April 1st, 2001
Location: Houston, Texas
Venue: Reliant Astrodome
Attendance: 67,925
Theme song: "My Way" by Limp Bizkit
Welcome to day 17, and we've reached another personal favorite of mine in the countdown. Well, it's nearly everybody's favorite WrestleMania.
For the first time in nine years, we're greeted by a sea of WWF's faithful as the grand stage returned to a stadium.
More importantly, we've reached the best WrestleMania of all time.
It's a bold statement to say, considering that in the years that followed WrestleMania 17, some can be part of the debate of the best of all time.
However, this was an event that blew its predecessors out of the water. This was the second WrestleMania I saw, and I was just fascinated at nearly everything.
To emphasize how big WrestleMania 17 was, a few years back, I showed my girlfriend (at the time) this event. Even then, somebody who was discovering WWE for the first time was saying "oh, my goodness" in amazement.
Houston, Texas, would be the host city for WrestleMania 17. It would be the first of three times that the state of Texas hosted the big show.
As I mentioned already, for the first time since WrestleMania 8, the WWF selected a stadium, that being the Houston Astrodome. With nine straight WrestleManias in arenas, seeing a crowd of 60,000 plus is genuinely refreshing and, frankly, just right.
Jim Ross was once again the lead play-by-play commentator for WrestleMania, but he wouldn't have his trusty sidekick, Jerry "The King" Lawler, by his side.
After his real-life wife, Stacy "The Kat" Carter, was fired from the WWF in February of 2001, Lawler, in protest, joined his wife and quit the company.
In his replacement, ECW's own Paul Heyman joined Ross in the booth for color commentary as soon as Lawler left. Of course, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler's pairing is unmatched when it comes to chemistry. Heyman would prove to have just as great chemistry with Ross and killed it during his small stint as a WWF broadcaster.
There was no performance of "America the Beautiful" or the "Star-Spangled Banner" to open the show as the action immediately was underway.
Eleven matches were scheduled for WrestleMania, six of those being for championships.
Kane, Eddie Guerrero, and Chyna each entered WrestleMania without gold, only to leave with the Hardcore, European, and Women's Championship, respectively.
In a fun breather for the Astrodome crowd, a "Gimmick" battle royal took place in which many past WWF personalities such as Iron Sheik, Sargent Slaughter, and Brother Love (to name a few) returned for one night.
"Mean" Gene Okerlund and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan would make their first WrestleMania appearances in nearly eight years to call the battle royal. The Iron Sheik would end up throwing out Hillbilly Jim last to win it.
The biggest match that I didn't list as part of my three things would be the encounter between Triple H and The Undertaker. The Undertaker came out on top in what was nearly a 20-minute match and extended his WrestleMania winning streak to 9-0.
Once again, let's take a look at the three things that stood out to me from WrestleMania 17.
Father vs. Son
In early 2001, Vince McMahon heard the words he had been waiting to hear since 1995: “WCW is folding.”
The company that was once the hottest competition for the World Wrestling Federation, creating their Monday night show called “Nitro” in response to “Monday Night Raw,” had filed for bankruptcy and was sold to McMahon.
The “Monday Night War” was officially over. Some say it's WCW’s fault for its decline, thanks to outrageous storylines and booking decisions in its final few years as a company. An example of this was allowing actor David Arquette to become their World Champion or their infamous “[insert item] on a pole” matches.
If you want to get specific on when the decline began, look no further than January 4th, 1999. WCW President Eric Bischoff asked play-by-play commentator Tony Schiavone to let their viewers know that Mick Foley was winning the WWF Championship since Raw was taped at that time. Nearly 500,000 viewers switched the channel to witness Foley defeating The Rock for the title. WCW never had the upper hand in the ratings ever again.
On the night of Raw's final episode before WrestleMania 17, WCW Nitro went on air one last time in Florida. Since they were both simultaneously being broadcasted live, fans in attendance were watching Raw’s broadcast in Cleveland in which McMahon was standing in the middle of the ring, addressing the end of WCW.
If fans had any doubt that WCW was folding, Vince’s son Shane appeared on Nitro to have a few words with his father.
