WWE Backlash 2007 (2007)

A different way of telling a story

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

We begin with a Tag Team Championship match, the Hardy Boys vs. Cade and Mudroch. It's a passable but unexceptional opener (5/10).Next we have an enjoyable Women's Title match, Melina vs. Mickie James. Not only are they both very hot, but they are also among the few women left in the WWE who can still execute solid submission moves (especially the underrated Melina) (6/10).I skipped the next match (Benoit vs. MVP), for reasons that should be plainly obvious.The 3-on-1 handicap match for the ECW title has Lashley going for power, Umaga going wild, Shane McMahon trying to go technical, and Vince McMahon getting a chance to discredit the ECW brand even more by becoming its champion (5/10).The Last Man Standing match for the World Heavyweight Title (Undertaker vs. Batista) is not bad of its type (which is not my type), but the only really memorable spot comes at the very end, with both men falling from a certain height (6/10).Thankfully, the PPV ends on a high note with a pretty exciting Fatal 4-Way match for the WWE title (Cena vs. Edge vs. Orton vs. HBK). It moves at a fairly consistent pace, and although the outcome is predictable, the way it happens is quite inventive. It's also easily the match that the crowd seems to care most about (7/10).

This has not only got to be the best Backlash in history, but Raw's best PPV this year after Unforgiven last year. FIRST MATCH- HARDY BOYS {CHAMPIONS} VS. LANCE CADE & TREVOR MURDOCH FOR THE WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS A nice way too kick off Backlash and what a way. This tag match took about 13 minutes, with great wrestling action & psychology between these two teams. Hardy Boys win after a Twist Of Fate then an Swanton Bomb. 6/10SECOND MATCH- MELINA {CHAMPION} VS. MICKIE JAMES FOR THE WWE WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP This has got to be the longest Women's match I have ever seen, without Trish or Lita, I'm surprised these two women can show their athletic abilities and wrestling skills in a close 10 minute match. Melina wins after an Inverted DDT. 5/10THIRD MATCH- CHRIS BENOIT {CHAMPION} VS. MVP FOR THE WWE UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP A great match with a good psychology between these two athletes, i've just got to say that their Wrestlemania 23 encounter was just a bit better. Benoit retains title after a surprise roll up on MVP for the win. 5/10FOURTH MATCH- BOBBY LASHLEY {CHAMPION} VS. VINCE MCMAHON, SHANE MCMAHON & UMAGA IN A 1 ON 3 HANDICAP MATCH FOR THE ECW CHAMPIONSHIP With Mr. McMahon's matches always being a bit of a bore, this was a surprise for me, as this was a great match. Bobby Lashley showed off his great power and best pure athlete abilities so far in WWE. Umaga nails two splashes from the top on Lashley, then Mr. McMahon tags in and pins Lashley to become the new ECW Champion much to the shock of the ECW commentators. 5/10FIFTH MATCH- UNDERTAKER {CHAMPION} VS. BATISTA IN A LAST MAN STANDING MATCH FOR THE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP This is definitely what I will call a grand match. After their epic Wrestlemania 23 encounter, this was another great match in the chapter of the rivalry. I'll go even far as to say, this may be a contender for Match Of The Year, just maybe. Batista spears Undertaker through the bottom equipment, as both men stay down for the 10 count. Nobody won, but Undertaker still retains his World Title. 7/10SIXTH MATCH- JOHN CENA {CHAMPION} VS. RANDY ORTON VS. EDHE VS. SHAWN MICHAELS IN A FATAL 4 WAY MATCH FOR THE WWE CHAMPIONSHIP This was a very good match, but would have been better if the match had just a bit off a more fast pace into it. But it was still an exciting Backlash main event, which told the story off Cena overcoming the odds again. John Cena has got to be the greatest WWE Champion after Rock and Brock Lesnar. 6/10No wonder this PPV is over-rated, as it is over-rated for a good reason. Six matches on the card, and not one match disappoints. I think Smackdown is the best brand in WWE, but Raw definitely held it's own here tonight, great PPV. Good job WWE.Overall I'll give it 8/10 & a B+

