Backlash 1999: The WrestleMania Rematch Is Better Than WrestleMania

Backlash opens with The Brood fighting the Ministry of Darkness after finally breaking away from Undertaker's control. That gives the six-man tag a useful storyline foundation, but the wrestling takes time to find momentum. The Providence crowd is interested in the personalities more than the early control segments.

Edge, Christian and Gangrel bring the movement while Bradshaw, Faarooq and Mideon rely on power and isolation. The contrast occasionally works, particularly once Edge is trapped and the Brood has a clear comeback to build toward. Mideon remains the weak link whenever the pace slows.

The closing scramble finally gives the match energy. All six wrestlers spill into the fight, Christian nearly steals the pin with a tornado DDT and Viscera appears at ringside to crush him against the apron. Bradshaw follows with the Clothesline From Hell for the win.

The reported Observer rating was 1.25 stars, and later reviews tend to describe the opener as functional rather than memorable. The story is more useful than the wrestling, but the Brood's break from the Ministry gives the match enough purpose to avoid complete dead weight. WrestleFile lands at D+ / 5.2.

Al Snow and Hardcore Holly continue the rivalry that already dragged them into the Mississippi River two months earlier. The Backlash version stays closer to the arena but keeps the same willingness to treat the building as part of the match. The championship feels appropriately attached to chaos rather than conventional wrestling.

The fight moves through the crowd, backstage areas and the parking lot with hockey sticks, hoses, a dumpster and a car becoming part of the route. Snow's moonsault from the barricade and Holly's willingness to throw himself into almost anything keep fifteen minutes from becoming repetitive. The match has a strange road-movie rhythm.

They eventually return to the ring and raise the danger again. Holly superplexes Snow through a table, but Snow survives and finally uses Head to score the decisive shot. The pin gives Snow the WWF Hardcore Championship and a payoff to the rivalry.

The reported Observer rating was 2.25 stars, though several retrospectives are much warmer on the spectacle and commitment. It is messy by design and more entertaining than polished. WrestleFile lands at C+ / 6.7.

The Godfather and Goldust receive barely five minutes for the WWF Intercontinental Championship and spend too much of it surrounded by comedy. Goldust attacks before the bell, The Blue Meanie interferes and the ringside characters immediately compete with the title. The match never establishes much competitive weight.

Goldust controls enough of the middle to suggest a real challenge, but every sequence is interrupted by another visual gag or ringside exchange. The flour spot backfires and Goldust accidentally attacks Meanie. The crowd reacts more to the embarrassment than the wrestling.

Godfather eventually hits the Ho Train and Pimp Drop to retain. The result is clean enough after the surrounding comedy collapses around Goldust. The championship leaves the segment feeling less important than the characters.

The reported Observer rating was 0.25 stars, the lowest on the card, and contemporary reception similarly identifies this as an obvious low point. Its saving grace is the short runtime. WrestleFile lands at D- / 4.3.

The New Age Outlaws against Jeff Jarrett and Owen Hart is the most traditionally structured tag match on the card. That sounds like faint praise in 1999, but the contrast is refreshing after the first three bouts. Owen and Jarrett immediately give Road Dogg a clear isolation segment.

The champions from earlier in the year work efficiently as a team. Quick tags and referee distractions let them control Road Dogg without turning the match into complete chaos, while Billy Gunn is left waiting for the obvious hot tag. The formula is familiar and executed well.

Gunn's arrival gives the match the acceleration it needs. The Outlaws survive simultaneous submission attempts, Gunn breaks Owen's Sharpshooter and the Fameasser ends the match cleanly enough to establish new top contenders. The result also advances the gradual separation of Road Dogg and Gunn into singles stories.

The reported Observer rating was 2.5 stars, while later reviews often treat it as one of the stronger undercard matches. It is not a hidden classic, but it is competent, energetic and far more coherent than much of WrestleMania XV. WrestleFile lands at B- / 7.0.

Mankind and Big Show take their WrestleMania problem into the environment most naturally associated with Foley's deranged alter ego. The Boiler Room Brawl immediately feels more appropriate than the referee-stakes singles match they had a month earlier. The setting gives Show's size something physical to destroy.

