Spear, a rare variant of Edge's finishing move. Christian makes a bit of a comeback, though his mounted punches on Bradshaw are answered by one heck of a powerbomb by the Texan. Viscera interferes to get the Ministry a win, ramming Christian's back into the apron, tossing him into the ring to meet Bradshaw's devastating Clothesline From Hell. This was a far cry from the type of performances Edge and Christian would put on in the years to come in these sort of hectic tag matches, though they did show some potential.
- Hardcore Holly and Al Snow have been feuding for a number of months now over the Hardcore Championship, turning in some fairly enjoyable matches, though nothing truly ground-breaking. They give us one more of those fine but forgettable outings here, an arena-wide brawl that spilled backstage and into the parking lot outside the venue. Both men did try and make things interesting with a few big dives, Snow hitting a moonsault off the barricade early on, which was very impressive, and when they get outside, Holly dives onto Snow in a dumpster, and Snow hits an elbow drop on Holly on the roof of a car. Back in the ring, Snow rings Holly's bell with a frying pan to the temple, but doesn't want the win just yet, as he motions to put Holly through a table instead, drawing a big cheer from the crowd. Holly, though, gets the better of Snow, and delivers a gorgeous superplex that ends with both men crashing through the wood. Even though Holly was the one to deliver the move, he got the worst of it, and Snow is able to recover enough to smack Holly in the skull with Head, winning the Hardcore title. I can't say I loved the bulk of this match, which was mostly just time killing as they walked from one part of the arena to the other, but the spots they pulled off were genuinely impressive.
- The Godfather is now the Intercontinental Champion, having bribed the Big Boss Man by offering up a night with his Ho's, then going on to defeat Goldust for the strap, defending it in a return match on this night. Godfather trounces Goldust in this one, to the extent that the challenger just considers leaving. The Blue Meanie, who mocked Sable's "Women who want to be me, and men that came to see me" line and "Grind" dance move before the match, trips up Godfather to get his demented ally the upper hand. Goldust attempts to blind the champion with a handful of flour, but Godfather knocks it out of his hand, resulting in the flour completely blanketing the "Bizarre One". In a daze, Goldust goes after Meanie, much to the delight of the crowd, hitting Meanie with the Shattered Dreams. Both men are then squashed in the corner with a double Ho Train by Godfather, who puts Goldust away with the Death Valley Driver. This was wisely kept short, and the cheating by the heels backfiring was highly entertaining, I enjoyed this far more than I expected to.
- The New Age Outlaws are now back competing as a duo, challenging for the WWF Tag Team Championships against Jeff Jarrett and Owen Hart. After some sexually charged antics before the bell, including Road Dogg requesting to see Debra's "puppies" and Billy Gunn attempting to show off his a**, we get a quality old school tag match, with the heels finding tons of different sneaky ways to gain the advantage. Jarrett and Hart wear down Road Dogg for a while, with the crowd more interested in chanting about Debra's "puppies" than paying attention to anything in the ring, completely ignoring Dogg's signature punches and Shake, Rattle & Roll knee drop. However, when Billy Gunn is tagged in, even the most jaded of crowds can't help but sit up and pay attention, as Gunn goes wild in an incredible hot tag. Gunn is all over the place, ending his attack with a huge powerslam that gets a massive reaction from the crowd, who are now fully dialed into this match. Debra attempts to distract Road Dogg, though her advances aren't enough to prevent Dogg from hitting the pumphandle slam on Owen. Jarrett intervenes to save the match for his team, and the two faces then deliver mounted ten count punches, and ready for simultaneous dropkicks. Hart and Jarrett avoid the kicks, though, and attempt to each lock in their signature holds, with Owen getting the Sharpshooter applied to Dogg. Jarrett can't manage to lock in the Figure Four on Gunn, though, who knocks Jarrett out of the ring and drops Owen with the Fame-asser to secure the three. Another really entertaining match, both of these teams are great fun and can really work when they get going.
