10 Best Ever WrestleMania Rematches At Backlash
9. Chris Jericho Vs William Regal (2001)
By default, we almost have to include a feud that
involved Chris Jericho p*ssing into William Regal’s teapot.
Regal was the WWF commissioner in 2001 (go figure, Regal as an authority figure) and running roughshod when Y2J ran afoul of him. Back then, Jericho was just a snotty 30-year-old kid, pranking the commissioner and antagonizing him. Jericho would successfully defend his Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania X-Seven against Regal, but would lose it later that week on SmackDown to Triple H (kicking off the Two-Man Power Trip).
The feud between Jericho and Regal would continue, with the two locking up at Backlash in a Duchess of Queensbury Rules match. If you’ve never heard of this type of bout before, it’s because it didn’t exist. Regal basically concocted the match to have the “duchess” act as the authority figure who changed the rules of the match as it progressed, constantly stacking the deck against Y2J.
The difference here – unlike Sonya Deville’s adventure of
changing rules mid-match – is that this was played for laughs in addition to
showing Regal’s egomaniacal side. Plus it had the visual of Jericho putting the
duchess in the Walls of Jericho, so there’s that.