Backlash 2009 was a largely enjoyable event upon the first viewing back in April, but how does it hold up 7 months later?

The DVD itself is fairly bog standard with the only extras coming in the form of a 2 minute aftermath video of the WWE title match and really, it adds nothing to the DVD as the video is just embarrassing. In short, it is a video of HHHs bad acting when on a stretcher, so it is a disappointing addition, but does the main content live up to the price?

Video Package
We start off with a small recap of the results of Wrestlemania, which then moves onto a piece about vengeance, whilst focusing on each of the title matches, as well as the I Quit match between the Hardys. Fairly bog standard stuff really in this, in that nothing particularly stands out.

Jack Swagger vs. Christian
This was an enjoyable match that despite not reaching the great heights of their match on ECW prior to this event, still made for a great start to the event. The match is largely controlled by Swagger with his mat based offense and excellent shows of strength. It is a shame that Swagger has fallen so far from this point as he is capable of putting on excellent matches, but he appears to be relegated to midcard status right now, with no sign of any climb. This bout ends with a double turnbuckle cover removal spot which leads to Swagger hitting one. Christian then hits the Unprettier for the win to claim his first ECW title.

Soon after, we get a backstage segment with Edge and Christian for the first time in years. This entailed Christian being told to not get adjusted to being champion and Christian subsequently asking Edge what happened to make him less fun. This worked quite well as Edge was able to hype his main event match later in the night and also gave us fans hope of an Edge and Christian reunion. Sadly, that is yet to happen.

Chris Jericho vs. Ricky Steamboat
This followed on from Steamboat’s excellent showings at Wrestlemania and RAW and was more of the same despite the poor angle that surrounded it. Watching this again months later, I’m still amazed at how athletic and skilled Steamboat still is after the huge period of time that he was retired. Steamboat was able to skin the cat, execute a diving crossbody over the ropes and perform a belly-to-back suplex and with the exception of a badly botched Figure Four; everything was done to near-perfection.

We also got our first “Vintage” from Michael Cole, which took until the 27th minute of the PPV. Incredible (!) Looking back, I think this was the period when Michael Cole went from being annoying to unbearable and his constant “He’s got him! He’s got him……no” doesn’t build tension for a pinfall, it’s just annoying.
Anyway, this bout ends via Walls of Jericho, which really was the right result and I’m glad I was able to see this match. I missed his heyday, but even at the age of 56, he’s better than a lot of the current roster, so this match is well worth watching. Ricky then leaves to a big round of applause from the crowd and hopefully this event won’t be the last time we see him, but if it is, he did himself proud.

Unfortunately, straight after, we are treated to another Santino/Santina skit. This whole angle had its moments that were slightly amusing, but for the most part, it was horrific.

Kane vs. CM Punk
The background to this was rather lame. Kane apparently was angry that Punk kicked him off the ladder to win the Money in the Bank briefcase a month earlier. Yeah…..that makes sense. The bout itself was average in that it was your typical David vs. Goliath bout. Punk attempted to wear Kane down with kicks and Kane would just shove Punk away.

 The result really was the only noteworthy part of this match as Kane would pick up a win over a guy who you’d think would win until his MITB cash-in. Instead, Kane, who would later take a long lay-off, picks up the win with a Chokeslam. Really, it just says a lot about the logic of the booking and creative departments.

Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy
After a decent video package, the I Quit match begins and thankfully, this wasn’t too gimmicky. After a gimmicky bout at Wrestlemania, another one would have really been overkill. The commentators focused largely on the events in Jeff’s life that had been converted into storylines, such as his dog’s death. Yeah, it worked well during the match, but it would have been fine without abusing Jeff’s personal demons and recent problems.

As for the match itself, Matt mainly focuses on body parts and weak submissions and Jeff uses his usual offense. Towards the end, the match is littered with questions of “Do you want to quit?” from the referee, which may seem logical given the nature of an I Quit match, but the frequency of the questioning did get a little annoying.

The ending was one of the more confusing in recent memory. There was the duct tape and table spot with Jeff standing atop a ladder, about to jump onto a tied-up Matt. Matt quits, but then the supposed heroic face then pulls off a cowardly act in jumping onto him anyway. I can understand wanting final retribution, but it just comes across as cowardly to attack a man who is tied up and this should be the opposite of what a babyface would do. Good bout, wrong ending.

Santina and Great Khali skit
While most Santina interactions were awful, this one had some good moments. Santina refused to kiss Khali on the basis that he was in love with JR, which leads to calls of “Come on Mr Barbeque Man.” JRs sarcastic response of “Mr Barbeque Man (!) Who fed you that line?” was just phenomenal and made sure this segment didn’t completely tank. We are then “treated” to an impromptu match of Beth vs. Santina that lasts 3 seconds after a Khali chop to Beth. I think that Santino’s inability to keep a straight face also made sure that this segment wasn’t a total waste.

HHH, Batista and Shane McMahon vs. Legacy
This was a better effort than the disappointing singles bout at Wrestlemania, even though Orton was absent for nearly 10 minutes. The bout worked quite well as Legacy controlled most of the matchup by isolating their opponents until the inevitable comeback. This bout was also helped by the fact that Shane’s phantom punches were not as obvious during this match, so despite him being an old, non-wrestler, he was a credible part of the match.

The ending was well done with Orton delivering the punt to HHH to win the WWE title. The stretcher and the concerned commentator voices were brought out and this seemed to be effective at selling the punt. Sadly, the crowd didn’t help the situation by chanting “Na na na, hey hey hey goodbye.” This match was yet another enjoyable matchup for this card, leading to the main event of:

Edge vs. John Cena
Once again, another great match between Edge and Cena, but sadly this came at a time when I feel that Edge was missing any sort of direction. This just felt like a match that was thrown together to move the WHC from RAW to Smackdown, so there wasn’t any emotional involvement for the involved viewer. Luckily, both participants gave us a reason to care by putting on a great match. It starts with a brawl, before moving onto a couple of submission attempts and the introduction of the steel steps to the ring.

Late in the match, there is even a crowd spot as Cena FUs Edge into crowd members which was incredibly entertaining, as is Cole’s overacting as he cries “INTO THE WW UNIVERSE!” His over-excitement apparently causing that nice botch and really it wasn’t a good night for Cole.

After a quick trip through the concourse, both men head towards the ramp where we see the excellent spotlight stunt where Big Show chokeslams Cena through, complete with sparks. Certainly, this was an impressive ending to an excellent match and all importantly, ended the PPV on a good note, especially when Cole sounded like he was on the brink of tears.

Overall
Though it was plagued by a few non-sensical issues, this event was very good and one of the best this calendar year. The event started well with Swagger and Steamboat putting on excellent performances and finished well with the excellent WHC match. While the middle of the event may have lacked something, overall, it is worth the purchase. Special mention goes to Jim Ross for sarcastic comment previously mentioned.

Alex Williams
alex@ifight365.com