The 2005 Backlash was the seventh Backlash

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program g ...

(PPV) event produced by

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and va ...

(WWE). It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw brand division. The event took place on May 1, 2005, at the Verizon Wireless Arena in

Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester is a city in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. It is the most populous city in New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusett ...

. To date, it is the only WWE pay-per-view event to ever be held in the state of

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

. The concept of the pay-per-view was based around the backlash from WrestleMania 21. In the

main event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

, Batista defeated

Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969), better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive, actor, and retired professional wrestler currently serving as the chief content officer for WWE. He is widely regarded as ...

in a singles match to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. From the five scheduled bouts on the undercard, two received more promotion than the others. The first was a

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

match, in which

Shawn Michaels Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative. Widely regarded as one ...

and

Hulk Hogan Terry Eugene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the 1 ...

defeated Muhammad Hassan and

Daivari Daivari is a Persian surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Ariya Daivari (born 1989), American professional wrestler *Shawn Daivari Dara Shawn Daivari ( fa, دارا داوری) (born April 30, 1984) is an Iranian-American professio ...

. The other was a Last Man Standing match, a match where a wrestler who is unable to respond to a ten count by the referee would lose. Edge defeated

Chris Benoit Christopher Michael Benoit (; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career including most notably the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling ...

after Benoit failed to get to his feet before the referee's count to ten. Backlash helped WWE increase its pay-per-view revenue by $4.7 million, through ticket sales and pay-per-view buys.

Production

Background

Backlash is a

(PPV) event that was established by

(WWE) in 1999. The concept of the pay-per-view was based around the backlash from WWE's flagship event,

WrestleMania WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event held annually between mid-March and mid-April by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Since premiering in 1985, 37 editions followed, ...

. The 2005 event was the seventh event in the Backlash chronology and featured the backlash from WrestleMania 21. It was scheduled to take place on May 1, 2005, at the Verizon Wireless Arena in

, being the first Backlash held in May as the previous events were all held in April. The 2005 event exclusively featured wrestlers from the Raw brand division.

Storylines

The event featured six professional wrestling matches with different wrestlers involved in pre-existing

script Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of ha ...

ed feuds,

plot Plot or Plotting may refer to: Art, media and entertainment * Plot (narrative), the story of a piece of fiction Music * ''The Plot'' (album), a 1976 album by jazz trumpeter Enrico Rava * The Plot (band), a band formed in 2003 Other * ''Plot ...

s and storylines. Wrestlers were portrayed as either villains or fan favorites as they followed a series of tension-building events, which culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. All wrestlers belonged to the Raw brand – a storyline division in which WWE assigned its employees to a different program, the other being SmackDown!. The main event at Backlash was a singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship, in which Batista defended the championship against

. The buildup to the match began after WrestleMania 21, WWE's previous pay-per-view event, where Batista defeated Triple H to win the championship. On the April 11 episode of '' Raw'', one of WWE's primary television programs, it was announced that Batista would defend the championship against Triple H at Backlash, after Triple H invoked his rematch clause. The following week, Triple H had a no disqualification match, a match where neither wrestler can be disqualified, allowing for weapons and outside interference, against ''Raw'' commentator

Jim Ross James William Ross (born January 3, 1952) is an American professional wrestling commentator currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a commentator, analyst, and senior advisor. Ross is best known for a long and distinguished career a ...

, in which Ross won by pinfall after Batista interfered and hit Triple H in the head with a

steel chair A folding chair is a type of folding furniture, a light, portable chair that folds flat or to a smaller size, and can be stored in a stack, in a row, or on a cart. It can be combined with a folding table. Uses Folding chairs are generally used f ...

. On the April 25 episode of ''Raw'', Batista defeated

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

in a singles match. After the match, Triple H assaulted Batista and hit the World Champion with a Pedigree. The pay-per-view event featured the buildup of a rivalry among two

and

versus Muhammad Hassan and

. The night after WrestleMania, Michaels thanked the fans for their support towards him, despite Michaels losing at the event. Michaels continued, but was interrupted by Hassan and Daivari. Michaels, however, was in no mood to listen to Hassan's comments regarding Michaels' loss. As a result, Michaels slapped Hassan, which led to Hassan and Daivari to attack Michaels, leaving him unconscious in the ring. The following week, Michaels approached authority figure

Eric Bischoff Eric Aaron Bischoff (born May 27, 1955) is an American television producer, professional wrestling booker, and performer. He is best known for serving as Executive Producer and later Senior Vice President of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) an ...

and demanded a handicap match with Hassan and Daivari. Bischoff refused to schedule the match, but informed Michaels to find a partner and he would grant him the match. Michaels then made a plea for Hulk Hogan to come back and team with him. On the April 18 episode of ''Raw'', Hassan again led an attack on Michaels until Hogan appeared to save Michaels and accept his offer. Another preliminary match was between Edge versus

in a Last Man Standing Match. At WrestleMania, Edge won the first ever

Money in the Bank ladder match The Money in the Bank ladder match is a multi-person ladder match held by the professional wrestling promotion WWE. First contested at WWE's annual WrestleMania event beginning in 2005, a separate Money in the Bank pay-per-view was establish ...

