WWE WAR ZONE - The Tombstone

Wrestlemania XVII in 2001 was such a solid show all around that it was unbelievable. I really enjoyed the show from top to bottom. It actually took place in Houston, about 10 hours from where I live, and I wanted badly to go and wished I had after the show took place. However, I think it is a bit more perfect that my first Wrestlemania will be Wrestlemania XX.

Wrestlemania X-7 was home to the gimmick battle royal, which as a longtime fan I completely marked out for. I was pulling for either Repo Man, Sgt. Slaughter, or Kamala personally. The commentary team of Mean Gene and Bobby Heenan was awesome.

I also greatly enjoyed the HardCore triple threat match between Raven, Kane, and the Big Show. It’s rare to hear me say that I enjoyed a Big Show match, but I did enjoy that one. Aside from the obvious joy of seeing Kane win a title at Wrestlemania, I also thoroughly enjoyed watching the Big Red Machine drive a golf cart in chase after Big Show and Raven.

Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle fought one on one for the first time here. A great match and it only got better with time, as we now know. Angle pulled out the dirty win by holding the tights.

The Shane vs. Vince McMahon match was enjoyable as well, especially since the only real wrestler involved in the whole scenario was the referee (Mick Foley). Shane doing the Van-Terminator with the trashcan onto Vince was something else.

Undertaker and Triple H really delivered in one of Triple H’s last great matches before he tore his quad. They pulled out all the stops, and even though I was pulling for the Game to get the win, when Undertaker pulled out the victory I wasn’t too upset.

Then there was the main event. I had been PRAYING for a Stone Cold Steve Austin heel turn for a couple years now. I really loved Austin when he first came to the WWF and was heel, and I loved him for probably a year or so after the face turn as well. But the face stuff had gotten boring and I was just dying for him to turn heel. I had sensed some heel like tension in some of his promos and actions leading into Wrestlemania, but I wasn’t sure if I was just reading into it too much and seeing what I wanted to see. Even with the hope that Austin would turn heel I had no idea it would be in the way that it was. Possibly the greatest heel turn ever at a Wrestlemania, Austin took a Vince McMahon endorsed steel chair and BLASTED the Rock, over and over and over again before finally scoring the pin and winning the WWF Championship. Heel Austin 2001 is truly some of my favorite wrestling moments ever, so this was a great moment for me. (“Badges?! WE DON’T NEED NO STINKIN’ BADGES!”)

I’ll be back with Wrestlemania X-8…