This still takes place in Houston at the Astrodome and this Mania is an All time classic but let's see how well I can rebook this card

• Opener- WWF Intercontinental Championship- Chris Jericho vs William Regal (c) (Winner: New WWF Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho)

• 6 Man Tag- Right to Censor (Bull Buchanan, Dean Malenko and Steven Richards) vs X Pac, Godfather and Val Venis (Winners: X Pac, Godfather and Val Venis)

• Fatal 4 Way Match- Hardcore Championship- Raven (c) vs Test vs Big Show vs Kane (Winner: New WWF Hardcore Champion Kane)

• Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit (Winner: Chris Benoit)

• WWF Women's Championship- Ivory (c) vs Chyna (Winner: New WWF Women's Champion Chyna)

• TLC Part 2- WWF Tag Team Championship- Edge & Christian w/Rhyno vs The Hardy Boyz (c) w/Lita vs The Dudley Boyz w/Spike Dudley (Winners: New WWF Tag Team Champions Edge & Christian)

• Gimmick Battle Royal (Winner: Honky Tonk Man)

• I Quit Match- Father vs Son- Mr McMahon w/Trish Stratus & Linda McMahon vs Shane McMahon (Special Guest Referee: Mick Foley) (Winner: Shane makes his father Vince say I Quit; this is the only match stipulation I would change)

• (The Streak...10-0 or 9-1)- The Undertaker vs Triple H w/Stephanie McMahon (Winner: The Undertaker; Streak goes to 10-0 in my rebooked universe)

• (Main Event; No DQ)- WWF Championship- The Rock (c) vs Stone Cold Steve Austin (2001 Royal Rumble Match winner) (Winner: New WWF Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin; only difference Austin doesn't turn heel here)

All in the title.

No spoilers, or else this'll get removed.

But....yeah. I need to change my shorts.

Idk what to put I just want the wrestlemania x-7 shirt with the rock and stone cold in the front. If anyone knows where I can buy one I greatly appreciate it.

TL;DR: The Attitude Era was awesome, as were Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock from 1997-2001.

My Thoughts:

I wanted to share this. As a professional wrestling fan during my childhood, I watched WWF/E from around late 1999/early 2000 when I was 9 years old during the late Attitude Era, just as Stone Cold Steve Austin left to get his neck surgery and The Rock took the top spot within the business, and I stopped watching professional wrestling up until during the middle part of the Ruthless Aggression era around 2006 at 16. Whenever WWE came to Manchester England, I would go to the events, and my younger brother would buy all the wrestling figures and VHS tapes.

I’ve always wanted to watch all the WWE PPVs, Raws and Smackdowns during the Attitude Era, starting with Stone Cold Steve Austin’s debut in January 1996 during the end of the New Generation Era, and ending it at Wrestlemania X-Seven in 2001, but I never found the time to do so. Well, with the global Covid-19 lockdown of 2020, I finally found the time to track down all of the WWE PPVs, Raws and Smackdowns online thanks to the WWE Network and some torrents, and I watched them all from 1996 to 2004. I began watching them this year in May 2020 and just finally finished watching them today in November 2020. It took me 6 months, and I had to skip a lot of the matches and promos that I had little interest in coming from mid-card talent just to save time, but if I didn’t do that, it easily would have taken me a year or even more just to get through them all.

I also complimented a lot of my watching of every Raw, Smackdown and PPV by watching supplementary WWE Home Video documentaries (such as superstar compilations and documentaries that touched on the Monday Night Wars between the WWF and WCW in the late 90s and early 2000s), as well as watching a lot of Wrestling Bios on YouTube (a fantastic historical YouTube channel about professional wrestling which is extremely interesting, unbiased and fact based). I also want to give a shout out to the wrestling video games of the late 90s and early 2000s, with WWF No Mercy on the Nintendo 64, and Smackdown!2 Know Your Role on Playstation 1, being my favourite wrestling games of all time! I loved playing those video games as a kid.

