WWE Backlash 1999 Review (4/25/1999).

29 May, 2024

A few months ago, my mom hooked me up with some of the recorded VHS tapes I had from when I was a kid of WWE PPVs, and that got me into wanting to buy the official ones from eBay. Which brings me to Backlash 1999, the only PPV I felt was worth buying from WWE from that year. As I get older, I've become more of a workrate fan, and 1999 certainly isn't remembered for workrate. That's not a bad thing. That year was still incredibly entertaining for all the crash TV elements present. Let's see if this show holds up.

1. The Brood vs. The Ministry of Darkness. This match was set up after The Undertaker tortured Christian for revealing information to Vince McMahon. Edge and Gangrel couldn't stand by and watch their ally get beat up, so they turned on the Ministry.

Mideon has an eyeball in a jar of liquid with him. Because, of course he does. Mideon and Christian start things off. Spinning heel kick by Christian. Bradshaw hammers away at Gangrel. Flying back elbow by Gangrel. An ugly drop toe hold by Gangrel next, and he and Edge pop off a double suplex.

Spinning heel kick by Edge to Faarooq, who responds with a hard spinebuster. Flying shoulder tackle by Bradshaw of all people. He and Christian start brawling. Falling headbutt to Edge. Big "Mideon Sucks" chants. Hey, they aren't wrong! Mideon tags in, and attacks Edge. The crowd doesn't like that one bit.

Edge with a middle rope spear to Mideon. Double flapjack by Christian and Gangrel. They gang up on Bradshaw. Chaos ensues! Crossbody by Edge and Christian to the Acolytes in the corner. Swinging DDT by Christian gets a 2 count. Bradshaw comes out of the corner with a huge powerbomb. Baseball slide by Edge to Faarooq.

Viscera arrives and squashes Christian. Bradshaw hits the Clothesline from Hell and gets the win. That was a decent match. Crowd was into it, though it sometimes didn't flow perfectly.

2. Hardcore Championship: Hardcore Holly vs. Al Snow. Snow has been obsessed with becoming the Hardcore Champion, which confuses commentary immensely. This is before Holly becomes "The Big Shot." The less said about that, the better.

Holly doinks Snow with the championship as the bell rings. Snow sends Holly to the outside. Snow is already bleeding! Holly sends Snow into the steel steps. He then grabs a jug of water from under the ring and hits Snow in the head with it. They fight into the crowd. Nice WCW sign - Wheel Chair Wrestling.

Snow connects with a powerslam and a moonsault off the barricade for a 2 count. Snow hits Holly in the stomach with a hockey stick. Then he smacks it off his back. Crowd pops as Snow brings a table out from under the ring. Snow smashes Holly in the head with a cookie sheet. Holly suplexes Snow on the concrete ramp way. They fight to the back, and the crowd boos the hell out of that.

Holly literally grabs a kitchen sink! He drops it when Snow sprays him with water. They send each other into the back of a car. A car alarm goes off with each impact. Snow breaks a broom over Holly's back. They fight up the steps of the arena. Holly pushes Snow off the railing into a dumpster. Holly jumps in and continues his attack.

Now they fight into the production truck. Snow tosses Holly onto the roof of a car. A flying elbow gets a nearfall. Holly smashes a pole onto Snow's back. Sgt. Slaughter can be seen standing in the background holding a format. Back in the arena now, I think the crowd was chanting "boring."

Snow doinks Holly with a frying pan. He lays Holly on the table. He scales the top and Holly doinks him with the pan. Superplex through the table by Holly. Snow just barely kicks out. Snow hits Holly in the head with Head, and that gets the win. That was okay. It went on too long for my taste. It was, like the crowd said, a little boring at times. The table spot was awesome because it actually felt like a true impact in the match.

3. Intercontinental Championship: The Godfather vs. Goldust Goldust lose the title not long before this show, and he wants it back. The Blue Meanie does his own version of Sable's prematch schtick of "for all the men who want to be me, and all the women who came to see me, who's ready for the grind?"

Godfather comes out without his hoes, and the fans actually boo him. Then, they come out. 1999, everyone. Jerry Lawler is already insufferable. Let's remember he's been accused of pedophilia in the past. Goldust gets no hoes tonight because, according to Godfather, they don't like no scrubs.

