10 Quietly Brilliant WWE PPVs
8. WWF Backlash 1999
Backlash, by all rights, shouldn't have the illustrious history it flaunts.
Once held the month after WrestleMania, and often presenting several rematches from it, the event should have suffered from the law of diminishing returns. It didn't. It was often actually better, affording time to sequels that were lost in the shuffle - or, in this case, propping up uninspiring pairings like Mankind and The Big Show with a much-needed stipulation.
The Big Show was so useless upon his WWF debut in early 1999 that he was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling for re-training a year and a half later. Only in the paradoxical and insane world of wrestling could a man each the pinnacle of his profession before even learning it. But, guided by hardcore stipulation expert Foley, he was part of a mercifully brief but massively entertaining brawl here.
After a fun undercard, the the show threatened to sag; though the Attitude Era is remembered for its very short matches, Backlash 1999 was, in part, a boring exception to the rule. Both Triple H Vs. X-Pac and Undertaker Vs. Ken Shamrock went at least five minutes too long, nearing twenty.
The main event, though, was perfectly pitched in length and content. A superior if less impactful sequel to their WrestleMania XV main event, it was the old school Backlash main event, in microcosm.