The 1999 Backlash was the inaugural
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
Event may refer to:
Gatherings of people
* Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion
* Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest
* Event management, the organization of eve ...
produced by the
World Wrestling Federation
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 ...
(WWF; WWE as of 2002). It took place on
April 25, 1999, at the
Providence Civic Center
The Amica Mutual Pavilion (originally Providence Civic Center and formerly Dunkin' Donuts Center) is an indoor arena located in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. It was built in 1972, as a home court for the emerging Providence College men's ba ...
in
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
and was
presented by
Castrol GTX. The event had originally been promoted as "Backlash: In Your House", but the branding was dropped as the WWF discontinued the
In Your House
In Your House (known as NXT TakeOver: In Your House in 2020 and 2021 and then NXT In Your House beginning in 2022) is a professional wrestling series of events created by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. The events or ...
series before Backlash was held. As a result, Backlash was the first non-In Your House monthly PPV held by the promotion outside of their five major events at the time (the
In Your House
In Your House (known as NXT TakeOver: In Your House in 2020 and 2021 and then NXT In Your House beginning in 2022) is a professional wrestling series of events created by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. The events or ...
branding would be revived by WWE for its
NXT
NXT may refer to:
Professional wrestling
* ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010
** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory
* ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...
developmental brand in 2020). The concept of the pay-per-view was based around the backlash from WWF'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 ...
.
In line with the event's concept, 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 rematch from
WrestleMania XV
WrestleMania XV was the 15th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took place on March 28, 1999, at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ...
between
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American media personality, actor, and retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most ...
and
The Rock for the
WWF Championship
The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two world titles on WWE's main roster, alongside SmackDown's ...
, but this time with a
special guest referee
In professional wrestling, a referee is an authority figure present in or near the ring during matches. The referee's purpose is similar to that of referees in combat sports such as boxing or mixed martial arts, that is, as an arbiter of the rul ...
,
Shane McMahon
Shane Brandon McMahon (; born January 15, 1970) is an American businessman and professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he was a wrestler, producer and minority owner. He is the founder and executive chairman of Idean ...
. Lower down 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 ...
,
Big Show
Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as an in-ring performer, and as a commentator for its web television show, '' AEW Dark: Elevation,'' under ...
and
Mankind
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, an ...
had a
Boiler Room Brawl
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 ...
to settle matters after their previous encounter, which decided who would referee the WrestleMania event.
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 ...
also wrestled
X-Pac
Sean Michael Waltman (born July 13, 1972) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is best known for his appearances for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) under the ring names 1–2–3 ...
due to Triple H causing X-Pac to lose a match for the
European Championship the previous month.
Production
Background
From 1995 to 1999, the
World Wrestling Federation
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 ...
(WWF, now WWE) ran a series of monthly
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 ...
s (PPV) titled
In Your House
In Your House (known as NXT TakeOver: In Your House in 2020 and 2021 and then NXT In Your House beginning in 2022) is a professional wrestling series of events created by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. The events or ...
, which were held between the promotion's five major PPVs at the time:
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
King of the Ring
King of the Ring was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and WWE Network event produced by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. The PPV event was held annually in June and was established in 1993 when the promotio ...
,
SummerSlam
SummerSlam is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's secon ...
, and
Survivor Series
Survivor Series is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving, it is the sec ...
, referred to as the "Big Five". The next event was originally to be "Backlash: In Your House", but in April 1999, the WWF phased out the In Your House events to establish permanent names for the monthly pay-per-views held between the "Big Five".
Backlash in turn dropped the In Your House branding and was the first monthly PPV held following the discontinuation of the In Your House shows. Early advertising had included the In Your House branding, but it was dropped in the weeks leading up to the pay-per-view. Backlash was subsequently held after
WrestleMania XV
WrestleMania XV was the 15th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took place on March 28, 1999, at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ...
, and it took place on April 25, 1999, at the
Providence Civic Center
The Amica Mutual Pavilion (originally Providence Civic Center and formerly Dunkin' Donuts Center) is an indoor arena located in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. It was built in 1972, as a home court for the emerging Providence College men's ba ...
in
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
. The concept of the pay-per-view was based around the backlash from WWF's flagship event, WrestleMania.
