Wrestlemania 17: A Retrospective Look

[Dagger Dias]

This is the 17th of 29 topics looking back on previous Wrestlemania events. Every couple of days I have been submitting a new one and will continue until all of the past Wrestlemania events have been discussed, leading up to the big day in April where Wrestlemania 30 will take place.

This time we are discussing what many consider the best Wrestlemania of all.... Wrestlemania 17!

Wrestlemania 17 took place on April 1, 2001. It was held at Reliant Astrodome in Houston, Texas. There were 67,925 fans who came to watch the show. Here are the results of the matches:


0. X-Factor (Justin Credible and X-Pac) (with Albert) defeated Steve Blackman and Grand Master Sexay in a tag team match as part of Heat (02:46)

1. Chris Jericho (c) defeated William Regal in a singles match to retain the WWF Intercontinental Championship (07:08)

2. Tazz and The APA (Bradshaw and Faarooq) (with Jacqueline) defeated Right to Censor (The Goodfather, Val Venis and Bull Buchanan) (with Steven Richards) in a six-man tag team match (03:52)

3. Kane defeated Raven (c) and The Big Show in a triple threat hardcore match to win the WWF Hardcore Championship (09:17)

4. Eddie Guerrero (with Perry Saturn) defeated Test (c) in a singles match to win the WWF European Championship (08:30)

5. Kurt Angle defeated Chris Benoit in a singles match (14:04)

6. Chyna defeated Ivory (c) in a singles match to win the WWF Women's Championship (02:39)

7. Shane McMahon defeated Mr. McMahon (with Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley) in a Street Fight with Mick Foley as the special guest referee (14:12)

8. Edge and Christian defeated The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von) (c) and The Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff) in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match to win the WWF Tag Team Championship (15:47)

9. The Iron Sheik won by last eliminating Hillbilly Jim in a 20-man Gimmick battle royal (03:07)

10. The Undertaker defeated Triple H in a singles match (18:57)

11. Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated The Rock (c) in a No Disqualification match to win the WWF Championship (28:07)



Now, here are some discussion questions concerning the event:

What was your favorite match on this show, and why did you like it the most? What about the worst match of this show, why did you like it the least?

If you could change a few things about Wrestlemania 17, what would it be and why?

You may only use wrestlers who were available at the roster at that time or make changes that could have realistically taken place in April 2001. Please keep in mind the situations going into the show such as who could actually have been pushed into a title match, or what songs existed back then if you wanted to change the show's theme music, and so forth.

You may only discuss Wrestlemania 17 in this thread. The remaining Wrestlemania events will be getting their own retrospective threads shortly, any posts regarding other events will be considered spam and you risk getting an infraction.

Discuss!

 

[The Brain]

This should be an interesting thread. Many people consider WM17 to be the greatest mania of all. I think it's a coin toss between this one and WM19 and usually lean to 19 but it's very close. I could see people picking any one of five matches as their favorite. Mine is Vince McMahon vs. Shane McMahon. The funny thing is as was against this match at the time. I didn't like the idea of two people that weren't wrestlers getting such a valuable spot on mania. I'm very happy to admit I was wrong about that. This was a fantastic match. Obviously it wasn't going to be a technical clinic but this match was full of drama and told an awesome story. Everyone involved played their part to perfection. This was the first mania I attended live and I'll never forget the crowd response when Linda stood from her chair. These two having the best match at mania, especially this mania really says something.

I guess I'd say my least favorite match was the triple threat hardcore match. I'm not a big fan of backstage brawls. I prefer the action to stay around the ring. Even so this match wasn't bad and I'm only mentioning it because there has to be a least favorite.

I've tried to make at least slight changes to improve each mania but this is a tough one. It's so good as it is it's hard to make it any better. At the time I thought the main event could have been Kurt Angle defending the title against Austin but really Austing vs. Rock was the way to go. Just for the hell of it I'll suggest one minor change. I would add Steven Richards to the Women's title match. Sounds strange but Ivory vs. Chyna was such a mismatch. Ivory had no chance so I say make it a handicapped match involving Richards. Chyna could still win pretty easily but at least this way Ivory had a chance of keeping her title. Like I said, it's a minor change and it wouldn't really have any impact on the show but I just wanted to put some kind of change out there. Really the show was pretty much perfect.

