Throwback Thursday: Looking back at WWE Backlash 2001

WWE Backlash 2001

Date: April 29, 2001

Venue: Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Ill.

Some random notes

This event came at a very interesting time in the wrestling industry.

By 2001, WWE was rolling at an all-time high. The company was coming off the heels of what I considered to be greatest WrestleMania of all time in Houston, but more importantly, the ink was still drying on arguably the most important transaction in wrestling history — WWE's purchase of World Championship Wrestling.

If WWE buying its stiffest competition to date wasn't enough evidence that times were changing in the wrestling business, there was also the heel turn of the top drawing babyface of all time, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

While I consider WrestleMania 17 to be the best one yet, it ended with the odd decision of turning Austin into a villain.

Austin always had villainous tendencies, but was always a hero at the end of the day, albeit of the anti variety.

But when he shook the hand of the evil Vince McMahon in front of the entire world, Austin became a full-blown heel.

This may have been the third annual Backlash pay-per-view, but in hindsight it was the first pay-per-view of a new era in not only WWE but in professional wrestling as a whole..

Jim Ross, who was joined by Paul Heyman at the announcing table, said at the top of the broadcast that there were 17,154 people in attendance, making the 18th consecutive time WWE had sold out the venue at that point.

With that said, let's get to the matches:

X-Factor def. The Dudley Boyz

This was a six-man tag team match, where Bubba Ray and D-Von teamed up with their runt of a brother, Spike.

X-Factor was a short-lived faction comprised of X-Pac, Justin Credible and Albert.

There wasn't much to the match itself, as it was rather pedestrian by pay-per-view standards. X-Factor maintained control of Spike and D-Von until the latter was able to tag in Bubba Ray, who jumped into the ring and cleaned house.

Bubba Ray and D-Von were ready to get the tables, but Albert booted D-Von right in the face, as he was getting a table from under the ring.

That allowed X-Factor to overwhelm Bubba Ray, which culminated with Credible and X-Pax hitting him a double super kick to pick up the victory.

The win wasn't enough for X-Factor, as the trio attempted to put Bubba Ray through a table.

But Spike and D-Von intercepted the cruel act and committed one of their own when Bubba Ray and D-Von put X-Pac through a table courtesy of the 3-D.

WWE Hardcore championship – Rhyno def. Raven

In a matchup between two former ECW World Heavyweight champions, Raven and Rhyno hit each other with everything they could get their hands on, including the kitchen sink.

That is not a figure of speech either. There was literally a kitchen sink used in the match.

For what it was, Rhyno and Raven put in a very good effort and the Chicago fans showed their appreciation by being invested into the match.

The end of the match came when Rhyno used a handicap sign to wallop Raven upside the head. He followed that up with a couple of trashcans to the cranium.

Rhyno then backed into a corner to set up the gore, but Raven moved out of the way, which sent Rhyno headfirst through the back of the shopping cart that Raven brought to the ring.

Raven capitalized by bashing Rhyno with the kitchen sink and went for the pin, but Rhyno somehow kicked out.

Raven tried to hit Rhyno with the kitchen sink again, but Rhyno gored him before he could get the chance and picked up the victory.

Duchess of Queensbury Rules – William Regal def. Chris Jericho

Duchess of Queensbury rules — not to be confused with Marquess of Queensberry rules for boxing — was something that Regal made up in an effort to get Jericho in a match of his liking.

Although Regal went to great lengths to make it seem like Duchess of Queensbury rules was a real thing — Regal even brought the supposedly real Duchess of Queensbury to oversee the match — it was obvious that he was literally making up the rules as he went along, which was quite entertaining.

What was not entertaining was the woman playing the Duchess, as she was an awful actress and Jericho rightfully insulted her before the match.

I'm not sure if she was playing the character poorly on purpose or what. Either way, it did not come off well.

As for the match itself, it played out like a standard wrestling match at first. The only problem was that no one knew the rules, not even the announcers. Which only added to the story that Regal was making this stuff up.

Jericho began the match with a flurry of offense before Regal slowed him down and took over.

Jericho eventually made a comeback that culminated with him hitting the lionsault, but before he could go for a cover, the bell rang.

The Duchess then called over ring announcer Howard Finkel so that he could announce that the time limit for round one had expired. How convenient.

The action went back and forth in the impromptu second round before Jericho locked Regal in the walls of Jericho. Regal tapped out and the bell rang, which made it seem like Jericho had secured the victory.

However, Finkel announced that a Duchess of Queensbury rules match could not be won by submission.

Jericho became fed up and made his way toward the Duchess. Regal intercepted him and eventually hit Jericho in the face with the Duchess' scepter.

The bell rang again to apparently disqualify Regal, but the Duchess spoke to Finkel again, who announced that there are no disqualifications.

Regal rolled Jericho back into the ring and regained control. Jericho fought back and took advantage of the seemingly makeshift Duchess of Queensbury rules by hitting Regal with a low blow.

