WWF Backlash - April 25, 2004

Chris Benoit pinned D'Lo Brown after a headbutt in 0:22:38.
Rating: *** 3/4

Scotty Too Hotty pinned Perry Saturn with the Too Hot Drop in 0:19:57.
Rating: ** 1/2

Jeff Hardy pinned X-Pac after a moonsault bodyblock in 0:23:06.
Rating: *** 3/4
(Jeff Hardy retained the WWF Light-heavyweight Title.)

Loser-Leaves-Town Match:
E & C defeated The Outsiders when Chavo Jr. pinned Hall with his special move in 0:35:54.
Rating: ** 1/4

No-Countout-No-DQ-Falls-Count-Anywhere Match:
Erik Angle made Booker T submit to a sleeperhold in 0:17:05.
Rating: ****
(Erik Angle retained the WWF Hardcore Title.)

Loser-Leaves-Town Match:
The Holly Cousins defeated Kaientai when Holly pinned Michinoku with the Hollycaust in 0:40:04.
Rating: **** 1/4

Al Snow pinned William Regal with the Snow Plow in 0:23:39.
Rating: ** 1/2
(Al Snow won the WWF European Title.)

Kurt Angle pinned Triple H with the Torture Rack Suplex in 0:26:55.
Rating: ** 1/2

Reckless Youth made Sean O'Haire submit to the Stretch Plum in 0:27:40.
Rating: **** 1/4

Hardly Christian defeated The Impact Players when M. Hardy pinned Credible with the Neckbreaker in 0:26:52.
Rating: ** 1/2
(Hardly Christian won the WWF World Tag-Team Titles.)

Edge pinned Dean Malenko with the Downward Spiral in 0:24:47.
Rating: ** 3/4
(Edge retained the WWF Intercontinental Title.)

Rob Van Dam pinned Ric Flair with his special move in 0:25:32.
Rating: ***
(Rob Van Dam retained the WWF World Heavyweight Title.)

Notes:

In a match on RAW the week after WrestleMania, D'Lo Brown and Dean Malenko turned heel against their partners Chris Benoit and Edge while fighting Flair, Jericho, and The Outsiders. D'Lo and Dean didn't join WCW, but they did turn heel. That set up this match between Benoit and D'Lo. Benoit is on his way to main eventing again, so he gets the win in a long, good match against Brown.
Scotty returns to PPV after being gone for 14 months. Now, emersed in a big return feud with Saturn, Scotty is in a must win situation, so he wins to end the feud.
X-Pac tried to regain the Lightheavyweight title from Jeff Hardy, but he will fail. I've finally figured out what I want to do with X-Pac, but it'll take two years to get it done. For now, Hardy will stay as Lightheavy champ.
The Outsiders get their big chance, but they blow it when E & C, the most over team in the WWF, beat them to send them packing back to WCW.
Booker T got involved in a feud with Erik Angle after he declared he was better than every main eventer in the WWF. So here he challenged for the Hardcore title, but Angle proved his point when he beat Booker to retain.
The Holly's and Kaientai end their years long feud here when they fought in a "man pinned must leave WWF" match. Hardcore pinned TAKA with the Hollycaust to send Michinoku packing to ECW.
Al Snow challenged William Regal for the European title when Regal claimed he could beat any former European champ. Snow wins because Regal is moving on to something else soon. After the match, Scotty attacks Al Snow setting up their feud.
Triple H has become a little frustrated in the past month, especially when he got booked in a match with his friend Kurt Angle by his ex-wife Stephanie McMahon. Angle wins, and after the match Triple H snaps and goes off on Angle. Triple H has turned heel.
Sean O'Haire was getting sick of Reckless Youth saying he was the best thing wrestling had ever seen, so a feud began. Reckless Youth cheated a bit, but was able to beat O'Haire
Hardly Christian were the #1 contenders to the Tag-Team titles, thus the title shot. After over a year of never getting a title shot and finally winning the titles from The Outsiders, the Impact Players were rather frustrated. And tonight when Matt Hardy & Christian won the Tag titles, that was the straw that broke the camel's back. Backstage, the Players beat down the Holly's to make the heel turn complete.
Edge and Malenko are fighting after what transpired before, which I already explained. Malenko tried hard to get his first IC title reign, but Edge is able to beat him and retain the title.
And finally, Ric Flair gets his shot. If he is able to beat Van Dam, he will be able to reopen the doors for WCW to invade; ALL of WCW this time, including Test, The Rock, Kronik, etc. The match is a good one, but after a Van Daminator, Ric Flair is out and Rob Van Dam has retained the WWF World title! WCW is gone again!