Let's be realistic.

Fantastic!

Blistering performances.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

The even that took place after Wrestlemania 20 for the Raw Brand and to say the least it at least got some things right while Wrestlemania 20 didn't. I remember watching this show on Pay Per View live with my brother.However there are some matches on this card that were so so and one or two that were forgettable so now let's get on with the review. 1. Shelton Benjamin vs Ric Flair. The match was the opener since Shelton defeat Triple H in his debut on Raw brand. This match was not much to write home to. Rating 6 out of 102.Jonathan Coachman vs Tajiri. To say this is a joker match would be honoring it the match itself was just bad.Rating 4 out of 103.Chris Jericho Vs Christian and Trish Stratus. Now this is where the show starts to get more interesting as this match was actually enjoyable and interesting to boot.Rating: 7 out of 104.Victoria vs Lita for the WWE Women's Championship. This is when women's wrestling as actually good and when we had women who knew how to wrestle these two would be the right example of it. Lita is my favorite Female wrestler both women work a good match all together. Rating: 7 out of 105.Randy Orton vs Cactus Jack Hardcore Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship. Now this is the match of the night as the Hardcore Legend show The Legend Killer the true meaning of pain with the biggest Oh My God Moment came when Randy Orton was slam right into thumbtacks and I remember my brother and I were shocked. Both men went to war and gave us the match of the night.Rating: 10 out of 106. Rosey And The Hurricane vs La Resistance. This was nothing special since it was coming out after the match between Randy and Cactus Jack.Rating: 5 out of 107.EDGE vs Kane. What would have been a interesting match turn out to be nothing short of Edge's return to the WWE after a year from Neck injury. But the match was too short and hardly got the spot off the ground.Rating: 6 out of 108.Triple H vs Shawn Michaels vs Chris Benoit Triple Threat Match for the World Heavyweight Championship. The Match was dubbed The Final Encounter and it sure was. In the rematch from Wrestlemania 20 the two men gave us another battle and left us with a good main event match.Rating: 8 out of 10.Overall Backlash 2004 was a good PPV and in my opinion improve over Wrestlemania 20 plus with the Randy Orton and Cactus Jack match it's hard not to appreciate hard work from wrestling.I give WWE Backlash 2004 an 8 out of 10

Raw had its First Pay Per View of 2004 in Canada. Benoit's hometown and what a better way to come back then to show your hometown that you can be the best.1. Shelton Benjamin defeated. Ric Flair in a very good singles contest. Benjamin wins it with a super-kick. Must be watching HBK.Rating: 6/10 ( C ) 2. Jonathan Coachman defeated. Tajiri in a very bad match. Eugene interfering was just a comedy.Rating: 4 /10 ( D - ) 3. Chris Jericho defeated. Christian and Trish Stratus in a Intergender Handicap Match, Jericho got his revenge on both Christian and Trish for what happened at Wrestlemania XX.Rating: 6/10 ( C ) 4. Victoria defeated. Lita to retain the Women's Championship in a very fair match.Rating: 5/10 ( D ) 5. Randy Orton defeated. Cactus Jack in a Hardcore Match to retain the Intercontinental Championship was one of the Hardecore Matches in the WWE. And Foley carried Orton throughout the entire match.Rating: 8/10 ( B ) 6. Rosey and The Hurricane defeated. La Resistance in a average tag team match.Rating: 5/10 ( D ) 7. Edge defeated. Kane in a good but short match.Rating: 6/10 ( C ) 8. Chris Benoit defeated. Shawn Michaels and Triple H to retain the World Heavyweight Championship in a Triple Threat Rematch from Wrestlemania XX.Rating: 7/10 ( B - ) Overall Backlash Rating: 6/10 ( C ) And Okay Pay Per View for RAW to start out with.