Regal left the ring to recover, but Jericho used a baseball slide to knock him into the lap of the Duchess. Regal seemed repulsed and embarrassed before being knocked down by Jericho.

Jericho then shoved the Duchess' security aside and tossed her into the ring so that he could put her in the walls of Jericho.

Regal thwarted Jericho with a trio of chair shots before pinning him to pick up the win.

30-minute Ultimate Submission match – Chris Benoit def. Kurt Angle, 4-3 (OT)

One thing I noticed during this match was Ross calling Benoit the "Wolverine Machine".

I had always heard Benoit referred to as the "Rabid Wolverine," but I guess Ross was work shopping a new nickname for him on this night. Let's just say that it did not stick.

The rules of an ultimate submission match are very similar to an ironman match with the exception of there being submissions only. After each submission, there was a 30-second rest period before the match continued.

Angle and Benoit engaged in some mat wrestling for the first five minutes of the match.

Benoit locked Angle in the cross face on the outside of the ring, but submissions did not count out there.

Angle showcased some frustration by picking up a steel chair, but he opted against using it. Angle began favoring his shoulder, but eventually revealed that he was playing possum, as he suckered Benoit in and locked him in a knee bar.

Benoit quickly submitted to give Angle a 1-0 lead.

Angle and Benoit began throwing strikes a little more than seven minutes into the match, but the important thing was that Angle worked on Benoit's knee.

But out of nowhere, Benoit locked Angle in the cross arm breaker, which forced Angle to tap out and tie the score, 1-1.

After the 30-second rest period was up, Benoit went right back on the attack, which he focused on Angle's shoulder.

Angle retreated to the ropes, but Benoit refused to back off. The referee tried to pry Benoit off Angle, but Benoit shoved him across the ring for his troubles.

While the referee recovered from the shove, Angle picked up the chair he grabbed earlier and hit Benoit in the head with it.

Angle took advantage of the opening by locking in the ankle lock, which forced Benoit to tap out and give Angle a 2-1 lead.

Angle didn't want to adhere to the 30-second rest period and stomped Benoit multiples. As soon as the 30 seconds was up, Angle put Benoit in the cross face.

Benoit stood no chance, as he submitted to his own hold, giving Angle a 3-1 advantage with less than 20 minutes to go. A 3-1 lead did not work out of the Golden State Warriors once upon a time, and it came back to bite Angle on this night.

Angle held court until Benoit countered an abdominal stretch it into across arm breaker. Angle quickly crawled to the ropes to break the hold, but Benoit kept up the onslaught by locking in the sharpshooter.

Angle somehow made it to the ropes to break the hold again, but that didn't stop Benoit from slapping on a half Boston crab, which forced Angle to tap out and make the score 3-2 with almost 11 minutes to go.

As soon as the 30-second rest period was up, Angle went in full retreat mode in an effort to milk the clock, but Benoit eventually caught up to him continued the fight.

Every chance Angle got, he kept his distance from Benoit. At on point, Angle tossed Benoit out of the ring and saw to it that Benoit didn't get back in. Benoit eventually got back in, but was Angle was ready for him, as the Olympic gold medalist took control.

Benoit eventually landed a series of German suplexes and put Angle in the ankle lock to gain another submission, tying the match up, 3-3, with just over two minutes remaining.

When the rest period was over, Benoit went straight after Angle's legs. Angle countered with an illegal blow that the referee didn't see.

Angle then put Benoit in the ankle lock with 30 seconds to go, but Benoit made it to the ropes to break the hold. Angle got the ankle lock on again with 10 seconds to go, but time ran out.

The referee went to Finkel and had him announce that the match continue in sudden death overtime.

Ankle reluctantly got back into the ring and went back to work on Benoit. However, Benoit found a way to lock on the cross face and forced Angle to submit and win the match.

Angle, like the Warriors, blew a 3-1 lead.

Last Man Standing match – Shane McMahon def. Big Show

Vince McMahon was apparently still fuming over the fact that his son purchased WCW right from under his nose and then beating him in a street fight at WrestleMania, so he put him in a last man standing match against Big Show.

Despite Shane McMahon having every reason to fear for his life, he still came out his usual confident self and even showed off his new theme song called Here Comes the Money.

Shane McMahon tried to chop down the much larger Big Show with weapons and even ether but to no avail, as the giant pummeled Shane McMahon into oblivion.

However, instead of pinning Shane McMahon and getting it over with, Big Show kept picking up his opponent before the count of 10.

Test eventually ran down to help Shane McMahon, but Big Show beat the crap out of him.

Big Show beat Test all the way to the Backlash set. Shane McMahon followed them with a weapon in hand and used it on Big Show.

Big Show eventually got his hands on a massive lead pipe and tried to use it on Shane McMahon. Shane McMahon tried to escape by climbing up the staging structure in a scene reminiscent to his match against Steve Blackman at SummerSlam the year before.

