WWE Backlash 2002

RATING LEVELS: 

Curt Hennig – A “GOAT” show, as Perfect as possible

Watch It – A consistently good show worth watching in its entirety

Watch It…With Remote in Hand – 3 or more above-average ratings 

High Risk Maneuver – Mostly filler, inessential, but 1-2 good matches

DUDleyville – Zero redeeming qualities, chore to watch

WWE Backlash

May 2002

St. Louis, Missourri

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: In the first show of the Brand Extension Era, Triple H comes in as the WWE's Undisputed World Champion, Rob Van Dam holds the Intercontinental Title, the European Championship is held by Spike Dudley, the Hardcore Championship is held by his brother Bubba Ray, Billy Kidman is the Cruiserweight Champion, Jazz holds the Womens' Championship, and the team of Billy Gunn and Chuck Palumbo are the Tag Team Champions.

COMMENTATORS: Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler

Opening tonight's show is Tajiri challenging the Cruiserweight Champion, Billy Kidman. Despite some good spots in the initial minutes, the crowd seems mostly interested in Torrie Wilson (Tajiri's "geisha girl") before the in-ring starts grabbing their attention. Kidman looks noticeably different than he did in WCW, not only because of the change in ring attire and haircut. Despite playing the heel, Tajiri gets cheers for his signature offense, though Kidman's counters also get good responses from the lively St. Louis crowd who even break out into a "Kidman" chant at one point. In front of a deader audience, this one wouldn't be much higher than average, but with such an engaged crowd, the nearfalls and finishers get the kind of reactions that pull in the viewer. With a solid finish that makes one want to see a rematch, this was the right opener with the right conclusion in front of the right crowd. (3.5/5)

Backstage, Bradshaw is hanging out when Ron Simmons shows up, reuniting the APA after being split as part of the Brand Extension (RAW/SmackDown split).

Scott Hall of the nWo makes his way out of the ring, with fellow nWo member X-Pac at his side. His opponent this evening is the aforementioned Bradshaw who is seeking revenge for the nWo trashing the APA's office. Ron Simmons arrives before the bell rings for some extra protection and a respectable "APA" chant starts. In my review of February's No Way Out show, I took the WWE to task for booking the New World Order incorrectly and this match shows that, months later, they'd pretty much given up entirely on the concept, relegating the biggest heel stable of the 90s into inconsequential lower midcard territory. The in-ring action is nothing special, but modern viewers will at least see something in this match that you wouldn't see much before or after - namely, Scott Hall in one of his last WWE PPV matches (if not the very last one?) and Bradshaw working as a singles babyface and actually getting some sympathy instead of doing the more typical tweener badass act that was the APA. Not long enough to be offensive, but not good enough to be memorable. (1.5/5)

Vince McMahon barges into Ric Flair's office and tells him that he likes how Flair has opted to get involved in tonight's number one contender's match between Steve Austin and the Undertaker. Arn Anderson sighting!

Trish Stratus is up next, set to take on Womens' Champion, Jazz, but instead, Molly Holly shows up, telling off the popular blond and attacking her before the bell. Jazz then arrives and, with Stratus hurt, takes control early on and only reliquinshes it for brief spells. Stratus' selling isn't good, especially considering how simple the story of this match should be, but her spirit and offense keep the audience interested. Jazz's performance, like Trish's, is equal parts hits and miss, though her STF is definitely better looking than John Cena's. Not the worst match I've ever seen. (2/5)

We get a video clip of Paul Heyman terrorizing Team Extreme, luring Matt Hardy into a Brock Lesnar beatdown by stealing Lita's underwear. This segues into Paul Heyman hyping up his client, the Next Big Thing, backstage. 

Jefff Hardy vs. Brock Lesnar is next - this match being Lesnar's in-ring debut. Hardy comes out swinging, but this is a Lesnar spotlight match, the Next Big Thing showing off agility, speed, power, resilience, and brutality in a way that I'm not sure any other debuting monster has ever done. What might be most impressive is that this isn't necessarily a complete squash - Lesnar does take a bump or two - and Lesnar isn't protected by only working 90 seconds like, say, Goldberg was. While Lesnar dominates, he sells Hardy's signature offense, establishing himself as more than a one-note powerhouse in a way that makes his first match much, much different than the debuts of the Undertaker or The Great Khali. Enjoyable more for its historical significance than its story, but I can think of way worse ways to spend 5 minutes. (3/5)

Edge vs. Kurt Angle is hyped up via a video package chronicling their rivalry. The crowd's singing of "You Suck" along with Angle's music is pretty darn loud, the St. Louis audience fully behind The Not-Yet-Rated R Superstar. Edge has control early on, but Angle eventually takes over thanks to several picture-perfect suplexes. While not necessarily the most riveting match minute-to-minute, there are some stellar moments, including Edge connecting with an absolutely awesome crossbody from the top rope to the outside and several "shoulda-been-three" nearfalls. The last false finish might go one step too far in that direction, but all in all, this is a better-than-average match that fans of either performer will find reason to like. (3/5)

Former Undisputed WWE World Champion, Chris Jericho, makes his way down the aisle, but as soon as he opens his mouth, the fans erupt in "Whats." Jericho complains about not having a match on tonight's show, berates the crowd, and even takes a shot at Maven. Not an all-time great promo, but considering Jericho main evented the previous month's WrestleMania 18, he needed a spotlight of some kind here and this worked. (2.5/5)