- We now head backstage for the second and final Boiler Room Brawl, as Mankind competes in his signature match type for the first time since SummerSlam '96, this time against the Big Show. The lighting for this much brighter than that first match, completely removing the more dingy and unkempt appearance of the boiler room that gave it such a unique look before. Even though I can't say I liked that design choice, the match was still the same kind of intense brutality, with Mick Foley sacrificing his body for some nasty spots. After a lot of early domination by Show, who remains standing despite being whacked on the head by multiple pieces of sheet rock, Mankind smashes a pane of glass over Show's head, which has the dual effect of busting Show open and also cutting up Mankind's hand, a wound that gets super gross as the match wears on. Mankind sets up a ladder, attempting to grab what I think was a saw dangling at the top of the room, but instead gets chokeslammed through two tables, which also had extra panes of glass on them, ouch. Despite taking that punishment and gushing blood from his hand, Mankind gets the win after hitting Show below the belt with a pipe, then dumping tons more of them onto the bigger man, allowing Mankind to crawl to the door and escape. Afterward, Test and the Big Boss Man, the heavies of the Corporation, set upon a beaten and bloody Mankind, but Show makes the save for his rival, chasing off Boss Man. Mankind then brings out Mr. Socko, locking in the Mandible Claw on Test. Later on, the cameras actually go back to Mankind, who walks us through the destruction of the match with the kind of charm that only Foley possesses, spotlighting the multiple bloody handprints that could spell trouble for him if he's ever arrested.
- Triple H's reunion with Chyna and their combined betrayal of both Kane and X-Pac was one of the bigger stories coming out of WrestleMania, with the couple now set to become two of the top heels on the roster. X-Pac wants revenge against the former leader of D-Generation X, as the two square off in a solid grudge match. X-Pac gets a taste of vengeance early on, unleashing in a wild attack on Hunter, who manages to slow the pace down after the Bronco Buster misses. The match shifts completely to the surgically repaired neck of X-Pac, which Triple H picks apart. It's tough to stay invested while Hunter very deliberately delivers his offense, mostly consisting of a large amount of holds and some strikes, and the crowd loses interest, beginning to turn on the match with loud boos are Triple H continues to apply holds. Jim Ross does a fabulous job on commentary trying to earn sympathy for X-Pac, but it is really tough to care about this one the longer it goes on. The really damning sign comes during X-Pac's comeback, as the near falls he gets don't elicit much of a response, as the fans are just completely zoned out and ready for this to end. X-Pac accidentally takes out the referee with a baseball slide to the outside, and that costs him, as there's no one to make the count after he hits the X-Factor. Chyna enters to hit a low blow, setting up a very predictable cheap win for Triple H, only for the lights to go out, and Kane arrives, providing just the jolt of energy that this match desperately needed. Kane drops both Chyna and Triple H with chokeslams, setting them both up in the corner so X-Pac can deliver a Bronco Buster to each, the Buster to Chyna getting a huge pop. Even though the move is over, it isn't actually that damaging, as Triple H proves by just getting back up and hitting a Pedigree on X-Pac for the win.
- As mentioned earlier, Ken Shamrock has had a bone to pick with The Undertaker, understandable given Undertaker attempted to sacrifice Ken's sister Ryan in a satanic ritual. You might assume that with Shamrock's explosive offense and Undertaker's mauling power that a big grudge match between the two would be an enthralling slugfest, and if you did, you'd be completely wrong. These two men instead decide to have some sort of mixed martial arts-influenced mat wrestling contest, with lots of submissions and limb work, Shamrock attempting to break Undertaker's leg as revenge for his sister's trauma. I never thought I'd see The Undertaker taking a full mount and locking in a bow and arrow hold before, but it most definitely happened. Somewhere around the third or fourth knee bar Shamrock applied, they finally lost the crowd, which is a shame, because I didn't actually think this was too bad, it just took place it front of an audience that was never going to be into it. Both men display some really slick grappling, including a sequence where Undertaker hits a leg drop, Shamrock turns the impact into a knee bar, and Undertaker counters that into a half Boston Crab. Shamrock seems to have the match won after nailing a chop block, and applying the ankle lock, but Bradshaw runs in for a distraction. Shamrock again gets rolling by countering a chokeslam into an arm bar, very cool, then hitting a belly to belly suplex. But as Shamrock lifts Undertaker up, "The Phenom" strikes, reversing the leverage to get Shamrock into position for a Tombstone Piledriver, which is then delivered to get Undertaker the win. Bradshaw then chokes Shamrock unconscious with a baseball bat.
