The 2004 Backlash was the sixth

Backlash Backlash may refer to: Literature * '' Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women'', a 1991 book by Susan Faludi * ''Backlash'' (Star Wars novel), a 2010 novel by Aaron Allston * Backlash (Marc Slayton), comic book character * ''Backla ...

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...

(PPV) event produced by

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

(WWE). It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's

Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...

brand division. The event took place on April 18, 2004, at

Rexall Place Northlands Coliseum is a now-unused indoor arena located in Edmonton, Alberta, situated on the north side of Northlands (organization), Northlands. It was used for sports events and concerts, and was home to the Edmonton Oilers of the World Hock ...

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anchor ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, thus being the only Backlash event held outside the United States until the

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

event. The concept of the pay-per-view was based around the backlash from

WrestleMania XX WrestleMania XX was the 20th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It featured professional wrestlers from both of the promotion's two brands divisions – Raw and ...

. The

main event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

was a

Triple Threat match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

for the World Heavyweight Championship involving reigning champion and hometown hero

Chris Benoit Christopher Michael Benoit (; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career including most notably the WWE, World Wrestlin ...

Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969), better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive, actor, and retired professional wrestler currently serving as the chief content officer for WWE. He is widely regarded as on ...

Shawn Michaels Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative. Widely regarded as one of ...

, which Benoit won after forcing Michaels to submit to the

sharpshooter A sharpshooter is one who is highly proficient at firing firearms or other projectile weapons accurately. Military units composed of sharpshooters were important factors in 19th-century combat. Along with "marksman" and "expert", "sharpshooter" i ...

. One of the predominant matches on the

card Card or The Card may refer to: * Various types of plastic cards: **By type ***Magnetic stripe card *** Chip card *** Digital card **By function ***Payment card ****Credit card **** Debit card ****EC-card ****Identity card ****European Health Insur ...

was

Randy Orton Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor who is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand but is currently out of action due to a back injury. H ...

versus Cactus Jack in a

Hardcore match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

for the

WWE Intercontinental Championship The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, currently defended on the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two secondary championships for WWE's main roster ...

. Orton won the match and retained the title after

pinning Pinning may refer to: * Pinning, the effect of certain weapons that cause their targets to be pinned down * Pinning ceremony (nursing), a symbolic welcoming of new graduates into the nursing profession * Pinning force, a force acting on a pinned ...

Cactus following an

RKO RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheu ...

. Another primary match on the undercard was

Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...

versus Kane, which Edge won by pinfall after executing a

spear A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...

Production

Background

is a

(PPV) event that was established by

(WWE) in 1999. The concept of the pay-per-view was based around the backlash from WWE's flagship event,

WrestleMania WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event held annually between mid-March and mid-April by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Since premiering in 1985, 37 editions followed, mos ...

. The 2004 event was the sixth Backlash and featured the backlash from

. It was scheduled to take place on April 18, 2004, at

, being the only Backlash held outside the United States. While the previous two years had featured wrestlers from both the

and SmackDown! brand divisions, the 2004 event was held exclusively for Raw.

Storylines

The main

feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...

heading into Backlash was between

, and

over the World Heavyweight Championship. Chris Benoit won the title one month prior at

when he defeated Michaels and then-champion Triple H in a

. Benoit won the match by forcing Triple H to submit to the

Crippler Crossface Professional wrestling holds include a number of set moves and pins used by performers to immobilize their opponents or lead to a submission. This article covers the various pins, stretches and transition holds used in the ring. Some wrestlers use ...

. On the March 15 episode of ''

'', Benoit and Michaels defeated

Evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

(

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanni ...

, and

Batista Batista is a Spanish language, Spanish or Portuguese language, Portuguese surname. Notable persons with the name include: * Batista (footballer, born 1955), Brazilian football player * Dave Bautista, American actor and professional wrestler, also ...

) in a 3-on-2 Handicap

tag team match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

. Benoit and Michaels won the match after Benoit forced Batista to submit to the

Sharpshooter A sharpshooter is one who is highly proficient at firing firearms or other projectile weapons accurately. Military units composed of sharpshooters were important factors in 19th-century combat. Along with "marksman" and "expert", "sharpshooter" i ...