The Intercontinental Championship is on the line in the next match, with Rob Van Dam defending against Eddie Guerrero. A little backstory here - Eddie Guerrero had been out of action for a stretch but made his return by attacking Van Dam on an episode of RAW. As one might expect, in his first major match back, Guerrero works overtime, throwing so many high spots into this match that it almost bewilders the crowd more than it builds suspense. Van Dam was over, but as he's essentially cut off anytime he gets any momentum going, the crowd doesn't get to rally behind him much. Its hard to complain too much about a match this action-packed, but the finish really tarnishes the hard work both guys brought to this. The referee is made to look like a complete buffoon and considering how clever and inventive Guerrero would be in future matches with similar endings, this one comes off as particularly rushed and insultingly blatant. (3/5)

After a quick plug for The Scorpion King and a video package hyping our next bout, we get The Undertaker vs. Steve Austin in a Number One Contender's Match with Ric Flair as the guest referee. Early on the two vets fill up some time with schtick, specifically middle fingers and push-ups, which only gets the crowd hotter for this battle of two all-time greats. After targeting the Deadman's arm, Austin ends up on defense before the two spill outside, falling into the familiar formula they seemed to utilize in every other one of their matches (or at least the ones I've watched recently). Hall and X-Pac (donning Kane's mask) make their way out to a chorus of boos and "X-Pac Sucks" chants and I'll readily admit I'm not necessarily sure what purpose they're serving considering they were pretty much vanquished at WrestleMania and they do not play any role whatsoever in the contest (even in a match with two, yes TWO ref bumps). Undertaker connects with a guillotine leg drop on the edge of the mat and then follows it up by attacking Austin's knee with stomps and elbows, slowing things down a bit and cooling the crowd. Austin fights back but ends up locked into a rear chinlock, minutes later taken back down to the mat with a back suplex. Stone Cold's brief flurries of offense lead to some supportive "What" chants, but every cut-off silences his backers more until there is almost dead silence in the audience - exactly what these two guys have been working towards to allow Austin's eventual comeback to really rev them up. All the while, Flair is essentially an "extra," calling it down the middle with surprisingly undramatic counts until he ends up inadvertently knocked out (a questionable spot when you consider that Flair is a multi-time World Champion who had, a month previously, taken a serious beating and kept on fighting). Fortunately, Flair's not out for long (just enough to miss a post-Stunner cover by the Rattlesnake), and the match continues on with both men landing some big offense. Again, though, Flair gets bumped and misses out what should be a clear victory for one of the combatants, the crowd on their feet for what is obviously the final act of this play. The finish is a complete "F-U" to anyone who invested their time in this bout, though, a bush league cop-out that hints to a future Flair/Austin feud, but does it in such a way that is more off-putting than salivatory. The post-match saves some of Austin's heat and keeps the live crowd happy, but home viewers won't be as forgiving. (2.5/5)

The Tag Titles are on the line next with Billy and Chuck (with Rico) defending against Maven and his Tough Enough trainer Al Snow. Obviously slotted as a "piss break" match, this one tells the simple story of Maven getting beaten down by the seasoned pros before tagging in Al Snow to make the save. Of course, indifferent fans and unsympathetic baby faces keep this one from achieving the heights that the Rock n' Roll Express attained with similar match structures. Snow and Gunn are the MVPs, but its not as if Maven is criminally unprepared, hitting a crossbody from the top that shows he had the athleticism needed to survive in the WWE if just for a short while. A decent finish keeps both sides looking strong, but this match is just nothing worth seeing. (1.5/5)

Main event time - Triple H defending the WWE Undisputed Championship against Hulk Hogan. While lacking the "Big Match Feel" of Hogan's clash with The Rock at WrestleMania 18, the crowd is still absolutely amped for the Hulkster, back in the red and yellow and working as a full-fledged good guy. Triple H, meanwhile, plays the defacto heel, though he doesn't overdo it - the only shortcut he takes is using the ropes a leverage, something that in the Ruthless Aggression Era was barely rule breaking. Provided much clearer jobs to do, Hulk and Triple H put together a fairly straightforward match that may not deliver the fast-paced, hard-hitting action as Guerrero/RVD or Angle/Edge, but does eclipse what Undertaker and Austin did. I'm not one to shoot Triple H many compliments, but he is fairly excellent here - taking several big bumps onto the arena floor for Hogan and maintaining a deliberate pace that doesn't make the aging Hulkster look bad. Unfortunately, like so many main event matches of this time, run-ins and ref bumps rear their ugly head, "protecting" the workers but keeping things less than definitive. A better ending wasn't going to make this an all-time great match, but it would've helped edge it closer to more than being a footnote in Hogan's career as easily the most forgettable World Championship victory he had in a WWE ring. (3/5)

With an average match/segment of 2.55-out-of-5, Backlash 2002 isn't a total bore, but considering it features three title changes, the crowning of a new Number One Contender, the debut of Brock friggin' Lesnar, and served as the first PPV of the Brand Extension Era, this one should be an all-time classic. On paper, the line-up is arguably WrestleMania quality; Hogan/HHH, Lesnar/Jeff Hardy, Angle/Edge, Austin/Undertaker, and Guerrero/RVD all sound like headlining matches at any other time in the last decade. But as good as this show would seem based on its stacked card, overbooked finishes lurk behind every corner, tainting most every match on the show, including the two biggest bouts on the card. This results in the opening match being the most fulfilling contest of the whole spectacle, a small tragedy considering the amount of big name talents that fill up the remaining 170 minutes. 

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver