10 Times WWE Fans Were Elated At WrestleMania

3. A Kick In The Balls

Wrestlemania Elated
WWE

Linda McMahon, and there's probably a kinder but inaccurate way of putting it, was a void of humanity.

Her very (non-)presence on television undermined the role of the entire McMahon family; she showed such little personality that only nepotism emerged from said void. Fans were tiring of the twisting soap opera of the clan in 2000, particularly at WrestleMania. Their role was tacked-on at best, distracting at worst. She then method acted her way into a catatonic state, brought on by an apparent nervous breakdown, by which point she became halfway useful. The Mr. McMahon character had arms-out strutted beyond entertainment and into full reprehensible territory, by 2001, though his insistence on being so flagrantly awful to Linda was perversely amusing - more so in retrospect, given the improbable, incredible payoff.

Shane turned babyface around this time in support of his tormented mother, setting in motion his match with his father at WrestleMania X-Seven. It was a stupendously-crafted bit of business, the likes of which saw the WWF invent and master a genre of sports entertainment only they could pull off, at the finish of which Linda McMahon generated a Road Warrior pop (!) by slowly rising out of her wheelchair and kicking Mr. McMahon in the balls.

A stunningly cathartic exclamation point, this was an uproarious celebration of the best and worst of the Attitude Era's storytelling mechanisms.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!