. On the March 22 episode of ''Raw'', Triple H was drafted to the SmackDown! brand, and Raw General Manager

Eric Bischoff Eric Aaron Bischoff (born May 27, 1955) is an American television producer, professional wrestling booker, and performer. He is best known for serving as Executive Producer and later Senior Vice President of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and ...

announced that Michaels would receive a World Heavyweight Championship match against Benoit at Backlash. On the March 25 episode of ''SmackDown!'', SmackDown! General Manager

Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler, Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg, Olympic gold medalist in American freestyle wrestling, and former Collegiate wrestling, ...

announced that Triple H had been traded back to the Raw brand in exchange for

The Dudley Boyz The Dudley Boyz (also known as Team 3D) are an American professional wrestling tag team that consisted of kayfabe half-brothers Bubba Ray Dudley (Mark LoMonaco) and D-Von Dudley (Devon Hughes). The team was also joined by various Dudley family me ...

and

Booker T Booker T or Booker T. may refer to * Booker T. Washington (1856–1915), African American political leader at the turn of the 20th century ** List of things named after Booker T. Washington, some nicknamed "Booker T." * Booker T. Jones (born 1944) ...

. On the March 29 episode of ''Raw'', Bischoff made the one-on-one World Heavyweight Championship match between Benoit and Michaels a Triple Threat match also involving Triple H. The other main match on the card was a

for the

between

and Cactus Jack. Three months prior at the

Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle roya ...

, after Mick Foley eliminated Orton and himself from the

Royal Rumble match The Royal Rumble match is a professional wrestling match based on the classic Battle Royal match in which a number of wrestlers (traditionally 30) aim at eliminating their competitors by tossing them over the top rope, with both feet touching the ...

, Orton hit Foley with a steel chair, and the two brawled up the ramp and into the back. At WrestleMania XX, Evolution (Orton, Batista, and Ric Flair) faced off against The

Rock 'n' Sock Connection The Rock 'n' Sock Connection was a professional wrestling tag team of The Rock and Mankind/Mick Foley who wrestled in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) between 1999 and 2000 and briefly in 2004. As a team, they held the WWF Tag Team Championsh ...

(Foley and The Rock) in a

Handicap match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

. Evolution won the match when Orton pinned Foley after an

. On the March 29 episode of ''Raw'', Foley challenged Orton to a Hardcore match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship at Backlash, which Orton accepted that same night. Mick Foley added another stipulation that Evolution will be banned from ringside. Another feud heading into the event was between

Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler and singer. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of the Jeri ...

against

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

and

Trish Stratus Patricia Anne Stratigeas (; born December 18, 1975) better known by the ring name Trish Stratus is a Canadian professional wrestler, actress and yoga instructor. She is currently signed to WWE. Often regarded as one of the greatest Women's Per ...

. At WrestleMania XX, Christian defeated Jericho. After the match, Stratus, Jericho's on-screen girlfriend at the time, turned on Jericho and joined Christian. On the April 5 episode of ''Raw'', Christian announced that he would be teaming up with Stratus to take on Jericho in a

at Backlash.

Event

Preliminary matches

Before the event went live on pay-per-view,

Val Venis Sean Allen Morley (born March 6, 1971), better known by the ring name Val Venis, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/WWE) from ...

defeated

Matt Hardy Matthew Moore Hardy (born September 23, 1974) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is best known for his time with WWE. With his real life brother Jeff, Hardy gained notoriety in WWF's tag team d ...

in a match taped for '' Sunday Night Heat''. The first match that aired was between

Shelton Benjamin Shelton James Benjamin (born July 9, 1975) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under his real name. He is also known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Pro Wres ...

and

. After back and forth action between the two, Flair attempted to use

brass knuckles Brass knuckles (variously referred to as knuckles, knucks, brass knucks, knucklebusters, knuckledusters, knuckle daggers, English punch, iron fist, paperweight, or a classic) are "fist-load weapons" used in hand-to-hand combat. Brass knuckles ...

on Benjamin but Benjamin splashed Flair from behind. Benjamin then performed a

diving clothesline Aerial techniques, also known as "high-flying moves" are maneuvers in professional wrestling using the ring's posts and ropes as aids, in many cases to demonstrate the speed and agility of smaller, nimble and acrobatically inclined wrestlers prefer ...

