• Home
  • Movies
  • Music
  • TV
  • Video Games
  • Wrestling
  • Topics
  • Latest Comments
Search
Cult of Whatever logo
  • Movies
    Featured
    • The Living Daylights: Timothy Dalton as James Bond

      The Living Daylights is still awesome, thirty-five years later

      By Matthew Martin
      | March 28, 2022
      Movie Blogs
    Recent
    • Elvis: Austin Butler

      REVIEW: ELVIS beautifully mythologizes the King of Rock and Roll

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 25, 2022
    • The Black Phone: Ethan Hawke as The Grabber

      REVIEW: THE BLACK PHONE is a flat, dull, rushed non-horror movie

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 25, 2022
    • Jurassic World Dominion Logo

      REVIEW: Jurassic World Dominion – Here we go again…again

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 12, 2022
    • Three Men and a Baby: Tom Selleck and Ted Danson

      Three Men and a Baby is still awesome thirty five years later

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 31, 2022
    • The Bob's Burgers Movie Poster

      REVIEW: Bob’s Burgers The Movie is Bob’s Burgers The Show, which means it’s great

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 28, 2022
    • Top Gun Maverick: Tom Cruise

      REVIEW: Top Gun Maverick is a sequel that soars!

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 27, 2022
  • Music
    Random
    • Johnny Cash Cover

      Johnny Cash: The American Storyteller

      By Matthew Martin
      | September 2, 2015
      Music Blogs
    Recent
    • The Beatles: Get Back

      What GET BACK reveals about the Beatles

      By Matthew Martin
      | December 15, 2021
    • Simon And Garfunkel at Feyenoord Stadium in Rotterdam1982

      The Boxer is a song about being conned

      By Matthew Martin
      | July 4, 2021
    • Lady Gaga: Chromatica Album Cover

      Lady Gaga’s discography is totally out of order

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 3, 2021
    • Michael Jackson Thriller Album Cover

      Thirty years ago music fans said “Nevermind” to Michael Jackson

      By Matthew Martin
      | March 21, 2021
    • Queen II Album Cover

      On Queen’s The Miracle, and the importance of track ordering

      By Matthew Martin
      | February 16, 2021
    • Linda Paul Mccartney 1976

      50 years ago, McCartney dropped “Lennon” and went solo…

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 5, 2020
  • TV
    Featured
    • Nancy Drew S03e01: Kennedy McMann as Nancy

      Nancy Drew S03E01 Review: The Warning of the Frozen Heart - Uh-oh!

      By Salome G
      | October 10, 2021
      TV Blogs
    Recent
    • Evil S03e03: Katja Herbers and Aasif Mandvi as Kristen Bouchard and Ben Shakir

      Evil S03E03 Review: The Demon of Sex – Contrived?

      By Salome G
      | June 29, 2022
    • Dark Winds S01e03: kinaaldá Ceremony

      Dark Winds S01E03 Review: K’e – Swoon!

      By Salome G
      | June 29, 2022
    • Roswell, New Mexico S04e03: Sibongile Mlambo, Lily Cowles and Michael Trevino as Anatsa, Isobel and Kyle

      Roswell, New Mexico S04E03 Review: Subterranean Homesick Alien – Treading water?

      By Salome G
      | June 23, 2022
    • Obi-Wan Kenobi Series: Ewan McGregor and Vivien Lyra Blair as Obi-Wan and Leia

      REVIEW: Obi-Wan Kenobi had a good season and little else

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 22, 2022
    • Evil S03e02: Sohina Sidhu and Aasif Mandvi as Karima and Ben Shakir

      Evil S03E02 Review: The Demon of Memes – Delightfully creepy

      By Salome G
      | June 20, 2022
    • Dark Winds S01e02: Jessica Matten as Bernadette Manuelito

      Dark Winds S01E02 Review: The Male Rain Approaches – Loose threads

      By Salome G
      | June 20, 2022
  • Video Games
    Featured
    • Arkham Knight

      Batman: Arkham Knight - A fitting end to a trilogy

      By Tom Farr
      | July 18, 2015
      Video Game Reviews
    Recent
    • Legend Of Zelda

      Can a Legend of Zelda movie work?

      By Matthew Martin
      | April 6, 2022
    • Super Mario 64

      Which system had the better launch: A battle of four Nintendo consoles

      By Matthew Martin
      | December 1, 2021
    • Luigi's Mansion

      Happy twentieth to Nintendo’s underrated gem, the Gamecube

      By Matthew Martin
      | November 18, 2021
    • Metroid Dread

      Metroid Dread – Post Game analysis and sequel needs

      By Matthew Martin
      | October 29, 2021
    • Mario Headphones

      The SNES Turns 30: A look at some of the system’s best soundtracks

      By Matthew Martin
      | October 22, 2021
    • Metroid Dread Poster

      REVIEW: Metroid Dread reawakens the old gamer in me

      By Matthew Martin
      | October 11, 2021
  • Wrestling
    Featured
    • Wwe Payback 2017 Poster 2

      Your SO OF COURSE preview of WWE Payback 2017

      By Matthew Martin
      | April 30, 2017
      WWE Blogs
    Recent
    • AEW Double or Nothing 2022: CM Punk vs Adam Page

      REVIEW: AEW Double or Nothing 2022 delivered an up-and-down show

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 30, 2022
    • MJF on AEW Dynamite 17th November 2021

      Getting AEW to the next level…

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 29, 2022
    • Raw 210501: Triple H and Stephanie McMahon

      May 21, 2001 – A (forgotten) date that will live in WWE infamy

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 20, 2022
    • WWE WrestleMania 39 Logo

      Your WAY TOO EARLY predictions for WWE WrestleMania 39!