, gaining himself a contract that gave him a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship within one year. On the April 4 episode of ''Raw'', Edge chose not to use his contract that night, deciding to wait until the right opportunity. When Edge declined to force Batista into a title defense, Eric Bischoff scheduled Edge in a match against Chris Benoit. Benoit won the match by pinfall after performing a roll-up. After the match, Edge attacked Benoit's injured arm with a steel chair. Two weeks later, Benoit and Edge faced off in another match, in which ended in a no-contest, leading to Bischoff to book the Last Man Standing match for Backlash. Other feuds that received less promotion and culminated into matches at Backlash include WWE Intercontinental Champion

Shelton Benjamin Shelton James Benjamin (born July 9, 1975) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under his real name. He is also known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Pro Wr ...

versus

Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler and singer. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of the Jeri ...

for the title in standard singles bouts.

William Regal Darren Kenneth Matthews (born 10 May 1968), better known by the ring name William Regal, is an English retired professional wrestler. He is known for his over 20 years spent in WWE, as both a performer and an on-screen authority, and for his t ...

and Tajiri versus

Rosey and The Hurricane The Hurricane and Rosey (also known unofficially as The Super Heroes) were a professional wrestling tag team in World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE) based on the Raw brand. While in the WWE, their ring personas were those of a duo of superhe ...

versus The Heart Throbs ( Antonio Thomas and Romeo Roselli) versus La Résistance ( Sylvain Grenier and

Robért Conway Robert Thomas Conway Jr. (born November 28, 1974), is an American professional wrestler. He is known for his work with World Wrestling Entertainment, where he performed under his real name and as Robért Conway. Post-WWE, he is also known for hi ...

) in a

tag team turmoil match Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder m ...

for the World Tag Team Championship, and a singles match between Kane ( accompanied by

Lita Lita or LITA may refer to: People * Lita (given name) * Lita (wrestler) (born 1975), American professional wrestler * Adriana Lita, Materials scientist *Leroy Lita (born 1984), Congo football player * Selina Jahan Lita, Bangladesh Awami League pol ...

) versus

Viscera In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to act together in a ...

(accompanied with Trish Stratus).

Event

Before the event aired

live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music * Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of album ...

Tyson Tomko Travis David Tomko (born March 23, 1976) is an American retired professional wrestler, entrepreneur, best known for his tenures with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under the ring name Tomko between 2006 and 2010. Prior to this, he worked for ...

defeated Val Venis on ''

Sunday Night Heat ''WWE Heat'' (formerly known as ''Sunday Night Heat'' and also known as ''Heat'') is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and aired from August 2, 1998 to May 30, 2008. Ori ...

''. The first match of the event

faced

for the

WWE Intercontinental Championship The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, currently defended on the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two secondary championships for WWE's main r ...

. When the match began, Benjamin had the upper hand. Benjamin then performed a springboard off the ropes, but Jericho countered with a hurricanrana off the ring apron to the floor. Jericho utilized a chinlock on Benjamin. Jericho then climbed to the top rope, but Benjamin stopped Jericho, leaping to the top rope and superplexing Jericho. Jericho then hit a running enzuigiri, but only got a near fall. Benjamin performed the

T-Bone Suplex A suplex is an offensive move used in sport wrestling as well as amateur wrestling and professional wrestling. It is a throw that involves lifting the opponents and bridging or rolling to slam them on their backs. Professional wrestling featu ...

, but Jericho put his foot under the bottom rope to void the pin. Jericho locked in the Walls of Jericho, but Benjamin got to the rope. Jericho then locked in the Walls of Jericho again but Benjamin rolled-up Jericho to retain the Intercontinental Championship. The next match was the

Tag Team Turmoil match Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder m ...

for the World Tag Team Championship. Tajiri and

were the champions heading into the match. The teams would come out at random, and it was The Heart Throbs who entered first, with the champions Tajiri and Regal coming out next. Tajiri utilized a lot of kicks and then locked in the

Tarantula Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,040 species have been identified, with 156 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although ...