After watching as much professional wrestling as I could, all I have to say is… damn, The Attitude Era use to be awesome! Here’s my thoughts on each year that I watched:

1996

I skipped through most of 1996 quite fas

Wrestlemania X-Seven is considered by pretty much everybody to be the best Wrestlemania ever. It had so many great moments and matches such as Jericho vs Regal, Taker vs Triple H, Shane vs Vince, TLC 2 and Austin vs Rock.

Paul Heyman was there on commentary with Jim Ross and was honestly the best heel commentator of the 2000's in my opinion. While his commentary role came to a disappointing halt at the end of an equally disappointing Invasion storyline, it could've ended far sooner and far worse

ECW alum Tommy Dreamer, was basically forced to run ECW during its last months of operation after Paul Heyman accepted a WWE contract while his company was starting to sink. Dreamer was let's say more than a little miffed. He felt betrayed and wanted revenge for all the times he and his coworkers put their bodies on the line for no pay.

Tommy has said in interviews since then that he had been planning to invade Wrestlemania X-Seven through the crowd and killing Paul Heyman and then himself. What if that actually happened?

So its Wrestlemania X-Seven and the night is going tremendous so far. Then out of nowhere the broadcast cuts out. Viewers at home are confused and pissed off.

The feed returns with a message from a barely put together Jim Ross who explains to fans that Paul Heyman his broadcast partner was killed by former ECW wrestler Tommy Dreamer tonight. He apologizes for the cut feed and fans are given refunds.

The next night on Raw, WWE does the unthinkable and does a tribute to Paul Heyman and ECW (minus Tommy Dreamer) and tolls the bells.

Vince McMahon announces that tonight's episode of Raw will feature all the matches that we didnt get to see at Wrestlemania X-Seven. This episode of Raw becomes known as the greatest episode ever

After this, WWE officially blacklists ECW as a whole and gives it the Chris Benoit treatment. They refuse to glorify a program with as much baggage as it has such as the New Jack stuff and the Mass Transit incident on top of the Wrestlemania murder/suicide.

The planned Invasion storyline is canceled as officials think it'd be in bad taste to have wrestlers from a rival company invading WWE. Austin never turns heel as Vince McMahon wants fans to have some kind of hope and optimism about the future of the product.

If WCW wrestlers still join WWE its under different circumstances and isnt part of a major storyline.

The WWECW brand never happens. Meaning Rob Van Dam never wins the WWE championship and up and comer

This is where I'm going to begin doing my own (partial) take on the WCW/ECW Invasion of 2001-2002, running from Wrestlemania XVII to Wrestlemania XVIII. Full disclosure: this is at least partially inspired by Adam Blampied's fantasy booking (particularly at the beginning) from back a few years ago, simply because of how good it is. However I do have a few of my own takes on things, so here are some ground rules:

1. I cannot buy out contracts. The only wrestlers available are the wrestlers I have based on when their contracts either expired IRL, when they joined WWF or when they happened to accept buyouts. This means that stars like Ric Flair and the nWo would be available around when they debuted in real life (Flair actually could have been used in October, for the record, but didn't debut until November). Stars like Sting, who accepted a buyout at the end of 2001 (but debuted for World Wrestling All-Stars instead of signing with Vince) could be available in January. Stars like Goldberg, Scott Steiner, Lex Luger etc. are off limits for this booking. Anyone not signed to WCW (read, ECW stars) are eligible to sign at any time, but only a few will be showing up in the invasion beyond what actually showed up IRL.
2. ECW HAS to play a role in the Invasion storyline. Something of a challenge, but it does give me more star power to work with (just slightly) and tells a more compelling meta-story with what I have going on.
3. Where appropriate, WWF stars can join the Invaders, but this will only be done in a way that makes storyline sense.
4. Injuries are largely being ignored for simplicity's sake as well. This is waived for injuries sustained before the Invasion (so, no Rikishi, for what its worth).

