WWE: 10 Questions You Most Want Answered (April 26)

4. Why The Difference Between WM17 And WM18?

From: @CliffHarp Any insight into how WWE went from WM17, some say best ever to WM18, which was pretty lackluster? Just one year difference.

The big difference was the WCW Invasion angle in the summer of 2001. By the time they got to WrestleMania 18, there were too many people on the roster and they were really disorganized in terms of the booking. They couldn't find the right balance. Not only that, but 2002 also was the time when they had to change the name of the company and they did the brand extension (or roster split) around the same time, which was shortly after WM18. WrestleMania 17 is the best show ever. There were some stellar midcard matches like the Angle/Benoit technical classic, Shane/Vince entertainment brawl, Triple H/Undertaker old school battle and of course the TLC match that was epic. WrestleMania 18's undercard was very underwhelming with only Rock/Hogan as a memorable match. They just didn't spend time booking the midcard the way they did a year later due to everything else going on. It also didn't help that Chris Jericho wasn't booked strong as the Undisputed Champion heading into WrestleMania 18. It was as if he was more known as the guy that babysat Stephanie McMahon's dog rather than the WWE Champion. If Triple H came back to beat a more credible champion it would have meant a lot more. Instead, you had a main event match that was very average and in no way comparable to that incredible Austin/Rock match at WM17. I think by the time they got to WrestleMania 19 that they figured it out, though. That was an outstanding show too.