Big Show attempted to follow Shane McMahon, but Test thwarted him. Meanwhile, Shane McMahon had made his way to the very top.

Test gave his blessing for Shane McMahon to leap off and crash into Big Show, which I guess Shane McMahon took literally because he crossed his heart and took the leap of faith from a good 40 feet in the air.

The referee began counting to 10, which prompted Test to use some ingenuity and grab one of the boom cameras to prop up Shane McMahon before the referee finished his count.

Once the referee counted to 10, Shane McMahon immediately fell into Test's arms.

WWE European championship – Matt Hardy def. Christian & Eddie Guerrero

Despite all of the talent involved, there really wasn't much to this match. It was merely a buffer between the last man standing bout and the main event.

At one point, Edge ran to the ring and speared Matt Hardy. Guerrero almost took advantage by pinning Matt Hardy, but he kicked out.

Jeff Hardy then ran down and attacked Edge.

Chaos ensued, but it culminated with Matt Hardy hitting the twist of fate on Christian to retain his title.

WWE, Intercontinental & Tag Team championship – The Power Trip def. The Brothers of Destruction

In an effort to garner more heat, Austin chose to team up with Triple H.

On one hand, Austin's decision was a smart one, as Triple H was coming off a stellar year as WWE's top villain.

But when you think about the fact that Triple H and Austin had a very heated rivalry leading into WrestleMania, it didn't make much sense. I mean, Austin had just lost to Triple H in a three stages of hell match two months prior.

At the end of the day, however, turning Austin heel didn't make much sense to begin with.

All four men involved were champions. Austin, who wore red knee braces on this night, was obviously still the WWE champion after winning at WrestleMania. Meanwhile, Triple H was the Intercontinental champion for the first time since 1998.

Kane and The Undertaker seemed as unstoppable as ever as the WWE World Tag Team champions, but walked into the match with a bit of weakness: Kane's left elbow.

Kane's injured elbow was heavily bandaged heading into the match and would inevitably come into play at some point.

Despite that, Austin and Triple H were very reluctant to get into the ring. Every time Triple H tried to get into the ring, he had the crap knocked out of him by The Undertaker.

Triple H and Austin attempted to walk out of the match, but The Undertaker and Kane cut them off at the pass to begin the fight.

Although Austin had been a heel for more than a month, he did something most fans thought they would never see from him and that was beg off from a babyface. It was just another sign that Austin was a true heel.

After taking a beating, Triple H and Austin tried to escape again, but Kane tracked them down and tossed Austin back into the ring.

The Undertaker met Austin in the ring and tried to deliver the last ride power bomb, but Triple H thwarted him, which allowed the bad guys to finally gather some momentum.

The Undertaker fought off Austin and Triple H, but refused to tag in his brother due to his bad arm.

Austin quickly jumped on The Undertaker to regain the advantage.

Kane eventually tagged himself into the match and took on both Austin and Triple H with basically one arm.

Austin cut off Kane's momentum by attacking his injured left arm. He even hit Kane's arm with a steel chair while the referee was occupied with Triple H.

Triple H slammed Kane's arm on the steel steps for good measure.

Triple H even hit the pedigree and tagged in Austin to make the cover, but The Undertaker broke it up.

The referee was being bothered by Triple H and Stephanie McMahon again, which allowed The Undertaker to choke slam Austin.

Meanwhile, the referee shoved Stephanie McMahon off the ring apron. Kane covered Austin, but the WWE champion kicked out before the count of three.

Kane knocked Triple H into the official before tagging in his brother. Since the referee did not see the tag, Kane was still technically the legal man.

Despite pleas from the referee for The Undertaker to leave the ring, he still dished out punishment to Austin and Triple H. He even hit Triple H with the last ride power bomb, but he was not the legal man.

The Undertaker was not happy with the referee's decision and gripped him up by his shirt. Austin hit The Undertaker from behind, which knocked him into the official and sent him tumbling out of the ring.

Austin and The Undertaker fought outside of the ring while Stephanie McMahon handed her husband a title belt to hit Kane with.

Kane countered with a boot to Triple H's face. Kane went for a choke slam, but Stephanie McMahon jumped into the ring and ran after him.

Kane quickly shoved Triple H away and stuck out his boot for Stephanie McMahon to run right into.

Vince McMahon then showed up with a sledgehammer, but was unable to use after being choked by Kane. Vince McMahon somehow managed to pass the sledgehammer over to Triple H, who used it on Kane's bad arm.

Triple H used it again to Kane's head while Vince McMahon picked up the referee, who crawled into the ring and counted to three, giving Austin and Triple H the WWE, Intercontinental and Tag Team titles.

Triple H and Austin held the tag titles for nearly a month before losing them to Jericho and Benoit on a very memorable episode of Raw that saw Triple H tear quadriceps and sit out the rest of the year.

Vaughn Johnson has a podcast with Nick Piccone called the Straight Shooters on WildfireRadio.com. Check it out here HERE.