WWE Backlash 2005
WWE Backlash 2005 (5/1/2005)- Manchester, NH
BONUS SUNDAY NIGHT HEAT STUFF:
(This was actually an extra on the DVD, but if you are going to have it on the DVD and it sets up the PPV, they should really just put it in front of the PPV on the same track, like TNA used to do with their countdown shows back in 2005).
TOMKO & CHRISTIAN PROMO- Christian promises to do something tonight that will make everyone stand up and take notice of him. He also got some good heat picking on Lillian.
DAIVARI & HASSAN PROMO- dull.
TYSON TOMKO vs. VAL VENIS- 4.25/10
ACTUAL PPV:
WWE INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE MATCH: Shelton Benjamin(c) vs. Chris Jericho- 7.5/10
Fantastic opener with tons of great counters.
EDGE PROMO- eh. More exposition about the finish of the Money in the Bank Ladder match from WrestleMania than an actual promo.
TAG TEAM TURMOIL MATCH FOR THE WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES: The Heart Throbs vs. William Regal & Tajiri(c) vs. Simon Dean & Maven vs. La Resistance vs. The Hurricane & Rosie- 5/10
Decent match with a cool finish.
LAST MAN STANDING MATCH: Chris Benoit vs. Edge- 8/10
Yeah, even after both Edge’s earlier promo and now the pre-match video package, I still don’t understand how a feud about Edge going after Benoit’s ARM led to a Last Man Standing match. That being said, the match itself was pretty awesome with lots of brutal spots.
KANE & LITA BACKSTAGE- SOOOO creepy. Props to Kane for his facial expression when Lita started describing a naked Viscera having sex with Trish.
JERRY LAWLER INTERVIEWS THE DIVAS- Why the hell are they wasting my time with this on PPV? I actually popped when Chris Masters interrupted them and sent them to the back.
MASTERLOCK CHALLENGE- Masters chooses a FEMALE plant… who is actually indy wrestler Melissa Coates. Masters makes a few amusing jokes implying that he can’t determine her gender then puts her in the Masterlock, which she can’t break.
TRISH & VISCERA BACKSTAGE- okay.
KANE (w/Lita) vs. VISCERA (w/Trish Stratus)- 4/10
They never explicitly stated what it was, but there seemed to be some sort of agreement here between Trish and Viscera that if Vis won, he would get to go on a date with/have sex with Trish. This was just kind of plodding along. Not the huge big-man confrontation I expected. All of the stuff on the outside with Trish and Lita was good, though.
After the match Trish berated Viscera and told him that even if he won, she had no intention of sleeping with him… so Vis crushes her with a bear hug then hits her with a big splash, causing Trish to be stretched off. The crowd totally ate this up.
HULK HOGAN & SHAWN MICHAELS vs. MUHAMMED HASSAN & DAIVARI- 4/10
Want to know why everyone was so afraid when it was announced that Hulk Hogan was coming to TNA? It’s because of sh*t like this. Shawn does all of the selling while Hulk completely and totally squashes two men whose combined ages are less than his. The only reason I am even giving this a four was the crowd. Look at Shawn’s face when he is in the ring after the match with Hogan while they do all of Hogan’s poses together (none of Shawn’s signature poses, of course) and you can tell just how unhappy he is. After the post-match celebration has already dragged on for WAY too long, they grab a fat plant wearing a Hulkamania shirt from the crowd and Hulk rips the guys shirt off to reveal (I swear am not making this up) a giant tattoo of Hulk Hogan spanning his entire flabby back. After watching this celebration I am so f*cking sick of Hogan that I hope I never have to see him wrestle again.
TRIPLE H PROMO- very good
CHRISTIAN PROMO- he tells us about the upcoming WWE Draft, then raps about all of the other main eventers in the WWE. If you want an idea of what this was like imagine one of Cena’s old raps, but with no rhythm at all. This seemed designed to set up for a feud between Christian and Cena, but that never materialized.
WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Batista(c) vs. Triple H (w/Ric Flair)- 8/10
Batista got a pretty pathetic pop for a babyface World Heavyweight Champion making his first PPV title defense. The build to this match was all about the fact that the Pedigree could put Batista down (Hunter hadn’t been able to hit him with it at WrestleMania), so having Hunter finally hit the Pedigree right after a ref bump and then have the ref not be able to count the pin felt very backward. That is usually how we screw a babyface out of winning a title, not a heel. It did give them a reason for another rematch, though, albeit with the same exact build going in as this one. Hunter also worked over Batista’s back a lot and Batista was just his gigantic, powerful, monstrous self, giving this match a bit more of a nuanced story than just â€"Hunter tries to hit his finisher.â€
Overall, a very up and down show from the WWE. The good stuff was awesome, but the bad stuff was pretty bad. I’d recommend getting this show, but just remember that the fast forward button is your friend.