The match is a compact seven-minute demolition sequence. Mankind smashes glass over Show's head, Show sends Foley through tables and both men crash into carts, pipes and walls. The cramped environment makes every collision look more dangerous than a normal ringside weapon shot.

Foley's injured condition forces the match to rely on clever staging as much as raw punishment. Steam blinds Show, suspended pipes crash down around him and Mankind escapes the room while the giant is buried. The finish uses the environment instead of pretending a conventional pinfall belongs there.

The post-match attack by Big Boss Man and Test gives Show a chance to save Mankind and completes his move away from the Corporation. That development makes the brawl more than an isolated stunt. The two opponents leave with a strange measure of mutual respect.

Cagematch's match page has the bout around 7.7 from more than one hundred votes, and the reported Observer rating was 3.25 stars. Several retrospectives call it an underrated highlight of the show. WrestleFile lands at B+ / 8.2.

Triple H against X-Pac is the clearest WrestleMania XV consequence on the undercard. Triple H betrayed D-Generation X to join the Corporation, and X-Pac now gets a long singles match built around revenge rather than another title. The personal stakes make nineteen minutes easier to justify.

Triple H attacks X-Pac's neck with unusual discipline for an Attitude Era grudge match. The targeted holds reference X-Pac's real neck history and give the heel a strategy beyond punching and waiting for Chyna. X-Pac's faster comeback creates a useful contrast.

The match becomes overbooked late but remains coherent. Chyna repeatedly interferes, X-Pac accidentally wipes out the referee and Kane arrives to chokeslam both Triple H and Chyna before setting up the Bronco Buster. The interruption fits the existing relationships rather than arriving from nowhere.

X-Pac spends too long attacking Chyna and gives Triple H time to recover. The Pedigree ends the match and gives the new Corporate heel another important singles victory. The loss does not damage X-Pac because he has survived nearly every disadvantage the story can create.

The reported Observer rating was 2.75 stars, and modern retrospectives frequently cite the bout as one of the better matches before the main event. It is long but purposeful. WrestleFile lands at B / 7.6.

The Undertaker and Ken Shamrock have a logical reason to fight because the Ministry has targeted Ryan Shamrock and Stephanie McMahon. The stylistic idea is also intriguing: Undertaker tries to survive against the roster's most credible submission specialist. Eighteen minutes turns that idea into a test of patience.

Shamrock repeatedly attacks limbs and catches Undertaker in counters that resemble a more deliberate shoot-style match. Undertaker answers with slower power offense and even works several submission holds of his own. The technical ambition is more interesting than the crowd reaction.

The match lacks the escalation expected in the penultimate slot. Bradshaw's appearance creates a distraction, Shamrock loses focus and Undertaker eventually counters into the Tombstone. The finish is decisive without making the preceding eighteen minutes feel necessary.

Bradshaw attacks Shamrock with a baseball bat afterward, pushing the Ministry story forward. That angle has more energy than the final section of the match. The crowd has clearly been waiting for Austin and Rock.

Cagematch's match page sits below five, and the reported Observer rating was 1.75 stars. Contemporary coverage called the bout painfully slow despite the unusual grappling approach. WrestleFile lands at D+ / 5.1.

Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock improve substantially on their WrestleMania XV main event by throwing away the pressure to make the rematch feel ceremonious. Backlash starts them at full speed and never asks either man to slow down for a grand WrestleMania structure. The result is a better fit for both personalities.

They brawl through the entrance set, destroy pieces of the stage and use the production area as naturally as the ring. Rock's camera theft becomes the signature character moment when he films his own trash talk only to turn around and find Austin waiting. The Stunner through the announce table follows immediately.

Shane McMahon's special-referee role gives the match a clear corruption problem rather than random interference. He accidentally hits Rock with the championship belt, refuses to count Austin's pin and eventually tries to escape the responsibility entirely. Vince arriving to strike his own son produces an enormous reaction because the family split has become central television.

Austin survives Rock Bottom and another belt shot before finally landing the Stunner and using the Smoking Skull championship as one last weapon. Earl Hebner counts the pin, Austin retains and Vince reluctantly returns the personalized belt. The finish is overbooked but emotionally clean.

Cagematch has the match above 8.2 from nearly two hundred votes, and the reported Observer rating was 4.25 stars, easily the highest on the card. WWE later included it among the event series' signature matches. WrestleFile lands at A- / 8.9.