 

[Judah's Lion]

i'm so looking forward to all the responses for this one. many consider this the best Mania of all time. it's hard to argue given some of the great matches we got here.

Vince vs. Shane in a Street Fight might be my winner for match of the night. just thought they told a great story and it was a multi-dimensional story that lasted for months. plus we'd never seen it before (as opposed to Rock/Austin and TLC 2, which many here might pick as their favorites) so that gives it the nudge for me.

there's honestly not much i'd change on this card... maybe some of the undercard matches. or have Sgt. Slaughter win the Gimmick Battle Royal, but that wouldn't really improve the overall card.

in the Mania 16 (not 2000) thread, i mentioned that i'd have Rock/Triple H in a singles match for the World Title, have Austin counteract the interference from the McMahon Family and thus allow Rock to win the WHC in the main event. this, in my opinion, would be a much better setup and build to Rock/Austin for Mania 17. they go from opponents at Mania 15, allies at Mania 16 and back to opponents here at 17. plus, if Mania 16 went down like Backlash the following month did, this would mean that every WrestleMania would have ended -- up to this point -- with a face walking out as the World Champion. so this would make the heel turn of Austin, siding with Vince and ending the show differently for the first time since Mania began all the more meaningful. as it stands, Mania 17 kinda ended like Mania 16... Vince turned on the Rock, costing him the World Title. doesn't mean as much as it could have.

so i wouldn't have changed the match so much as i would have the build, going all the way back to the prior year's Mania.

great thread. i'm looking forward to the rest of the responses...

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

There's not a terrible lot that I would change (It's not my #1 WM, but it's in the top 5 for me), but the one change that I would make is a pretty big one. The main event was great, with the exception of the ending. While at the time, it was a shocking ending, the complete and utter lack of any coherent follow-up to Austin's turn severely damaged my enjoyment of this. It also ruined part of what would end up being WrestleMania 19 with the Rock/Austin non-rubber match. Honestly, after the end of WM 17, was there any suspense as to who would win a third WrestleMania match between these two? That was my primary beef -- This was prime territory for Rock to win (particularly after being screwed the previous year), and set up a third and final match down the line for these guys.

But nooooooooo - we had to have a shock ending a la WM 2000 that led into the abortive Two Man Power Trip team of Austin and Triple H.

 

[MCMG]

In my opinion this is not only the greatest Wrestlemania of all time but the greatest PPV. It is simply awesome from start to finish. There are several matches that are main-event quality; exciting gimmick matches and some solid mid-card bouts.

The "worst" match on the card only lasted 4 minutes and that involved some pretty decent names. The IC and European Title matches featured good wrestlers and were of decent quality. The Hardcore title was pretty fun as was the gimmick battle royal.

Benoit v Angle obviously delivered - note the change in quality from previous years. Taker vs Triple H could have easily headlined any other PPV. Shane v Vince was an entertaining match that was part of a great feud.

The TLC was my favourite match of the night. They completely took it to a different level and were literally putting their bodies on the line. Think of Edge retiring early and I can't imagine this match isn't somewhat related.

Rock V Austin was incredible. An amazing main-event in probably the greatest feud there has been. These were two huge stars fighting which is how the main-event of Wrestlemania should be. I loved the heel turn and I think it was a good decision.

The difference from the previous two years is incredible. I loved this PPV and it is easily my favourite Wrestlemania. This was the perfect card and every match delivered. If I absolutely had to change something, I'd maybe tag out the 6-man. There wasn't any obvious need for this match and Benoit/Angle could have used some extra time. Other than that, perfect.

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

One of the best Mania's no doubt.

My favorite match on the card was Austin/Rock. As a huge Rock fan I thought here it is. Rock will get the win to make up for 15. Austin siding with Vince was the last thing I thought would happen and even though Rock lost, the match made Rock look larger than life as it took EVERYTHING for Austin to beat him.

Really wouldn't change a thing as they nailed all the big matches and there isin't anything worth getting to worked up over on the undercard.

