Retro theMAYHEM.com column from 2001: Instant feedback to Wrestlemania 17

For the most part, i thought wrestlemania was a really good show. the only damn thing that pisses me off is that the wwf tried to turn austin heel. i mean, how much longer are we gonna have to listen to the rocks same borin ass sh*t nite after nite. not only that, but the crowd was still cheerin for austin even though he teamed with mcmahon. seems like this blew up in the writer’s faces. and why try to turn austin heel even though he hasn’t even been back for that long, considering how he get’s bigger and better face pops then the rock. i just hope that the writers end up havin austin turn on vince tommorow nite to correct everything to keep austin a face, or wrestling just won’t be the same, and it won’t be good.

wako writes:

My first impressions were that the Astrodome was huge, bigger than anything I’ve ever seen in wrestling. As soon as I saw the place, I knew that Wrestlemania was going to be special.

I can honestly say that I think Wrestlemania X-Seven was the greatest wrestling event in history. But even though I say that, it could have been better.

And I thought the Iron Sheik was going to have to call a taxi cab to make it to the ring before the end of the show. I’m surprised they didnt have train service running from the entrance to the ring.

Jericho Vs Regal was average to say the least.

The RTC Vs Tazz & APA match could have been a little longer in my opinion. But was pretty average in anycase.

Test Vs Eddie Guerrero was quite good. Guerrero put on a great show and so did Test [icles]. Although I nearly swallowed my tongue with laughter when Test got stuck on the ropes…! I thought he was gonna be there all night. Could you imagine The Rock Vs Stone Cold Steve Austin and Test still stuck in the ropes…!

Chyna Vs Ivory was dull. I dont think anyone could give a damn about this match. Although I have to question Chyna being a legitimate womans champion… hmm.

Big Show Vs Kane Vs Raven was not bad. I honestly thought that Raven was the key to the match, he should have been used more. And the Big Show and Kane are as hardcore as my grandmother.

TLC 2 was awesome to say the least. I dont really know if it was better than the first although when Matt Hardy and Buh Buh Ray Dudley took that major bump I was literally stunned. I guess the best thing about the match was Lita being there… actually I just cant put most of it into words. Spectacular.

Undertaker Vs Triple H was good, but I was’nt expecting anything special from them. All I want is for the Under-T to return to the phenom.

Gimmick Battle Royal was a great idea. It brought back priceless memories. It was great to see them all again, especially Mean Gene & The Brain whose commentary was hilarious. But when everyone was entering, I started to fantisize about Hulk Hogan making his return…! when the match began, I was just waiting for his music to hit and take the roof of the place and clean house. Or even the Ultimate Warrior would be great… but it never happened.

I said to myself… just aslong as Shawn Michaels or Hulk Hogan appear then I’ll be happy no matter what. But the WWF screwed that up too… no HBK.

The Rock Vs Stone Cold was simply a classic. It was brutal, emotional, aggressive …etc. And finally Stone Cold has changed to a heel… which he should have friggin’ been in the first place. This opens up a plethora of opportunities and storylines. I cant wait.

Basically… I was disappointed that there was no Hulk or HBK… and I was expecting Limp Bizkit. And what about that WCW Invasion…?? if that had happened then it would be PERFECT… well everything but Test being stuck on the ropes…!

Nick Greenlee writes:

Wow, where to start! This is definately the best Pay Per View in recent memory, if not of all time. The Chris Jericho and Steven Regal match was mediocre, as expected, but not really that bad. I expect all Regal matches to suck anyway.

The hardcore match was really good, despite a few things that looked fake (Going through walls that are as thin as paper?). Raven getting thrown through glass was cool, and he was even cut all over his body. The ending was a bit strange, especially since Kane’s leg drop looked more like an elbow drop.

Then we got the other matches nobody cares about, such as the RTC vs. APA and Tazz, Chyna vs. Ivory, and Test vs. Latino Heat. Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit put on a very good technical match as I expected.