Monday Night Raw 3-26-2001

So with that out of the way, we begin on the Monday Night prior to Wrestlemania X-Seven. Raw and Nitro still appear in a simulcast fashion, but Vince McMahon only appears on Nitro three times to "gloat" as it were over his purchase of WCW: Once at the start of Nitro, a second time at the top of the 2nd hour (and at the start of Raw), and the third time at the end of the night. Nitro still goes off as it did IRL, and Raw remains the same as well, save for Vince's address of the WCW roster. After Sting/Flair have the final match in WCW history, the whole roster appears out at ringside in Panama City as Vince addresses them:

Vince cuts a promo bragging about how after 17 years since he bought his father's company, he is now the sole prop

Does any of you have some Wrestlemania 17 fan cam footage or some photos that you took during event? I stated wonder about that after seeing someone recorded their Wrestlemania 12 trip and fan experience at hotel

The Links:

WWE Network

Dailymotion

**

The Background:

I won't attempt to diagram the whole storyline, because it's Anoa'i family tree levels of labyrinthine and complicated, but this gist of it is this: the McMahons are on their usual bullshit. Vince has divorced kayfabe WWE CEO Linda so hard it has literally sent her into a coma, and he's living his best fuccboi life with Trish Stratus at the height of her thin-eyebrowed early 2000s sexual powers. Vince has demeaned Trish by making her bark like a dog and other similarly highbrow pieces of character work, but Trish remains loyal, and together she and Vince have been doping up Linda in order to keep her incapacitated so Vince can have the run of the place. It's some deeply trashy season three of Melrose Place shit and I'm here for every second of it.

Another crucial component of this storyline is that everyone is basically competing to have Vince's ear, from Trish to Triple H to Stephanie (also at the height of her powers here, with crimped hair and a bedazzled "Daddy's Girl" jumpsuit -- the heat!), so it's basically an Othello situation with like 14 Iagos. Our only true babyfaces are Zombie Linda, her buddy Mick Foley who was fired from his role as commissioner by a power-mad Vince, and Vince's son Shane, who has upset the coup of Vince's lifetime by buying out rival fed WCW from underneath him. The threat of a WCW army lies in the offing, Vince is livid with Shane for defying him, and Shane is livid with Vince for the whole "drugging his mom and stealing the company" thing. From this heady mix of circumstances is born a no-holds-barred street fight between the junior and senior McMahon men (McMen?), with Mick Foley as special guest referee.

There's more to it than that (for example, Kurt Angle was involved, but adding him to the mix would make this post's word count drastic go up), and I've probably got some details mixed up, but that's basically all you need to know to enjoy this match.

**

The Match:

WrestleMania X-Seven is one of the most brilliantly constructed pay-per-views in wrestling history, a buffet of any kind of match a fan could conceivably want. Angle vs. Benoit is there for the chain-wrestling workrate marks. There's a big messy hardcore match. The TLC triple tag remains the peak marriage of table spots and flippy shit. There's the nostalgia battle r

WrestleMania X-Seven!

...to not many people's surprise.

A lot of us said this would win on the first poll that I published. But as they say, it's not the destination. It's the journey that gets us there. I've had a blast talking about the 'Manias with you guys, and I can't thank you enough to those of you who voted.

Here's the final rankings:

31. WrestleMania IX

32. WrestleMania 2

33. WrestleMania XI

34. WrestleMania (1985)

35. WrestleMania XXVII

36. WrestleMania 29

37. WrestleMania IV

38. WrestleMania VII

39. WrestleMania 2000

40. WrestleMania XV

41. WrestleMania XXVIII

42. WrestleMania V

43. WrestleMania VIII

44. WrestleMania 13

45. WrestleMania 23

46. WrestleMania XXV

47. WrestleMania VI

48. WrestleMania III

49. WrestleMania XII

50. WrestleMania XXVI

51. WrestleMania 22

52. WrestleMania XIV

53. WrestleMania X

54. WrestleMania 21

55. WrestleMania 31

56. WrestleMania X8

57. WrestleMania XXIV

58. WrestleMania XX

59. WrestleMania XIX

60. WrestleMania XXX

61. WrestleMania X-Seven

Thank you to everyone again for voting! Maybe we can rank other PPV's, or certain champions!