- Main event time, as The Rock challenges "Stone Cold" Steve Austin for the WWF Championship, with Shane McMahon looking to find a way to ensure Rock regains the gold from his post as referee. Both men carry a title belt into this one, as Rock has brought back Austin's Smoking Skull title to taunt the champion, who has had enough all the chicanery and just tosses his belt down to charge the ring. Off we go, as Austin and Rock just start laying into each other, and the crowd is absolutely here for it. Like at WrestleMania, the match quickly spills to the outside, where both men are shown to be completely even, each getting a chance to whip the other into the fence structure surrounding the entranceway, and each running the other over with a rolling crate. After a brief detour into the ring, where Shane displays his biased nature by putting a stop to Austin's stomps in the corner, they head through the Spanish announce table. This time, it's Rock that gets to put Austin through, countering a Stunner with a low blow and hitting a Rock Bottom. Rock then borrows a headset belonging to one of the commentators to insult Austin, later also taking a camera from a member of the ringside crew. Both of these spots are just classic Rock, so damn entertaining, and Rock taking a Stunner while holding the camera was a great visual. Time to close it out, as both men are now in the ring, and Rock counters a Stunner by shoving Austin into Shane, who now takes center stage after doing a really good job staying on the periphery of the action for most of the match, not overshadowing the two competitors. The Rock Bottom connects, and McMahon pulls an exhausted Rock into the cover, but Austin kicks out before three. Shane grabs the official WWF title belt and goes to blast Austin in the face with it, instead catching Rock when Austin dodges. Naturally, Shane refuses to let Austin get the win after that, stopping his count right before three, just like he did at Survivor Series last year. Vince McMahon is here to put a stop to his son's power trip, hitting Shane with the Smoking Skull belt, while in the ring, Rock hits Austin with the WWF belt for a near fall. Austin then hits another Stunner, and why not, another belt shot, for the win. Probably one too many attacks with championship belts, but otherwise, an entertaining and heated brawl that was a definite upgrade for their 'Mania main event.
- The night is not over yet, though, as while Vince watches his former mortal rival celebrate in the ring, the cameras go backstage to Stephanie, who is entering a limo to await her father's arrival. The car unexpectedly speeds off, and the camera feed then cuts to inside the car, where the divide rolls down to reveal the driver is The Undertaker, who cackles maniacally and utters the famous "where to, Stephanie?" line. That was a very strange way to end a pay-per-view, I can't say I've ever seen a world title match end in abduction before, but hey, there's a first time for everything. I do have a lot of questions about how a camera ended up in the limo in the first place, but you know what, maybe some things are just better left without explanation.
8/10
Backlash 1999 is a real diamond in the rough, as very few of the lesser pay-per-views in 1998 and 1999 were really worth watching, outside of just to see the latest wild main event involving Steve Austin. But this card was filled with a bunch of solid matches, and the night just flew by. It really helped that the crowd was hot throughout most of these three hours, as while they haven't quite reached the level of the legendary crowds during pay-per-views in 2000 and 2001 in the WWF, this was much better than what had been seen in years past.
Next time on Henry's Pay-Per-View Reviews: WrestleMania 2000, where Triple H defends the WWF Championship against The Rock, Mick Foley, and the Big Show, with a McMahon in every corner. See you soon.
- Henry
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