Shane let the world know that a McMahon did sign the contract to complete the purchase of WCW but read “Shane” instead of Vince.
While this wasn’t the sole reason why the two would meet at WrestleMania, the timing of purchasing WCW couldn’t have come at a better time.
To summarize, Vince was on a power trip between 2000-2001. He told his wife, Linda, he wanted a divorce, had a public affair with Trish Stratus, and humiliated the latter in the middle of the ring. Not to mention, Linda went into a minor coma after a nervous breakdown. Shane had enough and called out his father to a street fight at WrestleMania.
Mick Foley, who McMahon fired as WWF Commissioner, was the special guest referee of the street fight. He signed a contract (before he was fired) to pick any match he wants to referee at WrestleMania.
In Houston, Shane and Vince headed down to the ring, and the fight was underway. Surprisingly enough, two men who were never really wrestlers in the first place put on one heck of a battle.
Tons of weapons were used, and even saw Shane flying from the turnbuckle with an elbow drop on the commentary table, only to have his sister, Stephanie, pull her father out in time and crashed through it.
While the match was a fun train wreck, it was the storytelling throughout that made this stand out, at least to me.
Trish Stratus came walking down to the ring, bringing Linda McMahon in a wheelchair. Stratus then turned on Vince, slapping him and ending their affair after the public humiliation a few weeks before.
A bit later, Vince grabbed his wife from the wheelchair, set up a chair inside the ring, and had her sit. When Vince attacked his son with a garbage can, Linda suddenly rose from her seat to a tremendous ovation and kicked her husband right in the “McMahon family jewels” (as Jim Ross would say).
To put the final nail in the coffin, Shane set his father down in one corner and had him hold a garbage can. In an amazing display of athleticism, Shane went to the other side of the ring, climbed the ropes, and jumped.
He crashed into the garbage can, which hit Vince. Shane would win the match and avenge everybody that was affected by his father.
The moral of the story, don’t go on a power trip as Vince did.
TLC II
The previous year, the Dudley Boyz, Hardy Boyz, and Edge and Christian stole the show in their triangle ladder match. Edge and Christian did win the Tag Team Championship, but their story didn’t end there.
The feud between the three teams would continue, with each of them holding the gold at some point between 2000-2001. In August 2000 at SummerSlam, the trio would make history again and debuted the first-ever Tables, Ladders, and Chairs (TLC) match.
The concept of climbing the ladder to retrieve the belts was still the main objective to win. They just had more access to weapons.
A month before WrestleMania 17 on Monday Night Raw, Edge and Christian would win the tag team titles from the Hardy Boyz. Immediately after they did, the Dudley Boyz would challenge them for the gold and ended up winning the titles.
Thanks to what was a game of hot potato for the Tag Team Championship, it was announced that the three teams would once again face each other in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match. It would be known as TLC II and would be even crazier than the first.
It’s so hard to explain what went down in the match, only because all six participants would be hit with a chair, slammed through a table, and fell off the top of a ladder.
Even at one point, each team had one individual come down to the ring to give them a helping hand. Edge and Christian had Rhyno, The Dudley Boyz had Spike Dudley, and the Hardy Boyz had Lita.
There were too many moments that had fans screaming, “OH!” But, there would be two moments (like at WrestleMania 16) that were truly unbelievable, both happening near the end of the match.
Enough said.
Roughly a few minutes later, Matt Hardy and Bubba Ray would climb the ladder and be within reach of the titles. However, Rhyno would push the ladder, and both men landed on four tables set up outside the ring, stacked up.
By this point, everybody was brutally beaten up, barely hanging on. As D-Von was climbing a ladder, Christian was being helped by Rhyno to get to the top quicker. Edge prevented D-Von from reaching the top, and Christian would grab the titles. For a seventh time, Edge and Christian would be tag team champions.
Another classic was made at WrestleMania 17. The bar for any future ladder match would be raised again.
Austin, why?
We’ve come to WrestleMania's main event, and it would once again have “Stone Cold” Steve Austin trying to capture the company’s biggest prize from The Rock.
There was no long-storied feud that brought these two together on the grand stage. It would be by chance (if you forget that this is all scripted) that a WrestleMania 15 rematch would go down in Houston.