. The Heart Throbs then kept Tajiri isolated, but Tajiri pinned Antonio with a sunset flip. Simon Dean and Maven entered into the match next, trying to pick apart the weakened Tajiri. Their inclusion in the match did not last very long as Regal made the tag and cleaned house, putting Dean away with a knee to the head. La Résistance came in next, but Regal and Tajiri tried to fight back. Regal was then rolled up, with a handful of tights, eliminating he and Tajiri and guaranteeing new champions.

were the last two men to enter the match. Hurricane was then smashed on the turnbuckle post. Hurricane and Rosey got the pin when Hurricane leapt off the shoulders of Rosey, who was perched on the top rope to grab the win. The third match of the night was a Last Man Standing match between Edge and

. The match started out with Benoit getting the upper hand. Edge then got the upper hand by throwing Benoit sternum first into the turnbuckles. Benoit then applied the

Sharpshooter A sharpshooter is one who is highly proficient at firing firearms or other projectile weapons accurately. Military units composed of sharpshooters were important factors in 19th-century combat. Along with " marksman" and "expert", "sharpshooter" ...

on Edge. Benoit then performed multiple German suplexes on Edge, which sent Edge outside to the floor. Benoit dived through the ropes, but was met with a trash can lid to the face. Edge hit a superplex on Benoit through a trash can. Edge grabbed a ladder and dragged it into the ring, only to get a German suplex off of the ladder. Benoit missed a

diving headbutt Aerial techniques, also known as "high-flying moves" are maneuvers in professional wrestling using the ring's posts and ropes as aids, in many cases to demonstrate the speed and agility of smaller, nimble and acrobatically inclined wrestlers prefer ...

off the top of the ladder, Edge grabbed the Money in the Bank briefcase, but was caught in the Crippler Crossface. Edge got out of the Crippler Crossface and performed an Edgecution on Benoit on the briefcase. Benoit reached his feet at nine, only to get speared by Edge. After spearing Benoit again, Edge pulled a brick out of his briefcase and hit Benoit in the back of his head, leaving Benoit unable to answer the ten count. In the fourth match, Kane (accompanied by

) faced

(accompanied by Trish Stratus). Kane's early attempts to take Viscera off his feet resulted in Kane being knocked down. Viscera then was clotheslined out of the ring by Kane. Trish tried to hit Kane with a

, but Lita hit her with a crutch. Viscera then executed a Chokebomb on Kane, but only got a two count. Kane then came back and hit a big boot and a chokeslam to get the pinfall. Trish then verbally slammed Viscera, who responded by bear hugging and splashing Trish, who was then taken out on a

stretcher A stretcher, gurney, litter, or pram is an apparatus used for moving patients who require medical care. A basic type (cot or litter) must be carried by two or more people. A wheeled stretcher (known as a gurney, trolley, bed or cart) is often ...

. In the fifth match,

and

faced Muhammad Hassan and

. Hogan and Hassan began and Hassan was immediately sent into the turnbuckles. Hogan double clotheslined both his opponents and then he and Michaels teamed up with a big double boot to Hassan's face. Michaels climbed to the top rope but missed an elbow drop. Daivari was tossed outside where Hogan bashed him. Michaels hit Daivari with a flying forearm smash and a

kip up A kip-up (also called a rising handspring, Chinese get up, kick-up, kick-to-stand, nip-up, flip-up, or carp skip-up) is an acrobatic move in which a person transitions from a supine, and less commonly, a prone position, to a standing position. ...

. Michaels was about to hit Daivari with

Sweet Chin Music Strikes are offensive moves in professional wrestling, that can sometimes be used to set up an opponent for a hold or for a throw. There are a wide variety of strikes in pro wrestling, and many are known by several different names. Professional w ...

, but instead Hassan hit Michaels with a lead pipe. Hassan then took advantage and locked Michaels in the Camel Clutch. Michaels fought his way to his feet and dropped Hassan with an

Electric Chair An electric chair is a device used to execute an individual by electrocution. When used, the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes fastened on the head and leg. This execution method, ...