Vince vs. Shane w/Foley as guest referee…WOW! Now that was good! It was very entertaining, especially with Linda coming out of her chair and kicking Vince right in the balls (Who didn’t expect that?). The best parts were when Shane did the elbow drop from the turnbuckle and through the Spanish announce table, and when he did the RVD style drop kick from the turnbuckle, ACROSS the ring, and into a trashcan in Vince’s face! Shane’s definately got some talent, and hopefully he’ll be in the ring a lot more after this PPV.

Show stealer of the night? Can anyone say TLC2? Oh yes, I definately can, and that match was sweet. Did it top TLC1? OH HELL YA! Despite the match being pretty short, it had some REALLY good high spots! Spike comes out and does his top rope bulldog off the ladder, as well as out of the ring and through a table!! Rhyno comes in and BAM! Spear through a table set up on the turnbuckle! Even though the biggest high spots were somewhat of a repeat, they were still cool with a little extra spice. Jeff did the Swanton off a really high ladder and through two tables, one with Spike and one with Rhyno (Actually, the table Rhyno was on didn’t even break). Also, from a repeat of last year’s Summerslam, Buh Buh is pushed off of a huge ladder, out of the ring, and through four tables! Only this time, Matt Hardy came with him. This looked even cooler than it did at Summerslam!! My only gripe about this match is the F*CKING GAY ENDING!! How the hell can Edge and Christian win YET AGAIN?!!! It just blows my mind, but oh well. The match is what counts, not necessarily the ending.

HHH vs. Undertaker was yet another very cool match, and the crowd was way into it. Undertaker even continued his Wrestlemania winning streak, and we even saw a Tombstone! Very good match! Oh yeah, Motorhead performed HHH’s theme live as well which was a good addition, even though me and my friends were spending most of it laughing at the head singer’s two huge moles.

The main event, Austin vs. Rock, was another big one. We saw an Austin heel turn, but how many people actually cared? The fans still blew the roof off when Austin got the pin, and I heard MANY boos from the fans when Rocky made comebacks. I didn’t like how, yet again, the announce table broke before a move could be put through it. They really need to rig these things better. Rock was just laying on it, and suddenly it collapses. Those two were really loosing blood, though. Spots of the ring were drenched, and yet they still pulled off a great performance with a wicked ending. I like Austin’s new “pissed off and out of control” attitude.

All in all, EXCELLENT pay per view. I’m already watching it again on tape. It’s not not too often that I watch more than one match on PPVs I tape (I pop in TLC from Summerslam once in a while, but that’s about all I watch from that PPV besides Shane’s huge bump and Kane getting unmasked). For those who didn’t see it, GET THE ENCORE PRESENTATION! You won’t regret it!

TrueGlenn writes:

I think the WCW screwups of PPV’s has infected the WWF already. Rock and Austin were putting on a great match in what could have capped off the BEST Wrestlemania ever, even better that WM3 & WM 14. There was no reason to have McMahon interfere, no more Monday night competition, they were going to get their ass kicked by the NCAA title game tomorrow night anyway. They could have had Austin win the belt cleanly, send 67,000 people home happy and correct the mistake they made last year in the WORST Wrestlemania ever. But no, Vince couldn’t leave well enough alone, and had to take away from a legendary match up. This won’t be forgotten, and it was a total BUZZKILL. I knew the Rock was going to lose though because he didn’t cut a promo in the back, which also taints this show. But I would have to still rank this Wrestlemania in the top 5.

Brenda House writes:

Overall a solid show, but not the best. Loved the Hardcore match. TLC 2 was basically SummerSlam, but not as good. Gimmick match was SHORT but Bobby Heenan’s presence made it great. Taker and HHH was a good solid matchup, all A’s for that match. Beniot and Angle was the only WRESTLING match at WrestleMania, and a darn good one. I knew Stone Cold would win with McMahon, because why would McMahon have let Austin be in the main event anyway. I feel bad for Rock, screwed at back to back WrestleMania’s. Tommorow night is probably the return of HBK. He will take care of Steve. X7 was a good show, but like I said, not the greatest.

