Backlash 2009

Backlash 2009 Review





Jack Swagger vs Christian
WWECW Title on the line. Man, old-school ECW fans couldn't have been happy knowing that Swagger was billed as the 'ECW' Champion. This was a great choice for the opener as these guys had great chemistry and put on an entertaining match with nearfalls and counter-wrestling. Swagger showed some potential here, but he never really went anywhere until a year later. Still, this was a great match and an awesome way to start the show. ***1/2


Chris Jericho vs Ricky Steamboat
The Dragon looked absolutely fantastic at Wrestlemania, and it seemed as if he hadn't aged a day. WWE took advantage of that and gave us a match we wanted to see: Y2J going against his childhood hero. Steamboat seemed to tire out quite easily here, but Jericho covered that well enough. A very good match here, as Steamboat showed that he had what it took to hang with one of the best in Y2J. ***1/4


Steamboat gets a well deserved round of applause from the live crowd.



Kane vs CM Punk
At Money in the Bank at Wrestlemania, the final two came down to Punk and Kane. Punk kicked Kane off a ladder to win, and somehow that sets up a feud. What is it with WWE and making the MITB winners look bad and lose matches? They've been doing it for years now, and it's become tiresome. Pretty solid match, even if it felt like filler, and Punk didn't look too bad against Kane. **1/2



Jeff Hardy vs Matt Hardy : I Quit Match
I guess this feud had to continue, and I guess I'd be pretty pissed off too if someone gave me a twist of fate on a chair and nearly broke my neck. Plus burning someones dog alive isn't a nice thing to do. Yes this storyline was kinda fucked up. The problem with the I Quit match is that slows down the match pacing, and these guys need a fast paced match. They just don't look comfortable with submission wrestling. A pretty dull match until the screwed up ending with Jeff duct taping Matt to a table, and even when he begs Jeff for forgiveness, he still puts Matt through it. What a strange family. **


The Great Khali has a kisscam session with Santina Marella. Santina says she's dating with Jim Ross which was kinda funny. There was a match between Beth Phoenix and Santina, but it lasted three seconds so I'm not including it as an official match-up. Dumb segment overall.



Triple H / Batista / Shane McMahon vs Legacy
The WWE Title is on the line. If HHH's team wins, HHH leaves with the Title, if Legacy wins, Randy Orton leaves with the Title. I think they figured that HHH vs Orton was gonna bore everyone, so they went for the multi-man match to make things interesting. The match was solid to start with, but the heel heat sections just seemed to go on for ages, and they were just pretty dull. Luckily the finish was exciting. A good tag match overall. ***1/4



John Cena vs Edge : Last Man Standing
The World Title is on the line. I liked that these guys used their history together for the storyline, with the fact that Edge could never keep Cena down. Edge absolutely hated Cena for that. This is the last PPV match these guys would have together. The story of the match was great with both guys knowing each others moveset, and having to resort to different tactics to win. Edge even broke out a sharpshooter. The AA into the audience was insane. The finish with Cena going into the stage spotlight was awesome, but unfortunately started the boring Cena/Big Show feud that no one wanted. Probably the best Last Man Standing match since Fully Loaded 2000. ****1/4


7/10. This was a damn good show to follow up Wrestlemania with. The main event was tremendous, the opener was great and the WWE Title match delivered. It did drag a little bit after the Jericho/Steamboat match, but it got back on track when it got to the six man tag match. A recommended show.