Goldust strikes first, and Godfather gets a back body drop in. Godfather sends Goldust to the outside. Goldust goes to leave, but Blue Meanie convinces him to go back. "We Want Hoes" chant ensues. High leg drop gets a two count for Godfather. Meanie distracts Godfather and Goldust sends him to to the outside.

Goldust has powder in his hands. Meanie distracts the ref. Godfather knocks the powder back into his face, and then leads a blind Goldust to the Meanie. Thinking it's Godfather, Goldust beats the hell out of Meanie, and kicks him in the nuts in the corner.

Godfather gives Goldust a "karate kick" - thanks, Jim Ross - Meanie accidentally hits Goldust in the corner. Ho Train to both, followed by a Death Valley Driver to get the win. That sucked. Zero chemistry between them. That said, everything after the powder spot was pure entertainment.

4. #1 Contenders Match: New Age Outlaws vs. Jeff Jarrett & Owen Hart. The winners get a Tag Team Title match against Kane & X-Pac. The older I get, the less of a fan I find myself being of Road Dogg. He's just not that good. Still, it can't be denied how over he got during this era. This was one of the loudest reactions of the night.

This is sadly the final PPV appearance of Owen Hart, who died tragically the following month during the Over the Edge event.

Jerry Lawler has a fucking stroke on commentary just at the sight of Debra. He even dog whistles at her. Listen, I get it. As a kid, I thought Debra was hot. And even now, she's very attractive in this. But this shit is why I hate Lawler on commentary.

Double team on Billy Gunn to start things out. Huge "Nugget" chant towards Owen. Gunn gets a press slam off on Owen. Swinging neckbreaker by Jarrett to Dogg. "Show the Puppies" chant, and it is huge. Oh lord. Double dropkicks by the Outlaws. Beautiful enziguri by Owen, followed by a legdrop.

Dropkick by Jarrett sends Dogg to the outside. Dogg with a back slide on Owen, but Jarrett has the ref distracted. Beautiful spinning heel kick into a pin gets broken up by Gunn. Jarrett and Dogg collide in the ring. More "Puppies" chants, because everyone in this crowd is a fucking pervert. Oh, and more dog whistling from Lawler. For fuck's sake.

Lawler says he's more interested in seeing puppies than the chance of the Outlaws facing off against their buddy X-Pac over the Tag Titles. Of course he is! Gunn nails two huge dropkicks and a scoop slam for a 2 count. Gunn sends Jarrett to the outside. Pump Handle Slam to Owen by Dogg gets broken up by Jarrett.

Owen puts the Sharpshooter in on Dogg, and then Gunn hits the Famouser on Owen and pins him for the win. The match was pretty okay, but you wouldn't know it. Between the crowd begging for Debra to take her top off, and Jerry Lawler acting worse than a dog in heat, how could you? This is definitely a match where someone would say "it's a product of its time." And that's not necessarily a compliment.

5. Boiler Room Brawl: Mankind vs. Big Show. The action kicks off quickly as Mankind hits Show over the back with a broom and a pipe. He slams a door into Show's hand. Show sends Mankind into a cabinet. He then tosses Mankind over a table. Show lifts the table and hits Mankind on the head with it.

Show punches a fridge by mistake. Mankind throws a bunch of sheetrock at Show's head. Show kicks a trash can into Mankind. He puts Mankind in a shopping cart and sends him running into a wall. Show powerslams him onto wood. Mankind grabs a plane of glass and smashes it over Show's head. He's now busted open.

Mankind scales a ladder, and Show chokeslams him off the ladder through two tables and more glass. Show breaks a mop over his back. Mankind's hand is bleeding pretty badly now. Show powerslams Mankind onto a wooden ramp. Mankind hits a pipe and releases some kind of steam or foam right into Show's face. He lowblows Show with a pipe. He sends Show rolling under a pile of pipes.

His fucking bloody hand prints are all over the floor and wall. Mankind escapes the Boiler Room to win, and is immediately sent back inside by Big Boss Man and Test from the Corporation. They beat the hell out of him. Show chases Boss Man off, and Mankind puts the Mandible Claw on Test.

