Posted in: The Classroom The Classroom - History Of: WrestleMania Part 17
By Sean Taylor
Mar 8, 2009 - 6:24:43 AM
"The only problem with a balanced diet is I usually drop my apples and bruise them."
Welcome back to The Classroom. Before we begin, I want to ask a favour of my readers. I am a long time fan of the Legends of Wrestling Roundtable shows on WWE 24/7 (or Classics On Demand, whatever). However, I didn’t get the last couple of episodes. For some reason, my area doesn’t get the new LOW episodes. I am missing the episodes featuring Greatest Rivalries and the most recent one, Soul of Wrestling. I implore you, if you have any of these LOW or others, please contact me. I have attempted to find them myself through torrents . . . er I mean, legal downloading sites but I have had little success.
Ok I’m done with the begging. Today’s lesson revolves around WrestleMania X-Seven. On a lot of ranking lists, this WrestleMania often stands on top or near the top of many of the lists. Let’s get the lesson started and then we’ll all understand why.
WrestleMania X-Seven: Houston, We Have A Problem
Date: April 1, 2001
Venue: The Reliant Astrodome (Houston, Texas)
Commentators: Jim Ross & Paul Heyman
Attendance:
In 2000, WWE’s Raw and SmackDown shows were blowing WCW’s Nitro and Thunder out of the water in the ratings. WCW was in bad shape. The nWo had grown so large it had split into three different versions and became repetitive. WCW tried “rebooting” the company by vacating all titles and dumping all storylines and starting over. That idea failed. They tried splitting the roster into two groups – The Millionaire’s Club and the New Blood. But with the Millionaires being the babyfaces, that idea failed. WCW even tried to give their product an air of unpredictability by making actor David Arquette the WCW World Champion. This is believed to be the final straw for not just fans but also Turner executives who, in late 2000, decided to sell WCW. Eric Bischoff pooled together some financial backers and received a signed Letter of Intent that he was going to be able to buy WCW. But Bischoff was out-maneuvered.
On March 23, 2001, WWE.com’s home splash page announced that the WWE had purchased WCW. Fans all over the world rushed to click to their preferred wrestling rumour websites seeking the little details that were available. Message boards and Internet chat rooms were filled with fans attempting to predict what this meant for WrestleMania X-Seven which was a little over a week away. It was then announced that the March 26, 2001 episode of Nitro would be the series finale and it would also be a simulcast with Raw. For the first time, the wrestling world was in chaos. Wrestlers, fans, referees, technical crews, announcers, and bookers all had no idea what was going to happen.
Aside from the WCW purchase, the WWE had the greatest wrestlers and most entertaining superstars in the business. WrestleMania X-Seven match line up had something for every type of wrestling fan. No matter what aspect you liked about wrestling (technical match ups, hardcore action, entertainment value, storyline telling, high risk offense, etc), there was a match on the card for you. WrestleMania X-Seven was also a return to the large arena. For the first time since 1993, WrestleMania was taken out of a hockey and held in a football stadium, returning to the large crowd atmosphere of WrestleManias past. At WrestleMania X-Seven, a new Reliant Astrodome attendance record. This was also the first year WrestleMania went to mainstream music for its theme song. The official theme for WrestleMania X-Seven was “My Way” by Limp Bizkit but throughout the night, the WWE also used “Adrenaline Rush” by Bushnut.
On Sunday Night Heat prior to the pay-per-view, X-Factor (X-Pac, Justin Credible) with Albert faced Steve Blackman and Grand Master Sexay. X-Factor won the match after hitting their team finisher called X Marks The Spot.
Listen Here, Sunshine!
In early 2001, William Regal was named the new Commissioner of the WWE. His inaugural speech was interrupted by “Y2J” Chris Jericho. Regal was irate saying that he wouldn’t stand by after being “besmirched”. Regal soon put Jericho in a four-on-one handicap match against the Right To Censor and a two-on-one Tables match against the Dudleys. Jericho retaliated by walking into Regal’s empty office and urinating in his teapot. Fans recoiled when Regal poured himself a cup of “tea” and drank it. Regal made a match for WrestleMania X-Seven naming himself as the number one contender to Jericho’s Intercontinental title.
But the one-upping continued when Jericho, dressed like Doink the Clown attack Regal during a match. Backstage and ringside attacks continued leading up to WrestleMania X-Seven. During the match, both men attempted to gain the upper hand with their technical skill and submission holds. He whipped Regal into an exposed turnbuckle allowing him to eventually land his Lionsault and successfully pin Regal.