Storylines
The event consisted of eight professional wrestling matches
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 ...
with predetermined outcomes. The matches involved wrestlers portraying their characters (known as gimmicks
A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...
) in planned storylines that took place before, during and after the event.
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 ...
going into the event involved the WWF Championship
The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two world titles on WWE's main roster, alongside SmackDown's ...
, which Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American media personality, actor, and retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most ...
had won from The Rock at WrestleMania XV
WrestleMania XV was the 15th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took place on March 28, 1999, at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ...
. The following night on ''Raw is War
''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network in the United States. The show fe ...
'', however, Austin demanded the return of his Smoking Skull belt, a personalized championship belt that he had worn the previous year during his tenure as WWF Champion, which villainous WWF owner Mr. McMahon
Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the w ...
had stolen from him at Breakdown: In Your House, after causing Austin to lose. Rather than oppose him as he usually would, McMahon acquiesced to the request as The Undertaker
Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by the ring name The Undertaker, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway spent the vast majority ...
had threatened his family. Mr. McMahon's son, Shane
Shane may refer to:
People
* Shane (actress) (born 1969), American pornographic actress
* Shane (New Zealand singer) (born 1946)
* iamnotshane (born 1995), formerly known as Shane, American singer
* Shane (name), a masculine given name and a sur ...
, disagreed and went against his father's wishes, stealing the Smoking Skull belt and giving it to The Rock, who was part of the villainous alliance The Corporation. Shane then unceremoniously ejected his father from The Corporation while Austin and Rock continued to feud over ownership of Austin's personalized belt. This culminated with a fight between the two which ended with Rock throwing Austin, and then the belt, into a river from a bridge in Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
which alluded to the events of December 1997 when Austin threw Rock's Intercontinental Championship into the Oyster River. The Rock held a mock funeral the following week for Austin, revealing he still had possession of the Smoking Skull belt; Austin crashed the funeral with a monster truck
A monster truck is a specialized off-road vehicle with a heavy duty suspension, four-wheel steering, large-displacement V8 engines and oversized tires constructed for competition and entertainment uses. Originally created by modifying stock pic ...
and crushed Rock's limousine
A limousine ( or ), or limo () for short, is a large, chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle with a partition between the driver compartment and the passenger compartment.
A very long wheelbase luxury sedan (with more than four doors) driven by a prof ...
and hearse
A hearse is a large vehicle, originally a horse carriage but later with the introduction of motor vehicles, a car, used to carry the body of a deceased person in a coffin at a funeral, wake, or memorial service. They range from deliberately ano ...
. During the ''Sunday Night Heat
''WWE Heat'' (formerly known as ''Sunday Night Heat'' and also known as ''Heat'') is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and aired from August 2, 1998 to May 30, 2008. Ori ...
'' that aired before the event, Shane declared that the match was to have a no disqualification stipulation and announced himself as the special guest referee.
The Undertaker, meanwhile, was involved in a storyline where he became the leader of a Satanic group of wrestlers called The Ministry of Darkness
The Ministry of Darkness was a villainous professional wrestling stable in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1999. Led by The Undertaker, the Ministry was a controversial group with pseudo-witchcraft-themed storylines that included rituals ...
. During the beginning of the year he began to articulate a desire for Stephanie McMahon
Stephanie McMahon Levesque (born Stephanie Marie McMahon; ; September 24, 1976) is an American businesswoman and retired professional wrestler. She is the current chairwoman and co-chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the world's largest profe ...
leading to 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 at WrestleMania where Corporation member The Big Boss Man
Ray Washington Traylor Jr. (May 2, 1963 – September 22, 2004) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler best known for his appearances with the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name Big Boss Man, as wel ...
was hanged from the ceiling. Undertaker then became more aggressive in his actions, demanding Stephanie and offering 'sacrifices' when she was not given over to him. One woman he sacrificed, via crucifixion, was Ryan Shamrock
Alicia Nicole Webb (born May 4, 1979) is an American retired professional wrestling valet and occasional professional wrestler. She is best known for her appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1999 under the ring name Ryan Shamro ...
who played the on-screen sister of Ken Shamrock
Kenneth Wayne Shamrock (''né'' Kilpatrick; born February 11, 1964) is an American bare-knuckle boxing promoter and semi-retired professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, and kickboxer. He is best known for his time in Ultimate Fighting Champ ...