BONUS SUNDAY NIGHT HEAT STUFF:
(This was actually an extra on the DVD, but if you are going to have it on the DVD and it sets up the PPV, they should really just put it in front of the PPV on the same track, like TNA used to do with their countdown shows back in 2005).
TOMKO & CHRISTIAN PROMO- Christian promises to do something tonight that will make everyone stand up and take notice of him. He also got some good heat picking on Lillian.
DAIVARI & HASSAN PROMO- dull.
TYSON TOMKO vs. VAL VENIS- 4.25/10
ACTUAL PPV:
WWE INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE MATCH: Shelton Benjamin(c) vs. Chris Jericho- 7.5/10
Fantastic opener with tons of great counters.
EDGE PROMO- eh. More exposition about the finish of the Money in the Bank Ladder match from WrestleMania than an actual promo.
TAG TEAM TURMOIL MATCH FOR THE WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES: The Heart Throbs vs. William Regal & Tajiri(c) vs. Simon Dean & Maven vs. La Resistance vs. The Hurricane & Rosie- 5/10
Decent match with a cool finish.
LAST MAN STANDING MATCH: Chris Benoit vs. Edge- 8/10
Yeah, even after both Edge’s earlier promo and now the pre-match video package, I still don’t understand how a feud about Edge going after Benoit’s ARM led to a Last Man Standing match. That being said, the match itself was pretty awesome with lots of brutal spots.
KANE & LITA BACKSTAGE- SOOOO creepy. Props to Kane for his facial expression when Lita started describing a naked Viscera having sex with Trish.
JERRY LAWLER INTERVIEWS THE DIVAS- Why the hell are they wasting my time with this on PPV? I actually popped when Chris Masters interrupted them and sent them to the back.
MASTERLOCK CHALLENGE- Masters chooses a FEMALE plant… who is actually indy wrestler Melissa Coates. Masters makes a few amusing jokes implying that he can’t determine her gender then puts her in the Masterlock, which she can’t break.
TRISH & VISCERA BACKSTAGE- okay.
KANE (w/Lita) vs. VISCERA (w/Trish Stratus)- 4/10
They never explicitly stated what it was, but there seemed to be some sort of agreement here between Trish and Viscera that if Vis won, he would get to go on a date with/have sex with Trish. This was just kind of plodding along. Not the huge big-man confrontation I expected. All of the stuff on the outside with Trish and Lita was good, though.
After the match Trish berated Viscera and told him that even if he won, she had no intention of sleeping with him… so Vis crushes her with a bear hug then hits her with a big splash, causing Trish to be stretched off. The crowd totally ate this up.
HULK HOGAN & SHAWN MICHAELS vs. MUHAMMED HASSAN & DAIVARI- 4/10
Want to know why everyone was so afraid when it was announced that Hulk Hogan was coming to TNA? It’s because of sh*t like this. Shawn does all of the selling while Hulk completely and totally squashes two men whose combined ages are less than his. The only reason I am even giving this a four was the crowd. Look at Shawn’s face when he is in the ring after the match with Hogan while they do all of Hogan’s poses together (none of Shawn’s signature poses, of course) and you can tell just how unhappy he is. After the post-match celebration has already dragged on for WAY too long, they grab a fat plant wearing a Hulkamania shirt from the crowd and Hulk rips the guys shirt off to reveal (I swear am not making this up) a giant tattoo of Hulk Hogan spanning his entire flabby back. After watching this celebration I am so f*cking sick of Hogan that I hope I never have to see him wrestle again.
TRIPLE H PROMO- very good
CHRISTIAN PROMO- he tells us about the upcoming WWE Draft, then raps about all of the other main eventers in the WWE. If you want an idea of what this was like imagine one of Cena’s old raps, but with no rhythm at all. This seemed designed to set up for a feud between Christian and Cena, but that never materialized.
WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Batista(c) vs. Triple H (w/Ric Flair)- 8/10
Batista got a pretty pathetic pop for a babyface World Heavyweight Champion making his first PPV title defense. The build to this match was all about the fact that the Pedigree could put Batista down (Hunter hadn’t been able to hit him with it at WrestleMania), so having Hunter finally hit the Pedigree right after a ref bump and then have the ref not be able to count the pin felt very backward. That is usually how we screw a babyface out of winning a title, not a heel. It did give them a reason for another rematch, though, albeit with the same exact build going in as this one. Hunter also worked over Batista’s back a lot and Batista was just his gigantic, powerful, monstrous self, giving this match a bit more of a nuanced story than just â€"Hunter tries to hit his finisher.â€
Overall, a very up and down show from the WWE. The good stuff was awesome, but the bad stuff was pretty bad. I’d recommend getting this show, but just remember that the fast forward button is your friend.