Wrestlemania XVII


release year: 2001
genre: vintage wrestling pay-per-view
viewing setting: home DVD, 11/1-2/16

synopsis: This seventeenth annual wrestling mega-event was the 2001 edition, and featured matches that were complicated, lengthy, and had some plot behind them. The Austin/Rock match at the end was one of the best ever.

where it happened: Houston

impressions: As always, I won't go into great detail, but just mention the highlights: a cheesy multi-cultural intro promo...an announcing team of Jim Ross and Paul Heyman...blurred/censored "WWF" signs and logos throughout...a great third match with Raven vs Kane vs the Giant, in which they roamed around backstage and destroyed lots of stuff...Chris Benoit running out and submitting Kurt Angle yet again after the official match was over...the female titan known as Chyna...a highly entertaining fight involving 4 McMahons plus Mick Foley plus Trish Stratus...total destruction of the Spanish announcers' table...a very physical and grueling 6-man ladder/table/chair match...a 16-man gimmick match featuring all the wrestlers with goofy reasons-to-be...a second destruction of the Spanish announcers' table...a great HHH/Undertaker match that goes out into the audience...a great Austin/Rock final match that destroys pretty much ALL the announcers' tables.

fun quote #1: Jim Ross: "This match going out of the ring, as we thought it might."
Paul Heyman: "Well, falls do count anywhere. And anywhere means anywhere!"
Jim Ross: "Well, that's a real brilliant point."
Paul Heyman: "Thank you very much."
Jim Ross: "You're right on top of your game tonight."

fun quote #2: Jim Ross: (after someone gets thrown into a table full of bottled drinks) "Well, there goes the Snapple."

fun quote #3: Jim Ross: "Well, at least Saturn has taken that hat off."
Paul Heyman: "You and hats."
Jim Ross: "That was bothering me."

fun quote #4: Jim Ross: "Wait a minute...Chyna catching that leg. One-legged women don't win too many butt kicking contests."
Paul Heyman: "And two-legged women don't even stand a chance against Chyna!"

fun quote #5: Paul Heyman: "The street fight! The street fight...has become a catfight!"

fun quote #6: Paul Heyman: "Mr. McMahon is a man of his word, and now in the street fight comes...the garbage cans!

fun quote #7: Jim Ross: (after a crotch kick) Right into the McMahon family jewels!"

fun quote #8: Jim Ross: "You gotta admire all three of these teams, willing to put their safety, their bodies, their careers on the line...all in the name of the tag team championship!"

fun quote #9: Paul Heyman: "The trick here is survival! It's not even...it's not even a matter of keeping the advantage, it's simply to survive…the tables, the ladders, and the chairs!"

fun quote #10: Jim Ross: "D-Von and Bubba Ray bringing not one, but TWO tables into the center of the ring..."
Paul Heyman: "Two tables are better than one!"

fun quote #11: Jim Ross: "And all six men are down! Bodies broken, ladders teetering, and the titles still hanging high above the ring!"

fun quote #12: Jim Ross: "They're swinging steel here! And now there's no ladder."
Paul Heyman: "Everyone is a victim in tables, ladders, and chairs. Everyone!"

fun quote #13: Paul Heyman: "Oh my God! Edge from a 20 foot ladder with a spear on Jeff Hardy! For the love of God! Jeff Hardy may be broken, smack dab in half!"

fun quote #14: Bobby Heenan: "By the time the Iron Sheik gets to the ring, it'll be Wrestlemania 38."

fun quote #15: Bobby Heenan: "You're damn right he's mesmerized, because...that...that...that sledgehammer is the great equalizer. I don't care how tough the Undertaker is, he can't fight the sledgehammer when Triple H swings it."

fun quote #16: Jim Ross: "Unreal! Now Austin bloody! The Rock bloody! The battle! It's for the title! And all is on the line!"

fun quote #17: Paul Heyman: "And the Rock! The Rock won't stay down! The Rock's heart is beating and he won't stop!"

final word: This one was really good, with many strong matches and few weak ones.

back to the main review page