. Fighting for family honor, Shamrock vowed to break Undertaker's leg.
Undertaker's obsession with Stephanie led to another match being made at the event. During April Undertaker successfully managed to abduct Stephanie, however Shamrock, looking for revenge, set about trying to find her and attacked various members of the Ministry for her whereabouts. Eventually 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 ...
revealed where she was, forcing The Undertaker to reprimand him by whipping him and leading to a crucifixion. While he was in the Ministry along with 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 ...
and Gangrel
David William Heath (born February 16, 1969) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1998 to 2001 and intermittently throughout the mid-2000s under the ...
, the three also made up a smaller group named The Brood
''The Brood'' is a 1979 Canadian psychological body horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg and starring Oliver Reed, Samantha Eggar, and Art Hindle. Its plot follows a man and his mentally ill ex-wife, who has been sequestered by a ...
who chose Christian over the Ministry and saved him, leaving the Ministry. This led to Undertaker's minions being forced to wrestle the Brood.
Elsewhere on the card, 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 ...
fought X-Pac
Sean Michael Waltman (born July 13, 1972) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is best known for his appearances for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) under the ring names 1–2–3 ...
due to events that transpired at WrestleMania. During the event Chyna
Chyna (born Joan Marie Laurer; December 27, 1969 – April 17, 2016) was an American professional wrestler, bodybuilder and television personality.
She first rose to prominence in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in 1997, where sh ...
, who had been Triple H's valet
A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, valet de chambre was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "vale ...
and girlfriend but had since turned on him to ally with Kane, reunited with Triple H. The two, who were in a wrestling group called D-Generation X
D-Generation X (DX) is an American professional wrestling Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Stable, stable, and later a tag team, who consisted of Triple H and Shawn Michaels.
The group originated in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF ...
, came to ringside later in the match to ostensibly help fellow D-Generation X member X-Pac in his match against Shane McMahon. The two attacked X-Pac in order to ally with McMahon and The Corporation, however, and as a result, X-Pac lost the European Championship match.
Two hardcore wrestling
Hardcore wrestling is a form of professional wrestling where disqualifications, count-outs, and all other different rules do not apply. Taking place in usual or unusual environments, hardcore wrestling matches allow the use of numerous items, inclu ...
matches were scheduled for the card. The first was a specialty match, a Boiler Room Brawl based around wrestler Mankind
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, an ...
who was billed as being "from the boiler room". As a former member of The Corporation and challenger for The Rock's WWF Championship in December and January, Mankind found himself coming to blows with the Corporate enforcer
Enforcer or enforcers may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Comics
* Enforcer (comics), a Marvel Comics character
* Enforcers (comics), a Marvel Comics team
* New Enforcers, another Marvel Comics team
Film and television
* ''The Enforcer ...
Big Show
Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as an in-ring performer, and as a commentator for its web television show, '' AEW Dark: Elevation,'' under ...
, especially when Big Show caused Mankind to lose his belt in a ladder match
A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling, most commonly one in which an item (usually a title belt) is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item. The ladder itself becom ...
, removing him from the main event of WrestleMania. Desperate to be part of WrestleMania's main event, Mankind staked a claim to be the special guest referee but Corporation leader Vince McMahon preferred Big Show officiating to ensure The Rock remained champion. The two had a match at WrestleMania to determine who would referee the main event, which Mankind won by disqualification. In the storyline, however, Mankind was hospitalized after the match, while Big Show was arrested after he punched McMahon for slapping him. With this, Big Show left The Corporation but maintained a desire to settle the score between the two in a hardcore match. Gradually the two came to respect each other, rescuing the other from Corporate assaults, but wanted to wrestle for pride.
The other hardcore match on the card was for the WWF Hardcore Championship
The WWE Hardcore Championship was a hardcore wrestling championship in WWE which was contested under "hardcore" rules (no disqualifications, no countouts, and pinfalls count anywhere). In the latter part of the title's history, a rule was impl ...