 

[Gibby]

I really like WM17. Or at least: I think I do. I need to write this down and see how I feel at the other end. I haven't seen them all yet but in my mind this is presently my favourite because this was really the peak of my teenage years of being into wrestling. Two of my best friends went to this and I was so so so so so jealous. Neither of them watch wrestling at all anymore either: what a waste!

It isn't perfect but it really sketched out the template for years to come. Big draw title fight. Big Undertaker fight. Huge grudge match. Spotty bump-filled violent match. Potential showstealer from guys in the upper midcard. Big stadium. Live music. Pyro all over the place. Celebrities. It's not a bad formula when you boil it down.

My favourite match is probably a tie between TLC and Vince-Shane, both of which get rewatched by me to this day. Huge matches for a huge spectacle. Both matches have a bit too much interference for my liking but they don't hugely detract. The main event is more than fine and while I'm not as crazy about the ending as some, I'm aware it advanced the story (at the expense of some character logic). It sure worked for the company too.

Middle of the pack: Benoit-Angle is to be admired rather than loved, going after a technical masterpiece rather than a rocking display: on the Backlash tour, they'd do a rematch that contained more contemporary styles and was much better for it. I didn't particular go crazy for HHH-Undertaker, and the big bump they felt compelled to include to continue to Michaels/Foley legacy looked shitty. Eddie worked his ass off for Test too to get that match above standard. The opener between Jericho & Regal perhaps didn't attain the heights but it is nonetheless enjoyable.

The six man tag and the hardcore three-way were just mediocre-to-average. The women's match between Chyna and Ivory was an absolute disgrace though, particularly as they had built Ivory up well with some great work as part of RTC and given some kind of rub that Chyna could work with. Instead they blew off the chance to give some meaning to the women's division by having Ivory ragdolled, before she'd be finished up months later. Most people won't care but it really got my goat then and now.

Ultimately I feel I've written that and come out a little more disappointed than pumped. The PPV massively turned the corner from a few bad years and emphasised better aspects of US pro-wrestling nicely with some good collision between in-ring and storyline coming to a head. Now I need to see the ones I haven't seen. It's not the best PPV of all time though, even if it ends up as the best WM.

 

[Wolf Pac]

Now we come to the greatest Wrestlemania of all time and maybe the greatest PPV of all time, Wrestlemania X7. This is my favourite Wrestlemania as I'm sure it is many others. The hype, the build up, the show was just great and the atmosphere was electric. And I could listen to Limp Bizkit's My Way all day, every day. Best PPV theme I've ever heard and it just went great with the Austin/Rock video packages.

Favourite match: There's so many on this card to choose from, but for me personally it's Austin vs. Rock. There may be a little bias on my part here cause both guys are my top two favourite wrestlers, but I absolutely loved everything about this match. The build up and the hype was great, I'll never forget the sitdown interview with Jim Ross on Smackdown and Austin telling Rock that "he needs the title, he needs it more than he will ever know", that one line sold the story for this match perfectly. The match itself was also great, the two men brought everything to each other, we saw them go hardcore in parts of the match, something we've never really seen them do before, they brought back old submission finishers and classic Wrestlemania match finishes like Piper-Hart from WM 8 and Austin-Hart from WM 13. I totally never saw the heel turn from Austin coming, one of my favourite heel turns of all time, and it speaks a lot about how much passion Austin had for the WWF Title and how much he wanted it if he would go and align himself with his arch-nemesis just to get it back.

Least-Favourite match: I loved all of the matches, but if I had to pick one then I guess either Chyna vs. Ivory since it only lasted 30 seconds or maybe the Gimmick Battle Royal although Bobby Heenan's line during The Iron Sheik's entrance, "by the time he gets to the ring, it will be Wrestlemania 38", was fuckin hilarious.

I really wouldn't make any changes to the card, I didn't have a problem with any of the matches, but there are a couple of changes that come to mind which wouldn't have any impact on the show and I'll throw out there just for the hell of it.

Eddie Guerrero vs. X-Pac for the European Title

Eddie and Waltman had a great match with each other at WCW Souled Out 1997 even though it was a Ladder match but still it could've been a bit better than Eddie vs. Test. Also Eddie and X-Pac were in the IC Title Fatal 4 Way match at No Way Out, so there's a bit of history there to build up this match. Maybe you could have Eddie, X-Pac & Test compete in a Triple Threat match on Raw for the European Title, Eddie Frog Splashes Test but before he can get the pin, X-Pac pulls him out of the ring and steals the pin & the title from Eddie. Then next week Eddie can defeat Test in a #1 Contenders match for the belt at Wrestlemania.

