Backlash 2007

Backlash 2007 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), which took place on April 29, 2007 at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Following WrestleMania, all pay-per-views became tri-branded. It was the ninth annual event under the Backlash name and starred talent from Raw, SmackDown!, and ECW.
The main match on the Raw brand was a Fatal Four-Way match for the WWE Championship involving champion John Cena, Randy Orton, Edge, and Shawn Michaels. Cena won the match and retained the championship after pinning Orton. The primary match on the SmackDown! brand was a Last Man Standing match for the World Heavyweight Championship between The Undertaker and Batista, which ended in a no-contest after both men failed get to their feet before the referee counted to ten. The featured match on the ECW brand was Bobby Lashley versus Team McMahon (Umaga, Vince and Shane McMahon) in a Handicap match for the ECW World Championship. Vince won the title and the match for his team after pinning Lashley.
==Background==
The main event scripted into Backlash on the Raw brand was a Fatal Four Way match for the WWE Championship, a standard match involving four wrestlers between John Cena, Edge, Shawn Michaels and Randy Orton. At the Royal Rumble in January, Michaels was one of the final two participants in the Royal Rumble match, a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared winner before being eliminated by The Undertaker. On the February 5, 2007 edition of Raw, Michaels earned the right to become the number-one contender to the WWE Championship at WrestleMania after defeating Edge and Orton in a Triple Threat match, a standard match involving three wrestlers. At WrestleMania, Cena defeated Michaels to retain the WWE Championship, after wrapping his arm around the neck of Michaels in a sleeper hold, a submission referred to as an STFU. On the April 9 edition of Raw, a standard match between Michaels and Orton to determine the number-one contender to the WWE Championship ended in a no-contest, after both men's shoulders were on the mat while they were pinning one another. Later that night, during Edge's talk show, "The Cutting Edge", Edge claimed that General Manager Jonathan Coachman, a portrayed match maker and rules enforcer had named him the number-one contender to the WWE title. Honorary General Manager Michael Pena, from the Make-a-Wish Foundation, however, announced that Michaels, Orton, and Edge would face Cena for the title at Backlash in a Fatal Four-Way match, a standard match involving four wrestlers.
Another rivalry leading up to the event was between The Undertaker and Batista over the World Heavyweight Championship. At the Royal Rumble in January, The Undertaker won the 2007 Royal Rumble match. As a result, he was given the right to a title match at WrestleMania for any of WWE's three major championships (ECW World, World Heavyweight, or WWE). On the February 5 edition of Raw, Undertaker teased all three World Champions (Bobby Lashley, Batista, and John Cena). Undertaker then chose World Heavyweight Champion Batista as his opponent to face at WrestleMania 23. At WrestleMania, The Undertaker defeated Batista to win the World Heavyweight Championship to extend his WrestleMania undefeated streak to 15-0. Their rivalry, however, did not end, as General Manager Theodore Long booked a Last Man Standing match—a match where the first person unable to respond to a ten count by the referee lost—between The Undertaker and Batista at Backlash.
The main rivalry on the ECW brand was between Bobby Lashley and Team McMahon (Umaga, Vince and Shane McMahon), in which Lashley and Vince were feuding over the ECW World Championship. The rivalry started on the February 26 edition of Raw, when Lashley was selected by Donald Trump to compete at WrestleMania 23. Lashley was selected to compete against Vince's representative, Umaga, in Hair vs. Hair match, a match in which the loser or the loser's representative would have to get his head shaved bald. On the April 9 edition of Raw, Shane challenged Lashley to a Hair vs. Title match for the ECW World Championship. Shane got himself intentionally disqualified, but did not get his head shaved. After the match, Umaga and Vince and Shane attacked Lashley. After the beating, Vince announced that Lashley would have to defend the ECW World Championship against Team McMahon at Backlash in a 3-on-1 Handicap match, a match consisting of one team of wrestlers facing off against a team of wrestlers with numerical superiority such as three against two, or three against one.
The Divas rivalry on the Raw brand was between Melina and Mickie James over the WWE Women's Championship. Melina won the title from James on the February 19th edition of Raw. Last month at WrestleMania, Melina retained the Women's Championship by defeating Ashley in a LumberJill match. The following night on Raw, Melina did a photo op with the paparazzi posing with the Women's title until James interrupted by attacking Melina. During the overseas tour in Paris, James won the Women's Championship in a triple threat match that also involved Victoria however Jonathan Coachman gave Melina a rematch since James pinned Victoria and not Melina and Melina regained the title by pinning James with her feet on the ropes. It was later announced that Melina would defend the title against James at Backlash.
==Results==
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*Dark Match: Carlito defeated Johnny Nitro (6:21)
*The Hardys (Matt and Jeff) (c) defeated Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch to retain the World Tag Team Championship (15:18)
*Melina (c) defeated Mickie James to retain the WWE Women's Championship (9:02)
*Chris Benoit (c) defeated Montel Vontavious Porter to retain the WWE United States Championship (13:10)
*Team McMahon (Umaga, Vince McMahon, and Shane McMahon) defeated Bobby Lashley (c) in a Handicap Match to win the ECW World Championship (15:45)
*The Undertaker (c) fought Batista to a double count-out in a Last Man Standing match for the World Heavyweight Championship (20:23)
*John Cena (c) defeated Edge, Randy Orton and Shawn Michaels in a Fatal Four-Way match to retain the WWE Championship (19:21)
==Other on-screen talent==
;Commentators
*Jim Ross 
*Jerry Lawler 
*Michael Cole 
*John "Bradshaw" Layfield 
*Joey Styles 
*Tazz 
;Interviewers
*Todd Grisham
*Maria Kanellis	
;Ring announcer
*Justin Roberts
*Tony Chimel
;Referees
*Chad Patton
*Jim Korderas
*Mickie Henson
*Marty Elias
*Jack Doan
*Mike Chioda
*Scott Armstrong
==See also==
*List of WWE pay-per-view events
*WWE Event History
*Backlash
==DVD release==
* Backlash 2007 on DVD
==External links==
* Backlash 2007 Official Website
* Backlash 2007 at CAGEMATCH
* Backlash 2007 at Online World of Wrestling
* on WWE Network
Category:Backlash
Category:World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view events
Category:Events with Last Man Standing matches
Category:Events with Handicap matches
Category:2007 pay-per-view events