WWE Backlash - History

History

Backlash consists of a main event and undercard which feature championship matches and various other matches. The first Backlash was originally produced as an In Your House event for World Wrestling Federation (WWF), the former name of WWE. The In Your House event was titled Backlash: In Your House. It took place on April 25, 1999 and aired live on PPV. In 1999, production of In Your House events were canceled, though many of the former In Your House events, such as Backlash, No Way Out, and Judgment Day among others, were rebranded as annual PPV events.

In 2002, WWF was court ordered to change their name, which resulted in the promotion changing its name to WWE. Later that year, WWE held a draft that split its roster into two distinctive brands of wrestling—Raw and SmackDown., and ECW in 2006. Before the draft, matches featured wrestlers from the roster without any limitations; after the draft, matches only consisted of wrestlers from their distinctive brands. The first Backlash event to be produced under the WWE banner and with roster limitations was Backlash (2003), which took place on April 27, 2003. Later on in 2003, WWE announced that PPV events, excluding WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and the Royal Rumble, would be made exclusive to each brand; Backlash was made exclusive to the Raw brand. After three years of being produced as a brand exclusive event, Backlash 2006 was the final Backlash event that was brand exclusive, as WWE announced that PPV events from then on would feature all three brands of WWE.

Each Backlash event has been held in an indoor arena, with nine events taking place in the United States and one event taking place in Canada.