1) Shelton Benjamin Vs Ric Flair this match was a great opener,Benjamin really owned Flair throughout the entire match with Flair getting a few punches there and then.It just shows how great Benjamin is in the ring. = ***2) Jonathan Coachman Vs Tajiri This was a joke match.Coach was owned throughout the match and Tajiri was bored stiff through this match. Garrison Cade's interference was stupid and really Cade really is Coach's bitch helping out that way = *1/23) Chirs Jericho VsChistian & Trish Stratus - 2 on 1 Handicap MatchPersonally i thought this match was not that bad,could have go on maybe 5 minutes longer but then again maybe it shouldn't't.Trish was misused in this match and it was mostly Jericho and Cage doing all the work but in the end Jericho came out the victor and that was maybe the right move = ***1/24) Victoria (c) Vs Lita - WWE Women's ChampionshipQuite a boring match ,nothing very exciting in this match. Victoria came out the victor which i guess i was expecting and then Molly and Gail Kim came out and attacked both Victoria and Lita which i guess you know why after watching WM20 but overall not that good match. = **5) Randy Orton (c)Vs Mick Foley - WWE Intercontinental ChampionshipThis match was very good,it was a match that kept me on the edge of my seat with its chair shots and violent style of wrestling.After 4 years of retirement we still know that Foley is still violent but it was a shame that Orton got the win but i guess in some way you saw it coming. = ****6) Hurracane & Rosey Vs La Resistancedon't know why this match was on the card. It was a pointless match that was a waste of time including the interference of Eugene which was silly. = *3/47) Edge Vs Kaneonce again this had no business being on the card.Bit of a boring match as well.But it was to cheer up the fans = **3/48) Chris Benoit (c) Vs Triple H Vs Shawn Michaels - World Heavyweight ChampionshipBy far the best match of the night,Each person gave their all in this match and it was funny that The Canadians were booing Michaels.Overall great match = **** 1/4Overall = Great PPV 22.75/40 = 56%

This is an uneven PPV. About half of the matches are worth seeing, but the other half are barely average.1) Shelton Benjamin vs. Ric Flair. Visibly fake. Benjamin has to pull his punches and receive about 50 backhand slaps. I can accept Ric Flair as a ringside interference, but putting him in the center of the ring, alone, at his age, is a joke. ** 2) Jonathan Coachman vs. Tajiri. Another joke. The only way this match could be good is if Tajiri demolished "The Coach" in three minutes, but this doesn't happen. The high-kicking "Japanese Buzzsaw" deserves better booking than this. *1/23) Chris Jericho vs. Christian and Trish Stratus. A 2-on-1 handicap match. What could have been yet another mediocre encounter between these two men is made a little more lively by the involvement of Trish (who even gets spanked here!). ** Then we get a small segment / tribute to Chris Benoit, at whose hometown this PPV was shot. Nice, but it removes even the last drop of suspense about the outcome of the main event.4) Victoria vs. Lita (for the women's title). FANTASTIC!!! This is what the word "wrestling" is all about. The match lasts only 10 minutes, but you can see more technical holds and moves in these 10 minutes than in entire PPVs. Even the camera stays mostly on the ground level to follow the action. These two women work excellently together, and - in another nice touch - there is no fake "hate" between them, only respect (at one point, they smile and congratulate each other). Victoria is a terrific champion - she should be wearing the belt more often. ***P.S. The aftermath of this match shows how badly misused Gail Kim was in the WWE.5) Randy Orton vs. Mick Foley. A no-holds-barred fight for the intercontinental title, with the Evolution banned from ringside (yes, really!). I'm not a fan of hardcore matches, but I have to admit this one delivers what it promises. Some CRAZY stuff here. *** if you like this sort of thing, ** if you don't.6) The Hurricane and Rosey vs. La Resistance. Hurricane and Rosey are an interesting, unorthodox team (one looks like a cruiserweight, the other like a sumo wrestler), but after about 3 minutes Eugene shows up and the commentators, the crowd and even the cameraman stop paying attention to the match. I guess Eugene was supposed to turn it into a comedy, but he turns it into a tragedy instead. ** until he appears, then 0.7) Kane vs. Edge. Slightly better than other Kane matches, because it's relatively short and the action is mostly confined inside the ring. By the way, is there anyone who believes that someone like Edge can defeat someone like Kane in a real fight? **1/2 8) Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H vs. Chris Benoit. A triple-threat match for the heavyweight title. This is a good main event. However, that's all it is - simply "good". Benoit does his nice submission moves, HHH tries to dominate through sheer power, and HBK plays "Sweet Chin Music" (when he's not knocked out cold outside). And of course when "A" (whoever that may be) is about to lose to "B", "C" interferes. In the end, the right man wins and the fans go home happy. No surprises here. **1/2