on Flair for the win. Next was a match between

Jonathan Coachman Jonathan William Coachman (born August 12, 1973), also known as "The Coach", is an American sports analyst and former professional wrestling personality currently signed to WWE and XFL. Early life Before embarking on an announcing career in p ...

and Tajiri. During the match, Garrison Cade interfered on Coachman's behalf, allowing Coachman to roll-up Tajiri for the win. The third match of the event was

versus

and

in a Handicap match. Jericho won the match by pinning Christian after throwing him onto Stratus and executing an enziguiri. In the next match,

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

faced Lita for the

WWE Women's Championship WWE (formerly the WWF, WWWF, and its predecessor, Capitol Wrestling) has maintained several women's professional wrestling championships since acquiring The Fabulous Moolah's NWA World Women's Championship in 1984. Whenever brand division has be ...

. Both women evenly controlled the match. The match ended when Victoria pinned Lita with an Inside Cradle. After the match,

Molly Holly Nora Kristina Benshoof (''née'' Greenwald; born on September 7, 1977) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler signed to WWE as a producer, she is best known for her appearances with the said company from 2000 to 2005 under the ring na ...

and

Gail Kim Gail Kim-Irvine (born February 20, 1977) is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler, currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where she serves as a producer. In Impact Wrestling she was the inaugural and record setting seven-time Knockou ...

attacked both Lita and Victoria. Orton 05

Next was a

between

and Cactus Jack for the

. with the stipulation Evolution were banned from ringside. One

spot Spot or SPOT may refer to: Places * Spot, North Carolina, a community in the United States * The Spot, New South Wales, a locality in Sydney, Australia * South Pole Traverse, sometimes called the South Pole Overland Traverse People * Spot (prod ...

in the match saw Cactus lie a

barbed wire A close-up view of a barbed wire Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire Barbed wire, also known as barb wire, is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strands. Its primary use is t ...

baseball bat A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal club used in the sport of baseball to hit the ball after it is thrown by the pitcher. By regulation it may be no more than in diameter at the thickest part and no more than in length. Although histor ...

between Orton's legs and perform a leg drop. Cactus continued to use the bat, as he poured gasoline on it and tried to light it on fire. Raw General Manager

interrupted and informed Cactus that he would be disqualified and the event would end if he lit the bat on fire. In a particularly brutal spot, Orton - wearing only his signature trunks - missed an

and was thrown onto thumbtacks. When this spot had been attempted previously, those involved - including Foley himself - had done so fully-clothed. The sight of Orton with thumbtacks embedded into his bare body was, for many, the first major bump of his career. After taking an elbow drop off the entrance stage, Orton executed an

on Cactus onto the barbed wire baseball bat to retain the title. The sixth match was a

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

match in which The Hurricane and Rosey defeated La Résistance ( Robért Conway and

Sylvain Grenier Sylvain Grenier (born March 26, 1977) is a Canadian TV host and semi-retired professional wrestler. He has been signed to WWE as a producer since 2020. He is best known for his time wrestling for WWE between 2002 and 2007 where he was part of L ...

). After a back and forth match, Hurricane pinned Conway after an Eye of the Hurricane. The match that followed was between

and Kane. The match was controlled by Kane, as he focused on Edge's injured left hand. Edge reversed attacks from Kane and attempted a Spear but Kane avoided, causing Edge to perform a Spear on the referee. Edge struck Kane with the cast and performed a spear on Kane for the win.

Main event

The main event was a

for the World Heavyweight Championship between

and

. Michaels dove off the top rope but Benoit and Triple H avoided, causing Michaels to fall through an announce table. Triple H attacked Michaels with a

sledgehammer A sledgehammer is a tool with a large, flat, often metal head, attached to a long handle. The long handle combined with a heavy head allows the sledgehammer to gather momentum during a swing and apply a large force compared to hammers designed t ...

. Benoit forced Michaels to submit to the

to retain the title.

