Grilling JR - Backlash 2001 [Show Notes] (Patreon)

Today we’re here to discuss Backlash 2001. 20 years ago today Backlash is the follow-up pay-per-view from WrestleMania X-7!

It is quite the weird time for the WWE 20 years ago. They’ve won the wrestling war and bought WCW and are kind of not really purchasing ECW. Steve Austin turns heel at the end of the biggest WrestleMania ever...WrestleMania X-7...and now The Rock has left to do a movie and who’s the big baby face to run with Austin on his heel turn?

Well the rumor and innuendo at the time was that Austin’s heel turn was to lead to Triple H being a baby face. What exactly changed after Austin’s heel turn or was it before the heel turn?

Let’s talk about you for a second Jim. How difficult is your job right now? Being the head of talent relations after the WWF acquires WCW and sifting through everything couldn’t be easy.

How much communication are you having with WCW wrestlers who’s contracts you did not pickup? Mainly the Bill Goldberg, Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Sting, Kevin Nash & Scott Halls?

7.41 million viewers tune in to the first Raw after WrestleMania. This historical Raw also is the first one without Nitro against it in forever. It draws a 5.67 rating (5.47 in the first hour and 5.85 in the second hour) and it’s up against the Duke - Arizona national championship game that drew a 15.6 rating.

This is the most amount of people that tuned into a show on TNN in the history of the channel.

It’s a different time where the Raw after WrestleMania isn’t “hijacked” and it was a normal show back then. Austin doesn’t really get a big heel reaction as no one really wants to boo him. The main event is Rock vs. Austin in a cage match for the WWF Title in a rematch which leads to HHH coming out and helping Austin retain and they beat the shit out of Rock. The two biggest heels are now put together with Vince but there’s no baby faces. We’re you worried about the direction after the Austin heel turn?

The next night is SmackDown in Oklahoma City, OK and you know what that means. JR angle time!

From the Observer…

“Ross interviewed Austin in the big angle. Austin's explanation was that he needed Vince as an insurance policy because he wasn't going to lose at Mania. He said he doesn't care about the fans because he never cared about the fans. Ross asked how he could align himself with the guy who tried to run him over (wasn't that Rikishi and HHH just the mastermind?) and Austin said he wants somebody that sick on his side. Ross talked about being there when he got out of surgery and he and his wife being the only guests at his wedding. Austin knocked off the hat and glasses and dares JR to hit him. JR walks away. Austin then jumped him. Austin beats on Ross until he juiced, then hit him with the belt and laid him out. Ross went out on a stretcher.”

Who’s idea was this and did it garner the reaction you were hoping for?

After that HHH pins Jericho to win the IC Title so the two biggest heels now have the two biggest singles titles.

Jerry Lawler is out of the company at this point and goes on Wrestling Observer Live and states that you had called him and invited him back but not Stacey Carter. Is that how you remember it?

You state in the Ross Report that inter promotional angles between WWF and WCW would have to be developed but much later down the line and that the re-building of WCW must happen first. That is the assumption of the plan at this point right?

Raw coming off your angle with Austin opens with you and your face being bruised up. You’re stuck in a room with Vince and forced to re-watch your SmackDown segment. You mention you could always quit and go work for Shane at WCW. They show a clip at one point of the blood spurt from your forehead. God damn JR.

Linda announces she’s filing for divorce on Raw. Yup.

HHH, Austin & Stephanie team up to face the Hardys & Lita which actually leads to Lita pinning Stephanie after a moonsault. Austin killed Lita after the match with chair shots and stunners. This...is a lot JR. I get that we’re looking to get Austin a heel reaction but man. It’s uncomfortable don’t you think?

Jeff Hardy pins HHH to win the IC Title on SmackDown right after. Is the thought here that the Hardys are the ones to get the baby face push?

You and Kevin Dunn are put in charge of putting together the WCW roster and front office staff is that correct?

What is that process like and how time consuming is it while you’re still running the show on the WWF side plus announcing? Was this the most stressful time for you in your role as Head of Talent Relations?

The numbers come pouring in regarding WrestleMania X7 in the weeks after. How excited are you and the office regarding it or is it just business as usual and we’re trying to figure out the mess that is starting a new company?