; Bob Holly
Robert William Howard (born January 29, 1963) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and former auto racer and wrestling trainer/host, better known by the ring name Hardcore Holly or Bob Holly. He is best known for his 16-year career wit ...
had wrestled Al Snow
Allen Ray Sarven (born July 18, 1963) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Al Snow. He is best known as a wrestler for Smoky Mountain Wrestling, Extreme Championship Wrestling, and World Wrestling Entertainment. Sn ...
on the banks of the Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
two months prior and despite the latter being notorious for his hardcore prowess, Holly picked up the victory. The two fought at WrestleMania but the match also included Billy Gunn
Monty Kip Sopp (born November 1, 1963), better known by his ring name Billy Gunn, although he is currently finding renewed popularity under the ring name Daddy Ass, is an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is currently ...
and a deciding bout was needed. On ''Raw is War'' episodes leading up to Backlash, "Dr. Death" Steve Williams would regulariy feud with both Snow and Holly for the WWF Hardcore Championship, where he was managed by Jim Ross
James William Ross (born January 3, 1952) is an American professional wrestling commentator currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a commentator, analyst, and senior advisor. Ross is best known for a long and distinguished career as ...
. A notable match involved Williams and Holly wrestling each other in a frat house in Albany, New York
Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...
on the March 22, 1999 edition of ''Raw is War'', and a match the week after where Snow hit Williams with a frying pan behind the referee's back. On the April 5, 1999 episode, Snow and Holly had a singles match, where Williams attacked both of them with suplexes in revenge.
Williams was scheduled to fight Snow and Holly at the pay-per-view, making the hardcore match a three-way for the WWF Hardcore Championship. However, Williams was taken off of television in mid-April for needing further time to rehab his injury and for refusing to work for FMW
Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on July 28, 1989, by Atsushi Onita as (FMW). The promotion specializes in hardcore wrestling involving weapons such as barbed wire and fire. They held their ...
. He was released shortly afterwards. Williams had been being built as a midcarder at the time in hopes of repairing his character after the WWF Brawl For All
WWF Brawl for All was a shootfighting tournament held in the then World Wrestling Federation that lasted from June 29, 1998 to August 24, 1998 and was the creation of then-WWF writer Vince Russo. Brawl for All resulted in a number of legitimate ...
, feuding with Snow and Holly since March.
The final rivalry going into the evening saw Goldust
Dustin Patrick Runnels (born April 11, 1969) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Dustin Rhodes. He is best known for his multiple tenures with WWE f ...
try to regain his WWF 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 roste ...
. On ''Raw is War'' Goldust was scheduled to defend against Big Boss Man but The Godfather
''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, ...
, a wrestler whose gimmick involved being a pimp
Procuring or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term pimp has still ...
, offered Boss Man some prostitutes to take his place and won the title.
Event
Sunday Night Heat
Before the pay-per-view event went on air, the crowd was warmed up with the cable television program ''Sunday Night Heat
''WWE Heat'' (formerly known as ''Sunday Night Heat'' and also known as ''Heat'') is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and aired from August 2, 1998 to May 30, 2008. Ori ...
'' which consisted of four matches. In an intergender tag team contest, 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 ...
and Nicole Bass
Nicole Fuchs (''née'' Bass; August 10, 1964 – February 17, 2017) was an American bodybuilder, actress, professional wrestler, and professional wrestling valet. She worked for companies such as Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Wrestling F ...
defeated D'Lo Brown
Accie Julius Connor (born October 22, 1970), better known by his ring name D'Lo Brown (also formatted as D-Lo Brown), is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in Impact Wrestling and WWE. Brown is also known for his ...
and Ivory
Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is ...
when Nicole Bass
Nicole Fuchs (''née'' Bass; August 10, 1964 – February 17, 2017) was an American bodybuilder, actress, professional wrestler, and professional wrestling valet. She worked for companies such as Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Wrestling F ...
pinned Ivory
Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is ...