Following the hyped WrestleMania23, Raw, SmackDown, and ECW present yet another good-looking card to us from a sold-out Philips Arena, Atlanta. I personally thought that 6 matches were kind of little for 3 brands (average 2 matches per brand). Anyway, here's my evaluation of the event: The Hardyz vs. Trevor Murdoch and Lance Cade - Good high-flying action by the Hardyz as usual, although Murdoch and Cade at times kinda paced down the match. Hardyz win after Matt lands a Twist of Fate outta nowhere on Trevor, and Jeff follows it up with a Swanton Bomb, Matt then takes the pin. 7.5/10 Melina vs. Mickie James - (skip) Good break, anyway Chris Benoit vs. MVP - Nice match, although a bit too technical for my liking. Nice mat reversals by MVP, Benoit was kept under pressure, although in the end he took the win with a cradle. Technical fans look out for this one. 6/10 ECW championship: Umaga, Shane and Vince McMahon vs. Bobby Lashley - I hate when the McMahons include themselves in matches, gets so unfair (and stupid). Bobby had the upper hand for like the first half of the match, at times Shane almost saved the match. Vince ridiculously pinned Bobby TWO top-rope splashes by Umaga. 7/10 World Heavyweight championship (Last Man Standing match): Batista vs. the Undertaker - Great match, both men were on it. Undertaker worked on Batista's knee, and leg-dropped him through the announcer's table (ouch). Undertaker was about to powerslam Batista off the stage but Batista countered it into a Spear and both men dove down the equipment area; support beams fell down, circuits blew up and what-not. Wow. Both men were out flat till the 10 count and so Taker's still champ. 8/10 WWE Championship (Fatal 4way): John Cena vs. Edge vs. Randy Orton vs. Shawn Michaels - Match of the night, fast-paced and very exciting. Everyone gets to get some of each other. Ending was very tense; Orton attempts to RKO Cena, but Cena pushes him right into Edge's Spear, and then F-U's Edge, only to be later belted by a Sweet Chin Music from Michaels and the impact fells Cena onto Orton. The pin is over before Michaels can break it up. At least this time it wasn't Cena's fault that he won. 9/10 A good PPV once again, about as good as Mania for its caliber. Almost all the bouts were in the decent to good range, with the World Heavyweight and WWE Championship matches standing out. Overall PPV rating: 8/10

This year's Backlash had all the things I love about Pro Wrestling. The suspense, the emotions and the feeling that anything could happen is what makes wrestling so good and this event had all of that. The last three matches the feeling of anything can happen definitely lived up to itself. Benoit vs. MVP was a good technical match, maybe not as good as their WrestleMania match, but still, good enough. MVP should become a big star for the future in my opinion. The ECW handicapped match was alright, but it was the outcome that I really couldn't see coming. I was just like everyone else, expecting Bobby Lashley to kick out of Vince's pin attempt when out of nowhere the referee counted three and Vince was the new champion! I felt the shock waves! The internet 'Smarts' must be turning in their armchairs! What I think WWECW is doing here is that they want all the internet fans to feel the emotion of utter hatred for Vince, which is what Pro Wrestling is all about, the emotion. The Last Man Standing match between Undertaker and Batista had a lot of suspense, which really helped me enjoy the match. The legdrop on Batista through the announcer's table was cool, and I saw Batista take a great blow to the head (without putting his hands up) with the steel steps by Undertaker. The ending was definitely one of those 'anything can happen' feelings. But now on for the main event. The fatal four-way match between John Cena, Edge, Randy Orton and Shawn Michaels was terrific, with bodyslams to the ringside area and a moonsault from Michaels similar to his WrestleMania XX match. After seeing this match (and the Cena-Michaels match on RAW in London), if you still think Cena has no ability then you must be in denial. He did a brilliant top-rope legdrop onto Edge and Orton and the way Cena broke up the double boston on Michaels just speaks for itself. No-one expected the ending and anyone tired of Cena would have felt the frustrations of him winning again and would watch WWE again to see if Michaels could get another shot at the title. This match was all about emotions and entertainment and deserves a 5/5. All in all an excellent PPV for non-WrestleMania standards. I can't wait to see what happens next with the Cena-Michaels storyline.