Warning! Warning! Warning!
In mid-2000, Stevie Richards turned on his hardcore roots of ECW and started the Right To Censor (RTC) faction. The RTC was a take off on the PTC (Parents’ Television Council), which was an advocate group that was opposed to the WWE’s edgy, sexual, and foul-mouthed programming. Richards first recruited Bull Buchanan to join his cause and then added Val Venis. After resisting, The RTC was able to turn the wrestling pimp The Godfather to their side while renaming him The Goodfather. The final member of the group was Ivory. Ivory joined voluntarily after becoming offended by the way women in the WWE were being forced into competing in matches where they had to be stripped down to their underwear.
The RTC set their sights on stopping all immoral and violent behaivour in the WWE, which made them great opponents for Tazz and the APA. Tazz was a former ECW Champion and WWE Hardcore Champion. After the Ministry of Darkness/Corporate Ministry was disbanded, The Acolytes (Bradshaw/Faarooq) turned babyface and started their own side business. In addition to their own wrestling careers, they were bodyguards for hire. They called their business the Acolyte Protection Agency. Both men were legitimately tough so anytime someone was facing stacked odds; the APA leveled the playing field.
Backstage at WrestleMania X-Seven, the APA and their manager Jacqueline were in the APA office (a corner of the locker room with just a door and a frame separating them from the rest of the room). Bradshaw gave an emotional speech about how they were in their home state of Texas and it was time to kick some ass. The speech lit a fire under the APA and Tazz who quickly defeated the RTC after Bradshaw hit the Clothesline From Hell on the Goodfather.
Raven Through The Looking Glass . . . And The Wall Too
The next match was a Triple Threat Match for the WWE Hardcore Championship. Champion Raven entered first and was attacked immediately by the second entrant Kane. When the Big Show was finally introduced, he rushed to the ring. The fight spilled into the crowd and then into the backstage area. Big Show tried to lock himself, Raven, and the referee in a caged storage room but Kane ripped the door open. The match continued further backstage where Kane threw Raven through a glass window into an office. Kane and Big Show slugged it out until they tossed each other through a plaster wall.
Raven tried to escape by jumping into a golf cart but was stopped by the Big Show. Kane got into another golf cart and chased after them with the referee on the back of the cart. Kane nearly ran over Raven before the match spilled out onto the entrance ramp. Big Show had Raven ready to press slam off the stage but Kane kicked them both off the stage. Kane then leapt off the stage and landed a leg drop on Big Show. He hooked the Big Show’s leg and became the new Hardcore champion.
Yo Quiero Euro Gold
After a failed attempt at winning the Intercontinental Championship at No Way Out in February, Eddie Guerrero turned his focus to the European Championship held by Test. The week before WrestleMania X-Seven, Eddie put on a referee’s shirt and cost Test a match against X-Pac. During their match, Test used his size and strength while Eddie tried to use his speed to keep Test off of his feet. In the end, Eddie defeated Test with help from Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko to become the new European Champion.
I Did Not Tap Out
After losing the WWE Championship to The Rock at No Way Out, Kurt Angle went into a feud with Chris Benoit that would center around a series of matches at WrestleMania X-Seven, Backlash, and Judgment Day. After tapping out to Benoit’s Crippler Crossface submission hold, Angle became obsessed with making it clear that since there was no referee and it wasn’t in an official match, it didn’t count.
The WrestleMania X-Seven match and feud revolved around who was the better technical wrestler. Fan expectations were high and they expected a classic technical/submission wrestling match. The beginning of the match was exactly what they expected with Benoit dominating. Soon though, Angle changed the style of the match into a brawl/standard wrestling match. The two battled back and forth even putting each other in their own holds. In the end, Angle rolled up Benoit and pulled on Benoit’s tights to secure the victory.
The Ninth Wonder Returns
In November of 2000, Chyna became the first female WWE superstar to pose for Playboy. This outraged WWE Women’s Champion and Right To Censor member, Ivory. The two met in a match for the Women’s title at the 2001 Royal Rumble. During that match, Chyna attempted a handspring back elbow but faltered and appeared to re-injure her neck. Chyna soon returned to action “against doctor’s orders” and challenged Ivory for a rematch. In exchange for a title shot, Chyna agreed to sign waivers saying that neither Ivory nor the WWE would be responsible if she was injured during the match. In the end, Chyna barely had time to worry about being injured as she defeated Ivory in less than three minutes to become the new WWE Women’s Champion.