. Hogan then got tagged in and went for a leg drop to Daivari, but Hassan hit Hogan with a lead pipe instead. As the referee had his back turned at Hogan, Michaels hit Daivari with Sweet Chin Music allowing Hogan to get the pinfall and win the match for his team. The

was for the World Heavyweight Championship between champion Batista and

. In the opening seconds Flair grabbed Batista's leg, providing the distraction necessary for Triple H to attack Batista and gain an early advantage. Both men attempted to hit their finishers early on, but both attempts failed. Triple H went for another Pedigree attempt, but was backdropped over the top rope to the floor. Batista returned to the ring and walked into a spinebuster for a two count. Batista then went for a

Batista Bomb A powerbomb is a professional wrestling throw in which an opponent is lifted (usually so that they are sitting on the wrestler's shoulders) and then slammed back-first down to the mat. The standard powerbomb sees an opponent first placed in a s ...

, but Triple H hit Batista in the head with the championship belt. Batista performed a spinebuster on Triple H, but there was no referee to make the pin. Jack Doan then ran down and made the pin, but only got a two count. A second Batista Bomb attempt was stopped with a low blow by Triple H. Triple H then backed Batista into a corner and punched him ten times. Batista then performed another Batista Bomb to win the match and retain the championship. After the match, Triple H pedigreed referee Mike Chioda, while Batista celebrated on the entrance ramp.

Reception

The Verizon Wireless Arena usually can accommodate 11,000, but the capacity was increased for the event. This event grossed over $700,000 from an approximate attendance of 14,000 which was the maximum allowed. Backlash helped WWE earn $21.6 million in revenue from pay-per-view events versus $16.9 million the previous year, which was later confirmed by

Linda McMahon Linda Marie McMahon ( née Edwards; October 4, 1948) is an American political executive, retired professional wrestler, executive, and performer. She served as the 25th administrator of the Small Business Administration from 2017 to 2019. McMaho ...

, the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especiall ...

of WWE, on September 7, 2005 in a quarterly result.

Canadian Online Explorer Canoe.com is an English-language Canadian portal site and website network, and is a subsidiary of Postmedia Network. The phrase Canadian Online Explorer appears in the header; the name is also evidently a play on words on canoe (or ''canoë'' i ...

's professional wrestling section rated the event six out of 10. The rating was higher than the Backlash 2006 event, which was marked as a "complete disaster". The World title match was rated a seven out of 10. Additionally, the Intercontinental title match between Shelton Benjamin and Chris Jericho was rated seven out of ten, the last man standing match between Edge and Chris Benoit was rated six out of ten and the tag team match of Shawn Michaels and Hulk Hogan and Muhammad Hassan and Khosrow Daivari was rated five out of ten.

Aftermath

The next night on ''Raw'',

General Manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all ...

held a Gold Rush Tournament to determine who would be the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship. The matches were Kane versus

versus

, Edge versus

and

versus

. Kane, Michaels, Edge and Benoit all advanced to the next round. The next week, Edge faced Michaels and Kane faced Benoit. Edge and Kane advanced to the finals. One week later the finals took place between Edge and Kane. Edge won the tournament after

helped Edge win. One week later, Edge faced Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship. Batista won the match by pinfall after executing a

. Edge then started a feud with Kane, which lasted until Kane defeated him at

Vengeance Vengeance may refer to: *Vengeance (concept) or revenge, a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance Film * ''Vengeance'' (1930 film), action adventure film directed by Archie Mayo * ''Vengeance'' (1937 film) or ''W ...

. The next night on ''Raw'', Triple H and Batista verbally taunted each other. Three weeks later, after Batista's world title match against Edge, Triple H then came out with a

sledgehammer A sledgehammer is a tool with a large, flat, often metal head, attached to a long handle. The long handle combined with a heavy head allows the sledgehammer to gather momentum during a swing and apply a large force compared to hammers designed t ...

and

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanni ...

attacked Batista with a low blow, leading to Batista being attacked by Triple H. Afterward, Triple H told Batista that they were going to face each other again at Vengeance in a

Hell in a Cell Hell in a Cell is a professional wrestling steel cage-based match which originated in 1997 in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It features a large cell structure, a five-sided cuboid made from open-weave steel mesh chain-link fe ...

match and performed a Pedigree on Batista onto the title. At Vengeance, Batista retained the title against Triple H. In June, Batista was drafted to SmackDown in the

2005 WWE Draft Lottery The 2005 World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) draft lottery, the third WWE draft, took place over a four-week period from June 6–30. Every wrestler from Raw and SmackDown! was eligible to be drafted, including announcers, commentators, and gene ...

, which, as a result, ended the rivalry.

Results

;Tag team turmoil match

References

External links

Official Backlash 2005 website
{{WWEPPV, Backlash 2005 in New Hampshire Professional wrestling in New Hampshire

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...

Events in New Hampshire 2005 WWE pay-per-view events May 2005 events in the United States WWE Raw