. Afterward Bass made sexual advances to Venis who quickly departed. In another tag team match, Droz Droz is a surname:
* Joseph Droz (1773–1850), a French writer on ethics, political science and political economy
* Numa Droz (27 January 1844 – 15 December 1899), a Swiss politician
* Pierre Jaquet-Droz (1721–1790), a Swiss-born watchmaker o ...
and Prince Albert
Prince Albert most commonly refers to:
*Albert, Prince Consort (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria
*Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco
Prince Albert may also refer to:
Royalty
* Albert I of Belgium ...
defeated Too Much (Brian Christopher
Brian Christopher Lawler (January 10, 1972 – July 29, 2018) was an American professional wrestler. He is best remembered for his career in the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE), where he performed as "Too Sexy" Brian Christopher and Grand M ...
and Scott Taylor) when Albert pinned Scott Taylor. After this Kane pinned The Big Boss Man in a singles match. The final match of the show saw Viscera
In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to act together in a ...
pin Test
Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to:
* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
Arts and entertainment
* ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film
* ''Test'' (2014 film), ...
after Big Boss Man hit Test with a nightstick, pretending to be aiming for Viscera.
Preliminary matches
The first match on the pay-per-view was the six-man tag match between The Brood and The Ministry of Darkness. Mideon
Dennis Knight (born December 26, 1968) is an American chef and retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling between 1992 and 1994 under the ring name Tex Slazenger and with the World Wrestl ...
began by placing an eyeball in a jar in the middle of the ring to scare his opponent Christian. During the match the Ministry would distract the referee to ambush the various Brood members while the Brood tended to use double team moves until Edge was isolated from tagging his partners. After Edge managed to tag in Christian the teams ignored the tag team rules and all wrestled in the ring, with Edge using a kneeling Christian to run and jump into the corner to attack Mideon and Christian then doing the same with Gangrel to jump onto Bradshaw in the opposite corner. After this the teams began to brawl outside aside from Christian and Bradshaw. Christian almost won the match after a tornado DDT
In professional wrestling a DDT is any move in which the wrestler has the opponent in a Grappling hold, front facelock/inverted headlock and falls down or backwards to drive the opponent's head into the mat. The classic DDT is performed by putti ...
from the corner but Ministry member Viscera came to ringside and squashed Christian against the ring then threw him back in, allowing Bradshaw to use his Clothesline From Hell
Strikes are offensive moves in professional wrestling, that can sometimes be used to set up an opponent for a hold or for a throw. There are a wide variety of strikes in pro wrestling, and many are known by several different names. Professional wre ...
finisher and pin him.
The following match was for the Hardcore Championship, meaning there were few restrictions on the wrestlers who are allowed to use weapons
A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...
and pin their opponent anywhere. The match began abruptly when Hardcore Holly used his championship belt to hit Al Snow. The match quickly moved outside the ring and into the crowd on the concrete floor. Snow performed a moonsault
A moonsault, moonsault press, or back flip splash is a professional wrestling aerial technique. It was innovated by Mando Guerrero. Much of its popularity in both Japanese and American wrestling is attributed to The Great Muta, despite it being u ...
from the crowd barrier but was unable to pin Holly. After returning to the ring and fighting with a hockey stick
A hockey stick is a piece of sports equipment used by the players in all the forms of hockey to move the ball or puck (as appropriate to the type of hockey) either to push, pull, hit, strike, flick, steer, launch or stop the ball/ puck during pla ...
, the two fought through to the backstage area and Holly tried to hit Snow with a kitchen sink
Kitchen sink may refer to:
* ''Freaks of Nature'' (film), a 2015 comedy horror film, also known as ''Kitchen Sink''
* ''Kitchen Sink'', a 1989 horror short directed by Alison Maclean
* ''Kitchen Sink'' (TV series), cookery series on Food Network ...
but dropped it when he was sprayed with a hose. The two then moved through the parking lot and Holly threw Snow from the stairs into a dumpster
A dumpster is a movable waste container designed to be brought and taken away by a special collection vehicle, or to a bin that a specially designed garbage truck lifts, empties into its hopper, and lowers, on the spot. The word is a generic tr ...
where Holly tried to pin Snow on top of a bin bag
A bin bag, rubbish bag (British English), garbage bag, bin liner, trash bag (American English) or refuse sack is a disposable bag used to contain solid waste. Such bags are useful to line the insides of waste containers to prevent the insides ...
