Backlash was not the final pay-per-view to bear the WWF name, but considering Insurrextion was a UK-exclusive show, I think it's fair to call it the last major event before the company became the WWE. There is no more fitting way to end the days of the World Wrestling Federation than with Hulk Hogan in the main event fighting for the world championship, no matter how you feel about him. Hogan's match with The Rock at WrestleMania had re-established him as a household name, and Vince McMahon was more than ready to ride the nostalgia rocket to the moon, going all in on Hogan as a top star despite Hulk's body beginning to break down as he neared 50. The Hogan comeback tour is the lowest hanging fruit for me as a reviewer, an obviously desperate ploy that resulted in several comically bad main events while incredible athletes like Kurt Angle, Edge, Eddie Guerrero, Rob Van Dam, and Chris Jericho mired in the midcard. And while we can all sit back now and have a hearty guffaw about the idiocy of a Hogan main event run, it's not like Vince's call to turn back to Hogan doesn't make any sense to me. Let's remember that this is one of the biggest draws in the industry we're talking about, one that had catapulted the WWF to the stratosphere and nearly brought it crashing down. It's easy to see why Vince thought Hogan might be able to cause yet another sea change, and bring back the fans who had begun to lose interest after the WCW buyout. That didn't happen, but it would've been nice if it did.
- Backlash 2002 comes to you from the site of the most controversial event in WWE history, the Kemper (now Hy-Vee) Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. This is just under 3 years after Owen Hart's tragic and preventable passing, which is thankfully never referenced during this show, I've heard enough of talking heads from the company attempt to justify their decisions on that night. Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler are on the call.
- Our opening contest is for the Cruiserweight Championship, with Billy Kidman defending against Tajiri. Lots of fast-paced action here, as both men work really well together and cycles through spots rapidly. Tajiri strikes frequently, landing a big roundhouse kick and a baseball slide dropkick to Kidman in the Tree of Woe, while Kidman is on the defensive, having to find unique counters to stay in it, like nailing a dropkick to the back when Tajiri attempts a handspring back elbow, and one of Kidman's signature counters, turning a powerbomb into a facebuster. The crowd, mostly quiet throughout, rallies behind Kidman after he kicks out of the Buzzsaw Kick, and the drama continues to ramp up when Kidman hits a perfectly executed top rope sit-out powerbomb, which Tajiri kicks out of. Kidman wants another powerbomb, but Tajri sprays him with red mist while in the air to steal the gold. This was a really energetic opening match that got enough time to build to a satisfying finish, it's just unfortunate that Ross and Lawler were more concerned about Torrie Wilson on the outside, who was in the middle of a phase where boyfriend Tajri was forcing her to dress more conservatively.
- Bradshaw and Faarooq were one of a few tag teams that got split up during the first brand extension draft, with the big Texan going to Raw to start up a feud with the New World Order. Bradshaw meets Scott Hall in a slugfest here, with Faarooq completely ignoring whatever rules have been set up by the brand split to be in his old partner's corner anyway. Not a single wrestling move is attempted by Bradshaw and Hall here, as they punch and kick at each other for 5 minutes, before Hall misses a charging attack in the corner and Bradshaw nails the Clothesline from Hell. Hall's foot is placed on the bottom rope by X-Pac, a fellow member of the nWo, and he pays for it by taking a right hand from Bradshaw and a slam into the ring post by Faarooq. Hall capitalizes on his buddy's distraction by nailing a low blow on Bradshaw and rolling him up for the win. I'm really not sure why Scott Hall continued to be booked in matches, as it was obvious that his physical condition had completely deteriorated and X-Pac was always the more interesting worker anyway.
- Trish Stratus' challenge for the Women's Championship on this night doesn't get off to a good start, as Trish is subject to an attack by Molly Holly, revenge for Trish rolling Molly up to become number one contender on Raw. Champion Jazz then has an easier night, though the challenger does put up some fight, Stratus getting close to winning before her Stratusfaction is countered with a back suplex. Jazz then cleans up with a well executed dragon screw leg whip, and forces Trish to tap to the STF. I do really like Jazz's offensive repertoire, which is significantly more diverse than most other North American female workers at the time.
- The initial rollout of Brock Lesnar is one of the most successful booking projects ever attempted in the WWF, quickly building this freakish athlete into a legitimate main event player in mere months. A huge part of what made Lesnar great early on was the opponents they booked him against, starting with Jeff Hardy here at Backlash. Jeff is on the hunt for revenge after brother Matt was laid out by an F-5 during a brawl with Lesnar, incited by Paul Heyman's continued harassment of Lita. Jeff is a perfect choice for young Brock to maul, completely over with the fans and a terrific seller, making Brock look like a force of nature in this extended squash. Jeff does get some offense in, hitting the Swanton Bomb for a near fall, but Brock is too strong and too tough for a mere mortal to handle. Jeff goes down to the F-5, but Heyman wants to make a statement, screaming for Lesnar to keep going, and Brock obliterates with Jeff with a deadlift powerbomb and a spinning powerbomb, the latter of which gets referee Teddy Long to call it. A dominant win for the new beast that immediately puts the entire roster on notice.