Bhec99 writes:

I for one want my money back! WWF took last years Main Event and just planned copied it! This is nothing but a freaking expensive copy of Wrestlemania from a year ago. I am fine with Austin winning the title but Vince turning face with a man he supposedly hates is just a big copy. The writers could have came up with something a lot better than that. What kind of shit of this. After looking at the last two WM its a huge fucking surprise that WWF won the Monday night wars!

KrisGuyMiller writes:

Wrestlemania could have been a hell of a lot better than it was then to pay 44.95 + tax for a pay-per-view like that was a waste of money! Vince made a big deal over a pay-per-view saying it was going to be the best Wrestlemania of all-time. I guess Vince McMahon screwed us like he did Bret Hart, The Kat, & Jerry “The King” Lawler!

Intercontinental Championship: Jericho vs. Regal: Was a alright matchup but would have been better if it was longer and Jericho won with the Walls of Jericho, cause in all respect how in the hell does a moonsault off the 2 rope end off a opponent let’s be real now! Good to keep Jericho as Intercontinental Champion cause he’s a good wrestler

The segments of Shane pulling up in a Nitro limo is getting on my nerves when is he finally going to air a WCW program, WCW’s website isn’t even updated, so until they get things settled don’t bring up WCW

APA & Tazz vs. RTC: Gay match except the end with Bradshaw’s hard clothesline, I mean we didn’t even see Steven Richards get beat up, and RTC took over most the match until the end when the good guys always rally back. I think if Steven wasn’t going to get beat up then he should have interfered and RTC shoud have won!

What was up with that Trish & Stephanie segment I mean that gave the Vince vs. Shane match surprise away by the looks Trish gave Stephanie.

Hardcore Championship: Big Show vs. Raven vs. Kane: Second best match behind Benoit vs. Angle, and was phenomnial match! Kane throwing Big Show and Raven off the stage through the equipment was a good part in this storyline. Two things that kept this match from being great was that it was a hardcore match and it was slow, what federation puts two big guys like Kane and Big Show in a match like this they should have been going against each other for the #1 contendership for the World Title. Kane should lose the Hardcore title and move to the World title.

Good segment may have been the best segment when they showed how serious Angle was against one of the best wrestlers in the WWF Chris Benoit. Angle looks like he has to prepare for a good match!

European Championship: Test vs. Eddie Guerrero: This match went way too far with all the interruptions, overall it was a alright match but would have been better if all the interruptions was cut out of the match! It’s good that Eddie Guerrero has the European title, he might be able to put this title on the map at being one of the best titles invented.

Mick’s segment was a weak segment cause everyone knew he was not going to call it straight down the middle as you knew he was going to help Shane!

Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit: The best match of the night, it was a show stealer! No one recoginized it but this was one of the first matches where they involved real High School, College, Olympic, and Pro Wrestling all in one! Kurt Angle end up winning with a grabbing of the tights but this match would be good for the next PPV.

Kamala part of the segment sucked but Benoit getting revenge made up for that part of the sorry segment!

Women Title: Chyna vs. Ivory: Lame match you knew who was going to win from the get go, so I have no more to say than it was one of the lamest match of Wrestlemania history! Chyna need to lose the Women’s title and go back to being a man figure.

This segment was alright Vince makes it seem like it’s going to go his way!

Street & Special guest referee match: Vince vs. Shane: Good match overall, not to much wrestling but did get a little wrestle in there, this is where all the storylines pop out of nowhere! Just watch RAW to see what’s going to happen, this was the match that was going to make RAW a special night tonight! Good win for Shane!

TLC 2 Tag Team Titles: Edge & Christian vs. Hardy Boyz vs. Dudley Boyz: Too much like Summerslam, and the funny thing was there was the same outcome which made it lame and cool at the same time! Good match for Edge & Christian.

Good mixing the announcers around letting the older announce the Gimmick Battle Royal

Gimmick Battle Royal: Lame but entertaining I loved seeing the old guys get in the ring again. In the end of it all who else should win other than the dominate Iron Shiek!