      By Matthew Martin
      | April 20, 2022
    • WWE WrestleMania 38 Poster

      Your SO OF COURSE preview of WWE WRESTLEMANIA 38!

      By Matthew Martin
      | March 30, 2022
    • Wrestlemania 31 Paige Aj Lee 2

      BOOK REVIEW: The Women of WrestleMania is a balanced take on an under-valued slice of history

      By Matthew Martin
      | March 16, 2022
  • Topics
    • site logo
    Latest
    • Evil S03E03 Review: The Demon of Sex - Contrived?
    • Dark Winds S01E03 Review: K'e - Swoon!
    • REVIEW: ELVIS beautifully mythologizes the King of Rock and Roll
    • REVIEW: THE BLACK PHONE is a flat, dull, rushed non-horror movie
    • Roswell, New Mexico S04E03 Review: Subterranean Homesick Alien - Treading water?
    • REVIEW: Obi-Wan Kenobi had a good season and little else
    • Latest Comments

    WWE WrestleMania X-Seven : Twenty years later it’s never been bested

    By Matthew Martin
    | April 2, 2021
    WWE Blogs

    Twenty years ago on April Fools Day, 2001, wrestling peaked.

    Wrestlemania 17 Logo

    It’s pretty impossible to overstate how humongous WrestleMania X-Seven was for “this business.” It’s also pretty hard to wrap your head around how “lightning in a bottle” the whole thing was. Change a couple of things that were outside of Vince McMahon’s control in the first place and the event would probably be remembered as a very good, maybe even great PPV. But so many things just sort of coalesced on April 1, 2001, to make this the WrestleMania event for the ages. WrestleMania—the annual event—is often dubbed “the showcase of the immortals,” but never has that moniker been more aptly applied than to X-Seven.

    WWE WrestleMania X-Seven Poster

     

    Four things stand out for why the show was so magical.

    First, there was the WCW buyout that occurred in the literal days before the event, creating a flood of speculation about what the rest of the year’s storylines would bring and what superstars would be joining the company. Yes, we all know how Vince and co. bungled things, but before that could happen there was only the endless hype that created a tidal wave that carried Mania X-Seven’s already tremendous buzz to new heights.

    Second, you had a roster of stupidly great talent, already overflowing with castaways from the recently defunct ECW, and ship-jumpers from the sinking WCW, not to mention countless homegrown future Hall of Famers in the prime of their careers. The mid-card of the WWF in late 2000/early 2001 was essentially a Greatest Hits of the Attitude Era, and basically everyone had the chance to strut their stuff, from Chris Jericho to Kane, Kurt Angle to Triple H, Trish Stratus to the Undertaker, the APA to Eddie Guerrero, and on and on the names go. The late addition of the WCW roster meant several old-timers were given a moment in the sun in the Gimmick Battle Royal (commentated by Bobby the Brain and Mene Gene). Find me another card as overflowing with, not just talent, but talent that was so well-used. You can’t.

    Third, there was the build-up to and execution of the TLC match which, though it had already been done at SummerSlam the year before (and at Mania 2000, essentially), arguably peaked here and has become so watered down as to lose its luster that it’ll never hit with the same impact as it did in 2001. The shot of Edge spearing Jeff Hardy from ladder to canvas is a top-five most iconic moment in WWF/E history.

    Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party.

    YouTube privacy policy

    If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh.

    But the real cream of the crop, the real cheery on top, the real main-event in the figurative as well as literal sense, and the real reason this event is as special as it will always be, is Austin|Rock II.

    The match was thanks to a tsunami of circumstances that simply cannot be manufactured again, not only because there will probably never be two superstars as big as those two ever again, but also because one of the only reasons the match was so special was because they had been forced apart during Austin’s injury hiatus; Vince would never have the kind of patience and willpower to (willingly) keep his two biggest superstars away from each other for a year, making it impossible for two superstars to step into the ring, one on one, after so much hype had been built. The fact that Austin was at his peak and never faded but instead had to step away, while Rock blossomed into a superstar of equal stature is lightning in a bottle happening. Guys go down with an injury and other guys step up, sure; it happens all the time. Rock vs Cena was a year-long idea, I know, but we’re not talking about just anybody stepping up and scraping by, keeping the seat warm for the king while he’s away. And we’re not talking about a big showcase that has the luxury of being promoted for a year because one-half of the match had movies to shoot in the interim.

