Backlash 2001: A Good Show With the First Cracks Starting to Show

The opener has enough pace and crowd energy to function, but it never grows beyond the level of a decent television six-man tag. The Dudleys are the obvious emotional center, with Spike providing the movement and Bubba Ray and D-Von supplying the familiar power offense, while X-Pac and Justin Credible do most of the work for X-Factor. Albert gives the heel team size, but the match is structured more around quick tags and interruptions than a sustained build. The finish comes when X-Pac and Credible catch Bubba with a double superkick for the pin. It is acceptable opening-card wrestling, yet there is little here that demands a return viewing.

Rhyno and Raven give the Hardcore Championship one of its better straightforward matches because the violence has a clear rhythm instead of becoming a parade of random objects. Raven's willingness to absorb punishment meshes well with Rhyno's explosive offense, and the match moves naturally between the ring and the surrounding area without losing track of the championship. The shopping cart, trash can and ringside weapons create the expected chaos, but the decisive moment belongs to Rhyno's physicality. Raven tries to create one final opening and instead runs directly into the Gore, allowing Rhyno to retain. At a little over eight minutes, the match is compact, forceful and probably the cleanest piece of undercard action on the show.

The Duchess of Queensbury match is intentionally absurd, but the joke keeps interrupting the wrestlers instead of enhancing them. Jericho and Regal are talented enough to create a solid wrestling match underneath the gimmick, yet every time Jericho appears to win, the Duchess changes or reinterprets a rule to protect Regal. A submission does not count, a round suddenly ends, and the stipulation becomes less about competition than about finding another way to frustrate Jericho. The finish follows the same pattern when Jericho puts the Duchess in the Walls of Jericho and Regal uses the distraction to attack with a chair. There are entertaining character beats, but the constant rule manipulation makes the match feel deliberately unsatisfying.

Benoit and Angle turn a difficult stipulation into the night's best wrestling match by treating every submission as part of a competitive escalation. Angle takes an early lead and repeatedly steals or counters Benoit's own techniques, including using the Crossface, while Benoit gradually adjusts and begins attacking from different positions. The score reaches 3-3 before the thirty-minute limit expires, forcing sudden-death overtime and giving the match a natural final gear rather than an arbitrary extension. Benoit eventually traps Angle in the Crossface and earns the decisive fourth submission. The match is not flawless, and the early falls arrive quickly, but the final half builds real tension and deepens a rivalry that had already produced excellent wrestling.

The Last Man Standing match is remembered almost entirely for one enormous image, but the route to that image is more functional than great. Big Show dominates much of the fight through size, while Shane survives by using the environment and accepting help when the story demands it. Vince McMahon and Test both become involved, which reduces the sense that Shane is winning through his own offense, but the interference also creates the opening for the spectacle everyone remembers. Shane climbs high above the stage and launches himself onto Big Show with the Leap of Faith. Test then helps Shane stand before the ten-count, giving the match a memorable finish even if the competitive structure is heavily dependent on outside help.

The European Championship triple threat is short enough that it never has time to become a major match, but the three wrestlers fill the available minutes with useful action. Christian and Guerrero both bring opportunism, while Matt Hardy works as the champion constantly trying to keep two challengers from turning the match against him. Edge and Jeff Hardy eventually become involved, adding another layer of interference to a card already full of it, yet the finishing sequence is at least energetic. Christian hits the Unprettier on Guerrero, Jeff breaks the cover with a Swanton Bomb, and Matt follows with the Twist of Fate on Christian to retain. The match is fun, crowded and over before it can develop much depth.

The main event is a sprawling twenty-five-minute tag match built around championship stakes rather than a single clean rivalry. Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H enter holding the two major singles titles, while Undertaker and Kane bring the tag championships, so nearly every late near-fall carries the possibility of changing three belts at once. The match is strongest when the four wrestlers simply trade power offense and isolate Kane's injured arm, but the final stretch becomes increasingly dependent on referee bumps and McMahon-family interference. Vince McMahon eventually hands Triple H the sledgehammer, Triple H strikes Kane, and the Power Trip win the tag titles while retaining their singles championships. The stakes and atmosphere are strong enough to survive the overbooking.