WWE Backlash

**WWE Backlash** is a series of professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming events made by WWE. They are usually held in April or May, following WrestleMania.

## History

The first event, which happened in 1999 was also supposed to be part of the In Your House series. From 2004 to 2006, only _Raw_ superstars appeared at Backlash. The 2007 event was the first WWE PPV event since Judgment Day 2003 (other than the "big four" shows WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Royal Rumble, and Survivor Series) to feature all three brands (Raw, SmackDown! and ECW) after WWE stopped with brand-only events.

After the 2009 edition, Backlash no longer took place, with its April/May slot being taken over by Extreme Rules in 2010. Backlash returned in 2016 (this was the only edition no to be held in spring) and has taken place yearly since (except in 2019). The 2016 and 2017 editions were exclusive to SmackDown. The 2021 and 2022 editions were titled **WrestleMania Backlash**. The following year's event, now simply called Backlash again, took place in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The 2024 event, titled **Backlash France**, was the first big WWE show in the country, taking place near Lyon.

## Events

|#|Event|Date|City|Venue|Main Event|Ref.|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|1|Backlash (1999)|April 25, 1999|Providence, Rhode Island|Providence Civic Center|"Stone Cold" Steve Austin (c) vs. The Rock in a No Holds Barred match for the WWF Championship with Shane McMahon as the special guest referee||
|2|Backlash (2000)|April 30, 2000|Washington, D.C.|MCI Center|Triple H (c) vs. The Rock for the WWF Championship with Shane McMahon as the special guest referee||
|3|Backlash (2001)|April 29, 2001|Rosemont, Illinois|Allstate Arena|The Two Man Power Trip ("Stone Cold" Steve Austin (WWF) and Triple H (Intercontinental)) vs. The Brothers of Destruction (The Undertaker and Kane) (Tag Team) in a Winners Take All match for the WWF Championship, WWF Intercontinental Championship, and WWF Tag Team Championship||
|4|Backlash (2002)|April 21, 2002|Kansas City, Missouri|Kemper Arena|Triple H (c) vs. Hollywood Hulk Hogan for the Undisputed WWF Championship||
|5|Backlash (2003)|April 27, 2003|Worcester, Massachusetts|Worcester Centrum|Goldberg vs. The Rock||
|6|Backlash (2004)|April 18, 2004|Edmonton, Alberta, Canada|Rexall Place|Chris Benoit (c) vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H in a triple threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship||
|7|Backlash (2005)|May 1, 2005|Manchester, New Hampshire|Verizon Wireless Arena|Batista (c) vs. Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship||
|8|Backlash (2006)|April 30, 2006|Lexington, Kentucky|Rupp Arena|John Cena (c) vs. Edge vs. Triple H in a triple threat match for the WWE Championship||
|9|Backlash (2007)|April 29, 2007|Atlanta, Georgia|Philips Arena|John Cena (c) vs. Edge vs. Randy Orton vs. Shawn Michaels in a fatal four-way match for the WWE Championship||
|10|Backlash (2008)|April 27, 2008|Baltimore, Maryland|1st Mariner Arena|Randy Orton (c) vs. John "Bradshaw" Layfield vs. John Cena vs. Triple H in a fatal-four-way elimination match for the WWE Championship||
|11|Backlash (2009)|April 26, 2009|Providence, Rhode Island|Dunkin' Donuts Center|John Cena (c) vs. Edge in a Last Man Standing match for the World Heavyweight Championship||
|12|Backlash (2016)|September 11, 2016|Richmond, Virginia|Richmond Coliseum|Dean Ambrose (c) vs. AJ Styles for the WWE World Championship||
|13|Backlash (2017)|May 21, 2017|Rosemont, Illinois|Allstate Arena|Randy Orton (c) vs. Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship||
|14|Backlash (2018)|May 6, 2018|Newark, New Jersey|Prudential Center|Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe||
|15|Backlash (2020)|June 14, 2020|Orlando, Florida|WWE Performance Center|Edge vs. Randy Orton||
|16|WrestleMania Backlash (2021)|May 16, 2021|Tampa, Florida|WWE ThunderDome at Yuengling Center|Roman Reigns (c) vs. Cesaro for the WWE Universal Championship||
|17|WrestleMania Backlash (2022)|May 8, 2022|Providence, Rhode Island|Dunkin' Donuts Center|Drew McIntyre and RK-Bro (Randy Orton and Riddle) vs. The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, Jey Uso, and Jimmy Uso)||
|18|Backlash (2023)|May 6, 2023|San Juan, Puerto Rico|Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot|Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar||
|19|Backlash France|May 4, 2024|Décines-Charpieu, France|LDLC Arena|Cody Rhodes (c) vs. AJ Styles for the Undisputed WWE Championship||
|20|Backlash (2025)|May 10, 2025|St. Louis, Missouri|Enterprise Center|John Cena (c) vs. Randy Orton for the Undisputed WWE Championship||
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## Other websites

- Official Backlash Website
- Backlash results at Prowrestlinghistory.com

## Infobox (wrestling ppv series)

- **name**: WWE Backlash
- **image**: Shane-backlash.jpg
- **caption**: The Backlash (2007), 2007 Backlash set
- **brands**: WWE Raw, Raw
(2002–2009, 2018–present)
SmackDown
(2002–2003, 2007–2009, 2016–present)
ECW (WWE), ECW
(2007–2009)
- **first event**: Backlash (1999), 1999
- **gimmick**: Big event after WrestleMania
(1999–2009, 2021–present)
- **othernames**: WrestleMania Backlash (2021–2022)
Backlash France (2024)
- **promotions**: WWE
- **firstevent**: Backlash: In Your House, 1999