SmackDown ratings are down right off of WrestleMania and the lowest of the year. How burned out was creative at this point and do you think it showed?

There’s a Raw episode where Big Show uses a word that’s bleeped by TNN regarding Kaientai and Paul Heyman says later on he used the word goofs. Do you remember this and the heat that comes along with it?

HHH wins the IC title right back from Jeff Hardy on the next Raw. You’ve stated that title hopping isn’t the best of ideas. What is the point of something like this?

HHH eats him up in the match and Lita leaves his side to save Matt Hardy from an attack with Steve Austin beating him up and pins him clean with the Pedigree. Problem is...the finish is missed! The shot is based on Lita and Austin on the ramp and it’s totally missed. How does something like this happen and does it make Vince go insane? In the end this all seems silly since the Hardys aren’t planned to work Austin & HHH don’t you think?

At the next SmackDown Undertaker & Kane beat Edge & Christian for the tag team titles. HHH and Austin destroy Kane outside the ring but Taker is still able to defeat Edge & Christian to win the Tag Team Titles. Was the feeling that Austin & HHH...coming off destroying the Hardys and being the two biggest heels...needed some heat and the way to do it was to get them to destroy everyone but Kane & Taker until the pay-per-view?

We’re now two weeks removed of WCW shutting down. The last Nitro had a rating of 2.6. 8.5 million people watched the last battle of Raw is War & Monday Nitro. Was the expectation that the WWF was going to pick up that whole audience? Was it surprised or shocking when it didn’t? What was the first realization that not only had you lost quite possibly the entire WCW audience and now some of yours?

Johnny Valentine passes away on April 24th. For those that don’t know what is the impact of Johnny Valentine in wrestling and on you?

It’s reported you’re spending a lot of time in Atlanta interviewing people and negotiating deals. Did anyone stand out in those conversations that you didn’t bring on board?

We are finally at the show. Backlash takes place at the All State Arena in Chicago on April 29th. 15,592 is the house paying $831,510 with another $143,908 in merchandise. This is the 18th show in a row which is a sell out in Chicago for the WWF.

The year before in Washington Backlash drew 19,101. The 2000 Backlash butyrate was 650,000 and was main evented by The Rock facing Triple H with Steve Austin in the Rock’s corner. The 2001 Backlash buyrate is 375,000. That’s a lot of lost business in just 1 year. In just one month WrestleMania X7 had 1,040,000 buys. That’s a lot of lost business in just 1 month. Coming off WCW closing this had to be a monumental disappointment does it not?

The pay-per-view is not well received from the Observer readers. 33.6% voted thumbs up, 23.7% thumbs down, and 42.7% thumbs in the middle. Best match is voted as Chris Benoit vs Kurt Angle and worst match is Big Show vs Shane McMahon.

A. Jerry Lynn made his TV debut on Heat winning the light heavyweight title from Crash Holly in 3:37. Aside from a loud "ECW" chant, crowd was quiet. They were a little off on some stuff, but the finish was well done and fans applauded the good wrestling. Lynn won after a schoolboy holding the tights.

-Lynn’s debut is to win a title but it’s on Heat. Does it mean a lot less because it was on Heat compared to the pay-per-view? Is Lynn pulling the tights an odd finish to debut someone?

B. Lita pinned Molly Holly in 2:40 after a moonsault. Some good acrobatics but the two were rough working with each other. Lita won with a twist of fate and a moonsault, where she slipped slightly (acknowledged in commentary) and landed sort of on Holly's knees. This is clearly building toward Lita as a face challenging a heel Chyna in a title program. I sense a major phase-down for Chyna.

-Meltzer’s call here is correct as we never really get the Chyna vs. Lita program but Lita is showing signs of being a star here don’t you think?

1. X-Factor (X-Pac, Albert & Justin Credible) beat Dudleys (Bubba, D-Von & Spike) in 7:59. Basic by-the-book match. Heat on D-Von most of the way. Hot tag to Bubba who told D-Von to get the table. Albert laid out D-Von with a high kick and then later squashed Bubba in the corner and Credible & X-Pac gave him a double superkick for the finish. Dudleys did their usual post-match with D-Von crotching Albert, Spike doing the Acid drop on Credible and then a 3-D on X-Pac through a table ended this. **

-Surprising that Bubba takes the pin here but what did you think of X-Factor as a package? Not much to them wouldn’t you agree?