That was a pretty brutal plunder match. It was miles better than the dreaded Referee Match from WrestleMania XV. It's crazy watching this, because a week later, Mankind, Show and Test would all form The Union with Ken Shamrock.

6. Triple H vs. X-Pac. This began back at WrestleMania XV, when Triple H turned on X-Pac to join the Corporation with Chyna, which effectively disbanded DX for most of 1999. Triple H says in a backstage promo that he made X-Pac's ass, and tonight, he's going to break it. Ah.

Great reaction for X-Pac. But, what the fuck is this theme for Triple H? It's not the famous version of "My Time," nor is it the early version of it, and it's not "Higher Brain Pattern." This sucks.

Big slap to Pac, and he explodes with punches in response. Back elbow from Triple H. A kick sends Triple H to the outside. Triple H responds by sending Pac to the outside. Pac catches a diving Triple H with a punch to the gut. Pac goes face first into the steps. A spinning heel kick drops Triple H.

Chyna distracts Pac long enough, and Triple H avoids the Bronco Buster. A big clothesline flattens Pac and hurts his neck. With the ref distracted, Chyna punches the fuck out of Pac. Guillotine by Triple H, followed by a couple of jumping knees to the back of the neck. There's a faint chant of "boring."

Facebuster drops Pac. Hard forearms to the neck, followed by a dropping elbow on the apron by Triple H. Sleeper hold by him, which Pac escapes from and gets one of his own in. Back suplex by Triple H. Spinning heel kick by Pac. Big clothesline out of the corner. DDT off the middle rope by Pac.

Chyna argues with the ref, and Pac lowblows Triple H. Pac sends Triple H into the steel steps, and he accidentally collides with the ref with a baseball slide. He hits the X Factor, and Chyna comes in with a low blow. Then, she hits the Scorpion Deathdrop! Sting, eat your heart out!

The lights go out, and here comes Kane. He and Chyna face off. A chokeslam to Triple H, followed by one to Chyna. He places both of them in opposing corners and leaves. Lawler calls him the "big red retard." Yikes. Pac hits the Bronco Buster to Triple H, and then one to Chyna. Triple H then hits the Pedigree out of nowhere for the win.

That was a really awesome match that the crowd seemingly didn't care for. It goes to show that, moments aside, they just didn't care to see these two actually wrestle. Well, whatever. I loved this. The finish, though, was as flat as days old soda.

7. Undertaker vs. Ken Shamrock. This started when Undertaker kidnapped Shamrock's sister, Ryan. Shamrock is also loyal to Vince McMahon, who is dealing with his own issues with Undertaker at this time. You know, with trying to kidnap his daughter and all.

Shamrock really was ahead of his time during this period. One day, he deserves his flowers. Shamrock goes right on the offensive. He punches Taker in the corner right in the body. Taker responds with punches of his own. A clothesline by Taker. He walks the ropes and comes down on the arm.

Diving clothesline to Shamrock, followed by a Greco Roman chokehold, Taichi style. Shamrock avoids a boot in the corner and attacks the hamstring of Taker. He ties the leg up in the ropes. Thrust kick by Taker, followed by a back suplex. Shamrock gets a knee bar submission on Taker next. He grapevines the knee to prevent escape. Faint "boring" chants from the fans.

Big right hands by Taker in the ropes. Shamrock blocks a hip toss back into a kneebar. "We Want Ryan" chant. On the outside, Shamrock kicks the leg out. He stomps the ankle on the steps. Elbow in the corner by Taker. He even does a drop toe hold! He takes top position and punches away. Shamrock counters into an armbar.

The crowd really doesn't like this match. Shamrock sends Taker off the apron to the barricade. Taker catches a dive and sends Shamrock spine first into the ring post. Forearm shots to the kidney area of Shamrock. A backbreaker, right into a stretch next. Taker drives his knees into Shamrock's back. He then drives his elbow into the back.

A power slam, followed by a leg drop, and Shamrock is able to roll into the kneebar again! Taker counters smoothly into a Half Crab. There's an ugly looking clothesline from Taker. A diving elbow and a knee from Shamrock, followed by a boot to the face from Taker.

Shamrock pops off a hurricanrana! He gets the Ankle Lock in, and then Bradshaw comes down with a baseball bat as a distraction. Shamrock counters the chokeslam into a choke hold. Belly to Belly suplex next. He goes for a Tombstone seemingly, and Taker counters into a proper Tombstone for the win. Bradshaw beats the hell out of Shamrock afterwards.