And since Pac is facing Guerrero, Albert can team with Justin Credible on the pre-show to take on Steve Blackman & Grandmaster Sexay.

Taz, Test & APA vs. The Right To Censor

Keep the same match but just make it an 8-man tag which also includes Steven Richards and Test.

Still though, I was happy with the way this card turned out and, again, I really wouldn't make any changes to this PPV.

 

[Aquaman6686]

My problem with this PPV is that the ending, with Austin's heel turn, was made for a HUGE storyline to come out of it, but they really went nowhere with it. Within a few months he was face again, then they briefly turned him heel again during the Invasion, and then babyface Austin was back to stay. Such an amazing potential storyline, and they did nothing with it. Personally I feel this WrestleMania was INSANELY overrated. It was good, but nothing truly special in my book. Last year I rewatched every WrestleMania from 1-29, skipping not one single match, and ranked them from worst to best, giving no credence to personal preference and judging them only on the content of the show itself. WrestleMania 17 was #10 on the list. I think it's a good show, but highly overrated.

 

[jsnsince89]

Echo a lot of responses on this being the greatest Mania of all time. If not, certainly in the top 3.

My favourite vote 'eventually' went for Rock v Austin but Taker/HHH and the TLC Match both have a case for being Match of the Night.
I'm totally with everyone on the Austin Heel' Turn and how WWE(F) dropped the ball there. I loved the first months of Austin's Heel Turn as it was basically his normal gimmick with added venom but faded into him becoming a loser. I think with the fact WWE(F) knew the Invasion' was coming sort of ruined the plans (if any) of the fallout of WMX7.

Only thing I would have changed was the TLC winner. With E&C winning at both WM16 in the Triangular Ladder Match & at SummerSlam 00' in the 1st TLC, it would have been cool for the Hardyz or the Dudleyz to have a TLC victory for the History Books.

Finally to note, this PPV had the best theme ever with Limp Bizkit's 'My Way'; Rock v Austin's Promo was brilliant!
Also loved the long entrance ramp; Taker flying down there on his bike is one of his forgotten great entrances!

#GreatestDaysofWWE

 

[Judah's Lion]

I really wouldn't make any changes to the card, I didn't have a problem with any of the matches, but there are a couple of changes that come to mind which wouldn't have any impact on the show and I'll throw out there just for the hell of it.

Eddie Guerrero vs. X-Pac for the European Title

Eddie and Waltman had a great match with each other at WCW Souled Out 1997 even though it was a Ladder match but still it could've been a bit better than Eddie vs. Test. Also Eddie and X-Pac were in the IC Title Fatal 4 Way match at No Way Out, so there's a bit of history there to build up this match. Maybe you could have Eddie, X-Pac & Test compete in a Triple Threat match on Raw for the European Title, Eddie Frog Splashes Test but before he can get the pin, X-Pac pulls him out of the ring and steals the pin & the title from Eddie. Then next week Eddie can defeat Test in a #1 Contenders match for the belt at WrestleMania.

Still though, I was happy with the way this card turned out and, again, I really wouldn't make any changes to this PPV.

^^^absolutely perfect Macho. this would have been a great swap. Test was pretty low on the relevance radar and X-Pac was on the rise with his new faction. and these two did have some history from WCW that could have been built up on this mega stage.

one last change i'd like to suggest, though not necessary, especially in a nearly flawless Mania with so many gimmick matches already...

Jericho vs. Regal had a really good Steel Cage match around this time for the IC Title. i would have had that Steel Cage match happen here instead of at a minor ppv. this match between two of my favorite wrestlers of all time fell just a touch flat for me, but perhaps in a Steel Cage, they could have worked the magic that both are clearly capable of delivering on any night.

 

[steven87gill]

Possibly the greatest PPV of all time, with a shocking (if badly mistimed) heel turn to boot as well.

