Backlash
Promotional poster featuringTeam Angle
Promotion	World Wrestling Entertainment
Brand(s)	Raw SmackDown!
Date	April 27, 2003
City	Worcester, Massachusetts
Venue	Worcester Centrum
Attendance	10,000
Buy rate	345,000[1]
Pay-per-view chronology
← Previous WrestleMania XIX Next → Judgment Day
Backlash chronology
← Previous 2002 Next → 2004

The 2003Backlash was the fifthBacklashprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV) event produced byWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion'sRaw andSmackDown!brand divisions. The event took place on April 27, 2003, at theWorcester Centrum inWorcester, Massachusetts. It was the first Backlash event held under the WWE name after the promotion was renamed from World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to WWE in May 2002 and the last Backlash to be sponsored byCastrol GTX. The concept of the pay-per-view was based around the backlash fromWrestleMania XIX.

Themain event and featured match of the Raw brand was the encounter ofGoldberg andThe Rock, where Goldberg, in his first WWE pay-per-view, defeated The Rock bypinfall, following aspear and aJackhammer. The featured match on theundercard was aWWE Championship match from the SmackDown! brand, betweenJohn Cena and the reigning champion,Brock Lesnar, where Lesnar defeated Cena by pinfall after anF-5. The other predominant match on the undercard was asix-man tag team match from the Raw brand, between the team ofTriple H,Ric Flair, andChris Jericho facingShawn Michaels,Kevin Nash, andBooker T. Triple H, Flair, and Jericho won the match by pinfall, after Triple H hit Nash with asledgehammer. The predominant undercard match from the SmackDown! brand was the encounter of theBig Show andRey Mysterio, where Big Show pinned Mysterio after achokeslam.

The event grossed $450,000 with 10,000 ticket sales and had a 0.67 buyrate. Following the event, Goldberg began a feud with Chris Jericho. AtBad Blood, Goldberg defeated Jericho via pinfall after a Jackhammer. Brock Lesnar began a storyline with Big Show over the WWE Championship. AtJudgment Day, Lesnar defeated Big Show in aStretcher match to retain the WWE Championship. Triple H engaged in a storyline with Kevin Nash over theWorld Heavyweight Championship. At Judgment Day, Nash defeated Triple H viadisqualification; due to WWE regulations, Triple H retained the championship.

Backlash is apay-per-view (PPV) event that was established byWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 1999. The concept of the pay-per-view was based around the backlash from WWE's flagship event,WrestleMania.^[2] The 2003 event was the fifth Backlash and featured the backlash fromWrestleMania XIX. It was scheduled to take place on April 27, 2003, at theWorcester Centrum inWorcester, Massachusetts and featured wrestlers from theRaw andSmackDown!brand divisions.^[3] It was also the first Backlash event held under the WWE name after the company changed its name from World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to WWE in May 2002.^[4]

Themain event at Backlash was the encounter ofGoldberg andThe Rock; the mainfeud from theRawbrand heading into the event. The feud began on the March 31 episode ofRaw, where The Rock held a segment entitledRock Appreciation Night, a segment intended to promote his win againstSteve Austin atWrestleMania XIX. During the segment, The Rock discussed the list of people he has beaten in his career, including Austin, and proclaimed he was leaving WWE since he had nothing left to accomplish, and because the fans didn't appreciate him anymore. Goldberg then made his WWE debut, as he came down to the ring and stated that he would be The Rock's next challenger. After the confrontation, Goldbergspeared The Rock.^[5][6] On the April 7 episode ofRaw, Goldberg and The Rock had another confrontation, where Goldberg provoked The Rock into answering his challenge, but The Rock refused.^[7][8] The Rock finally accepted Goldberg's challenge on the April 14 episode ofRaw via satellite.^[9][10] On the April 21 episode ofRaw, the feud intensified as The Rock held anotherRock Concert segment, where he mocked Goldberg withGillberg, a wrestler whosegimmick was to parody Goldberg. Later into the segment, Goldberg appeared from the audience and entered the ring, only to have The Rock execute aRock Bottom on him.^[11][12]