And The Cat’s In The Cradle With The Silver Spoon . . .
After retiring at WrestleMania 2000, Mick Foley returned to the WWE with a new haircut and a new job. He was the new Commissioner. Foley signed a six-man Hell in a Cell match for Armageddon 2000. Vince wanted to fire Foley for failing to consider the wrestlers’ safety but Foley had the full support of WWE CEO Linda McMahon (Vince’s wife). Vince then publicly announced that he wanted a divorce. The shock of this news caused Linda to have a nervous breakdown and she was hospitalized. With Linda in a coma-like state, Vince began an affair with Trish Stratus, even French kissing her in front of Linda. Trish also flaunted her affair in front of Stephanie McMahon. On February 26th, Stephanie and William Regal were scheduled to face Vince and Trish. Stephanie played up like she was upset with her father but then all three turned on Trish. Undaunted, Trish begged for forgiveness prompting McMahon to force Trish into stripping to her underwear and barking like a dog in the middle of the ring. McMahon accepted her back and put Trish in charge of Linda’s care taking. On March 12th, Shane McMahon returned to television and claimed to be appalled at his father’s behaivour. Shane challenged Vince to a Street Fight at WrestleMania X-Seven and Vince readily accepted.
When it was announced that Vince McMahon would appear on the last episode of WCW Nitro, the wrestling world was abuzz with questions. What would he do with WCW? Who, if anyone, would he bring into the WWE? Would he keep Nitro going head-to-head against Raw on another network? No one knew anything. So when Vince walked to the ring in Cleveland that night during the simulcast, all eyes were focused and all ears were opened. Vince teased and taunted the audience before dashing their dreams by saying that WCW was going to remain closed and was never to be seen again. Vince then went on a tirade about what you have to do to take down competition when he was interrupted.
In Panama City Beach, Florida, Shane McMahon walked into the Nitro arena. For the first and only time, a McMahon family member was appearing on WCW television. Shane stepped into the ring and addressed his father. Whereas Vince wanted to finalize the contracts by signing them at WrestleMania, Shane said that they were already signed. Shane had bought WCW out from under his father’s nose and promised that WCW would rise again. Vince got more bad news later that night when Mick Foley came out and announced that before Vince had fired him, Linda had given him a series of signed, guaranteed contracts. One of those contracts stated that Foley would be the special guest referee for the Vince/Shane Street Fight.
At WrestleMania X-Seven, Vince, Stephanie, Trish, and the comatose Linda were backstage. Trish verified that she had upped Linda’s medication dosage like Vince had asked. Shane came out to the ring first, acknowledged former WCW employees who were in a corporate box, and introduced the referee Mick Foley. Vince came out next with Stephanie. Shane dominated Vince in the beginning of the match until he missed a top rope elbow drop onto the Spanish announce table. Halfway through the match, Trish rolled Linda in her wheelchair down to ringside. With Shane incapacitated, Vince went to outside and picked up Linda out of her wheelchair and placed her in the corner of the ring. Vince picked up a garbage can and was about to hit Shane but Shane pointed behind him. Vince turned to see Linda fully conscious and standing up. Linda kicked Vince in the groin allowing Shane to make his comeback. Shane topped off his offense with a top rope dropkick where he jumped from one side of the ring to the other where he kicked a garbage can into Vince’s face. Shane pulled his father out of the corner and pinned him to win the match.
HO-LY SHIT! HO-LY SHIT! HO-LY SHIT!
In the summer of 2000, the WWE’s tag team division was still white hot. The Hardys, The Dudleys, and Edge & Christian dominated the Tag Team Championships. In an attempt to settle the score, then-Commissioner Mick Foley announced that the three teams would compete in a new style of match. Each team had a weapon or specialty. The Hardys were touted as “Masters of the Ladder Match”. The Dudleys were famous for their table matches and Bubba cry of “D-Von! Get the tables!” Edge & Christian were known as “The Chairmen of the WWE” thanks to their Con-chair-to attack. So Foley combined all of these weapons into one match – The TLC Match. The first TLC Match occurred at SummerSlam 2000 and the response from fans was so great, a second TLC Match was scheduled for WrestleMania X-Seven.
By the time WrestleMania X-Seven rolled around, each team had added a third friend to their causes. Matt Hardy’s real-life girlfriend Lita joined The Hardys and they called themselves Team Extreme. Former ECW superstars Rhyno and Spike Dudley joined the causes of Edge & Christian and the Dudleys respectively. In the weeks leading to WrestleMania X-Seven, Rhyno gored Lita and Spike taking then out of action with injuries. In response, The Hardys and Dudleys took out Rhyno just one week before the pay-per-view.
