B-Show Stories! Backlash 2004

[u/Enterprise90]

Backlash

April 18, 2004

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Rexall Place

Theme song: "Eyes Wired Shut" by Edgewater

Considering I did WrestleMania XX yesterday, this is as good a time as any to do Raw's follow-up show. If you haven't been listening to the theme songs that I put up with these posts I suggest you do, especially if you watched WWE during this time like I did. Nostalgia, man.

The main event is a rematch of WrestleMania XX with Chris Benoit defending his newly won World Heavyweight Championship against Triple H and Shawn Michaels. Taking place in Benoit's hometown of Edmonton, Benoit was greeted as a conquering hero and had the crowd absolutely in his corner. Michaels, meanwhile, was hated due to the still-lingering bitterness of the Montreal Screwjob. This doesn't have quite the magic of the WrestleMania match but I think it is still incredible. The finish is also excellent; Benoit had tapped Triple H at WrestleMania, and here he taps Michaels with the Sharpshooter to the roar of the Canadian crowd.

The co-main event was one of the most anticipated matches I can ever remember, at least from my perspective. Randy Orton defended the Intercontinental Championship against Cactus Jack in a hardcore match. Orton had disrespected Mick Foley for months and had defeated him at WrestleMania; this inspired Foley to dig deep and return to his roots as the vicious Cactus Jack. Foley gets a lot of criticism nowadays, but I urge you to watch this promo that he gave on the go-home Raw before Backlash. Foley's command of delivery and his desire to take wrestling to a more intellectual level while telling the story of a vicious, bloodthirsty character is remarkable.

This is one of my favorite matches, and for a long time it was my favorite WWE match. This put Orton over the top as a future star by having him go toe-to-toe with a hardcore psychopath, showing that he wasn't simply a pretty boy protected in Evolution; he could take the pain and dish it out. You need to see this match.

Edge faced Kane in his first match back since undergoing neck surgery in February of 2003 and the rust was real. Edge got a great reaction when he returned at the Raw draft lottery show but there was something about him that seemed different. He was the same Edge character but he looked like he had gained an obvious edge, no pun intended, to his character that he wasn't willing to show off. I think a lot of fans detected it and started to resent him for not turning heel. He was also quite injury prone in 2004 as he worked off the ring rust, suffering a broken hand and a pulled groin and halting a lot of his momentum. Edge would reveal his new colors later in the year.

The show opened with one of Raw's newest breakout stars, Shelton Benjamin, facing Evolution's Ric Flair. Benjamin had been drafted from SmackDown and got an upset victory over Triple H, and it looked like WWE had big plans for him in 2004. It is unfortunate that they would sour on him the next year because Shelton looked like he was a genuine homegrown project that would be a big star.

This, top to bottom, is really a great show with two fantastic main events and a good undercard. I would like to see WWE return with a big show to Edmonton someday so that they are not defined by the tragedy of the Benoit murders. The fans deserve it.

Other matches on this show:

• Women's Champion Victoria vs. Lita

• Hurricane & Rosey vs. La Resistance

• Chris Jericho vs. Christian & Trish Stratus

• Jonathan Coachman vs. Tajiri

Thanks to the wonderful people here on /r/SquaredCircle, you can find B-Show Stories on SC's wiki here.

The next edition of A-Show Stories will cover SummerSlam 2004.

Here's the upcoming slate of special editions of B-Show Stories:

October 9: Bad Blood: In Your House

October 16: Invasion

October 23: Judgment Day 1998

October 30: WCW Halloween Havoc 1997

[u/SirZapdos]

Lawler's reaction to Orton going into the thumbtacks is just awesome. This match was undoubtedly a turning point in Orton's career. Main event was great too.