The crowd couldn't have given any less of a fuck about this match. Personally, I think this is right up there as one of Undertaker's best Attitude Era matches. He wasn't known for great ring work in this era, but here, I think he killed it. Shamrock was excellent as well.

8. WWE Championship, No Holds Barred (Special Referee: Shane McMahon): Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock. At WrestleMania XV, Austin regained the WWE Title from The Rock. He demanded that his Smoking Skull Belt be returned to him. Vince McMahon, too distracted from his issues with the Undertaker, asked Shane to return it. The Boy Wonder then got a big head and decided that he was a bigger deal than his father. He kept the belt, and gave it to The Rock.

Rock taunted Austin into getting the belt back, and ended up tossing both over a bridge into the ocean. Rock held a funeral for Austin a week later, and Austin showed up in a monster truck and destroyed everything. He was then attacked by Shane and a shovel. Shane is the guest referee, and he says that if Austin touches him, he'll be disqualified...in a No Holds Barred Match.

Big brawl to start things out. Shane instructs a ringside attendant to take the Smoking Skull belt to his office. Austin punches the hell out of Rock in the corner. Lou Thesz press by Austin, followed by hard right hands. The crowd is molten for this! Swinging neckbreaker by Rock. He sends Austin flying to the outside.

Rock connects with a clothesline on the ramp way. They fight up towards the set. Fire extinguisher to the head. As the crowd just roars, Rock tosses Austin into the side of the set, knocking the steel mesh over. Austin pops off a suplex onto the concrete. Austin tosses Rock into the opposite side of the set, also knocking that steel mesh over.

Austin uses some cable to choke Rock. He then grabs a tech case and runs it right into Rock's head. Rock explodes with a clothesline after sending Austin head first into a boom camera. Austin irish whips Rock into the barricade, and pops off a clothesline of his own. Back at ringside, Rock gets sent into the steel steps.

Austin stomps Rock in the corner, and Shane pushes him and taunts him. Austin sends Rock flying to the ringside area. He hits a diving clothesline off the apron. They fight onto the Spanish Announce Table, where Rock hits a low blow and puts Austin through it with a Rock Bottom. Rock puts on the Spanish headset and speaks clear English into it.

Austin grabs a chair, and Shane steals it from him and tosses it to Rock. Austin blocks the shot, and Rock sends Austin over the barricade. Rock smashes Austin's head off the other announce table. He uses the table cover on Austin's back. Rock grabs a camera and stands on the table, giving play by play and taking a panoramic shot of the fans. He turns to find Austin flipping him off, and eats a Stunner on the table.

Back inside the ring, Rock blocks the Stunner and sends Austin into Shane. Rock Bottom, and Austin kicks out. Shane grabs the title belt, and he accidentally hits Rock with it. Austin makes the cover, and Shane counts 2, before flipping Austin off and leaving the ring. Vince McMahon arrives with the Smoking Skull belt. He and Shane argue, and he hits Shane in the head with it.

Referee Earl Hebner is with him. Rock hits Austin with the other title belt, and Austin kicks out of that pin. Austin is up, and he hits the Stunner, followed by a belt shot. He makes the cover, and gets the 3 to retain. Vince approaches the ring, and reluctantly returns the Smoking Skull belt to Austin, and leaves.

That was an awesome plunder match with big Attitude Era vibes. These two had awesome chemistry. This blew the WrestleMania XV bout away by a lot.

Outside of the arena, Undertaker hijacks a limousine and kidnaps Stephanie McMahon, and Vince doesn't have a clue yet. That's how you do a cliffhanger ending to get people to tune in to Raw the next night.

Overall, I had fun watching Backlash. The first half was mostly garbage, but still fun to watch in pieces. I absolutely hated watching the tag team match because listening to a horny Jerry Lawler is worse than being waterboarded. The second half was awesome. I loved the Boiler Room Brawl, the two singles matches that followed were excellent - especially Undertaker/Shamrock - and the main event delivered what you would expect from this time period - big spots, brawling, a dramatic ending, and a lava hot crowd.

That's the Attitude Era for you, for better and for worse.