Based on Judah's Lions great idea of how Mania 16 needed to be re-booked, Rock would take the belt there, hold it til Slam' where he'd drop it to Angle, then regain it at the Rumble. Much better than wasting it on a heel vs heel main event & the short 35 day reign he ended up having.

Trips refusing to turn face the following night on Raw is actually what killed the wrestling boom, rather than Austins turn. Just wanted to point that out.

 

[StraightEdge]

Best Wrestlemania ever! Im not saying this because Houston is my hometown and I was in attendance at age 10 either. This was truly a great WM. Every single match served a purpose (except for the gimmick battle royal obviously) and even match had a promo video behind it.


It's hard to pick a favorite match. It's a tie between tlc 2, hhh/taker and stone cold vs the rock. I am going to lean towards Stone Cold vs The Rock slighty. Before the match happened Finkel announced that there would be no dq and everyone in the arena had a "huh" look. Keep in mind that when Vince said "you want shocking? I'll give you shocking" Was completely forgotten about. The Austin/Rock promo was the best promo I have ever seen and the match told a great story. Austin turning heel and siding with McMahon was totally unexpected and 3/4 of the crowd cheered when Austin beat the Rock, including me. I was so happy that I didnt even go to school the next day.

Worst match on the card was probably Chyna vs Ivory. I personally felt Chyna shouldnt have squashed Ivory and the match should have went a little longer than it did. ivory should have gotten some offense in, but chyna deserved the title.

The "my way" theme song is still the greatest ever song for a wrestlemania and I have yet to see a WM crowd from the attitude era on that was better than the Houston crowd that night.

 

[Rocky84]

BEST Mania card eeeeever! For me I love the hype of a match just as much as the actual match and the outcome...I think they're all equal and you need all 3 for a success. Damn near every match had that and if not it delivered so much that it didn't matter.

I thought the Jericho- Regal match buildup was awesome! "You besmirched my tea" after Y2J pissed in Regals tea was hilarious...I'll never forget that. Match was good too.

Eddie vs Test was actually a really good in ring match...I didn't expect it to be that good but damn they delivered bigtime. I loved it.

Same goes for Kane vs Big Show vs Raven. I originally just wanted the two giants to battle but Ravens involvement was perfect. I LOVE these occasional matches where it's almost like a movie set. These guys were throwing Raven through glass windows, throwing eachother through walls and floors. It was like Godzilla vs King Kong with Raven being treated as a sacrificial lamb lol. This match exceeded my expectations bigtime.

I loved the idea and build up of Shane vs Vince...Shane went ape shit and did the Van Terminator and the elbow drop from the top rope to the outside etc...match exceeded expectations too...friggin phenomenal.

Undertaker vs HHH build up was great too and I liked the American Badass Taker for this match too. He even matched HHH's Game persona stylistically. What a hell of a match. This too was far beyond what I thought it would be. These guys took the fight everywhere....what an epic battle.

TLC2 ...better than the first. Never thought that could happen. Little Spike Dudley and Rhyno and Lita even killed it here.

Benoit and Angle put on a wrestling clinic. Such a stellar match.

Rock vs Austin and that damn legendary promo with Limp Bizcuit's My Way....dear god. It just doesn't get any better than that. It can bring a tear to your eye. I think the ending tainted the card especially at the end of the night...left me with a sour taste. Vince screwing the Rock 2 years in a row made ZERO sense. Made me sick...no wonder the guy left for all those years.

I really wanted a repeat of Mania 6 face vs face with a clean ending. I thought it was obvious that Austin should put the Rock over here clean seeing as how he surpassed him and since he beat him at Mania 15.

I would've changed that for sure. I never understood Vince's reason behind it...Austin I get it but Vince? Stay the fuck out of your main event Mania matches...it's the one time a year when things get resolved cleanly in the main event. I thought he ruined 15 years of tradition when he screwed him over at 16 & 17.

Best match of the night is too hard to say...best build up was Austin vs Rock, best actual match was a 4 way tie lol...the TLC match, Vince vs Shane, Kane vs Big Show vs Raven, and Undertaker vs HHH. Worst was Chyna vs Ivory.

 

[Cub McCallister]

Honestly I don't think you can change much stuff on this card as it was rated as one of the best wrestlemanias.

