10 Things You Didn't Know About WWE Backlash
1. Money
Unthinkable in the modern age, WWE's creative and commercial peak in the year 2000 was such that the company bravely strayed from their conventional season finale model at the climax of the WrestleMania 16 title match.
Electing to keep the WWE Championship on heel Triple H instead of rewarding babyface Mick Foley or white hot top star The Rock, the organisation gambled huge on the bankability of 'The Game' and 'The Great One', continuing their conflicts far beyond the 'Show of Shows' with Stone Cold Steve Austin's valuable name tacked on as a one-night return.
The risk paid off hugely. Backlash 2000 one month later drew a whopping 675,000 pay-per-view buys, becoming the most-bought B-show in company history up to that point, and only ever topped by the WWE/WCW Invasion pay-per-view in 2001.
As a comparison, that year's Royal Rumble and SummerSlam drew 590,000 and 570,000 buys respectively, highlighting just how emotionally invested WWE's paying customers were in the individual rivalry between Rock and Hunter over WWE's spring campaign. And just how much 'The Rattlesnake' was missed, even if he never really fit the profile of the hugely enjoyable time.