. Snow also tried to pin his opponent on top of a car after an elbow drop
Strikes are offensive moves in professional wrestling, that can sometimes be used to set up an opponent for a hold or for a throw. There are a wide variety of strikes in pro wrestling, and many are known by several different names. Professional wre ...
. The match returned to the ring and Snow hit Holly with a frying pan
A frying pan, frypan, or skillet is a flat-bottomed pan used for frying, searing, and browning foods. It is typically in diameter with relatively low sides that flare outwards, a long handle, and no lid. Larger pans may have a small grab han ...
but refused to pin him, opting instead to put him on a table
Table may refer to:
* Table (furniture), a piece of furniture with a flat surface and one or more legs
* Table (landform), a flat area of land
* Table (information), a data arrangement with rows and columns
* Table (database), how the table data ...
and climb to the top rope; Holly recovered and stopped Snow, then superplexed Snow through the table length ways. After both wrestlers recovered, Snow grabbed a manikin head that he brought to ringside and hit Holly with it then pinned him to win the championship.
The third match was for the Intercontinental Championship and began with the challenger Goldust attacking The Godfather from behind as he checked on his prostitutes at ringside. After being thrown out the ring, Goldust went to leave the ring but was persuaded to return by The Blue Meanie
Brian Heffron (born May 18, 1973), better known by his ring name The Blue Meanie, is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation between 1995 and 2 ...
. Meanie also involved himself in the match by attacking Godfather when he was thrown out of the ring and choking him on the bottom rope he then gave Goldust a sack of flour
Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...
but Godfather punched it into Goldust's eyes. The blinded Goldust then began to punch Meanie and perform the Shattered Dreams
"Shattered Dreams" is a song by English musical group Johnny Hates Jazz from their debut studio album, '' Turn Back the Clock'' (1988). Written by the band's lead singer Clark Datchler, the song was released in March 1987 as the album's lead sin ...
( a kick to the crotch) on him. Godfather then kicked Goldust and pinned him but saw that Meanie was about to break up the pin and moved out of the way, leading to Goldust being headbutted in the groin. Godfather threw both men into the turnbuckle and performed the Ho Train move on them both before picking Goldust over his shoulders and driving his head down into the mat for the Pimp Drop to win and retain his title.
After this a tag team match took place between the New Age Outlaws, a team made of The Road Dogg and Billy Gunn
Monty Kip Sopp (born November 1, 1963), better known by his ring name Billy Gunn, although he is currently finding renewed popularity under the ring name Daddy Ass, is an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is currently ...
and the team of Jeff Jarrett
Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett (born July 14, 1967) is an American professional wrestler and promoter. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he also serves as Director of Business Development.
Beginning his career in his father J ...
and Owen Hart
Owen James Hart (May 7, 1965 – May 23, 1999) was a Canadian-American professional wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and the World Wrest ...
. The latter team's manager, Debra
Debra is a feminine given name.
Debra may refer to:
People
* Debra Adelaide (born 1958), Australian writer
* Debra Allbery (born 1957), American poet
* Debra R. Anderson (1949-2022), American politician
* Debra Austin (born 1955), American bal ...
, wore a skimpy outfit and the Outlaws tried to make her strip, when she wouldn't Gunn offered to do so himself first, living up to his moniker Mr. Ass. This led to the Outlaws being attacked from behind. Road Dogg and Jarrett began wrestling until Hart took a blind tag in an attempt to take advantage, though Dogg ran the two partners into each other. During the match Dogg had Hart secured in a back slide pin for more than three seconds but Jarrett distracted the referee from making the pin count. After Road Dogg was isolated for some time, Billy Gunn was tagged in and energetically took out both members before the two delivered a synchronized ten punch to their opponents in opposite corners. The match turned briefly and Hart and Jarrett tried to perform simultaneous submissions – 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 ...
and figure four leg lock, respectively – but Jarrett could not lock in the move. With Gunn free, he jumped onto Hart and sat on his head to slam Hart's head into the mat for the Fameasser, freeing Road Dogg of the Sharpshooter and allowing them to win the match. Afterward Gunn mooned the crowd.