The match itself was a packed with highlight reel contenders. The Dudleys stacked table on top of each other, Edge & Christian liberally swung chairs at anything that moved, and the Hardys introduced a super-sized twenty-foot ladder. One famous highlight saw D-Von Dudley hanging from the ring that held the titles when Edge leapt off the twenty-foot ladder and speared Jeff to the mat. Halfway through the match, Spike, Rhyno, and Lita interfered in the match essentially making TLC II a nine-person match. The match continued until Rhyno helped Christian climb the ladder
Hey, I Remember That Guy!
The next match was a special attraction. It was the Gimmick Battle Royal and it was a nineteen-man over the top rope challenge featuring the memorable and not so memorable gimmicks from WWE long ago. “Mean” Gene Okerlund and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan came to ringside to do commentary. Participants included The Bushwhackers (Luke/Butch), the wrestling garbage collector Duke “The Dumpster” Droese, The Iron Sheik, Earthquake, The Goon (hockey player), Doink the Clown, “The Ugandan Giant” Kamala, Kim Chee (Kamala’s trainer), Repo Man (aka Smash of Demolition), James E. Cornette, Nikolai Volkoff, Michael P.S. Hayes (founding member of the Fabulous Freebirds), One Man Gang (aka Akeem), The Gobbledy Gooker, Tugboat (aka Typhoon), Hillbilly Jim, Brother Love, and Sgt Slaughter. The Iron Sheik eliminated Hillbilly Jim to win the match and was attacked by Sgt. Slaughter afterwards.
Time To Make The Game Famous
When the Undertaker returned to the WWE after a groin/biceps injury at Judgment Day he came back with a new gimmick. He was the motorcycle riding “American Bad Ass” who wore blue denim, black leather, sunglasses, and a bandana. He claimed that the ring was his yard and he was the biggest dog in that yard. The Undertaker changed his fighting style to that of a brawler mainly utilizing strikes and power moves with an added element of speed in his repertoire.
Triple H came out on an episode of SmackDown and claimed that he’d beaten all of the top talent in WWE and deserved to be in the main event of WrestleMania X-Seven. He was interrupted by “The American Bad Ass” The Undertaker. Undertaker pointed out that Triple H never beat him one-on-one on pay-per-view. Later, Triple H attacked Undertaker and said he would cripple Undertaker. The following week, Undertaker waited for Triple H’s limo to arrive at the arena and it did, he smashed the windows with a lead pipe. Triple H then had Undertaker arrested and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley took out a restraining order on Undertaker saying that he couldn’t come within twenty-five feet of her. During a Triple H match on Raw, Undertaker walked out and stopped at the top of the ramp. Stephanie mocked him until Kane walked out. Undertaker instructed Kane to get Stephanie and he chased her through the crowd as The Undertaker attacked Triple H in the ring. Backstage, Kane stood on a balcony while holding Stephanie above his head and Undertaker threatened to have Kane throw her down unless Commissioner Regal granted him a match with Triple H at WrestleMania X-Seven. Regal gave him his match. Angered, Triple H came out on the SmackDown before WrestleMania and destroyed The Undertaker’s motorcycle.
At WrestleMania X-Seven, the match started off as a brawl. After Undertaker catapulted Triple H into the referee, he hit Triple H with his Last Ride finisher, but the referee was too slow to make the three count so Undertaker attacked him from behind knocking him out. The fight then spilled into the crowd and the two men worked their way to a production tower. Undertaker grabbed Triple H around the throat and chokeslammed him over the side about eight feet down before following up with an elbow drop. The two fought their way back to the ring. Undertaker eventually lifted Triple H into a Last Ride but Triple H had picked up his sledgehammer and used it to counter the finisher. Triple H worked Undertaker into the corner. He climbed to the second rope and started punching Undertaker in the head but Undertaker lifted Triple H into a Last Ride and covered him. The referee made the three count and the Undertaker WrestleMania winning streak officially went to 9-0.
Austin/Rock Trilogy Part 2
By early 2001, it was very clear that the two biggest names in professional wrestling were “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and The Rock. Both men were at the peak of their popularity, selling more merchandise than any else in history, and brought more fans into the arenas than the arenas could hold. When Austin won the 2001 Royal Rumble and The Rock defeated Kurt Angle for the WWE Championship at No Way Out, the Austin/Rock rematch was set for WrestleMania X-Seven. But this time it would be a babyface versus babyface match up.
