100 Greatest WWE Matches Of All Time (Ranked)
21. Triple H vs. The Rock (Backlash 2000)
There was palpable excitement heading into Backlash 2000 due to Steve Austin's impending return to action. Federation fans hadn't seen much of 'Stone Cold' since an infamous angle at Survivor Series 1999 and serious neck surgery took him out of action, so there was magic in the air knowing that Austin would turn up at some stage during The Rock vs. Triple H main event.
A lot of fans would've preferred this clash as WrestleMania 2000's headliner over the four-way (also involving Mick Foley and Big Show, plus the "McMahon In Every Corner" gimmick) we got. Rocky and Hunter had shown their chemistry back at SummerSlam 1998, but they'd take things to another level in 2000. Judgment Day had the hour long 'Iron Man' stip and The Undertaker's comeback as a biker, but Backlash was their best match by a mile.
Austin's involvement and Linda McMahon bringing back referee Earl Hebner, who'd been kayfabe fired by members of her family recently, blew the ceiling off Washington's MCI Center. Similarly, Linda shoving her daughter Stephanie to the ground as an act of defiance against the McMahon-Helmsley Regime's tyranny got another colossal pop from the crowd.
Man, the then-WWF really knew how to stack drama on top of drama during this era. Bell to bell, Rock and Triple H punctuated their match with several strong sequences that didn't rely on all of the ringside distractions. They deserved a pat on the back for that. It says everything for the strength of this duo that their showing would've been absolutely fine even if half of the other stuff had been edited out.
'Stone Cold' towing the wrecked DX Express bus was the cherry on top.