100 Greatest WWE WrestleMania Moments

It's a bit crazy to think back to everything that was going on in the WWF as April 2001 dawned. Vince McMahon had just purchased the last remaining remnants of WCW, ECW had gone to the wall, the XFL was starting up, and the promotion was preparing to put on WrestleMania X-Seven. To many, this was the apex of 'Attitude Era' revolution - it'd never get better than this.

There's something else to add on to all the mayhem above: 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin was about to turn heel by aligning with McMahon right at the tail end of the pay-per-view. Was that a mistake? Many would say yes, including Austin. He's gone on record to say he should've called an audible by hitting Vince with a stunner instead of "shaking hands with the devil himself" (an iconic call from Jim Ross).

Fair enough, but the moment still qualifies as one of 'Mania's greatest. It was totally unexpected that these old rivals would get on the same page just to stop The Rock from remaining champion. Looking back, people might be more kind to this had it been revealed that Austin was simply using McMahon to get what he wanted. Remember, he'd expressly told everybody that he 'needed to become champion more than anything in the world'.

There's a slight negative hanging over the end to X-Seven then, but it isn't enough to stop wrestling fans from showering the event in praise generally. Besides, the WWF shouldn't have been chastised for trying something different. You never know until you try, right? This was a plunge worth taking.