10 Things You Didn't Know About WWE Backlash
6. Pay-Per-View Debuts
Between 1999 and 2009, numerous superstars made their pay-per-view bow at Backlash, and 2016's version got in on the act as the first SmackDown Live!-exclusive show following the revived Brand Extension.
Having only made it onto the SummerSlam kickoff following his surprising draft to the blue brand, Mojo Rawley graduated to the main show as part of the ongoing Tag Team Title tournament alongside Hype Bro partner Zack Ryder. The two were ultimately unsuccessful against The Usos, but the debut would forge a path for Mojo that would ultimately lead to his unlikely Andre the Giant Battle Royal victory during this year's WrestleMania curtain raiser.
Justin Credible, Sean O'Haire and Umaga all gained their first WWE pay-per-view matches at Backlash in 2001, 03 and 06 respectively, but these would all pale in comparison to three of the biggest supershow arrivals in company history.
Brock Lesnar burst onto the scene in 2002, scoring an easy victory on a brave Jeff Hardy during the programme centred mainly around 'The Beast' nearly murdering the North Carolinian brothers. Lesnar's famed WrestleMania opponent Bill Goldberg would defeat The Rock a year later in a crushingly disappointing main event that effectively foreshadowed how the remainder of his run with the organisation would go.
Perhaps the most remarkable debut occurred in 2006, when Shawn Michaels was partnered by 'God' in defeat to Vince and Shane McMahon. In an auspicious debut, God apparently left early (according to Vince) without ever tagging in, leaving Shawn to be overwhelmed by the McMahons and their Spirit Squad comrades for an easy win over 'HBK'.