WrestleMania 17 is quite rightly remembered as one of the greatest wrestling events of all-time, as it showed WWE operating at its best with some of its biggest stars ever competing in the top spots. The event acted as an unofficial series finale of the Attitude Era in many ways as the company and industry writ large would enter a near two-decade slump off the back of WWE’s monopolization of the North American market.
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What is maybe not as well-remembered is how good the rest of the Pay-Per-View events were in the buildup to WrestleMania 17, as WWE started 2001 producing some of the best shows it ever has. Both the Royal Rumble and No Way Out of that year deserve to be talked about as they laid the groundwork for the best WrestleMania of all-time.
The 2001 Royal Rumble Match Is One Of The Best
The Star-Studded Card Showed How Unstoppable WWE Had Become
- The 2001 Royal Rumble kickstarted the best run of Pay-Per-View events in WWE history.
- The card included an excellent tag team and Ladder match, but the Rumble was the highlight.
- ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin won the titular match to book his spot in the WrestleMania 17 main event.
It is very difficult to make the Royal Rumble bad, although WWE has endeavored to somehow do this on several occasions in recent years. The nature of the stipulation lends itself to being one of the most exciting parts of the wrestling calander, as it is always full of surprises ahead of setting up the main event of WrestleMania that year.
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In 2001, this was no different, as WWE had just come off one of its best-ever creative years in 2000 and fans were beyond excited about what was in store for WrestleMania 17. The undercard of the show has probably been underrated over time, as it had the always-fun Dudley Boyz versus Edge and Christian pairing in a tag team title match, as well as Chris Jericho competing in an all-time great Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Championship.
It helped that the main event saw ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin win his record-breaking third Royal Rumble match after spending most of the past year or so out due to injury. The Rumble itself is regarded by many to be the best of all time due to the sheer amount of star power and excitement that fans felt for it on the night.
Crucially, it set the stage for Austin’s big moment at WrestleMania 17, as he would go on to tie off the remaining loose ends from his vehicular assault storyline with Rikishi and Triple H from the months prior.
No Way Out 2001 Continued WWE’s Form
The Last PPV Event Before WrestleMania 17 Is Underrated
- No Way Out 2001 continued WWE’s good PPV form to begin the year ahead of WrestleMania 17.
- Rumble winner Steve Austin fought and lost to rival Triple H in a brutal ‘Three Stages of Hell’ match.
- The Rock won the WWE Championship from Kurt Angle in the main event to set up his match with ‘Stone Cold’.
After the exceptional Royal Rumble PPV that WWE produced at the start of 2001, the company continued its hot streak with the No Way Out event the following month. Traditionally, the last stop before WrestleMania would solidify the big matches at ‘The Show of Shows,’ whilst finishing any storylines that needed to conclude ahead of the marquee event.
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No Way Out 2001 was different though, as it felt like an extension of the excitement held for WrestleMania 17, which had already begun at the Royal Rumble. The show was headlined by two key matches, with the main event of the night seeing The Rock dispossess Kurt Angle of the WWE Championship to set up a match with his legacy rival Steve Austin at WrestleMania. Fans of the Olympian may have felt aggrieved that he would not headline the big show himself, but Angle had plenty more to do in WWE at WrestleMania 17 and beyond.
Meanwhile, ‘Stone Cold’ was finishing his feud against Triple H in the most violent way possible, competing in an incredible ‘Three Stages of Hell’ match where he lost to ‘The Game.’ Little did fans know that the two would soon be short-lived allies in the Power Trip following the events in the closing of WrestleMania 17.
WrestleMania 17 Is The Best WWE Show Ever
It Acted As A Series Finale For The Attitude Era of WWE
- WrestleMania 17 should be considered the best wrestling show ever and a finale to ‘The Attitude Era’.
- WWE lost its way creatively shortly after due to the purchase of WCW and ECW, which formed a monopoly.
- The company struggled to replicate this form for decades, until very recently when Triple H took over creative control.
Of course, WrestleMania 17 capped off the three-show run of Pay-Per-Views to start 2001 incredibly with the best WWE event of all-time. Everything from the undercard to the main event was planned and executed perfectly, in what remains the pre-eminent example of a perfectly rounded PPV.
The eleven matches on the main card included the Shane versus Vince McMahon spectacle, Triple H challenging The Undertaker, and the famous Tables, Ladders, and Chairs bout between The Hardyz, Dudleyz, and Edge and Christian. It was the main event that sealed the deal for WrestleMania 17’s GOAT status though, as Steve Austin and The Rock put on the best sports-entertainment wrestling match, complete with the shocking finish of ‘Stone Cold’ aligning himself with his arch-nemesis Mr. McMahon to win the world title.
Turning Austin heel would end up being a massive mistake, or a good idea executed poorly depending on who you speak to, but it was obvious that WWE’s creative downturn started after WrestleMania 17. The ‘Invasion’ storyline was a disaster and WWE fell into complacency following their monopolization of the North American wrestling scene after purchasing WCW and ECW.
It has taken two decades for WWE to reach anywhere near the same level of mainstream popularity and critical acclaim under the Triple H-led version of the company. Despite how good the past few WrestleMania’s have been, WWE has yet to match the level of 2001’s build to the marquee event, though many fans will hope that this year’s iteration could give it a run for its money.