Pro Wrestling Powerhouse’s complete coverage of WrestleMania continues with Tim Bell reviewing and recapping WrestleMania 17.
WrestleMania 17 was held on April 1, 2001 in Houston, Texas at the Reliant Astrodome, and in my opinion, was one of the top WrestleMania events in history. The build for the main event matches was masterful, but the real draw to this event was that the delivery was spot-on for the matches which didn’t have as much focus as well, creating a perfect storm-type atmosphere for this big event. Paul Heyman joined Jim Ross on commentary, giving the event a fresh, cutting edge perspective, and helped make this event stand out among its peers.
In the opening match, Chris Jericho put his Intercontinental Championship on the line against the reigning Commissioner, William Regal. Regal had been making Jericho’s life difficult, pitting him in handicap table matches against the Dudleys and trying to cost him his Championship, leading Jericho to retaliate with a number of humorous attacks, including “relieving” himself in the commish’s tea.
In this opening contest, Regal’s hard-hitting style was at it’s best, and although he was not victorious, Regal reminded the fans how lethal he could be inside the ring. Jericho’s skills always raised on the grand stage, but the real takeaway from this match was Regal’s ability to hang with him at this stage of his career.
Next was a 6-man tag pitting Tazz & The Acolytes, Faarooq & Bradshaw against The Right To Censor members Bull Buchanan, Val Venis and The Goodfather. This match, which normally may have felt like an early break in the action, was given a bigger feel beforehand by Bradshaw’s passionate speech about fighting in Texas, and the crowd responded by staying invested in this match throughout. Not a classic by any means, but on that night, Bradshaw’s clothesline from hell to silence RTC was more than satisfying.
Very few hardcore matches are remembered fondly, if at all, but many people remember when Raven defended his Hardcore Championship against both Kane and The Big Show, and for good reason. Raven’s attempts to escape the two behemoths allowed for all the usual prop attacks during the match, however, things were turned up a notch when they got backstage. With giants like Kane & Show in a hardcore setting, you’d expect some extraordinary moments, right? For my money, it doesn’t get much crazier than Raven being thrown clear through a window, only to be followed by Big Show going through a wall. Raven would ultimately lose his title to Kane, but only after proving he was more than a garbage champion (no pun intended).
Another Championship would change hands in the following match, as European Champion Test took on Eddie Guerrero. This match was not up to the WrestleMania standards Guerrero would soon set in years to come, but it completed a story that had been going on for weeks between Test & Eddie, and at worst, served its purpose without being dull.
In case you thought this was the point where this Mania might be hitting a lull, next comes Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit. These two go about 15 minutes, and while they easily could have gone 45, there are no complaints to be had here. This one was a beautiful blend of amateur, technical and physical skill between two of the most smooth competitors to ever step into a wrestling ring, and regardless of your thoughts regarding Benoit, is worth going back and re-watching today, as the wrestling prowess in this one is off the charts, even if Angle eventually resorts to stealing the victory
Your only Divas match on WrestleMania 17 was a simple squash by Chyna, finally setting her sights on the Women’s division, and she did so by destroying Ivory and taking the Championship in just under 3 minutes. Luckily, after this one, the card for WrestleMania really stepped up to another level.
One of the two biggest stories coming into WrestleMania 17 was Shane McMahon’s defiance of his father when he purchased WCW right from under Vince’s nose. Shane would go on to lead the villain Alliance faction, but on this night he was the avenging son against his father’s infidelities. 2 non-wrestlers put on one hell of a fight, with Vince relying on his brawling skills, while Shane wowed the crowd in attendance with his aerial skills, even crashing through the announce table on an attempted elbow.
This whole match was a soap opera’s dream, but one overlooked, but highly significant moment was Trish Stratus having the biggest moment of her career when she double-crossed Vince and attacked Stephanie. However, the biggest pop came when Linda McMahon emerged unexpectedly to confront her husband, and Shane emerged victorious with an awe-inspiring leap across the ring, previously made famous by Rob Van Dam alone. To see a part-time performer like Shane pull it off was beyond impressive, and really gave this match the stamp as being something pretty darn special, even if it wasn’t the most technical affair.
It was going to be nearly impossible to follow what the McMahons had just accomplished in terms of storytelling and excitement, but just in case anyone doubted Vince McMahon’s ability to plot out a big event, he proved he’s the master with TLC II, with The Hardys, Dudleys, and Edge & Christian completely tearing the house down. Sequels rarely approach the greatness of the original, but make no mistake, this one achieved the feat.
The biggest moment of this match is one you’ve seen a thousand times: we’ll simply call it, the grandest Spear of all time. Each team incorporated a third member into the mix, but it was E & C’s buddy Rhyno who paid the largest dividends, assisting the brothers of awesomeness to climb the ladders and run their record in TLC to 2-0.
In one of the more enjoyable concession break matches ever, nostalgia ran rampant in the Gimmick Battle Royal. It was great to see Gene Okerlund and Bobby Heenan back at WrestleMania, and while the in-ring action was expectedly low, at least it was fun. Every crowd needs a chance to take a breath, and this was a good way to give them that time after the previous two matches. Not to mention, they’d need it, because there was still more to come.
In what was truly their first match at WrestleMania (completely ignored when they’d eventually meet again years later at Mania, by the way), The Undertaker and Triple H squared off in a battle for respect. The story was simple, and it allowed these two to simply focus on having the most physical, impressive match they could.
Up to this point in his career, this was The Undertaker’s finest match at WrestleMania, even topping winning the Championship at WM13, because the quality of the action was just so high. It was also the first time in quite some time where it seemed believable that Taker could lose at Mania, and sparked the beginning of WWE truly acknowledging The Streak.
The main event was easily the most anticipated match of the night, but that’s not surprising when you had The Rock defending the World Championship against “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. The Rock was at the absolute height of his popularity, quite possibly equally as popular as Austin, but with the match taking place in Texas, Austin was an overwhelming fan favorite from the opening bell.
Austin was clear in the weeks leading up to Mania that he was coming after Rock’s Championship as aggressively as anything he’d ever done in his career, and that added aggression was clear from the opening bell. Austin and Rock had a classic, which topped their previous Mania main event at WM15. Austin stole the Rock Bottom, The Rock stole the Stone Cold Stunner, and neither could put the other man away. The only knock some throw in this epic’s direction is the eventual conclusion, with Vince McMahon getting involved, and Austin revealing that he’d joined forces with the evil McMahon in an effort to gain back the Championship.
However, in my opinion, this moment could not have truly happened anywhere else but in the WrestleMania main event, and while the live crowd in the arena was still pro-Austin, the gravity of that moment was felt 110% watching at home, and still translates today.
Overall, I rank WrestleMania 17 in the top 5 all-time in terms of the greatest WrestleMania’s ever. The magnitude of the event simply doesn’t seem to dip for more than a moment from beginning to end, and it truly felt like the biggest event of its time when it concluded.