 

[Pedigree1]

This is the greatest WM of all time with WM19 being a close second.. Everything that went wrong with WM15 and 16,went absolutely right with WM17. The Astrodome,was huge that night,popping and cheering for their hometown boy SCSA. Usually at a WM,there is a slight letdown in at least one or two matches..

This one,there is no let down.. Even the triple threat hardcore match was insane.. I loved that Raven ran away every chance he got.. Let kane and Big show tear each other up.. When Raven went threw that glass window,that was insane... The TLC2 match,ummm possibly the greatest tag team match of all-time.. What amazing spots,the 20 foot spear by edge it was just a great great match..

The Trips Vs Taker match,a great one and possibly the worse of the three. That is saying something right there.. A great battle,that lead to unexpected turns brawling outside the ring,triple h getting chokeslammed off the stage thing they had. Plus undertaker beating up the ref for making a slow count was unexpected. Can we think of a more technical perfect match between Angle and Benoit.. Hold for hold and counter for counter. Awesome display of in ring ability between the two mat greats!

SCSA vs the rock was a brutal match.. As the match wore on,SCSA became more and more vicious. Just such a violent match between those two,and a visibly frustrated SCSA,when he just couldn't put the rock away. Plus the swerve of all swerves when SCSA teamed up with the devil himself Vinnie Mac to just crush the rock.. Granted the rock was going away to film a movie so no head shots,but he took something like 15 shots to the rib cage with the steel chair,plus those chair shots to the back and side to finally put him down.. What a amazing WM card top to bottom! Its every fans WM dream come true

 

[roipdh123]

Well this is the greatest PPV of all time.
I really liked almost every single one of the matches on the card with the exception of the RTS vs Tazz and APA & the gimmick battle royal which were fillers but the rest of the matches were at least 7/10 in ranking.

So this is indeed one of the only 2 wrestlemanias {along with WM 19} that I would not change a thing in them.Those WM's are the 2 greatest PPV creations that WWE/WWF has ever had and possibly will ever be and if WWE wants to see how they can build a great PPV from start to end - this is the example for perfection.

 

[MMK]

I'm surprised to read how many people on here rank this as the greatest ppv of all time. Really? Wrestlemania in the 2000's will never be as special as Wrestlemania in the 80's. Sorry. Wrestlemania 3 will always be the measuring stick. I think the reason most people have this mania ranked so high is because it benefited greatly from the rather long list of lackluster Wrestlemania's that preceded it. Definitely the best Mania of the attitude era, but far from the greatest ppv of all time.

Changes I would have liked to seen....

WWF TITLE: Austin vs Rock
Just have Austin win cleanly in his home state. The McMahon-Austin alliance is one of the biggest mistakes in wrestling history, even Austin acknowledges that. It's the biggest reason why I can't accept this as being the greatest mania, let alone PPV, of all time. The ending was botched. With The Rock leaving for Hollywood he clearly had to lose, but there was no reason for an Austin heel turn. It was an answer to a question no one asked. No one wanted to see that. No one.

WWF IC TITLE: Benoit vs Angle
The only change that should have been made to this match was that a title should have been at stake. The IC title was always the workers title and these two guys were the perfect candidates to wrestle for that title at this time in WWF.

WWF EURO TITLE TRIPLE THREAT: Regal vs Jericho vs Eddie
Forget Test, just add Eddie and his European title to the Jericho/Regal match to make a good match that much better.

The Tag Title TLC match and the Gimmick Battle Royal were perfect. They were the highlights of this event and no changes are necessary to either one of them. Great to see Bobby and Gene back on commentary for the gimmick battle royal. Even better to see Iron Shiek win. Take that Brian Blair.

The rest of the matches could be scrapped altogether for all I care. I would rather give more time to the matches listed above then make room for a Right To Censor six man tag or a meaningless hardcore title match.

 

[LODemolition]

Finally, a great WrestleMania to talk about and one that I wouldn't make many changes to. This is arguably the best WM of all-time, but I think everyone would at least have to put it in their top 5. It's really tough to pick my favorite match because there were plenty of great ones, but I went with the Tag Team Title TLC match. That one just had the most memorable moments in it that stand out first in my mind when I say the words WrestleMania 17. Obviously, Austin's heel turn and alignment with Vince was a huge moment and the Taker/Triple H match going into the crowd was very memorable as well. Not to mention Shane McMahon's turnbuckle to turnbuckle dropkick. As always, I will post my card here. But it's nice to not have many changes to make for once.