Good and impressive performance by Motorhead of “The Game”

HHH vs. Undertaker: Not good because HHH should have won what type of federation makes their best wrestler not in the main event and then lose to a overrated old guy! I mean the Undertaker’s good but the fans wouldn’t like him if he didn’t come out to Limp Bizkit! Come on Vince when is HHH going to get his world title push again IT’S BEEN TOO LONG!!!!!!!!!!!

Chris Jordan writes:

I thought that wrestlemania was a huge disapointment, the calibre of matches on display was outstanding but can anyone name a moment that wasn’t predicted on the internet? I mean as soon as it was announced that Linda would be at ringside everyone knew she would get out of her wheelchair and screw Vince. There was nothing that happened that suprised me which I feel should not be the case at the biggest show on earth. And whats the deal with turning Austin Heel? the reason the WWF has done this is because one of these men needs to turn heel and since The Rock is involved in so much outside the WWF they cannot afford to have him hated, I think the crowds reaction to Austin after he beat down The Rock after the match speaks volumes about what the public really want. They cheered Austin even though he sided with Vince, they cheered Austin even though he beat down The Rock, basically he could have gone out there and bad mouthed Texas and the crowd would still have cheered. The Rock gimmick is getting old, he needs something fresh, the Psycho Stalker charecter he played when at war with the McMahon-Helmsley faction was brilliant and showed something we haven’t seen from The Rock in years, something fresh with which to entertain. In the ring The Rock is a good as the next guy but his promos have gotten stale and as of late he has resorted to simply speaking a sentance and then shouting a random word from this sentance before going back to his normal tone of voice, this simply leads people to think he is mental, not entertaining. I think it’s a sad sad day when the WWF turns Austin heel simply because of what The Rock is doing outside of the WWF. I think the WWF writers will have to turn The Rock heel because as was proved last night the fans ain’t gonna boo Stone Cold Steve Austin because he isn’t the one coming out saying the same thing over and over again and boring the hell outta the fans. Another thing which bothered me about Wrestlemania was the fact that the WWF has so much talent which they are not using/have not debued yet, this to me is a blinding waste, a great example of this is the Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit match. With Kurt Angle using the ankle lock as his new finishing move it would have made perfect sense to have Ken Shamrock do a run in at WM and beat down Kurt Angle, this would have re-introduced The Worlds Most Dangerous Man to WWF competition because as was stated Ken hoped to return around April time. The outcome of the match would have been the same and it would get both men over as pure wrestlers and would also have provided something that i’m sure many fans wanted from Wrestlemania A SUPRISE!!!! As I understand it the WWF has so many wrestlers that they are not using and i admit not all of these can be used at any one time but the WWF mid-card would greatly benefit from a new challenger such as Ken Shamrock because as it is we have the same matches and outcomes over and over again and with no competition for the WWF the situation has the potential to get so much worse as the WWF rests of their ‘shaky looking’ laurels.

Tony Jesus writes:

Wazzzzzzzz Sup?? This is Anthony Jesus, one of the biggest wrestling fans ever. I ordered Wrestlemania in hopes of the biggest PPV event ever. My hopes came true. Of course, I have AT&T; digital and it was cutting out, which SUCKED!! From what I saw, it was awesome. Jericho and Regal was a great opener. RTC Vs. Tazz/APA was nice. Hardcore title match was crazy. Raven stood no chance in hell(no pun intended) of beating Show or Kane. Kane won and its about time he held some gold. Chyna destroyed Ivory like an intern swallows a president. TLC2 once again was an awesome match, but was not as good as last year’s wrestlemania and summerslam. Rhyno screwing over Hardyz and Dudleyz was cool. He needs to GOAR people better, like his ECW days. E&C; own that damn match. Angle cheated to a win over Benoit!! Ya know the clapper, well angle is the tapper. It was also cool that WWF Hall of Famer/Legend Jimmy “SuperFly” Snuka was at WWF New York!! TEST is an awesome wrestler. I hope they move him up to IC rankings. 3 men to beat TEST, radicals suck!! And finally, when TEST gets on a PPV, he loses. Shane, Linda, Trish, and Mick Foley fooled Vince nicely. The street fight between father and son was the show stealer. Until HHH and the Bad Ass went at it. They fought all over the Astrodome! New record as well: 67,534!! Taker goes 9-0 in wrestlemania matches. He beat HHH badly. The gimmick battle royal was funny. Sheik won!! Sarge got a 10 year revenge on Shiek. This brings us to the main event. Stone Cold Vs. the Rock!! 30 minutes plus!! Pure action!! And who the hell thought that Vince McMahon and SCSA would ever shake hands and drink beer together. SCSA made a deal with the devil, but its gonna be funny to see what Vincegets out of this. SCSA is the New WWF World champion and the newest heel. Vince fooled all of you that watch WWF TV and those who come to the internet. He fooled me too!! And thats why the WWF has out lasted WCW!! Vince is a master mind!! Dont be surprised if Taker recieves a title shot against Austin at Backlash!! Or maybe HHH!! Either way, Backlash is the right name for the PPV. We’ll see the backlash from Wrestlemania 17!!

