7 WrestleMania Matches That Weren’t All Bad
6. Vince McMahon vs. Shane McMahon - WrestleMania X-Seven (2001)
Lost on a stacked WrestleMania card was the street fight between tyrannical heel Vince McMahon and plucky babyface Shane McMahon who, six days earlier, had pulled off the coup to end all coups when he procured WCW from under his fathers nose. Of course, the acquisition of WCW ended very badly for Shane eight months later. But thats another story.
What Vince and Shane lacked in skill, they made up for in effort and wild abandon; these two went at it hammer and tongs. Shane suffered swelling near his right eye from Vinces punches, and Vince received a proper beating with a kendo stick, computer monitor and other props.
Vince gained the advantage when Stephanie McMahon, who had sided with her father, yanked him out of harms way as Shane performed his trademark flying elbow from the top rope onto the announce desk.
As Shane sold the impact of his crash and burn onto the table, the add-ons were activated to fill time. Trish Stratus, who had previously been humiliated by Vince and Stephanie, slapped Vince and attacked Stephanie, who appeared to be in genuine peril as she fled from Stratus. If only Steph had the courage to show such vulnerability in 2016. Vince flattened special referee Mick Foley with wicked chair shots at ringside, and then shoved wife Linda into the ring and placed her on a chair in the corner to more closely witness his continued destruction of their son.
To backtrack, Linda in the story line had suffered a nervous breakdown and been hospitalised, following Vinces request for a divorce. At Mania X-Seven, she was said to be under heavy sedation, and had been pushed to the ring in a wheelchair.
Her drug-induced state was a ruse. Linda had a surprise in store for her husband.
The roar from the crowd of nearly 68,000 inside the Houston Astrodome when Linda suddenly rose from the chair and kicked Vince in the testicles as he held a trash can above his head was titanic. It must have been the highlight of Lindas on-screen career in the company.
Vince sold the kick, Foley resurfaced and pummelled Vince and Shane made his heroic comeback, all in rapid succession. Saving the biggest stunt for last, Shane placed a trash can on Vinces knees and chest as he sat in the corner and executed Rob Van Dams Van Terminator the springboard corner-to-corner dropkick. It was the first time the move had been used in the WWF. It brought the house down. Shane covered Vince, and Foley counted three.
Weeks later, I spoke to Van Dam for Power Slam magazine in the United Kingdom. Inevitably, the topic of Shanes Van Terminator came up.
When I was watching, I knew what was trying to do, said Van Dam. And I thought, because he looked so hesitant, that he might not pull it off. But Shane did nail it. Great execution when he kicked that trash can into Vinces face I thought it was beautiful.
The street fight ticked all the entertainment boxes. There were no weak links: everyone came through on the night. That said, the award for performer of the match must go to Vince, who reaffirmed his commitment to embarrassing himself for the good of a match and a story line. He received his comeuppance for his dastardly deeds.