The next contest was Mankind's specialty match – a violent and brutal Boiler Room Brawl, where a contestant must leave the arena's boiler room to win. Big Show entered and looked for Mankind who hit him from behind with a stick and then pushed him into the electricity cupboard. The two continued to throw the other into the walls of the room and Mankind then broke a pane of glass over Show's head, making both men bleed – Show's head and Mankind's hand which left bloody prints over the walls. Mankind then climbed a ladder but was chokeslam
A chokeslam is a type of body slam in professional wrestling, in which a wrestler grasps an opponent's neck, lifts them up, and slams them to the mat. It is common in televised wrestling because it is simple and relatively safe, yet looks powerf ...
med from it through a table. After being thrown into a ramp Mankind took advantage by spraying steam into Show's face, then unleashing suspended pipes from above onto him, burying Show. Mankind then escaped the room to win the match only to be assaulted by Big Boss Man and Test and driven back into the room. After Show escaped from the pipes and realized Mankind was being attacked, he slammed Test and chased Boss Man away while Mankind put on Mr. Socko and using the mandible claw
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 Test.
A standard singles match followed this between rivals Triple H and X-Pac. During the match Chyna, who was supporting Triple H, tried to attack X-Pac but he made it clear he would not refrain from attacking her. With Triple H sitting in the corner, X-Pac tried to perform the bronco buster – riding an opponent's shoulders – but after Chyna distracted X-Pac, Triple H was able to escape the move and force X-Pac into the turnbuckle, which played up to a genuine neck injury X-Pac suffered the previous year. Triple H then focused on his attack on the neck, particularly keeping him in a neck hold for a number of minutes and then a similar dragon sleeper. X-Pac fought back but was thrown out of the ring where Chyna attacked him. After suffering more assault to his neck, X-Pac evened the match with a sleeper hold and then built a fast momentum of kicks and tosses, almost winning the match after a tornado DDT from the top rope. Triple H escaped the ring but when X-Pac attempted a baseball slide he knocked out referee Mike Chioda. Chyna then interfered, knocking out X-Pac but suddenly the lights went out, signaling the entrance of Kane. He chokeslammed Triple H, then Chyna and put them in the corner and left the arena so X-Pac could perform a bronco buster on both but while he was attacking Chyna, Triple H recovered and used The Pedigree
A facebuster, also known as a faceplant, is generally a takedown move in professional wrestling in which an attacking wrestler forces their opponent down to the mat face-first without involving a headlock or facelock. A standard facebuster, also ...
on X-Pac to win the match.
Main event matches
The penultimate match was between The Undertaker and Ken Shamrock. Undertaker had control of the match early on, using wrestling throws and punches while Shamrock countered by using submission holds to keep Undertaker down. Undertaker began to dominate the match so much so that the referee tried to reprimand him, but his stare scared the referee out of the ring. Undertaker then put Shamrock in a bow and arrow submission. Undertaker then tried to perform a standing leg drop but as his leg landed on Shamrock's neck, Shamrock rolled it round into a submission hold. Shamrock later had Undertaker in his ankle lock
A leglock is a joint lock that is directed at joints of the leg such as the ankle, knee or hip joint. A leglock which is directed at joints in the foot, is sometimes referred to as a foot lock and a lock at the hip as a hip lock. Leglocks are fe ...
but had to break it when Bradshaw came to the ring, though he was quickly knocked down. Shamrock picked Undertaker up but Undertaker floated over him so that Shamrock was being held and was then had his head driven to the mat with a Tombstone Piledriver which ended the match. After this, Bradshaw assaulted Shamrock with a baseball bat and strangled him with it.