Given we've had 31 WrestleManias before this year and March is 31 days long, I thought it would be fun to set up "31 For 31," a daily discussion thread where we can watch and talk about individual WrestleManias. If you're into the idea, feel free to upvote; if you're not, I'm sure I'll lose interest around day six or so and you'll never have to see these again.

WATCH: WWE Network // Dailymotion

HEAR: Dave Meltzer reflects on WrestleMania X-Seven

DATE: April 1, 2001

LOCATION: Reliant Astrodome, Houston, TX

ATTENDANCE: 67,925

THE CARD

1. Chris Jericho (c) defeated William Regal (WWF Intercontinental Championship match)
2. Tazz and The Acolytes Protection Agency (Bradshaw and Faarooq) (with Jacqueline) defeated Right to Censor (The Goodfather, Val Venis and Bull Buchanan) (with Steven Richards)
3. Kane defeated Raven (c) and Big Show WWF Hardcore Championship match)
4. Eddie Guerrero (with Perry Saturn) defeated Test (c) (WWF European Championship match)
5. Kurt Angle defeated Chris Benoit
6. Chyna defeated Ivory (c) WWF Women's Championship match)
7. Shane McMahon defeated Mr. McMahon (with Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley) (Street Fight with Mick Foley as guest referee)
8. Edge and Christian defeated The Dudley Boyz (c) and The Hardy Boyz (Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match for the WWF Tag Team Championship)
9. The Iron Sheik won Gimmick Battle Royal by last eliminating Hillbilly Jim
10. The Undertaker defeated Triple H
11. Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated The Rock (c) (No Disqualification match for the WWF Championship)

TRIVIA!

• WrestleMania X-Seven was the in-ring Mania debut for Vince McMahon, Raven, William Regal and Ivory.
• WrestleMania X-Seven was also the only Mania match for Raven and Ivory, who both ended with an 0-1 record.
• WrestleMania X-Seven featured the most title changes on one card in WrestleMania history, with five.
• WrestleMania X-Seven marked Bobby Heenan's final appearance on WWE commentary.

QUESTIONS!

• What are your memories of the 17th WrestleMania? Did you see it live, catch it later on VHS or not see it for the first time until the WWE Network launched?
• What's your favorite match on the card? What about least favorite match?
• WrestleMania X-Seven is largely considered to be the best Mania of all time. Do you agree? If not, w

I X-Factor ( X-Pac, Albert, Justin Credible ) and Test vs Right To Censor ( Stevie Richards, The Goodfather, Val Venis and Bull Buchanan ), 4 vs 4 Match, Losing faction must disband

II Chris Jericho ( with Shawn Michaels ) (c) vs Eddie Guerrero ( with Roddy Piper ) , WWF Intercontinental Championship

III Tazz vs William Regal, Steel Cage Match

IV The APA ( Farooq and Bradshaw ) vs Kane and Big Show

V Hardcore Battle Royal for the WWF Hardcore Championship ( Raven won by pinning surprise entrant Mae Young )

VI Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit

VII Ivory vs Chyna (c), WWF Women's Championship

VIII Shane McMahon vs Mr. McMahon, No Disqualification Match, Mick Foley is the Special Guest Referee and Linda McMahon is ringside

IX Dudley Boyz ( with Spike Dudley ) (c) vs Edge and Christian ( with Rhyno ) vs Hardy Boys ( with Lita ), TLC Match for the WWF Tag Team Championship

X Triple H vs The Undertaker

XI Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Rock (c), Texas Death Match for the WWF Championship ( Austin wins but DOES NOT turn heel ! )

So with the WWE Network being free right now,I decided to check out some old Manias,and always read how X-Seven was the best.And watching it now,it's pretty damn good.

The crowd reactions throughout the show are crazy,the way they popped for Linda standing up gave me goosebumps.And I'm not even done yet, just thought I'd share.Any other older Manias you guys think I should check out?