In the beginning of the feud, the interactions between the two men were mainly kept to intense verbal altercations. But soon, Vince McMahon announced that Austin’s wife Debra was now being forced to manage The Rock. While The Rock claimed no responsibility for Debra’s safety, Austin placed her well being squarely in the hands of Rock and McMahon. During a match against Kurt Angle, The Rock fell victim to the Anklelock submission hold. Debra went in to check on The Rock and Angle put Debra into the Anklelock. Austin hit the ring and took out Angle before Stunning The Rock. After that, Debra was removed as Rock’s manager and the altercations between Austin and Rock turned physical. Sneak attacks, double crosses, and straight on assaults were weekly events. Fans were being forced to make a choice of which of the two they were going to root for. In a face-to-face interview, The Rock said he would bring everything he had to WrestleMania and Austin claimed he had to win the title, no matter what.
With the announcement that the match now had a No Disqualification clause, Austin and Rock battled into the crowd and back to the ring. Several minutes and numerous near falls later, The Rock had Austin locked in a Sharpshooter but Austin reached the ropes. Austin returned the favour putting The Rock into the Million Dollar Dream submission hold but The Rock used the turnbuckles to power out. The match continued back and forth until the Rock dropped the People’s Elbow on Austin. Suddenly, Vince McMahon ran into the ring and pulled Rock off of Austin. Rock chased Vince around and into the ring where Austin caught Rock in a Rock Bottom for a close two count. Austin went for a Stunner but Rock kicked Austin away. Austin knocked into the referee and knocked him to the outside. Austin called for Vince to bring a chair into the ring and held Rock while Vince leveled him with it. Vince rolled the referee in to make the count but Rock kicked out. The match continued with both men bloodied and battered. Vince entered the ring and handed a chair to Austin. Austin hit Rock in the head with the chair and Rock kicked out again. Austin snapped and wailed on Rock with the chair mercilessly before covering Rock for the winning pinfall.
After the match, Austin and McMahon – bitter enemies since 1997 – stood face to face and shook hands. They celebrated by drinking beers together while Jim Ross and Paul Heyman tried unsuccessfully to answer why Austin would join McMahon. The Rock tried to get to his feet and Austin leveled him with the WWE title belt. Austin and McMahon walked out together as WrestleMania X-Seven went off the air.
Austin and McMahon had joined forces. Nobody ever thought they would ever see it happen. But the fans had no idea what they were about to see next. The WCW invasion, the rebirth of ECW, the formation of the Alliance. But the biggest shocker would have a momentous impact on WrestleMania X-8. WWE fans were about to see something on their brand of wrestling they never thought they’d ever see . . .
. . . the New World Order.
That about wraps up Part 17. WrestleMania X-Seven usually stands out as a lot of fans’ favourite WrestleMania card. Is it yours? Got an argument for it? Got an argument against it? Email me here or if you’re a member of the Columns Forum, post your opinions here. Our look at WrestleManias past trudges on soon. Keep an eye out for Part 18 hitting LOP very soon.
Pop Quiz
Congrats to Joseph Roderick, Anthony, Sabrina D., Jon Lheureux, Andrea Combs, Anthony Pokorny, Hhh4scu, Mr. Z, Sasha Hall, Ziggy, Greg Jones, El Mitcho, Brian McGrew, Styxx, Chris Bloomfield, Ian Gooda, T.O., and Matt Snyder for knowing that in 2001 the WWE was in the midst of the ill-fated experiment that was the XFL and that WrestleMania 2000 was the only WrestleMania not to feature a standard one-on-one match up. Special kudos to Brad Connors and Mike Smollins who found an alternate answer to number 2 – WrestleMania 2000 was the only WrestleMania to be referred to by the year and not it’s chronological order number (16). I had a lot of close responses to this one so I just wanted to mention that the WWE went public in 1999 and WM2000 did have celebrity involvement (Pete Rose, San Diego Chicken, Vinny Pazienza. But great tries all around. Keep up the great work. 1) What wrestler did Lita debut on WWE television with?
2) What did Edge & Christian claim the acronym “TLC” stood for?
Gold Star Achievements
It’s 6:18 am and honestly, I just want to get this column posted as soon as possible so I’m just to plug the LOP Columns Forum as a whole today. Check them out at this link.