The final match saw Stone Cold Steve Austin defend his WWF Championship against The Rock with Shane McMahon as the referee. Austin ran into the ring without gesturing to the crowd and the two began striking each other. The two then fought up the entrance way with Rock using a fire extinguisher as a weapon. Austin tried to Irish whip Rock but it was reversed and he himself was sent into the steel girders and fencing
Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, s ...
that set the entrance way; as he fell into it, most of it tumbled down. After more brawling between the two, Austin then threw Rock into the other side and the entrance way completely collapsed. The two continued to throw one another into various walls, barriers and technical boxes until they returned to the ring. After kicking Rock in the corner, McMahon tried to admonish him allowing Rock to make a running attack but Austin saw and threw him to the outside. While out the ring, Austin tried to put his opponent through the Spanish announcers' table but it was reversed into a Rock Bottom; Rock then stole a Spanish headset and insulted one of the Spanish announcers and Austin. Rock also took a camera from the production crew and stood on the remaining table above Austin and pointed the camera over him to mock him. After this he showed the crowd, declaring himself to be their champion but as he turned back the camera was confronted with Austin giving him the finger; Austin then delivered a Stone Cold Stunner by grabbing Rock round the neck (and camera) and pulling downwards collapsing the table. The two made it back to the ring and McMahon also came into the ring with the title belt. He ran at Austin who ducked, meaning the belt knocked Rock down. Austin pinned him but McMahon, in an allusion to the previous year's Survivor Series
Survivor Series is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving, it is the sec ...
, counted two before physically swearing at Austin and fleeing from the ring. As Shane retreated, his father Vince came down to ringside with a referee and the Smoking Skull Belt; he then hit Shane with it. While the other ref was in the ring, Austin inadvertently hit the referee thanks to a shove from The Rock and then stumbled into Rock, who nailed him with the Rock Bottom. After Shane was hit outside, Rock then hit Austin with the proper championship belt but Austin kicked out of the pin, and immediately retaliated with a Stone Cold Stunner and then hit Rock with the belt, covering him for the pinfall to win the match and retain the WWF title.
After the match Vince McMahon reluctantly handed the Smoking Skull belt to Austin, who then celebrated with both belts. The feed then shifted to a limousine in the parking lot with Stephanie McMahon seated in the back. Despite waiting for her father, the car suddenly started driving. The feed then showed the inside of the car as the divide between passenger and chauffeur drew down to show The Undertaker in the driver's seat, turning and asking, "Where to, Stephanie?"
Reception
Canadian Online Explorer
Canoe.com is an English-language Canadian portal site and website network, and is a subsidiary of Postmedia Network. The phrase Canadian Online Explorer appears in the header; the name is also evidently a play on words on canoe (or ''canoë'' in ...
's professional wrestling section rated the entire event 8 out of 10, declaring "the World Wrestling Federation had something to prove and prove it they did" in reference to a lackluster WrestleMania. Both the main event and the Boiler Room Brawl received a full 10 with reviewer John Powell declaring the main event had "enough imagination in it" to top their previous encounter. While most matches had strong ratings, the Intercontinental Championship match was given a lowly 4 out of 10. The most criticized match was the penultimate contest between The Undertaker and Ken Shamrock which was given only 3 out of 10 and described as an "unbearably boring, 18 minute-plus submission hold extravaganza".
Aftermath
A second Backlash event was held the following year after WrestleMania 2000
WrestleMania 2000 (sequentially known as WrestleMania 16) was the 16th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) List of WWE pay-per-view events, event produced by the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took p ...
, thus establishing Backlash as an annual PPV for the WWF; in 2002, the WWF was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE, which became an orphaned initialism
An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...
in 2011). With the exception of the 2005 event, which was held in May, Backlash was held every April through the 2009 event. Throughout this time, it retained its position as the post-WrestleMania PPV. Following the 2009 event, however, Backlash was discontinued and replaced by Extreme Rules in 2010. Backlash was reinstated in 2016, but it was held in September after that year's SummerSlam
SummerSlam is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's secon ...
, thus ending its previous tradition of being the post-WrestleMania PPV. In 2021, however, Backlash was positioned as the first PPV held after WrestleMania 37
WrestleMania 37 was the 37th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place as a two-night ev ...
, thus the event returned to its original concept and was titled "WrestleMania Backlash
WWE Backlash, known as WrestleMania Backlash since 2021, is a professional wrestling event that is produced by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. It is broadcast live and available only through pay-per-view (PPV) and ...
".
Results
References
External links
Official event website
{{WWEPPV, Backlash
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
1999 in Rhode Island
Events in Providence, Rhode Island
Professional wrestling in Providence, Rhode Island
1999 WWF pay-per-view events
April 1999 events in the United States