Column: Top 5 Greatest Matches in Backlash History

Alright, with the Greatest Royal Rumble out of the way we can focus on the next upcoming PPV, Backlash. The best way to look forward is to look back. With that flawed logic I will be breaking down the best matches in the history of WWE’s Backlash Pay-Per-View. The typical after Mania PPV has put on some great matches.

Let’s start off with some Honorable Mentions.

Chris Benoit vs Edge ’05 Last Man Standing Match; Undertaker vs Batista ’07 Last Man Standing Match; Dean Ambrose vs AJ Styles ’16; Dean Malenko vs Scotty 2 Hotty ’00; Edge vs Kurt Angle; ’02; Cena vs Edge vs Triple H ’06.

Alright with those great matches out of the way let’s get to my Top 5 Greatest Matches in Backlash History.

5. Stone Cold vs The Rock Backlash ’99 Special Guest Referee: Shane McMahon

A great match during a great feud with two great WWE Superstars in the prime of their careers. The match had great story telling, suspense, and of course McMahon on McMahon betrayal. This was on the inaugural Backlash Show and helped this show get a name for itself. I remember watching and thinking that Stone Cold could never win because every time he had the match won Shane would just give Stone Cold the Bird instead of counting the pinfall. It is still a great match to go back and watch.

4. Randy Orton vs Cactus Jack ’04 Falls Count Anywhere Match

This match could be moved higher, but it is overshadowed by another match on the card. We’ll get to that later. This match helped establish Randy Orton as the Legend Killer. Randy Orton did spots that he did not have to do in order to insure this was a great match. It’s weird to think of Mick Foley fighting for the IC Title in 2004, but it happened. This was a great year in wrestling that put on a great show with two future Hall of Famers. Randy Orton ended up beating Mick Foley at his own game and moved one step closer to greatness in the process.

3. John Cena vs Edge vs Randy Orton vs Shawn Michaels ’07 Fatal Four Way Match

You can just look at the names in this match and understand why this made the top 5. There was a great storyline coming into this match. John Cena and Shawn Michaels had a great match at WrestleMania. They had a championship run as a tag team and their opponents would join them for a shot at the WWE Championship in this match. This is my least favorite match on this list. I am, admittingly, not a fan of fatal four way matches. With that said this match was very well done. The finish was funny in this match and may have brought the match down, but at least it was creative. This was a great match and one of the best for the year.

2. Edge vs Cena ’09 Last Man Standing Match

Spoiler Alert: Edge wins. He got a championship win over Cena in a time that this was considered a rarity. These two had a hot rivalry in 2006, that left a bitter taste in both their mouths. Edge hated Cena and the two collided. Of Course, Cena didn’t win “clean.” In a match without rules the Big Show gave the assist to Edge. The three had a triple threat match at WrestleMania in which Cena pinned the Big Show. These two put it all on the line and delivered a classic Last Man Standing Match, which is pretty much synonymous with Backlash.

At this time, I usually do honorable mentions. I hit that earlier, I will say that this match can be difficult to go back and watch.

1. Chris Benoit vs Triple H vs Shawn Michaels ’04 Triple Threat Match

This is the second match from the 2004 Backlash card. This is a rematch from WrestleMania. The match took place in Canada which gave Michaels a bit of heel heat, and of course Triple H was a heel. Benoit was over as a face, and he got more over by making Michaels tap to the sharpshooter in Canada. The action in the match was good and this match is only fraction behind being as great as their WrestleMania match.  I did love the finish, and of course I loved the heat on Michaels and even on Earl Hebner. Even he wouldn’t have bet on Benoit retaining, but he did. He helped put on a great match in the process.

Alright well, let me know what Backlash matches I may have missed and which ones you agree with. Thanks