Austin would win a record-breaking third Royal Rumble match in New Orleans, and a month later, The Rock captured what was also a record-breaking sixth WWF Championship.
Now, I can once again break down the story that brought us to the main event. Instead, I’ll let the WWF tell the story in what has been considered to be one of the best video packages in WrestleMania history.
Before the match began, ring announcer Howard Finkel announced that the fight would have no disqualifications, which surprised everybody, including Jim Ross.
Austin and Rock immediately got things underway and wasted no time in taking advantage of the new stipulation. Both men would use the ring bell on each other, causing them to bleed and turn things messy.
If there’s a common theme with this WrestleMania, the final moments of a match told the whole story, with this one shocking everybody.
For some odd reason, Vince McMahon came strolling down to the ring, like he did two years prior in their last WrestleMania bout. With the lead up to Austin/Rock II not involving the WWF chairman, it made no sense as to why McMahon would show up.
When The Rock hit his signature People’s Elbow and went for the pin on Austin, McMahon pulled The Rock off Austin and stopped the referee’s count.
Suddenly, Austin asked McMahon to bring a chair in and slam The Rock with it. To close the match, Vince handed Austin the chair to continue what he started. Austin would end up covering his opponent and win the WWF Championship.
Fans erupted inside the Astrodome but quickly turned silent when Austin and McMahon were seen shaking hands and sharing a couple of beers.
What was once a fierce rivalry between the two, especially knowing that McMahon tried to screw Austin from numerous WWF Championship opportunities, turned into an unlikely alliance.
WrestleMania 17 closed with Austin and McMahon standing side by side, and Jim Ross asking, “Why would Austin sell his soul to Satan himself?”
Final thoughts
My goodness, where do I begin with this WrestleMania? If you haven’t seen WrestleMania 17, I highly recommend you do. Critics have considered this to be one of the best pay-per-views ever put on by a wrestling promotion. Personally, rightfully so if you ask me.
As a kid, I seriously enjoyed watching this show, having fun with nearly every match on the card. As I saw it again for this review, I still felt those same emotions I did all those years ago. I always feel a sudden shock at moments like Edge flying to spear Jeff Hardy or a sense of disbelief when Austin agreed to work with his archenemy. The list goes on and on.
WrestleMania should have you reacting and being amazed at what you’re watching, and this show had just that.
Did it help that having it again in a stadium made it feel special? Absolutely. Having WrestleMania in a venue that seats no more than 20,000 does not do this event justice.
It amazes me that the WWF/WWE haven’t come close to what WrestleMania 17 brought to the table as the years went by. There have been close instances in which many have almost said, “This WrestleMania is better than WrestleMania 17,” but came up short. Of course, it’s all subjective, and there are roughly two to three more reviews left, which could be argued as the best WrestleMania.
For now, a big congratulations should be given to the WWF for pulling off one heck of a show. The following year would have a tough act to follow.
In saying that, the next review is one that I couldn’t wait to get to when I announced I would be doing this WrestleMania countdown. It’s one that hits close to home, and what brings me in as a WWF fan.
The following year would take us back to my hometown of Toronto, Canada. More importantly, it was where an Icon of the past met an Icon of the present.
Results:
- Chris Jericho def. William Regal (c) - WWF Intercontinental Championship
- Tazz and the APA (Farooq and Bradshaw) def. Right to Censor (Bull Buchanan, The Goodfather and Val Venis)
- Kane def. Raven (c) and Big Show - Triple threat match for the WWF Hardcore Championship
- Eddie Guerrero def. Test (c) - WWF European Championship
- Kurt Angle def. Chris Benoit
- Chyna def. Ivory (c) - WWF Women's Championship
- Shane McMahon def. Vince McMahon - Street fight
- Edge and Christian def. The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von) (c) and The Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff) - Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match for the WWF Tag Team Championship
- The Iron Sheik last eliminated Hillbilly Jim to win the Gimmick Battle Royal
- The Undertaker def. Triple H
- Stone Cold Steve Austin def. The Rock - No disqualification match for the WWF Championship
Rating: A+
Thanks for reading. Look out tomorrow when I take a look at WrestleMania 18.
18 days away until WrestleMania 35.
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