| Backlash | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster featuringEdge, parodying the movieThe Shining | |||
| Promotion | World Wrestling Entertainment | ||
| Brand(s) | Raw SmackDown! ECW | ||
| Date | April 29, 2007 | ||
| City | Atlanta,Georgia | ||
| Venue | Philips Arena | ||
| Attendance | 14,500[1] | ||
| Buy rate | 210,000[2] | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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| Backlash chronology | |||
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The 2007Backlash was aprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV)event produced byWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the ninthBacklash and took place on April 29, 2007, at thePhilips Arena inAtlanta,Georgia, held for wrestlers from the promotion'sRaw,SmackDown!, andECWbrand divisions. It was WWE's first monthly PPV held to feature all three brands after the company discontinued brand-exclusive PPVs. The concept of the pay-per-view was based around the backlash fromWrestleMania 23.
The main match on the Raw brand was afatal four-way match for theWWE Championship involving championJohn Cena,Randy Orton,Edge, andShawn Michaels. Cena won the match and retained the championship afterpinning Orton. The primary match on the SmackDown! brand was aLast Man Standing match for theWorld Heavyweight Championship betweenThe Undertaker andBatista, which ended in a no-contest after both men failed get to their feet before the referee counted to ten. The featured match on the ECW brand wasBobby Lashley versus Team McMahon (Umaga,Vince andShane McMahon) in ahandicap match for theECW World Championship. Vince won the title and the match for his team after pinning Lashley.
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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.[3] The 2007 event was the ninth Backlash and featured the backlash fromWrestleMania 23. It was scheduled to take place on April 29, 2007, at thePhilips Arena inAtlanta,Georgia.[4] From 2004 to 2006, Backlash was held exclusively for theRawbrand, but following WrestleMania 23, WWE discontinued brand-exclusive PPVs.[5] The 2007 Backlash was the first PPV held following this change and thus featured wrestlers from Raw,SmackDown!, andECW.[4]
Themain event scripted into Backlash on the Raw brand was afatal four-way match for theWWE Championship, a standard match involving four wrestlers betweenJohn Cena,Edge,Shawn Michaels, andRandy Orton. At theRoyal Rumble in January, Michaels was one of the final two participants in theRoyal Rumble match before being eliminated byThe Undertaker.[6][7] On the February 5 episode ofRaw, Michaels earned the right to become the number-one contender for the WWE Championship atWrestleMania 23 after defeating Orton and Edge in atriple threat match.[8] At WrestleMania, Cena defeated Michaels to retain the WWE Championship after forcing Michaels to submit to theSTFU.[9] On the April 9 episode ofRaw, a number one contender's match between Michaels and Orton for the WWE Championship ended in ano contest after both men's shoulders were on the mat while they were pinning one another. Later that night, during Edge's talk show,"The Cutting Edge", Edge claimed thatRaw General ManagerJonathan Coachman had named him the number-one contender to the WWE title. Honorary General Manager Michael Pena, from theMake-a-Wish Foundation, however, announced that Michaels, Orton, and Edge would face Cena for the title at Backlash in a fatal four-way match.[10]
The main rivalry on the SmackDown! brand was between The Undertaker andBatista over theWorld Heavyweight Championship. At the Royal Rumble, The Undertaker won the 2007 Royal Rumble match. As a result, he was given the right to a world title match at WrestleMania for any of WWE's three major championships (ECW World, World Heavyweight, or WWE) at WrestleMania 23.[6] On the February 5 episode ofRaw, The Undertaker teased all three respective World Champions (Bobby Lashley, Batista, and John Cena) before choosing Batista as his opponent to face at WrestleMania.[8] At WrestleMania, The Undertaker defeated Batista to win the World Heavyweight Championship to extend his WrestleMania undefeated streak to 15–0.[11][12][13] Their rivalry, however, did not end, as SmackDown! General ManagerTheodore Longbooked aLast Man Standing match between The Undertaker and Batista at Backlash.[14]
The main rivalry on theECW brand was betweenBobby Lashley and Team McMahon (Umaga,Vince andShane McMahon), in which Lashley and Vince were feuding over the ECW World Championship. The rivalry started on the February 26 episode ofRaw, when Lashley was selected byDonald Trump to compete at WrestleMania 23. Lashley was selected to compete against Vince's representative, Umaga, inHair vs. Hair match, a match in which the loser's representative would have to get his head shaved bald.[15] At WrestleMania, Lashley defeated Umaga, and after the match, Trump and Lashley shaved Vince's head bald.[16] On the April 9 episode ofRaw, Shane challenged Lashley to a Hair vs. Title match for the ECW World Championship. Shane got himself intentionally disqualified, but did not get his head shaved. After the match, Umaga and Vince and Shane attacked Lashley. After the beating, Vince announced that Lashley would have to defend the ECW World Championship against Team McMahon at Backlash in a three-on-onehandicap match.[10]