    WWE WrestleMania X-Seven The Rock

    We’re talking about a superstar as big as Hogan in the ’80s, at the peak of his success and popularity suddenly having to take a year off due to injury. You don’t just replace Hogan. It took Vince seven years to find another star that popular when Austin blew up. You don’t just replace Austin. And yet, Austin went down right as The Rock was blossoming into a superstar of equal stature, a stature he never would have been able to reach had the top of the mountain not been vacated by Austin’s injury. And, even more fortuitously, Austin was able to return after being away just long enough to be missed but not so long as to be forgotten, and just in time for the build-up to WrestleMania, setting up the first and only time in pro wrestling history where a “dream match” was able to take place between two people who had spent years in the same promotion, and who had already wrestled…at WrestleMania…in the main-event…just two years earlier!

    WWE WrestleMania X-Seven Steve Austin

    Absolute perfect storm.

    Words can not express how wonderful the build-up to this WrestleMania was, not just the main event, but the entire show. Looking at the now-famous stacked card and working backward, you can follow the storylines that culminated in matches that helped make WrestleMania X-Seven the best of all time. There’s not a storyline to be had that didn’t offer some measure of entertainment. Raw and SmackDown were shows packed wall to wall with non-stop, two hours of entertainment from Hall of Fame talent, week after week after week. It was a true renaissance era for superstardom and fan enthusiasm, and one we’re not likely ever to see again.

    Austin and Rock’s interactions as they inched toward the main event were extraordinary. The reason is largely based on circumstances outside either man’s control. Austin was a fresh character after a year away. Sure, he didn’t seem to be in any danger of becoming boring in late-1999, but “creative” seemed to be running out of ideas for him. The segments he and Rock had on the half-dozen Monday and Thursday shows leading up to WrestleMania X-Seven showed that the writers needed the time away from Austin much more than Austin did. Rock’s character was allowed to flourish away from Austin’s spotlight, giving him much more of a superstar presence than he had in the spring of 1999. Back then he was merely a wrestling avatar for Mr. McMahon. By the spring of 2001, he was the hottest babyface in all of pro wrestling.

    And yet, so was Austin.

    There’ll never be another two superstars like these two. The circumstances that allowed them both to come up to the top of the mountain under the same umbrella are impossible to duplicate. The natural chemistry between them, their equally unmatched (yet different) talent on the microphone, and their unique connection to the crowds all made this a once-in-a-lifetime, lighting-in-a-bottle kind of circumstance.

    When you think of WrestleMania “dream matches” or “Icon vs Icon” matches, most think of the Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair match kicked off Hogan’s WCW run. Most think of Hogan vs. Rock. Most think of Rock vs. John Cena. This is different. Hogan and Flair were the top guys in different promotions, who came together after rising to the top of their respective empires. Hogan vs. Rock and Cena vs. Rock involved guys from different eras colliding in a generational battle.

    In 2001, this was a dream match that was brewing right under our noses, and speaking on behalf of the fans who watched every Monday and Thursday night, we all knew it was a dream match in the making. We all appreciated it for how special it was. And we knew it was something we might not ever see again.

    It was the greatest main-event, to the greatest PPV, set to the greatest theme song, at the climax of the greatest era in Pro Wrestling history…

    Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party.

    YouTube privacy policy

    If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh.

    Happy anniversary, WrestleMania X-Seven. You’re still awesome after twenty years.

    Share this article:

    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit

    Tags

    WWE WrestleManiaWWE WrestleMania 17

    COMMENTS

    Please read our Commenting Policy before you join in with the discussion.

    Note: If you have email notifications enabled, please check your email spam folders to ensure emails are not missed.

    Subscribe
    Connect withD
    I allow to create an account
    When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
    DisagreeAgree
    Notify of
    guest
    Connect withD
    I allow to create an account
    When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
    DisagreeAgree
    guest
    0 Comments
    Inline Feedbacks
    View all comments

    You might also like

    • Chris Jericho’s roller-coaster WrestleMania history…

      By Matthew Martin
      | March 27, 2017
    • Top Ten New Millennium WWE Wrestlemania Matches

      By Nick Sellers
      | March 31, 2012
    • WrestleMania’s Grand Slams: The six times it all came together

      By Matthew Martin
      | March 29, 2015
    • WWE WrestleMania 32 Trip Diary

      By Matthew Martin
      | April 7, 2016

    FIND THE TOPICS YOU WANT...

    Wrestling Topics

    Recommended for you

    • REVIEW: AEW Double or Nothing 2022 delivered an up-and-down show

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 30, 2022
    • Getting AEW to the next level…

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 29, 2022
    • May 21, 2001 – A (forgotten) date that will live in WWE infamy

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 20, 2022
    • Your WAY TOO EARLY predictions for WWE WrestleMania 39!

      By Matthew Martin
      | April 20, 2022
    • Money in the Bank and making a main-eventer

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 31, 2017
    • What we want from an AEW video game

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 31, 2021
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Affiliate Disclosure
    • Cookie Policy and Settings
    • Terms of Use
    • Photo Credits
    • RSS
    All Cult of Whatever articles, logos, illustrations and graphics are copyright CultOfWhatever.com. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. © 2021 CultOfWhatever. All Rights Reserved.
    • facebook
    • twitter
    wpDiscuz