The 2003 Backlash was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the fifth annual Backlash and took place on April 27, 2003, at the Worcester Centrum in Worcester, Massachusetts, held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions. The concept of the event was based around the backlash from WrestleMania XIX.
This was the first Backlash held under the WWE name after the promotion was renamed from World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to WWE in May 2002. It was also the last Backlash to feature multiple brands until 2007, as beginning with Bad Blood in June, all monthly PPVs outside of the "Big Four" (WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and Royal Rumble) became brand-exclusive until brand-exclusive PPVs were discontinued after WrestleMania 23 in April 2007. The event grossed US$450,000 with 10,000 ticket sales and had a 0.67 buyrate.
The main event and featured match of the Raw brand was the encounter of Goldberg and The Rock, where Goldberg, in his first WWE pay-per-view, defeated The Rock by pinfall, following a spear and a Jackhammer. The featured match on the undercard was a WWE Championship match from the SmackDown! brand, between John Cena and the reigning champion, Brock Lesnar, where Lesnar defeated Cena by pinfall after an F-5. The other predominant match on the undercard was a six-man tag team match from the Raw brand, between the team of Triple H, Ric Flair, and Chris Jericho facing Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, and Booker T with Triple H's World Heavyweight Championship on the line. Triple H, Flair, and Jericho won the match by pinfall, after Triple H hit Nash with a sledgehammer thus retaining his title. The predominant undercard match from the SmackDown! brand was the encounter of the Big Show and Rey Mysterio, where Big Show pinned Mysterio after a chokeslam.
Production Background
Backlash is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event that was established by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 1999. The concept is based around the backlash from WWE's flagship event, WrestleMania. The fifth event featured the backlash from WrestleMania XIX. It was scheduled to take place on April 27, 2003, at the Worcester Centrum in Worcester, Massachusetts and was held for wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions. This was also the first Backlash held under the WWE name after the company changed its name from World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to WWE in May 2002.
Storylines
The main event at Backlash was the encounter of Goldberg and The Rock; the main feud from the Raw brand heading into the event. The feud began on the March 31 episode of Raw, where The Rock held a segment entitled Rock Appreciation Night, a segment intended to promote his win against "Stone Cold" Steve Austin at WrestleMania 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, Goldberg speared The Rock. On the April 7 episode of Raw, Goldberg and The Rock had another confrontation, where Goldberg provoked The Rock into answering his challenge, but The Rock refused. The Rock finally accepted Goldberg's challenge on the April 14 episode of Raw via satellite. On the April 21 episode of Raw, the feud intensified as The Rock held another Rock Concert segment, where he mocked Goldberg with Gillberg, a wrestler whose gimmick was to parody Goldberg. Later into the segment, Goldberg appeared from the audience and entered the ring, only to have The Rock execute a Rock Bottom on him.
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. 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. 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.
The main match on the undercard from the Raw brand, was a six-man tag team match involving the team of Triple H, Ric Flair, and Chris Jericho against Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, and Booker T. The feud began on the March 31 episode of Raw in a backstage segment, where Booker T was being medically attended to following his World 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 a promo 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 via disqualification 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 the Walls of Jericho, while Triple H locked Booker T in an Indian deathlock. On the April 7 episode of Raw, 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 a steel 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 a sledgehammer, only to retreat the ring soon afterwards. 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 of Raw during a main event World Heavyweight Championship match between Booker T and the reigning champion, Triple H, with Michaels as the special guest referee. During the match, Michaels superkicked 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 a low blow by Triple H.
The other main match on the undercard from the SmackDown! brand, was the encounter of The Big Show and Rey Mysterio. The feud began on the April 17 episode of SmackDown!, during a tag team match pitting Mysterio and Tajiri against Big Show and A-Train. Big Show and A-Train won the match via pinfall. After the match, however, Tajiri sprayed green mist into A-Train's face, while Mysterio delivered a 619 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. The feud escalated during the April 24 episode of SmackDown!, during a match between Big Show and Tajiri. After Big Show performed a chokeslam 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 via countout.
Event + Other on-screen personnelRole:Name:English commentatorsJonathan Coachman Jerry Lawler Michael Cole Tazz Spanish commentatorsCarlos CabreraHugo SavinovichInterviewersLilian GarciaTerri RunnelsRing announcersHoward Finkel Tony Chimel RefereesCharles Robinson Nick Patrick Earl Hebner Chad Patton Brian Hebner Jim Korderas Mike Sparks
Sunday Night Heat Before the event aired live on pay-per-view, Scott Steiner defeated Rico in a match on Sunday Night Heat, which aired on TNN.
Main card
The first match was a tag team match for the WWE Tag Team Championship between Los Guerreros (Eddie Guerrero and Chavo Guerrero) and Team Angle (Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas). The match began with Team Angle gaining an early advantage over Los Guerreros, after they performed a leapfrog 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 a frog 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 a suplex on Haas. Benjamin held Chavo's leg down, allowing Haas to pin Chavo and retain the titles.
The second match was Sean O'Haire (with Roddy Piper) versus Rikishi. O'Haire gained the early advantage, as he clotheslined Rikishi. Rikishi was able to retaliate with a stink face attempt. Piper attempted to hit Rikishi with a coconut, but Rikishi broke it over Piper's head. The distraction allowed O'Haire to perform the Prophecy on Rikishi for a pinfall.
The third match was for the World Tag Team Championship between The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley) and the reigning champions, Kane and Rob Van Dam, with Chief Morley as the special guest referee. The match began with Kane and Van Dam in control of the match, after Kane performed a spinebuster on Bubba Ray. D-Von, though, gained the advantage after delivering a sidewalk slam onto Van Dam. Later in the match, Kane regained control, which proceeded into a chokeslam attempt on Bubba Ray. Morley, however, gave Kane a low blow. Afterwards, Lance Storm attempted to interfere in the match on Kane and Van Dam's behalf, to no avail, which proceeded with a 3-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 a Five-Star Frog Splash onto Bubba, into a pinfall officiated by a new referee, to retain the title.