Backlash > WrestleMania
Posted on Apr 28, 2009 by Sam Hoffman
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For the first time in the history of WWF/WWE, Backlash was better than WrestleMania. No, I'm not kidding. No, I'm not insane. If you saw Backlash, there is no way you can argue that it was better than WrestleMania. If you didn't see Backlash, I pity you.
Quick Fact:
Backlash 2009 was the first PPV in WWE history where every world title (yes, I count the ECW Championship as a world title) changed hands. It took me about an hour going through every PPV since One Night Stand 2006 to find that fact, so I hope you appreciated it.
Anyways, I'll admit it. Backlash had a terrible card. Seriously, why were Punk and Kane even fighting? Why would Steamboat be able to beat Jericho by himself when he couldn't beat him with two partners? Why waste valuable PPV time to include a Khali Kiss Cam featuring Santina Marella!? But one thing's for sure: Backlash was KICKASS.
What ever happened to interesting posters?
There. Much better.
Backlash started off with the ECW Championship match. In my predictions, I said this was going to be the best ECW Championship match we've seen since Christian and Swagger faced off on ECW a few months ago. I hate to be cocky, but hell, I was right. This was just the perfect way to start off the show, and this was at least ten times better than HHH VS. Orton in the main event of WrestleMania. I'm tellin' ya, ECW's getting good. Back to the match, great exhibition. Swagger was game, and so was Christian. Unpredictable, to say the least. To top it all off, a perfect finish, in which Swagger got "a taste of his own medicine" to help Captain Charisma hit the Killswitch (Unprettier) and get the pin.
4/5
Better than...oh wait. ECW didn't have a match at WrestleMania.
You've come a long way, Christian.
Now, I forgot to tell you, this isn't exactly a review. Everything you'll hear in this is just what I thought of a few matches and why the PPV was better than WrestleMania. Therefore, I'm skipping out on fully reviewing Punk VS. Kane and Jericho VS. Steamboat. I'll just give you a real quick review on both of them.
Punk VS. Kane: Solid match. Few good spots, but still lame.
2/5
Better than Money In The Bank at WrestleMania? No.
Steamboat VS. Jericho: Old people can't wrestle. Period.
1/5
Better than Legends Handicap match at WrestleMania? No.
Moving on, I might as well cover the "Santina" segment. When the Khali Kiss Cam was scheduled for Backlash, I was pissed.
Now this statement is completely honest, and I'm not being paid by WWE to say this. That was the funniest segment I have ever seen since the Attitude Era ended. I couldn't breathe laughing at it. The whole J.R. thing was hilarious, Beth being racist and stepping out of the PG rating was awesome, and for some reason, the funniest part for me was when Santina shouted, "Ring the bell! Ring the bell!" Comic genius.
Better than almost everything at WrestleMania? Yes.
Next, we have Matt VS. Jeff. Actually, this came before the Khali Kiss Cam, but I'm doing this my way (my excuse for the fact that I forgot the order and I'm too lazy to fix it). I didn't expect much from this match, and honestly, I didn't get much from this match. I have to admit, their match at WrestleMania is far too underrated. I thought there was a chance they could bring it back in this match, but they just couldn't. Good spots, and a hilarious ending, but overall, a mediocre match.
2/5
Better than their match at WrestleMania? No.
I'm shocked to learn that the 6-man tag match isn't the main event. It's promoted much more than every other match on the card, and HHH is Vince's son. But, I'm glad. Edge and Cena deserve the main event. The match, overall, was alright. Rhodes, McMahon, and Batista weren't really trying, or so it seemed. They should have made much more tags. Either way, great ending (even though it was botched by the time keeper or bell ringer or whatever).
3/5
Better than Orton VS. HHH at WrestleMania? Yes.
Finally, we come down to the main event. This was easily the HBK VS. Undertaker of Backlash. Amazing match, easily the best Cena has ever had, and possibly Edge's best. Taking it to the crowd, through the arena (that should've lasted longer than ten seconds), and back to the stage area. Mike took my "always wanted to be in the spotlight" joke. I guess the early bird gets the worm. Anyways, perfect match. I loved it. WWE really hit a home run on this one.
5/5
Better than the triple threat at WrestleMania? HELL YEAH!
Yes Edge, you're a genius. Now if only you can figure out how to win a match without interference.
OK. This was a bad card, I'll admit, but it was a hell of a show. It exceeded WrestleMania in many ways. And for those of you who read my predictions (likely, no one), I correctly predicted every match except for Jericho VS. Steamboat. Which leaves me 6 out of 7. Woo hoo!
Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed Backlash as much as I did. Over and out,
Hoffer
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