The other primary match at Backlash was aWWE Championship match betweenJohn Cena and the reigning champion,Brock Lesnar. Their feud began February 13 episode ofSmackDown!, during a one-on-one match with Lesnar and Cena, which ended with Lesnar almost ending Cena's career by using theF-5 to propel his leg into the ring post, putting Cena temporarily out of action. AtWrestleMania XIX, Lesnar challenged for the WWE Championship held by then-championKurt Angle. Toward the end of the match, Lesnar massivelybotched ashooting star press when he severely underestimated the distance and did not fully rotate his body, slamming his head into Angle's side and ribcage. This stunned Lesnar and he suffered a massive concussion, which forced Angle to improvise the finish of the match. Lesnar then capitalized and regained the WWE title. On the April 3 episode ofSmackDown!,General ManagerStephanie McMahon announced a WWE Championshiptournament, where the winner would receive a WWE Championship match at Backlash against Lesnar.^[13][14] John Cena, who had recently recovered from his aforementioned leg injury, was involved in the tournament, where he defeatedChris Benoit in the finals on the April 17 episode ofSmackDown! to earn a WWE Championship match.^[15][16] On the April 24 episode ofSmackDown!, their feud intensified during a main event match involving Lesnar andA-Train, where Cena interfered by breaking a pinfall attempt by Lesnar. After the match, Cena hit Lesnar with histrademark chain and the WWE Championship belt.^[17][18]

The main match on theundercard from the Raw brand, was asix-man tag team match involving the team ofTriple H,Ric Flair, andChris Jericho againstShawn Michaels,Kevin Nash, andBooker T. The feud began on the March 31 episode ofRaw in a backstage segment, where Booker T was being medically attended to following hisWorld Heavyweight Championship match with Triple H at WrestleMania XIX. Ric Flair came into the scene to confront and taunt Booker T for losing, angering Booker T, who promptly threatened Flair. Later in the night, Jericho cut apromo where he complained that he should have won his match against Michaels at WrestleMania XIX. After the promo, Booker T defeated Jericho in their scheduled match viadisqualification after Ric Flair interfered in the match and attacked Booker T. This also brought Triple H down to the ring, and he, Jericho, and Flair attacked Booker T simultaneously. The attack caused Shawn Michaels to come down to the ring to help Booker T to no avail, as Jericho locked Michaels in theWalls of Jericho, while Triple H locked Booker T in anIndian deathlock.^[5][6] On the April 7 episode ofRaw, Kevin Nash entered the feud during a main event tag team match with Triple H and Jericho facing Michaels and Booker T. After Booker T pinned Triple H to earn the victory for his team, Flair came into the ring and attacked Booker T, followed by Jericho attacking Michaels with asteel chair. The attack led to the shocking return of Kevin Nash, who had been sidelined with an quadriceps injury, and he attacked Jericho and Flair. After this turn of events, Triple H prepared to hit Nash with asledgehammer, only to retreat the ring soon afterwards.^[7][8] One week later, Nash said that he wanted himself, Michaels and Triple H to all be friends again, only for Triple H to tell him that he and Michaels could never be friends again. Triple H would go on to suggest that he and Nash should instead side together against Michaels, since it was Michaels who turned on Nash in 1994. This brought Michaels into the ring, and a heated argument ensued between the three. Later that night, Triple H and Flair fought against Booker T and The Hurricane and lost thanks to Michaels. Jericho then attacked Michaels and Nash came to the rescue, but accidentally hit Booker T with the sledgehammer. The feud intensified on the April 21 episode ofRaw during a main eventWorld Heavyweight Championship match between Booker T and the reigning champion, Triple H, with Michaels as thespecial guest referee. During the match, Michaelssuperkicked Triple H, resulting in Flair and Jericho coming into the ring and attacking Michaels and Booker T. Nash then came down to the ring, where he laid out Jericho and Flair. He also helped Michaels and Triple H back to their feet, only to receive alow blow by Triple H.^[11][12]