Aftermath

The following night on ''Raw'',

General manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

scheduled a World Heavyweight Championship match between

and

for the May 3 episode of ''Raw''. On the same night, an impromptu team of Benoit and

defeated

(

and

) for the

World Tag Team Championship The world tag team championship is the name usually given to the primary tag team championships in professional wrestling promotions. Nomenclature The name of the promotion is often preceded to the term "world tag team championship" as the ...

, making Benoit a double champion. Two weeks later on ''Raw'', Benoit retained the World Heavyweight title in a scheduled match against Shawn Michaels, after interference by

. On May 10, a match between

and Triple H, resulted in Michaels attacking Triple H. Michaels' actions resulted in a suspension from Eric Bischoff. Prior to ''Raw'' that night, Bischoff informed Triple H that he would face Benoit for the World title the following week on ''Raw''. However, the match never happened as during that night, a

Battle Royal Battle royal (; also royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants that is fought until only one fighter remains standing, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules. In recent times, the term has been used in a ...

took place, in which the winner would go on to face Benoit at Bad Blood for the World title. During the match, Triple H, one of the participants in the match, was eliminated by Michaels, who was not a participant in the match. On the May 24 episode of ''Raw'', Bischoff lifted Michaels' suspension, after Triple H pleaded that Michaels be reinstated. On the same night, Michaels confronted Bischoff wanting to know if he was scheduled in a match with Triple H at Bad Blood. Bischoff assured Michaels, but Triple H attacked Michaels from behind, after Michaels attacked Triple H outside the arena's parking lot. Bischoff gave orders to Raw superstars to attack Triple H and Michaels, if seen fighting. The roster tried breaking the fight up, but were unsuccessful in doing so. The result of the fight gave Bischoff the authority to schedule a

Hell in a Cell Hell in a Cell is a professional wrestling steel cage-based match which originated in 1997 in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It features a large cell structure, a five-sided cuboid made from open-weave steel mesh chain-link fenci ...

match between Triple H and Michaels at Bad Blood. At Bad Blood, Triple H defeated Michaels by pinfall after executing two Pedigrees. Following Backlash, Lita and Kane were put in an angle, which involved

. It saw Hardy attack Kane to an attempt to prevent Kane from harming Lita. In the following weeks on ''Raw'', Kane began repeatedly assaulting Hardy and attempting to seduce Lita. One incident saw Kane

kayfabe In professional wrestling, kayfabe, as a noun, is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not staged. ...

kidnap Lita and hold her tied up backstage, where he supposedly asked her a "question." Later that night, Kane won a number one contenders Battle Royal match, in which he received a title shot at Bad Blood. At Bad Blood, Benoit was successful in defending the World Heavyweight title, after he pinned Kane with a roll-up. During a match between

and

, Christian defeated Jericho after interference by Tyson Tomko; Tomko was revealed to be the " problem solver" for Christian and

. The following weeks on ''Raw'', Tomko assaulted Jericho, until May 10, when Jericho defeated Christian in a

Steel Cage match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

when he made Christian submit to the Walls of Jericho. As a result of the Steel Cage match, Christian suffered a legitimate back injury. After defeating

and Batista in a

match, Tomko attacked Jericho, in which he

powerbomb A powerbomb is a professional wrestling throw in which an opponent is lifted (usually so that they are sitting on the wrestler's shoulders) and then slammed back-first down to the mat. The standard powerbomb sees an opponent first placed in a sta ...

ed Jericho through the announcers table. On the June 7 episode of ''Raw'', Bischoff booked a match at Bad Blood between Tomko and Jericho. At Bad Blood, Jericho pinned Tomko, after an Enzuigiri. Backlash (2004) was the only WWE pay-per-view event hosted in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

, and the second hosted in

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, after In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

in 1997. Mick Foley named his match with Orton the favourite match of his career.

Results

References

External links

Official Backlash 2004 website
{{WWEPPV, Backlash

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

Events in Edmonton Professional wrestling in Alberta 2004 WWE pay-per-view events 2004 in Alberta April 2004 events in Canada WWE in Canada WWE Raw es:WWE Backlash#2004 ja:WWE・バックラッシュ#第6回大会（2004年）WWE RAW's Backlash 2004 ro:WWE Backlash#2004 ru:Backlash#2004