WrestleMania 17 (XVII) (X-7) (X-Seven) has widely been accepted as the best WrestleMania of all time literally since the moment the show ended. The show was the culmination of the Attitude Era and aired just a handful of days after the WWF finally successfully acquired WCW and won the Monday Night War. The build-up to the event was one of the best ever and it definitely paid off. But it’s been 15 years since WrestleMania 17 and wrestling things rarely actually age that well…especially when it comes to the Attitude Era. So, where does this particular ‘Mania stand as an all-timer?
Unlike most people, I wasn’t ever sold on WrestleMania 17 as the best ever early on. Whenever the conversation came up, I’d always been in the belief that WrestleMania 19 was far superior. And, for a match-by-match standpoint, it still might be. WrestleMania 19 had Brock vs. Angle in the main event, which was a classic even if they were protecting the Olympic Gold Medalist’s neck and dealing with the nervousness around his condition. The Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho match is probably a top-10 WrestleMania match ever. The Rock vs. Austin III had significant historical importance as Austin’s last match and the end of their feud — plus it was a really fun match. And finally, Hulk Hogan vs. Vince McMahon was an all-around entertaining spectacle with an unforgettable image of a bloody McMahon holding a lead pipe and rising to the ring. That Mania was probably a tighter event with consistent highs from beginning to end.
In the last few years, though, I’ve changed my stance on 17 vs. 19. I have to give the edge to WrestleMania 17 because it’s just full of iconic, era-defining moments. The last two matches of the card featured Undertaker, Triple H, The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin — probably the four definitive Attitude Era guys putting on their best matches for an hour straight. WrestleMania 17 was just iconic. Every major match aged better as much for sheer match quality as much as just historical importance:
TLC II – Edge & Christian vs. The Hardy Boyz vs. The Dudley Boyz – One of the underrated aspects of the Attitude Era that made it great was the booming tag team division anchored by these three teams. And this was the culmination of their greatness. The other TLC match at the previous SummerSlam and the Ladder Match a year before were great, but this one stood out for how much better it was at telling a story. Also, the Edge/Jeff Hardy dangling spot is one of the most incredible spots in wrestling history. When this match happened, the risks and level of violence was becoming the norm. But to look back and see just how insane everything was only highlights how special the era and the match was.
Shane McMahon vs. Vince McMahon for control of WCW – I wonder if WWE even knows or cares that they’re having Shane wrestle on the 15th anniversary of his match with Vince. Anyway, the stakes for this match were incredibly high and we got all four McMahons fighting it out. Now, the storytelling leading up to the match had some very problematic and disgusting things happening with Trish Stratus, but they had the crowd hooked and invested in the show. Go back and listen to the crowd when Linda McMahon rose from her “catatonic state.” The Astrodome erupted. In an event that had classic matches and legendary moments, probably the second biggest pop of the night besides Austin eventually winning went to Linda McMahon standing up. Linda McMahon. That’s a testament to how a story can make the crowd do whatever the storyteller wants. We remember Shane doing the coast-to-coast Vanterminator, but that Linda moment will give you goosebumps. The match was such a great contrast to the year before when the McMahon saga absolutely torpedoed an already-bloated main event.
Triple H vs. The Undertaker – At the time, this was just a great match. Undertaker’s streak was mentioned, but it wasn’t the centerpiece of the feud like it would be in future ‘Manias. However, it was looming in the background and when you go back and watch in the context of the streak, the match is even better. This was the perfect undercard match for Rock/Austin as these two guys were right with them as stars of their era. The only problem with the match is the camera angle that caught Triple H falling on a memory foam mattress, but other than that, it got better with time.
The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin – I’ve said it before, but this is the greatest Sports Entertainment match of all time. Though this is a five-star wrestling match, there have been matches that have been better. But in terms of crowd, heat and storytelling (Austin joining McMahon, though not executed well in the long run, was masterfully done in that one night). This was the two biggest stars having the biggest match on the biggest stage after a month-long build that was better than the build for any other match maybe ever. Sure, when we saw it in 2001, we couldn’t possibly understand the gravity of what we were looking at. But when we look back, we can see a match so incredibly enormous that we may never see anything like it again. So, from the standpoint of the WWE product, there’s never been a better match. Ever. When I go back and watch this match, I still get goosebumps. And this match on the end of this card is what makes WrestleMania 17 hard to ever top.
The rest of WrestleMania 17 is a mixed bag. I think if this event happened in the 2010s, it’s cut down to eight strong matches and we get a flawless four hours. But in 2001, pay-per-views had too many matches. So, while Jericho vs. Regal was a great opener and I haven’t even mentioned Angle vs. Benoit’s mat classic. But there were definitely stinkers like the Kane/Big Show/Raven Hardcore Title match — maybe it suffers from the fact that Kane and Big Show in a match together just makes me want to vomit in 2016. RTC vs. Tazz and the APA was an absolute waste of time, as well as Eddie Guerrero trying to carry Test to respectability. I didn’t mind the Gimmick Battle Royal as much because it was fun, but there was definitely some fat here that could have been trimmed. That’s why Manias like 31 or 21 may seem like more consistent events because they had fewer matches that fell flat.
But man, I can’t help but go back to WrestleMania 17 and think about the highs, which no WrestleMania has ever given us. WrestleMania 17 also benefited from the way it was the peak of the most popular and successful era ever.
So, is WrestleMania 17 the best ever? It certainly ages better than any other ‘Mania for me and had a climax that was perfect. Obviously this is all subjective and if you weren’t around for the era, ‘Mania 17 might seem like an alien show. But for the people who were around and can watch it 15 years later, the show is hard to top.
