Sunday, April 18, 2004 - Edmenton, Alberta, Canada, Backlash. The sixth of the annual event which started in 1999. It follows WWE's biggest event of the year Wrestlemania & this year there were many scores to settle such as the three way feud between the Heart Break Kid, The Rabid Wolverine & The Cerebral Assassin. Also the Randy Orton/Mick Foley war is put to a rather shocking and brutal end.

When I picked up this Pay Per View, I was a little intimidated by the fact that its one of those “One Brand Only” events, luckily this was a “RAW” event (I like RAW better) & even luckier it had some stellar matches within.

Now lets discuss some wrestling, shall we?
Brought to you by RAW, Backlash!

The opening match was Shelton Benjamin VS “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair. Despite the fact that Ric Flair is well into his fifties, he can still turn it on better than most of the roster. The match was a good opener, and "The Nature Boy" made Shelton look great, but I didn’t really enjoy how this match ended. Does a weak top rope clothesline sound exciting for a finish, nope. But that’s how Shelton picked up the win against the 16 time world champion.

Up next we have Jonathon “Coach” Coachman going at it against the Japanese Buzzsaw, Tajiri. “Hey Motley Kid, was that a typo, Coach is just a talker not a fighter right?” If that’s what your thinking, please read on. Jonathon Coachman has previously talked a big game, and that’s it. Now he’s taking it to the ring. And if you’re anything like me you’ll be surprised to see the match go beyond the one minute mark. But it did that and more. Coach actually displayed some wrestling ability (nothing of Chris Benoit’s level) with some take downs and submissions. But it looked like Tajiri had things going his way until Garrison Cade shown up and punched him in the head, & Coach showing a little quick thinking rolled Tajiri up for the pin.

Here we go, the story behind this match has been brewing since before last years Armageddon. What match could I be talking about, none other then the Handicap match with Chris Jericho taking on both Trish Stratus & Christian. This was a good match (Jericho and Christian work well together) that saw Christian & Jericho do most of the battling while Trish would be tagged in for an occasional cheap shot. Eventually Chris Jericho got the win after a running kick to the head. I haven’t really been pleased with the finishes to the matches so far (First match, crappy top rope clothesline. Second match, punch followed by roll up pin & this match ended with a bloody kick. Come on, lets see some big moves…

Moving on to the match that will decide the women’s championship, yes the match between Victoria & Lita. I was interested to see how they’d pull this match off pitting two of the most popular divas in the WWE against each other. It’s great to see Victoria as a fan favorite now, she is really to likeable to have as a heel (bad guy/girl). When she made her entrance she got a peck on the cheek from one of the little kiddies sitting at ringside and that made her put her hand on her heart and look flattered. See, she’s much better as a face(good guy/girl). Lita is also very popular with the fans for her in ring style & lets be honest, her looks. They put on a fairly good match with Victoria winning therefore getting to hang onto that deserved championship of hers. Gail Kim & Molly Holly stormed to the ring after the match and put a beat down onto bother Victoria & Lita. At least Victoria can say she beat Molly at Wrestlemania XX and shaved her bald.

Following a match featuring two beautiful Divas we have Randy Orton and Mick Foley fixing to do some pretty violent things to each other. Now, it usually takes a lot to make me cringe, but this match pulled it off. In my opinion, Foley wanted to pass the crown of being a “Hardcore Legend” onto Randy Orton (but not before one heck of a a$$ whuppin’). And after witnessing this match Randy can have that title, easy as that. Now I’m not going to tell you what happened in this match (Motley Kid gets booed), but….I will tell you the weapons used in this barbaric war (Motley Kid gets cheered). There were baseball bats (wrapped in barbed wire), thumb tacs (1000s of them) and this contraption that was a piece of wood about the size of a door covered in barbed wire. Now I’ll leave it to you to put the match together in your head. I would tell you about it but it will ruin a lot of suspense if I do.

In my humble opinion, this is the most sleep inducing match of the card & that match is Le Resistance taking on the superhero duo The Hurricane & Rosey(S.H.I.T)(and no I didn’t swear that’s his name, Super Hero In Training). Although you may want to use Rosey’s initials to describe this match. When I said this match was sleep inducing, I must have meant it, because I remember next to nothing about this match. All I know is the super heroes won.

Edge and Kane are about to lock horns in Edge’s first match back since his neck surgery 13 months prior to this. I’ve seen better out of Kane & Edge. Plus I was always big on Kane’s masked days, you know, when he had mystique, when he WWE champ (yes that happened once back in 㥪). I expect better from Edge in the future, but I’ll cut him some slack because you’d expect a little ring rust after 13 months out of action. Edge got the victory after a spear. (Anyone remember Wrestlemania IVX when it took three count ‘em three Tombstone Pile drivers to put Kane away, these days he’s getting pinned when a far smaller man runs into him, funny hey?)

Now….The Main Event. Triple H Vs Shawn Michaels Vs Chris Benoit (champion).
Many believe (including Jim Ross) that this match eclipsed ‘Mania’s version of it. I’d say so to because the raw emotion was hanging heavy in the air. The events of this match bounced back on November 1997. Come on people, what happened on this date in the wrestling world which is still debated today, especially by Canadian fans. Yes, that’s right, the infamous Montreal Screw Job. Know I’m not going to tell you about the Screw Job because, quite frankly there is too much to tell. If you’re really interested check out Bret Hart’s official website for a very detailed account on this massive piece of wrestling history. Ok the match, how is this for irony, Triple H was down outside the ring, Benoit and Michaels were going at it and the referee was knocked down inadvertently, Michaels then knocks down the home town hero Benoit and puts him in the sharpshooter, then who should appear next, lets try Earl Hebner. Now we’ve got a scene that looks exactly like the Montreal Screwjob finish with Earl lookin’ like he was about to call the match off, just like 㥩, & wrestling fans, don’t forget where this event was held, Canada. Yes it’s been seven years and they still haven’t forgotten or forgave Michaels or Hebner, and they showed that with loud chants of “You Screwed Bret”. In the end for what would make Canada happy Shawn Michaels submits to the sharpshooter from Chris Benoit. The irony surrounding the match was great.

EXTRAS
1 extra match (Val Venis Vs Matt Hardy)
Back Stage Interviews
Chris Benoit on RAW after his victory at Backlash.

The Motley Kids Final Verdict
I was pleasantly surprised with this event, with the mostly enjoyable matches and the crowd was truly electric, that adds to the viewing experience because if you got thousands of people really enthusiastic about what’s going on in the ring, you can’t help to be as well. With a great crowd, great matches, this is a Pay Per View im glad to say I have in my collection.

Thanks to all you wrestling junkies for reading.

The Motley Kid

This review is dedicated to The Big Bossman
I've already told a few people but for those that didn't know yet, Ray "The Big BossMan" Traylor passed away Wednesday from a heart attack. He was 42. My heart goes out to his family. And Ray, thanks for the great memories. You will be missed.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age