- I've never been a huge fan of the Edge/Kurt Angle feud that took place on SmackDown during this time, as Edge's character was just too abrasive to be a babyface to me, though I will admit that his antics clearly got over with crowds of the time. There is a ton of heat going into this match, and the two men deliver in the ring, really ramping up the intensity the farther this one goes along. It starts with some basic suplexes from Angle, and a back body drop from Edge, and escalates further when Angle lithely scales the ropes to send Edge flying with a big time belly-to-belly suplex. Angle completes the trio of rolling German suplexes, but Edge rolls out of the Ankle Lock, and hits a German of his own that looked really scary, Kurt nearly landing with full force on his neck. I think Kurt was trying to pull off a flip, to emphasize Edge's power, but I'm not really sure what happened, only that I was stunned Kurt managed to finish the match after that. The crowd is totally hooked as both men trade near falls, Edge kicking out of the Angle Slam and rolling Kurt up after escaping the Ankle Lock, then slamming Kurt down with the Edge-o-Matic after Kurt bounced a chair shot off the top rope into his own face. Both of these men are just the masters of crowd work, especially when it comes to near falls, so it's no surprise that they made this great. Edge's Spear is countered with a big kick to the sternum, and Kurt finally connects with the Angle Slam to score an important victory. This was a really great match, perhaps a shade beneath their follow-up at Judgment Day, but still a standout performance from two of the best on SmackDown.
- More impressive wrestling to follow, as Eddie Guerrero, returned after a drug-related firing and some time on the independent scene, challenges Rob Van Dam for the Intercontinental Championship. Eddie had some great performances on pay-per-view throughout this year, really embracing his obnoxious heel role, and turns in another entertaining night here at Backlash. Van Dam gets the crowd into it early with his acrobatic offense, but Eddie takes control mid-way through, and is ruthless and efficient, destroying Van Dam's back. Both men take advantage of Van Dam's flexibility, with Eddie applying a surfboard sleeper and a Gory stretch, and then they really take it to the next level when Eddie hits a hellacious sunset flip powerbomb out of the corner. That move generated loud gasps of astonishment from the crowd, you know you're good when you can make a sunset flip bomb look like a world beater. Eddie introduces the title belt into the ring, where both men fight over it, Van Dam yanking it away and accidentally knocking over the ref. Eddie, never one to pass up an opportunity for a cheap win, hits a neckbreaker on the belt and wins with his gorgeous Frog Splash.
- It's clear that Vince McMahon wasn't ready to let go of the past just yet in his main event scene, as not just will Hulk Hogan be challenging for the WWF title at the end of the night, but "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and The Undertaker clash in the seventh match of the evening to determine the number one contender, with Raw General Manager Ric Flair as the guest referee. This was a plodder of a match, without many highlights to really speak of. Undertaker is still working at a glacial pace, he wouldn't really speed up until years later, and Austin is completely burned out and doesn't have much interest in wrestling anymore. They slowly trade offense for almost half an hour of ring time, with the nWo showing up midway through and doing absolutely nothing. In the final few minutes, Undertaker almost wins with a chair shot to the head, before Austin gets the visual pinfall after hitting a Stunner with Flair down. Austin gets hold of the chair but has it kicked back in his face by Undertaker, and Flair fails to notice that Austin's foot is on the rope as he counts to three. A lame way to end this match, I would've much rather seen a full-on heel turn from "Naitch" rather than this wishy-washy nonsense and the continued insistence for Austin to keep competing despite clearly needing a break drags down all of his matches.
- The WWF's tag division continues to sink into the gutter, as the tag title match between champions Billy and Chuck and the thrown-together team of Al Snow and Maven is put into the "death spot", with the crowd ready to bring on the main event and are still waking up from the naps they took during the previous match. This does actually have some decent action, and Maven's big crossbody for a near fall at least got a reaction, but it's just depressing to see how far the tag division has fallen from the glorious days of the first three TLC matches. Billy gets the win after Chuck drops Maven with a superkick.
- Main event time, as Hulk Hogan turns back the clock to challenge Triple H for the Undisputed WWF Championship. Look, if you went into this expecting a classic from Hulk Hogan in 2002, that's on you, this was obviously never destined to be one of the best pay-per-view main events of all-time or anything. I think, given the significant limitations of Hogan, this wasn't anywhere near as bad as I feared it could be, both men worked a smart match that played off the enthused crowd and effectively hid Hogan's physical liabilities. The opening few minutes are filled with shtick, as they square off in collar-and-elbow tie-ups and Greco-Roman knuckle locks, each man showing off his respective strength. Triple H takes a few bumps to get Hogan over, and Hulk breaks out a Diamond Cutter, which I was not prepared for. Triple H works the leg, hitting a few chop blocks and locking in a Figure Four, drawing heat from the crowd for his psychologically sound attack. The smoke and mirrors escalate towards the finish, as Chris Jericho, who expressed distaste towards Hogan being booked while he was on the sideline, runs in to brain Hogan with a chair. Triple H doesn't want Jericho's assistance to win the match, fighting Y2J off. Hogan then Hulks Up to the delight of the crowd, but misses the Atomic Leg Drop and Triple H nails a Pedigree. The Undertaker grabs the chair to blast Triple H with it, but now it's Hogan who doesn't want the easy win, sending Undertaker packing. Hogan, ever the honorable competitor, still elects to take advantage of his downed opponent, this time hitting the Leg Drop to win his sixth and final WWF title.
6/10
If you take Undertaker/Austin off the card, and main event with something other than Hogan/Triple H, this would have been one of the better shows of 2002. The midcard was extremely solid, with Angle/Edge as the clear highlight, though Brock's dominant win, Eddie's great heel work, and the exciting opener all helped the show breeze by in the first 90-100 minutes. Hogan's title win may produce a lot of eye-rolling, but don't let it fool you into thinking this was a terrible show.
If you're interested, you can check out my review of the next month's event, Judgment Day.
Next time on Henry's Pay-Per-View Reviews: King of the Ring 2002, where Brock Lesnar, Chris Jericho, Rob Van Dam, and Test all compete to win the annual tournament, with the winner earning a title shot at SummerSlam. See you soon.
- Henry
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