This ppv is an instantaneous 10/10. Right from from the start. Normally I don't like to give spoilers when reviewing movies and tv shows but since this is wrestling I'm keen to make an exception here.
I'm sure most of the people reading the review will either be familiar with this particular ppv or with wrestling in general. So I want to explain why this ppv was so monunental beyond the amazing wrestling and storylines within the show. In reality at the time a wrestling war of sorts had been talking place between WCW a subsidiary company of Time Warner and the WWF between 1996 and 2001. The war was an injection of adrenalin and electricity into the wrestling world and at the end of it WWF prevailed and bought the remnants of WCW from Time Warner. There was a sense of change, possibility. Being at the top of the wrestling mountain as the WWF after many many decades was the only major wrestling company left. Wrestlemania 17 was a ppv worthy of being at the top of the mountain.
The card was stacked from top to bottom and each match had a good story behind it. Which added to the good wrestling that most if the matches had. The first match was between Chris Jericho and William Regal. A great opener for the intercontinental championship.
The show had many types of matches, from the hardcore championship which had a few comedy spots in it. The womens title match was a bit ehh but it served its purpose. (starting the downward fall of the Right to Censor) The match between Angle and Benoit was a technically amazing match. The TLC match was amazing with countless great spots. And the Vince and Shane match (built around the buying of WCW) was not so much a good wrestling match as it was a drama based around the buying of WCW and the McMahon family.
Taker beat HHH here and it could be argued that this is perhaps around the first wrestlemania that started to recognize his Wrestlemania winning streak. 9 and 0 at this point I believe or something close to it.
Then ofcourse we have the main even. The two top wrestlers of the attitude era. The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin.... The build up must have lasted a month, baaically as simple as Austin saying, You have the world title and I want it!!! Also out of character, these two guys had a rivalry to be the best and it showed in ring and each tried to be the best they could. The match had a no DQ stipulation suddenly added to it. Leading to a intense ferocious battle.... Eventually Vince McMahon walked out, the sworn enemy of Stone Cold during this era and they joined sides until The Rock lost. This in hindsight was seen as a mistake and was a going to be a fast and quick way to turn Austin Heel. Yet it backfired. People just didnt like the logic.
After this show. It was definitely a downwards trend. Not a free fall but a saddening change. WCW had been the motivation for innovation in the WWF and without competition, complacency sets in. Also the roster became bloated. With people arriving from the now sunken WCW ship... Eventually WWF became p.g (albeit a few years later) and family friendly and corporate. Due being put onto the stock market..... It was never the same and couldn't be. However this peak still exists on the WWE network and YouTube has clips of it, so one can indulge in the nostalgia of what once was. 10/10.
I'm sure most of the people reading the review will either be familiar with this particular ppv or with wrestling in general. So I want to explain why this ppv was so monunental beyond the amazing wrestling and storylines within the show. In reality at the time a wrestling war of sorts had been talking place between WCW a subsidiary company of Time Warner and the WWF between 1996 and 2001. The war was an injection of adrenalin and electricity into the wrestling world and at the end of it WWF prevailed and bought the remnants of WCW from Time Warner. There was a sense of change, possibility. Being at the top of the wrestling mountain as the WWF after many many decades was the only major wrestling company left. Wrestlemania 17 was a ppv worthy of being at the top of the mountain.
The card was stacked from top to bottom and each match had a good story behind it. Which added to the good wrestling that most if the matches had. The first match was between Chris Jericho and William Regal. A great opener for the intercontinental championship.
The show had many types of matches, from the hardcore championship which had a few comedy spots in it. The womens title match was a bit ehh but it served its purpose. (starting the downward fall of the Right to Censor) The match between Angle and Benoit was a technically amazing match. The TLC match was amazing with countless great spots. And the Vince and Shane match (built around the buying of WCW) was not so much a good wrestling match as it was a drama based around the buying of WCW and the McMahon family.
Taker beat HHH here and it could be argued that this is perhaps around the first wrestlemania that started to recognize his Wrestlemania winning streak. 9 and 0 at this point I believe or something close to it.
Then ofcourse we have the main even. The two top wrestlers of the attitude era. The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin.... The build up must have lasted a month, baaically as simple as Austin saying, You have the world title and I want it!!! Also out of character, these two guys had a rivalry to be the best and it showed in ring and each tried to be the best they could. The match had a no DQ stipulation suddenly added to it. Leading to a intense ferocious battle.... Eventually Vince McMahon walked out, the sworn enemy of Stone Cold during this era and they joined sides until The Rock lost. This in hindsight was seen as a mistake and was a going to be a fast and quick way to turn Austin Heel. Yet it backfired. People just didnt like the logic.
After this show. It was definitely a downwards trend. Not a free fall but a saddening change. WCW had been the motivation for innovation in the WWF and without competition, complacency sets in. Also the roster became bloated. With people arriving from the now sunken WCW ship... Eventually WWF became p.g (albeit a few years later) and family friendly and corporate. Due being put onto the stock market..... It was never the same and couldn't be. However this peak still exists on the WWE network and YouTube has clips of it, so one can indulge in the nostalgia of what once was. 10/10.