The other main match on the undercard from the SmackDown! brand, was the encounter ofThe Big Show andRey Mysterio. The feud began on the April 17 episode ofSmackDown!, during a tag team match pitting Mysterio andTajiri against Big Show andA-Train. Big Show and A-Train won the match via pinfall. After the match, however, Tajirisprayed green mist into A-Train's face, while Mysterio delivered a619 on Big Show, which caused him to collapse onto the floor. After the match in a backstage segment, Big Show appeared angry with Mysterio for supposedly being embarrassed by him.^[15][16] The feud escalated during the April 24 episode ofSmackDown!, during a match between Big Show and Tajiri. After Big Show performed achokeslam on Tajiri, Mysterio came down to the ring and distracted Big Show, which caused Big Show to chase Mysterio at ringside, resulting in Tajiri winning the match viacountout.^[17][18]

Before the event airedlive onpay-per-view,Scott Steiner defeatedRico in a match onSunday Night Heat, which aired onTNN.^[20][19]

The first match was atag team match for theTag Team Championship betweenLos Guerreros (Eddie Guerrero andChavo Guerrero) andTeam Angle (Shelton Benjamin andCharlie Haas).^[21][19] The match began with Team Angle gaining an early advantage over Los Guerreros, after they performed aleapfrog stun gun on Eddie. Benjamin and Haas then prevented Eddie from tagging Chavo into the match for a period of time, but Chavo was eventually tagged into the match, where he gained the advantage over Haas. While Chavo was the legal wrestler in the match, Eddie illegally entered the ring and executed afrog splash on Haas, leading to an unsuccessful pin attempt by Chavo. After the pin attempt, Eddie and Benjamin fought at ringside, where Benjamin tripped Chavo, who was in the ring about to perform asuplex on Haas. Benjamin held Chavo's leg down, allowing Haas to pin Chavo and retain the titles.^[22][23]

The second match wasSean O'Haire (withRoddy Piper) versusRikishi.^[24][19] O'Haire gained the early advantage, as heclotheslined Rikishi. Rikishi was able to retaliate with astink face attempt. Piper attempted to hit Rikishi with acoconut, but Rikishi broke it over Piper's head. The distraction allowed O'Haire to perform theProphecy on Rikishi for a pinfall.^[23][25]

The third match was for theWorld Tag Team Championship betweenThe Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley andD-Von Dudley) and the reigning champions,Kane andRob Van Dam, withChief Morley as thespecial guest referee.^[21][24] The match began with Kane and Van Dam in control of the match, after Kane performed aspinebuster on Bubba Ray. D-Von, though, gained the advantage after delivering asidewalk slam onto Van Dam. Later in the match, Kane regained control, which proceeded into achokeslam attempt on Bubba Ray. Morley, however, gave Kane alow blow. Afterwards,Lance Storm attempted to interfere in the match on Kane and Van Dam's behalf, to no avail, which proceeded with a3-D from The Dudley Boyz onto Morley, thus knocking out the official of the match. The distraction by Morley and Storm allowed Kane to successfully deliver a chokeslam, followed by aFive-Star Frog Splash onto Bubba, into a pinfall officiated by a new referee, to retain the title.^[22][26]

The fourth match was for theWomen's Championship, whereJazz, who was accompanied byTheodore Long, faced the reigning champion,Trish Stratus.^[20][27] As part of the storyline, Stratus came into the match with injured ribs and was advised not to wrestle by doctors, but was forced to wrestle anyway byRaw General Manager,Eric Bischoff. Both women wrestled a back-and-forth match, until Stratus gained the advantage over Jazz by performing a Stratusfaction (springboardbulldog) on her. During the pin attempt, Long threw his shoe at Stratus's head, causing the pin to be broken. The ending of the match saw Stratus attempting to perform a springboard sunset flip on Jazz, only for Jazz to counter it by sitting on her while grabbing the middle rope to win the title.^[23][26]