1. Intercontinental Championship Fatal 4-Way: Chris Jericho (c) vs. Chris Benoit vs. Eddie Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle

I always wanted to see these 4 in the ring at the same time, and to my knowledge, it never happened. Some might consider this a bad move to put them all in the same match, but I would've loved to see it personally.

2. APA vs. Perry Saturn & Dean Malenko

3. Hardcore Championship: Raven (c) vs. Tazz

4. European Championship: William Regal (c) vs. X-Pac

5. Gimmick Battle Royal: Iron Sheik wins

6. Kane vs. Big Show

7. Street Fight: Shane McMahon vs. Vince McMahon

8. Women's Championship: Ivory (c) vs. Chyna

9. Tag Team Championship TLC Match: Dudley Boyz (c) vs. Edge & Christian vs. Hardy Boyz

10. The Undertaker vs. Triple H

11. WWF Championship Match: The Rock (c) vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin


Just some minor changes to a stellar card.

 

[The Perfect Max]

I'm going to get hate for this I'm sure, but I don't understand all the hype around the event. Don't get me wrong, it's a great event featuring many top matches, such as TLC II that I voted for up there. Some classic moments happened at that event, but to say it's flawless is a little iffy for me. Eddie Guerrero and Test hardly put on an instant classic, Chyna and Ivory put on an atrocious match, and the six-man tag team match is nothing to write home about. Having said all of this, the event is still better than pretty much anything that has been put out there in the past, I don't know, six, seven years?

On the flip side, the TLC match was magnificent (the spear is still refreshing as ever in my mind, how awesome), Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit put on a solid undercard match, Triple H and The Undertaker's first WrestleMania encounter will always be the best, and the main event was quite good, but the ending didn't feel like a WrestleMania ending. It certainly had shock value and drama, but as we know, the initial heel turn for Austin flopped, and the ending was sort of weak for me.

Overall, the top matches were TLC II and Triple H vs The Undertaker. The Rock vs Stone Cold Steve Austin was a great heated match-up, but the ending didn't exactly cap off the event in the way it should have done. I'm not against the turn, but perhaps the ending wasn't done right. You can't please everyone, and I know I'm in the minority here, so I'm not starting any arguments. The undercard featured Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit in a really well done match, even the opening bout wasn't too bad. Three or so matches were pretty poor though. Still, one of the top events, even if I don't believe it to be the best. Just my opinion.

 

[Rocky84]

I'm surprised to read how many people on here rank this as the greatest ppv of all time. Really? Wrestlemania in the 2000's will never be as special as Wrestlemania in the 80's. Sorry. Wrestlemania 3 will always be the measuring stick. I think the reason most people have this mania ranked so high is because it benefited greatly from the rather long list of lackluster Wrestlemania's that preceded it. Definitely the best Mania of the attitude era, but far from the greatest ppv of all time.

Changes I would have liked to seen....

WWF TITLE: Austin vs Rock
Just have Austin win cleanly in his home state. The McMahon-Austin alliance is one of the biggest mistakes in wrestling history, even Austin acknowledges that. It's the biggest reason why I can't accept this as being the greatest mania, let alone PPV, of all time. The ending was botched. With The Rock leaving for Hollywood he clearly had to lose, but there was no reason for an Austin heel turn. It was an answer to a question no one asked. No one wanted to see that. No one.

WWF IC TITLE: Benoit vs Angle
The only change that should have been made to this match was that a title should have been at stake. The IC title was always the workers title and these two guys were the perfect candidates to wrestle for that title at this time in WWF.

WWF EURO TITLE TRIPLE THREAT: Regal vs Jericho vs Eddie
Forget Test, just add Eddie and his European title to the Jericho/Regal match to make a good match that much better.

The Tag Title TLC match and the Gimmick Battle Royal were perfect. They were the highlights of this event and no changes are necessary to either one of them. Great to see Bobby and Gene back on commentary for the gimmick battle royal. Even better to see Iron Shiek win. Take that Brian Blair.

