Ranking What Was REALLY The Best Wrestling PPV Every Year 1990-2020

12. 2009 - WWE Backlash

Shawn Michaels Jon Moxley
WWE

A consistently entertaining show with two major highlights, Ricky Steamboat's shockingly brilliant comeback simply does not get old. What an absolute master that man was.

The tape of those two matches should be studied, and who the f*ck cares what a cliché that is when it's such an obvious truth: he timed everything so exquisitely to immerse the crowd. He didn't chase pops; he extracted them with engineer-precision.

Christian, a man almost as capable of structuring a match so intelligently, expertly manoeuvred a green Jack Swagger through a very worthy effort. Jeff Vs. Matt Hardy exhibited their totally bizarre anti-chemistry in a match that was only entertainingly brutal in places.

Economical where it may have been contrived, the six-man tag that transferred the WWE Championship to Randy Orton was very good - but Edge Vs. John Cena was great. A glorious marriage of Cena's best opponent and stipulation, it was one of the very best matches of the year.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!