Backlash (2003)
Backlash | |||
---|---|---|---|
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 | |||
| |||
Backlash chronology | |||
|
The 2003 Backlash was the fifth
The
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. At Bad Blood, Goldberg defeated Jericho via pinfall after a Jackhammer. Brock Lesnar began a storyline with Big Show over the WWE Championship. At Judgment Day, Lesnar defeated Big Show in a Stretcher match to retain the WWE Championship. Triple H engaged in a storyline with Kevin Nash over the World Heavyweight Championship. At Judgment Day, Nash defeated Triple H via disqualification; due to WWE regulations, Triple H retained the championship.
Production
Background
Storylines
The
The other primary match at Backlash was a WWE Championship match between John Cena and the reigning champion, Brock Lesnar. Their feud began February 13 episode of SmackDown!, during a one-on-one match with Lesnar and Cena, which ended with Lesnar almost ending Cena's career by using the F-5 to propel his leg into the ring post, putting Cena temporarily out of action. At WrestleMania XIX, Lesnar challenged for the WWE Championship held by then-champion Kurt Angle. Toward the end of the match, Lesnar massively botched a shooting 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 of SmackDown!, General Manager Stephanie McMahon announced a WWE Championship tournament, 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 defeated Chris Benoit in the finals on the April 17 episode of SmackDown! to earn a WWE Championship match.[15][16] On the April 24 episode of SmackDown!, their feud intensified during a main event match involving Lesnar and A-Train, where Cena interfered by breaking a pinfall attempt by Lesnar. After the match, Cena hit Lesnar with his trademark chain and the WWE Championship belt.[17][18]
The main match on the
The other main match on the undercard from the SmackDown! brand, was the encounter of
Event
Role: | Name: |
---|---|
English commentators | Jonathan Coachman (Raw) |
Jerry Lawler (Raw) | |
Michael Cole (SmackDown!) | |
Tazz (SmackDown!)
| |
Spanish commentators | Carlos Cabrera |
Hugo Savinovich | |
Interviewers
|
Lilian Garcia |
Terri Runnels | |
Ring announcers | Howard Finkel (Raw) |
Tony Chimel (SmackDown!) | |
Referees | Charles Robinson (Raw) |
Nick Patrick (Raw) | |
Earl Hebner (Raw) | |
Chad Patton (Raw) | |
Brian Hebner (SmackDown!) | |
Jim Korderas (SmackDown!)
| |
Mike Sparks (SmackDown!) |
Sunday Night Heat
Before the event aired
Main card
The first match was a
The second match was
The third match was for the
The fourth match was for the
The fifth match was
The sixth match was for the
The seventh match on the
Main event
In the
Reception
Backlash 2003 had 345,000 buys. The event was named the Worst Major Wrestling Show of 2003 by the Wrestling 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]
Aftermath
After Backlash, The Rock left WWE to primarily focus on his acting career, as he filmed Walking Tall, a film co-produced by WWE Films, which released in 2004.[30] Goldberg would begin a feud with Chris Jericho beginning on the April 28, 2003 episode of Raw, during Jericho's first episode of the Highlight 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 in WCW, sparking a feud between the two wrestlers.[31][32] Less than a month later, on the May 12, 2003 episode of Raw, a mystery assailant attempted to run over Goldberg as he was sitting in his limousine.[33][34] The following week on Raw, Co-Raw General Manager Steve Austin interrogated several Raw superstars to find out who was the assailant. One of those interrogated was Lance 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 of Raw, Goldberg yet again was a guest on the Highlight Reel, where Jericho and Goldberg agreed to a match at Bad Blood.[37][38] At Bad Blood, Goldberg defeated Jericho via pinfall, after a Jackhammer.[39][40][41][42]
The aftermath of the six-man tag team match from Backlash, was a feud over the
The 2003 Backlash would be the final Backlash to feature wrestlers from the SmackDown! brand until the 2007 event as the next three years' events were held exclusively for the Raw brand.[53][54][55][56]
Results
No. | Results Singles match 14:03 | | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Tournament bracket
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:
Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
Chris Benoit | Sub | |||||||||||||
A-Train | ||||||||||||||
Chris Benoit | Pin | |||||||||||||
Rhyno | ||||||||||||||
Big Show | ||||||||||||||
Rhyno | DQ | |||||||||||||
Chris Benoit | ||||||||||||||
John Cena | Pin | |||||||||||||
The Undertaker | Pin | |||||||||||||
Rey Mysterio | ||||||||||||||
The Undertaker | ||||||||||||||
John Cena | Pin | |||||||||||||
Eddie Guerrero | ||||||||||||||
John Cena | Pin |
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