WWE Backlash is in the books and with it, a whole lot of hoopla, disbelief and shock at Jinder Mahal pulling off the heist of the century and capturing the WWE Championship against Randy Orton.
Admittedly, the Maharaja had help from his entourage, but that still doesn’t take away from the fact that he managed to wrest the most prestigious title in pro wrestling away from a bonafide future Hall of Famer.
And even apart from the main event, the show was surprisingly engaging considering that some felt the build up to the pay-per-view had been rather shoddy and underdone.
Nakamura had a solid in-ring debut, Breezango thoroughly entertained albeit in a losing cause, Sami Zayn bucked the odds once again, and Kevin Owens can still cling on to the moniker, ‘The Face of America’, for now.
Needless to mention, the Chicago crowd was lit, as usual, providing an electric atmosphere for the first SmackDown exclusive pay-per-view since the Superstar Shakeup.
But enough about what we know...what about the things about Backlash that we weren’t aware of? What manner of historical significance did yesterday’s pay-per-view hold, at least on paper?
This is where we run through all that and more, as we list out some of the facts about WWE Backlash 2017 that you need to know!
#1 Randy Orton overtakes Bret Hart
Randy Orton may have lost his WWE strap to the Maharaja, but heading into Backlash with the Title still meant that he usurped Brett Hart, who was in the 6th spot, on the list of longest cumulative reigns as WWE Champion.
Orton has held the belt for 659 days, meaning that only Pedro Morales, John Cena, Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan and Bruno Sammartino are ahead of him on the list. An interesting fact to note here may be that although Orton and Cena are only separated by 3 Title reigns (13 and 16), Cena has held the top prize for almost twice as long with a cumulative total of 1257 days as WWE Champion.
Of course, the legendary Bruno Sammartino heads the pile with 4040 days as Champion. Now that’s a record that we can safely say, will never be surpassed.
#2 AJ Styles KOed
Kevin Owens may be the self-professed Face of America, but he was up against it when stepping to the man on whose back SmackDown Live! was built and the consensus best pro wrestler on the planet today, AJ Styles.
But was he actually?
Records show that in 4 meetings between AJ Styles and Kevin Owens on WWE programming, Owens has not dropped a single match to Styles. Zilch. Nada.
He’s 4-0 up, counting the match on BackLash 2017, of course. To rub salt in the wounds, Owens was also the man that eliminated AJ Styles from the 2016 Royal Rumble match where he made his electric WWE re-debut. (Styles actually made his WWE debut in 2002)
To truly put things in perspective about Owens’ impressive domination, Styles’ record against the all-conquering John Cena himself stands at 2-1.
#3 Randy Orton’s longevity
On to our third stat of the day and the Viper pops back in for seconds.
Did you know that Randy Orton’s participation has been the only constant in the last five consecutive Backlash pay-per-view shows? Now, considering that the WWE had discontinued it in the middle, from 2010-2015, only makes this statistic stand out even more.
And barring the 2016 iteration of the event when he was ambushed by Wyatt backstage and rendered unable to compete (kayfabe), Orton has also been involved in the main event of each of the Backlash pay-per-views in the years 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2017.
Now that’s longevity for you.
Also read: Best and Worst of WWE Backlash 2017
#4 A promising trend
From the beginning of the Backlash event in 1999, then titled Backlash: In Your House, the WWE Title has changed hands 5 times in the pay-per-view. While that isn’t an eye-popping number at first glance, the fact that the last 3 editions of the show have all consecutively featured the Champion dropping the belt tells a tale of its own.
And if yesterday’s show was taken into account, that becomes 4. (2008, 2009, 2016 and 2017)
There may not be much to read into this statistic except perhaps that the WWE feels that this time of the year, around 2 months on from WrestleMania, presents an opportunity to refresh the Title picture and introduce some fresh blood to it.
Well, that certainly worked out favourably for Jinder Mahal. Speaking of whom...
#5 Jinder Mahal – the 50th WWE Champion
The Maharaja captured the WWE Title from Randy Orton at Backlash and in doing so, gained the distinction of becoming the 50th different person to hold the vaunted belt. In an industry that places so much importance on history and legacy, that’s undoubtedly a feather on Jinder Mahal’s turban.
Mahal also became the first person of direct Indian origin to win the WWE Championship, a moment of historical import for India although he wasn’t born in the country (he was born in Alberta, Canada).
In any case, it’s heartening to see the WWE take notice of its considerable fan base in India and give Jinder a run with the WWE Title. And now that we’re done with all the statistics and number crunching, everyone repeat after me...
All Hail the Maharaja!
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