The rest of the matches could be scrapped altogether for all I care. I would rather give more time to the matches listed above then make room for a Right To Censor six man tag or a meaningless hardcore title match.

Damn, and I thought I was a tough critic. How were you not entertained by Vince vs Shane or Taker vs HHH???? The hardcore title match was friggin awesome! Hardly meaningless. You gotta admit yourself that you're clearly very hard to please lol.

 

[gooseholla]

This was my first Wrestlemania. It was my first WWF/E PPV. It is fondly remembered by me to this day. I loved it. Sure I didn't know the back stories behind the matches, but I loved every moment of this Wrestlemania.

Over the next 3 years I saw every PPV. Nothing really came close to this. I've since seen other WMs and WWF PPVs. They don't come close to it. I guess if there was one thing I'd change, I'd of had APA/Tazz in a different match. Obviously there must have been a story to why they took on RTC, but to me, it just seems to be a cobbled together effort. APA never really seemed to do much at any WM.

Whatever though, this WM will always hold a place in my heart as the event that started it all. And well, here I am 13 years later - not a regular viewer, but it opened up avenues in my life that led to good things. For that, WM 17 will stand, for me, as THE greatest event I witnessed in WWF/E.

 

[Limitless]

Best PPV Ever? ... Perhaps. I am a huge fan of this PPV, and if I could show a new fan one PPV, it would probably be this one. It was good from top to bottom and was also surprising.

Rock /vs/ Austin was my favorite match, as I was a Rock fan. I was so invested in the match, thinking that the Rock was going to win. After the match I was so upset, but in a good way. The interference from Vince was great and really made me mad... but that was why it was so cool.

I wouldn't change anything to the event, as I feel everything was well paced and entertaining. I will never forget the Rock and Austin videos promo leading to the match. Probably one of the best video packages ever!

 

[MoxleyCrue]

Look how spoilt we were as fans back then, not saying I don't enjoy the product now, but matches like Y2J vs Regal, Angle vs Benoit, Vince vs Shane, Hardyz vs E&C vs Dudleyz, Taker vs Trips, SCSA vs Rock. APA, Kane, and Eddie on the card as well. It was a ridiculously stacked card, and that was at a point where HBK was out, none of the WCW roster were on the show, Lesnar didn't debut for another year.

 

[steven87gill]

I'm going to get hate for this I'm sure, but I don't understand all the hype around the event. Don't get me wrong, it's a great event featuring many top matches, such as TLC II that I voted for up there. Some classic moments happened at that event, but to say it's flawless is a little iffy for me. Eddie Guerrero and Test hardly put on an instant classic, Chyna and Ivory put on an atrocious match, and the six-man tag team match is nothing to write home about. Having said all of this, the event is still better than pretty much anything that has been put out there in the past, I don't know, six, seven years?

On the flip side, the TLC match was magnificent (the spear is still refreshing as ever in my mind, how awesome), Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit put on a solid undercard match, Triple H and The Undertaker's first WrestleMania encounter will always be the best, and the main event was quite good, but the ending didn't feel like a WrestleMania ending. It certainly had shock value and drama, but as we know, the initial heel turn for Austin flopped, and the ending was sort of weak for me.

Overall, the top matches were TLC II and Triple H vs The Undertaker. The Rock vs Stone Cold Steve Austin was a great heated match-up, but the ending didn't exactly cap off the event in the way it should have done. I'm not against the turn, but perhaps the ending wasn't done right. You can't please everyone, and I know I'm in the minority here, so I'm not starting any arguments. The undercard featured Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit in a really well done match, even the opening bout wasn't too bad. Three or so matches were pretty poor though. Still, one of the top events, even if I don't believe it to be the best. Just my opinion.

No disagreements from me.

They certainly could have handled the turn much better, but if we're being brutally honest, the turn was wholly unnecessary as Austin had been away for 8 months & felt fresh again. If anything it was The Rock that was in desperate need of a change up in character.

Whether it was him feeling burned out, or creatives doing, by late 2000 a lot of the 'fun' & 'edge' had been sucked out of The Rock & he'd become a bit of a goody two shoes act by this point.