10 Things You Didn't Know About WWE Backlash
9. The Last 'In Your House'
WWE bid final farewell to the last vestige of the New Generation era on the first ever Backlash pay-per-view, as permanent titles supplanted the 'In Your House' brand that had supported B-shows since their 1995 arrival.
With over 25 years of hindsight, the fondly-remembered B-Shows have largely become accepted parlance for matches of supreme quality tucked away on underfunded and underrated cards. By 1999 however, the slogan was considered a relic of a time period the company were now desperately trying to bury under the machismo of the Attitude Era and the bluster of an organisation rising to unseen new commercial and critical heights. In the modern era, it's difficult to imagine four years feeling like a particularly long time, but WWE as a company had lived a thousand different lives between Bret Hart and Hakushi opening up the first In Your House and Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock closing out the last.
The move had been apparent for some time, with the day-glo labels slotting into subheading spots from the point WWE moved the price point and running time up to match the traditional 'Big Five' events on the loaded pay-per-view calendar.
All that said, the abandonment was swift and sudden, with all original marketing presenting the catchline as normal until it was obliterated without trace shortly before the show itself. With typically brutal McMahon precision, four years of brand recognition was effortlessly wiped from further presentation.