The fifth match wasBig Show versusRey Mysterio.^[21][20] Throughout the match, Mysterio used his quickness against Big Show's size advantage, including performing two619s on Big Show. During a third attempt, Mysterio attempted aWest Coast Pop but Big Show countered the move into achokeslam for the pinfall. After the match, Mysterio was placed and strapped onto astretcher byEMTs. Big Show picked up the stretcher with Mysterio still on it and slammed it against the ring post, similar to swinging abaseball bat.^[22][25]

The sixth match was for theWWE Championship betweenJohn Cena and the reigning champion,Brock Lesnar.^[24][27] Lesnar gained the early advantage over Cena by performing asuplex and slamming Cena's head on the broadcast table. Cena retaliated as he threw Lesnar into the steel steps. Lesnar then delivered aspinebuster on Cena, regaining control of the match. After aspear from Lesnar which sent Cena into the ring corner, Cena attempted to push Lesnar into the referee to no avail. The distraction allowed Cena to hit a low blow on Lesnar. Cena attempted to hit Lesnar with a steel chain, but the referee confiscated the chain before he could use it on Lesnar. The situation allowed Lesnar to perform theF-5 on Cena to retain the title.

The seventh match on themain card was a six-man tag team match between the team ofTriple H,Ric Flair, andChris Jericho facing the team ofShawn Michaels,Kevin Nash, andBooker T.^[20][27] Triple H's team took the early advantage, after Triple H illegally entered the ring and performed aPedigree on Michaels. Michaels' team, however, took control of the match when Nash was tagged in and dominated all three opposers. As Nash wrestled Jericho, Booker T performed thescissors kick on Flair, which proceeded into Nash and Triple H brawling at ringside, Jericho and Booker T brawling at ringside, and Flair and Michaels wrestling in the ring. As Flair and Michaels wrestled, Flair was able to lock in thefigure-four leg lock, while Jericho illegally entered the match and performed aLionsault on Michaels, who was locked in the hold. Nash, who continued to brawl with Triple H at ringside, noticed the turn of events and entered the ring where he delivered aJackknife Powerbomb on Jericho and threw Flair onto the referee. As the referee was knocked down, Triple H hit Nash with asledgehammer and pinned him, earning the victory for himself, Flair, and Jericho.^[23][25]

In themain event,Goldberg facedThe Rock.^[24][27] Early into the match, The Rock taunted Goldberg at ringside to avoid wrestling him. As The Rock reentered the ring, Goldberg performed aRock Bottom on him to gain the early advantage. Goldberg went for a spear, but The Rock dodged it, resulting in Goldberg hitting the ring post. The Rock took advantage over the situation, as he locked Goldberg in asharpshooter. Goldberg broke the hold by grabbing the ring ropes. After shoving the referee away and hitting Goldberg with a low blow, The Rock attempted a Rock Bottom, but Goldberg speared him. The Rock was able to perform a spinebuster, Rock Bottom, another spinebuster and aPeople's Elbow on Goldberg for a near-fall. Afterwards, Goldberg delivered two spears and aJackhammer for the pinfall.^[28][29]

Backlash 2003 had 345,000 buys. The event was named the Worst Major Wrestling Show of 2003 by theWrestling Observer Newsletter.Dave Meltzer's ratings for the event reflect the negative reception, as he rated the WWE Tag Team Championship match the highest at 3 stars. Cena vs. Lesnar was rated 1.25 stars (which was the same rating received by the heavily criticised main event), the World Tag Team Championship match received 1.75 stars (same as the WWE Women's Championship match), while Show vs. Mysterio was rated 1 star. The 6-man tag match was rated 2.5 stars, while the lowest-rated match was Rikishi vs. Sean O' Haire (0.5 stars).^{[citation needed]}