2. Rhyno retained the hardcore title pinning Raven in 8:10. This would be the only match on the show that exceeded expectations and may have been the best bout on the show. A lot of creative spots put in. Rhyno ran up the ring steps to kill Raven on a chair, but he moved and Rhyno crashed into the chair. Raven ran off the steps and nailed Rhyno. Started hitting each other a lot with garbage cans and street signs. A shopping cart came in which saw a bunch of "ten items or less jokes" in commentary. Raven did the drop toe hold and Rhyno's face went into a shopping cart. They killed each other with hard shots with signs to the head. Rhyno gored a shopping cart and went right through the open. Raven pummeled the shopping cart with a kitchen sink and Rhyno was nearly pinned, but finally came back with his gore for the finish. ***¼

-Was this Raven at his best in this WWF run? You can see him putting this match together to highlight Rhyno and still make it one of the best WWF Hardcore Title matches wouldn’t you agree?

3. William Regal pinned Chris Jericho in 12:11 in what was billed as a Duchess of Queensbury match, complete with a matronly looking woman dressed as a Duchess at ringside doing a gimmick of changing the rules as they went along. Match was fine as far as work, but got silly in a hurry. Jericho had Regal pinned after the lionsault when the Duchess signalled for the bell claiming it was the end of the first round. Regal gave Jericho a weird looking german suplex on his head. He used the Regal stretch but Jericho made the ropes. Then when Jericho got on the walls, Regal tapped, but it was announced that submissions aren't allowed under the rules. Regal then hit Jericho over the head with the Duchess' scepter and was DQ'd. Of course it was then ruled that there is no DQ under the rule and the match continued. Regal finally ended up with his face in the Duchess' crotch and did his priceless facials. Jericho threw her into the ring and put her in the walls, and Regal nailed Jericho with three chair shots and got the pin. From an idea standpoint, the idea of trying to directly follow this with a match requiring suspension of disbelief was very strange. *

-Is this just a waste of two of the best workers on the roster?

4. Chris Benoit beat Kurt Angle in an Iron Man submission match in 31:31. Of course the matwork was very good. Benoit did the crossface outside the ring and Angle tapped but it didn't count. Angle won the first fall at 6:34 with a kneelock. Move wasn't over since it's never been used as a finisher before. Heyman did a good job in explaining that taps would be quicker in this match. He didn't quite say because the match continues and you have to go 30, it's suicide to avoid tapping because you'll be a dead duck the rest of the match with an injured joint, but explained the psychology of it. Benoit won the second fall in 8:03 with an armbar. That move wasn't over either for the same reason. Benoit threw down the ref, allowing Angle to use a chair shot and put on the ankle lock at 10:19. Angle then went up 3-1 using Benoit's own crossface on him at 11:05. Benoit Did a sharpshooter, which was over, for a rope break before using a half crab for the submission at 18:02. Ahead 3-2, Angle started stalling. With no clock and scoreboard, the live fans didn't seem to get the story they were telling about logical stalling and riding the clock. Ross, with his sports background, did a very good job of getting that across to the TV viewers which is why it played so much better on TV. I think the very first suplex of the match didn't come until 26:40 by Angle, who did a few. Benoit did the rolling german. Angle came back with an ankle lock that would put the match out of reach, but Benoit reversed it and did the move himself for the submission tying it up at 27:50. That story didn't get across well live. After the rest period, they had 1:40 left. Benoit did a german suplex but Angle did a low blow and ankle lock, but a rope break. Another ankle lock and another rope break. Angle did a back suplex into another ankle lock and Benoit gutted it out until time expired, then right after the bell, tapped out, which pretty well guaranteed he was winning. They ordered a sudden death overtime, and Benoit got the crossface in 1:31 to win. ***1/4

-The presentation is tough live without a scoreboard or clock but Meltzer credits you for getting it over to the TV audience. How does a concept match like this fail in person when it should be easy to convey it? How hard are Iron Man matches for workers to get the fans into let alone adding in submissions?