If I had to summarize WM17 in three words. Greatess PPV Ever!!

JokerCircus writes:

Personally I thought the Pay Per View was great the whole Trish Face Turn was a good shock but the thing is I knew that Stone Cold was turning Heel when he wouldn’t let go of the Sharpshooter and it clicked that he was going Heel. But Stone Cold becoming the WWF Champion was a shocker to me. Now this will probably lead to maybe a Triple H/Stone Cold vs. Rock/Undertaker tag team match tomorrow night on RAW is WAR… 🙁 But I can’t see it cause my cable company still won’t carry TNN which sucks. But all in all I went to a Sports Bar saw WrestleMania for free and witnessed a great event. The Grade: B+

Brandon Raper writes:

That Austin swerve came from the “out-of-friggin-nowhere” department, but it totally worked! Rock and Stone Cold put on one hell of a 30+ minute match, and, even though I’m a huge SCSA fan, i enjoyed the show a lot. In my opinion, the TLC 2 match was the second best of the night, and the “Gimmick Battle Royal” was a hilarious sideshow (too bad the Dumpster didn’t win…)

RileyA2001 writes:

Wrestlemania 17 delivered a load of excitement, action, and drama. I believe that the whole ppv sunk when Austin joined with McMahon over the Rock’s body. I wasn’t upset that Austin won the match, I was upset on how The Rock lost it. Although Wrestlemania brought us a new alliance and a new era, it was probably one of the worst moves the Federation has ever done. Wrestlemania is about glory, blood, sweat, and tears. It’s about the entertainers giving it everything they have. But this was a complete screw over. Austin could have won the match clean, without McMahon interfering. The tradition was broken the second time in a row, and I believe it was a cheap ending to a great, titanic match.

DoggerPride2003 writes:

All in all wrestlemania was a great show. First off the Chris Jericho/regal match was a little slow and unexciting. jericho was impressive but regal was lacking something. apa and tazz/rtc was a good match and seemed to get the crowd jump-started pretty well. womens title was a little quick and predictable but i’m glad to see chyna back in the ring. test vs. guerrero was impressive. well played by all who participated. hardcore title match was absolutely awesome!!! all three of those men really stepped up tonight and gave the audience a great show. Benoit vs. angle was nice and they both displayed great athleticism but i was a little disappointed that it ended in a pin. Shane vs. vince was great too. Shane really shined in this match, esspecially with his leap across the ring. also i’m glad to see linda back in the story-line. tlc 2 was one of the better matches of the night. Spike and rhino really added to the match and all the teams were amazing. the gimmick battle royal was great for comic relief (especially with okerlund and heenan dong commentary) HHH vs. undertaker was my favorite match of the night by far. undertaker chokeslamming hhh into the crowd was great. he must have held him up with one arm for five seconds. And of course the world title match was great also. it’s nice to see austin turn heel. this oughta make for some great story-line twists in the near future. all in alll i give wrestlemania a 9.3. cut out a few of the mistakes and it would have been a ten.