After Backlash,The Rock left WWE to primarily focus on hisacting career, as he filmedWalking Tall, a film co-produced byWWE Films, which released in 2004.^[30]Goldberg would begin a feud withChris Jericho beginning on the April 28, 2003 episode ofRaw, during Jericho's first episode of theHighlight Reel, an interview show, where Goldberg was the guest. During the segment, Jericho stated that no one wanted Goldberg in WWE, especially Jericho. Jericho stated that it was because of Goldberg that Jericho was held down and not given opportunities inWCW, sparking a feud between the two wrestlers.^[31][32] Less than a month later, on the May 12, 2003 episode ofRaw, a mystery assailant attempted to run over Goldberg as he was sitting in hislimousine.^[33][34] The following week onRaw,Co-Raw General ManagerSteve Austin interrogated several Raw superstars to find out who was the assailant. One of those interrogated wasLance Storm, who admitted that he was guilty. Austin then forced Storm into a match with Goldberg, who defeated Storm via pinfall. After the match, Goldberg forced Storm to admit who put him up to it. Storm admitted that Jericho was the superstar who conspired Storm into running him over.^[35][36] On the May 26, 2003 episode ofRaw, Goldberg yet again was a guest on theHighlight Reel, where Jericho and Goldberg agreed to a match atBad Blood.^[37][38] At Bad Blood, Goldberg defeated Jericho via pinfall, after aJackhammer.^{[39][40][41][42]}

Brock Lesnar engaged in a feud againstBig Show over theWWE Championship. The feud began on the May 1, 2003 episode ofSmackDown!, where Lesnar cut an in-ringpromo against Big Show, stating that he was a coward for attacking and injuringRey Mysterio at Backlash. Big Show later appeared on the stage, where he challenged Lesnar into a WWE Championship match.^[43][44] The following week onSmackDown!, it was announced that Big Show would face Lesnar for the WWE Championship atJudgment Day in aStretcher match. Later that night, the feud escalated during aHandicap match betweenChris Benoit and the team of Big Show andA-Train. Benoit lost via pinfall; after the match, Benoit wasdouble-teamed by Big Show and A-Train. The double-team caused Lesnar to come and assist Benoit to no avail, as Big Show performed achokeslam on Lesnar.^[45][46] At Judgment Day, Lesnar defeated Big Show in the Stretcher match to retain the WWE Championship.^{[47][48][49][50]}

The aftermath of the six-man tag team match from Backlash, was a feud over theWorld Heavyweight Championship betweenKevin Nash and the reigning champion,Triple H. The feud began on the April 28, 2003 episode ofRaw, during a tag team match for theWorld Tag Team Championship involving Triple H andRic Flair facing the reigning champions,Kane andRob Van Dam. As Triple H attempted a pinfall on Van Dam, Nash came down to the ring and chased Triple H to the backstage area with asledgehammer. Triple H then ran towards a limousine, where Nash smashed the windows with the sledgehammer and threw it into the limousine, as it drove off with Triple H.^[31][32] The following week onRaw, Raw Co-General Managers Stone Cold Steve Austin andEric Bischoff announced a World Heavyweight Championship match between Nash and Triple H at Judgment Day. At Judgment Day, Triple H retained the World Heavyweight Championship after deliberately getting himself disqualified.^[51][47][52]

The 2003 Backlash would be the final Backlash to feature wrestlers from the SmackDown! brand until the2007 event as the next three years' events were held exclusively for the Raw brand.^{[53][54][55][56]}

The tournament to determine the number one contender for the WWE Championship match was held between April 3 and April 17, 2003. The tournament brackets were:

• Official Backlash (2003) website

• Professional wrestling shows in Massachusetts
• WWE Backlash
• 2003 in Massachusetts
• Events in Worcester, Massachusetts
• 2003 WWE pay-per-view events
• April 2003 in the United States

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