5. Shane McMahon beat Big Show in 11:53 in a last man standing match. There was nothing terrible about it but aside from the bump, nothing much good either. McMahon did three real hard chair shots to the head. They did the old ether on a towel gimmick by Shane to put Show down, but he didn't stay down for ten. Vince hit Shane with a chair and Show gave Shane the final cut. Jack Doan gave a really slow count and Show picked him up at eight. Choke slam and again Show picked him up at eight. Show put Shane in the torture rack when Test ran in as the designated WCW savior with his high kick. Show threw Test over the top and beat him up as well. They ended up all fighting to the entrance area. Shane climbed the beanstalk, which was actually the Backlash set-up. Show went to climb, but Test pulled Show down. Test started killing Show with a sign. Shane got up to the top, which looked to be 29 feet high, and I guess came down with an elbow on a crash pad. Shane sold the blow as well, as Test had to pick him up and drag him over a pipe, which he collapsed on, to beat the count while Show didn't. They showed a million replays, and that took a ton of guts to look down and jump, but the replays also showed Shane never came close to hitting Show. *1/2

-This is just a stunt show really. The chair shots are brutal to watch now. But the finish is the finish. Super ballsy but my god Jim Shane has been jumping off shit forever!

6. Matt Hardy retained the European title in a three-way over Christian and Eddy Guerrero in 6:52. No heat but very smooth good wrestling. A few near falls. Edge came out and speared Matt. Jeff came out as well. Christian did the unprettier on Guerrero and then Jeff did a swanton, behind the refs back, which actually totally missed Christian, leading to Matt using the twist of fate on Christian for the pin. **¾

-It’s super underwhelming after all the stuff with the Hardys and Austin & Triple H...and Matt Hardy is in a 3-way for the European Title and Jeff Hardy doesn’t even wrestle. What the hell happened here?

Do you think it’s disappointing for the talent coming off of the TLC match from WrestleMania that the Dudleys, Edge & Christian and the Hardys that this is what they’re doing on this show?

7. Steve Austin & HHH beat Undertaker & Kane in 27:11 to win the tag titles in a match where Austin's WWF title and HHH's IC belt were also at stake. Thus HHH joins Shawn Michaels as the only wrestler to hold the WWF, IC, European and tag titles. Tried to tell a story with Kane having an arm injury and Taker trying to protect him from his own guts. Undertaker took the punishment and wouldn't tag out. Worked on his knees but he wouldn't tag. It was scary how badly the fans were wanting to cheer Austin. Early in the match, he went to one corner and you could see everyone in the building on that side cheering. Kane tagged himself in and they bumped for him as he did the one-arm gimmick. He gave Austin a clothesline off the top and slammed HHH off the top. Austin & HHH started working on Kane's elbow after the old divorce court move. Austin hit the arm with a chair. Undertaker somewhere got his cuts from last month opened hardway again. At this point, something happened with Austin and Kane as you could tell there was a major communication problem. Kane went for a clothesline, Austin was out of position and not expecting it. Austin went for a back suplex and Kane wasn't ready and didn't jump for it. They had some trouble later. HHH did the pedigree on Kane, but instead of going for the pin, which would necessitate a kick out, he tagged Austin. Saying HHH is so clever is not a knock, it's praise, and he is. It is a knock that sometimes what is good for him isn't good for the company. Clever stuff like him tagging out doesn't hurt anyone. Taker choke slammed Austin but Stephanie distracted ref Earl Hebner. Hebner shoved Stephanie off the apron. Kane did an enzuigiri but HHH crashed into Hebner. Hebner missed the hot tag to Undertaker, who gave HHH the last ride but Hebner wouldn't count, thinking he wasn't the legal man. Another ref bump. Austin did the stunner on Kane but no ref. Stephanie gave HHH a belt to use, but Kane used a high kick on him and then her. This set up Vince's run-in with a sledge hammer. Kane went after Vince, but with the cameras missing a finishing sequence again, HHH hit Kane with the sledge hammer to the head and scored the pin. ***

Lot to unpack here. 30 minutes is a long time here for these 4 especially with the story they told. The miscommunication with Austin & Kane is not something you’d ever expect to see in a WWF pay-per-view main event and just you can feel the crowd wanting to cheer Austin. Was this just a sign of things to come? How did the cameras miss the finish?

What say you Jim, thumbs up, thumbs in the middle or thumbs down?