The Complete A-Z Of WrestleMania

3. X - X-Seven

Stone Cold Steve Austin The Rock
WWE.com

Widely regarded as the best pay-per-view in wrestling history (or at least WWE's), WrestleMania X-Seven is a near-flawless broadcast that delivered an endless stream of outstanding clashes and symbolically closed the door on the company's most prosperous ever period.

Returning to a stadium for a major event for the first time in several years, the whole show looked bigger from the very start, and foreshadowed a permanent residence in monolithic venues six years later.

The card is bursting with top matches featuring some of the greatest stars in industry history. Titans Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock have their greatest ever match in a blistering main event punctuated by a heel turn by 'The Rattlesnake'. TLC2 is yet another jaw-dropping stunt show from the electric tag team scene of the day. And Vince and Shane McMahon have each other's best ever contest in a fabulous street fight, dragging in Linda, Stephanie, Mick Foley and Trish Stratus for some perfectly-pitched McMahon drama.

Even the soundtrack brings a lump to the throat, with Limp Bizkit's 'My Way' somehow providing an exquisite backing to Austin and Rock's era-defining rivalry, and the tone of the show in general.

In as much as wrestling can be, WrestleMania 17 is a masterpiece.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett