10 Fascinating WWE WrestleMania 17 Facts

8. Shawn Stasiak Spoiled An Appearance By WCW Invaders

The first Texas Wrestlemania main event.
WWE.com

It takes a lot to overshadow a WrestleMania, but Vince McMahon's purchase of WCW (giving way to son Shane's kayfabe purchase of the company) was more earth-shattering than any supercard. Days after Vinnie Mac bought up the assets, the idea of estranged son Shane stealing the company away as part of a TV angle added some zest to what ended up being a gloriously-overbooked match.

But it could've been much different. Days before WrestleMania, various WCW wrestlers (including Lance Storm, Hugh Morrus, Shawn Stasiak, and others) were told they would be flown in to WrestleMania in order to help Shane thwart Vince in their street fight.

The WCW refugees were indeed there, but appeared only as spectators in a luxury box. That's because Stasiak blurted out the entire plan to a media outlet on the eve of the show, and a furious Vince scrapped that plan. According to Storm, the boss was so angry at the leak that he almost sent the entire WCW contingent home.

Contributor
Contributor

Justin has been a wrestling fan since 1989, and has been writing about it since 2009. Since 2014, Justin has been a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine. Justin also writes for History of Wrestling, and is a contributing author to James Dixon's Titan series.