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Englishcommentators | Jim Ross(Raw) |
| Jerry Lawler(Raw) | |
| Michael Cole(SmackDown!) | |
| John "Bradshaw" Layfield(SmackDown!) | |
| Joey Styles(ECW) | |
| Tazz(ECW) | |
| Spanish commentators | Carlos Cabrera |
| Hugo Savinovich | |
| Interviewers | Todd Grisham |
| Maria Kanellis | |
| Ring announcers | Justin Roberts(Raw/ECW) |
| Tony Chimel(SmackDown!) | |
| Referees | Mike Chioda(Raw) |
| Chad Patton(Raw) | |
| Jim Korderas(SmackDown!) | |
| Mickie Henson(SmackDown!) | |
| Marty Elias(Raw) | |
| Jack Doan(Raw) | |
| Scott Armstrong(ECW) |
Before the event airedlive on pay-per-view,Carlito defeatedJohnny Nitro in adark match.[18] The first match of the event wasThe Hardys (Matt Hardy andJeff Hardy) versusLance Cade and Trevor Murdoch for theWorld Tag Team Championship. Cade and Murdoch controlled a majority of the match; however, The Hardys won the bout when Matt pinned Murdoch after aTwist Of Fate, which was followed by Jeff'sSwanton Bomb.[19]
The match that followed wasMelina versusMickie James for theWWE Women's Championship. The match was short lived, as Melina performed anInverted DDT on Mickie James and pinned her to retain the WWE Women's Championship.[20]
The third match was betweenChris Benoit andMontel Vontavious Porter for theWWE United States Championship. Benoit and MVP struggled throughout the match, attempting to gain the upper hand. In the end, Benoit pinned MVP with asmall package to retain the WWE United States Championship.[21]
The three-on-one handicap ECW World Championship match between champion Bobby Lashley and Team McMahon (Umaga, Vince McMahon, and Shane McMahon) was next. Shane struck Lashley with the ECW World Championship belt and Umaga executed adiving splash on Lashley. Umaga thentagged in Vince, who scored a near-fall. Vince then tagged in Umaga, who executed a second diving splash on Lashley. After being tagged in again, Vince pinned Lashley to win the ECW World Championship and the match for his team.[22][23]
The next match was The Undertaker against Batista in a Last Man Standing Match for the World Heavyweight Championship. At onespot, Undertaker executed aleg drop through an announce table on Batista. Towards the end, the two fought up the entrance ramp, where Batista executed aspear to The Undertaker off the stage. Neither man could get to their feet before the referee's count of ten; in result, the match ended in a draw. Due to WWE regulations, titles can't change hands in a Last Man Standing match by a draw, so The Undertaker remained champion.[24]
The main event was John Cena against Edge, Randy Orton, and Shawn Michaels in a fatal four-way match for the WWE Championship. During the match, Michaels performed amoonsault onto Cena, Edge, and Orton on the floor. Edge performed aspear on Orton. Cena then performed anFU to Edge. Michaels executedSweet Chin Music on Cena, who fell on Orton for the pinfall victory, retaining the title.[25]
Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch continued their rivalry with The Hardys until the two teams had a rematch atJudgment Day for the World Tag Team Championship, which The Hardys won.[26]
Chris Benoit and Montel Vontavious Porter also continued their rivalry for the WWE United States Championship, which led to atwo out of three falls match at Judgment Day, which MVP won.[27][28]
On the May 11 episode ofSmackDown!, The Undertaker defended the World Heavyweight Championship against Batista in aSteel Cage match. Both men escaped the steel cage at the same time, and The Undertaker was therefore declared still the champion. After the match,Mark Henry returned and attacked The Undertaker. Edge, who defeatedMr. Kennedy on the May 7 episode ofRaw to win theMoney in the Bank contract,[29] cashed in his opportunity and defeated The Undertaker to win the World Heavyweight Championship.[30][31]
Team McMahon's feud with Bobby Lashley continued as Mr. McMahon gave Lashley a rematch at Judgment Day, which was another three-on-one Handicap match for the ECW World Championship.[29] At Judgment Day, Lashley won the match, but Vince said that Lashley had not beaten him, as Lashley had pinned Shane instead, so Lashley was not awarded the belt.[32] The rivalry continued untilOne Night Stand, where Lashley challenged Vince to astreet fight. Lashley won the match and the ECW World Championship, and their rivalry ended.[33]
| No. | Results[18] | Stipulations | Times[1] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1D | Carlito defeatedJohnny Nitro bypinfall | Singles match | — | ||||
| 2 | The Hardys (Jeff Hardy andMatt Hardy) (c) defeatedLance Cade andTrevor Murdoch bypinfall | Tag team match for theWorld Tag Team Championship[19] | 14:18 | ||||
| 3 | Melina (c) defeatedMickie James bypinfall | Singles match for theWWE Women's Championship[20] | 09:02 | ||||
| 4 | Chris Benoit (c) defeatedMontel Vontavious Porter bypinfall | Singles match for theWWE United States Championship[21] | 13:10 | ||||
| 5 | Mr. McMahon,Shane McMahon, andUmaga defeatedBobby Lashley (c) bypinfall | Handicap match for theECW World Championship[22] Vince won the title due to pinning Lashley. | 15:45 | ||||
| 6 | The Undertaker (c) vs.Batista ended in adraw | Last Man Standing match for theWorld Heavyweight Championship[24] | 21:23 | ||||
| 7 | John Cena (c) defeatedEdge,Randy Orton andShawn Michaels bypinfall | Fatal four-way match for theWWE Championship[25] | 21:21 | ||||
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