IWF WrestleMania X-Seven

From Iwe

WrestleMania X-Seven was the 17th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the International Wrestling Federation (IWF, now IWE). It took place on April 1, 2001, at the Reliant Astrodome in Houston, Texas. It was the first WrestleMania held in the state of Texas. Twelve matches were contested at the event, including one broadcast exclusively on the Sunday Night Heat pre-show.

The main event was a No Disqualification match between “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and The Rock for the IWF Championship. The undercard included Triple K versus The Undertaker, the second Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match for the IWF Tag Team Championship and a Street Fight between Vince Matteson and Shane Matteson with Jon Foley as special guest referee.

A record-breaking attendance for the Reliant Astrodome of 67,925 grossed US$3.5 million. In addition to its commercial success, the event has received universal acclaim from critics and fans, and is often regarded as the greatest WrestleMania of all time, and the greatest professional wrestling pay-per-view event ever produced.

[edit] Production

[edit] Background

WrestleMania is considered the International Wrestling Federation's (IWF, now IWE) flagship pay-per-view (PPV) event, having first been held in 1985. It has become the longest-running professional wrestling event in history and is held annually between mid-March to mid-April. It was the first of the IWF's original four pay-per-views, which includes Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, which were dubbed the "Big Four", and was considered one of the "Big Five" PPVs, along with King of the Ring. WrestleMania 17, stylized as WrestleMania X-Seven, was scheduled to be held on April 1, 2001, at the Reliant Astrodome in Houston, Texas, the first WrestleMania held in the state of Texas.

[edit] Storylines

The main feud leading into WrestleMania X-Seven involved "Stone Cold" Steve Austin challenging The Rock for the IWF Championship. The Rock and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin had fought for the IWF Championship at WrestleMania XV and Backlash in 1999. Stone Cold Steve Austin earned his opportunity to compete for the IWF Championship at WrestleMania X-Seven by winning the 2001 Royal Rumble match when he last eliminated Kane, while The Rock became the first ever six-time IWF Champion when he defeated Kurt Angle at No Way Out. During their feud, Austin's wife Debra, who was trying to get back into managing, was ordered by IWF chairman, Vince Matteson, to be The Rock's manager against her wishes as well as both Rock and Austin's. As a result, Austin would hold The Rock and Matteson responsible if any harm came to her. On the March 12 episode of Raw is War, The Rock was placed in an overlong Ankle Lock hold during his rematch with Kurt Angle. When Debra went to check on The Rock, Angle also placed her into an Ankle Lock hold. Austin soon ran in to save her and knocked Angle out of the ring. Keeping to his word, he immediately gave The Rock a Stone Cold Stunner as punishment. The following week on Raw is War, during a handicap tag team match involving The Rock, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, and William Regal, Austin made his way down to the ring and ended up getting a Rock Bottom from The Rock in response to the stunner from the previous week. On the March 29 episode of SmackDown!, Debra was relieved from her managerial role by Mr. Matteson after failing to prevent a brawl between Rock and Austin.

The secondary feud leading into the event pitted The Brothers of Destruction (The Undertaker and Kane) against Triple K and The Big Show. After defeating "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in a Three Stages of Hell match at No Way Out, Triple K felt that he deserved to be in the WrestleMania main event having defeated everyone in the IWF, including The Rock and Austin. The Undertaker took exception to that and told him that Triple K had never defeated him. Before WrestleMania X-Seven, the two had never faced each other in a one-on-one match on a pay-per-view event. During his entrance for a Hardcore Championship match against The Big Show, Triple K ambushed Undertaker. Kane ran in and saved the Undertaker from a further attack but was met with his own ambush by The Big Show. On the following episode of SmackDown!, Undertaker tried to break into the limousine of Triple K and his wife, Kaila Matteson-Kelmsley, on arrival but ended up being arrested by the police. As a result, Kane requested a match against Triple K later that night but lost when The Big Show interfered on behalf of Triple K. In retaliation, Kane interfered in The Big Show's Hardcore Championship match against Raven on Raw is War, helping Raven pin Big Show to become the new Hardcore Champion. Undertaker's arrest led to a restraining order from Kaila. To circumvent this, the Brothers of Destruction interfered in Triple K's match against Test, with Kane ordered to run after Kaila. With Kaila held at ransom by Kane on a balcony in the arena, IWF commissioner William Regal gave Undertaker and Kane matches at WrestleMania against Triple K and The Big Show respectively and the Undertaker told Kane to put her down. After being attacked during a Hardcore Championship title defense, Regal would later include Raven into Kane and Big Show's match, making it a Triple Threat Hardcore match for the Hardcore Championship.

Another major feud that was built up in the lead to WrestleMania was the one involving Vince Matteson and his son Shane Matteson. The feud started with Vince's disapproval of Jon Foley's job as then-IWF commissioner as well as Foley's decision of holding a six-man Hell in a Cell match at Armageddon 2000, taking into consideration about the well-being of the wrestlers involved in the match. Despite his attempts Foley was given full support by Linda Matteson, Vince's wife and the IWF's CEO. Not pleased with this result, Vince immediately demanded a divorce from Linda. Shortly after Armageddon, secretly to Vince's delight, it was revealed Linda was rushed to hospital suffering with a nervous breakdown. With Linda hospitalized, the Board of Directors appointed Vince as the new CEO of the IWF, allowing him to fire Foley as commissioner. With Linda in a coma-like state, Vince started to have a public affair with Trish Stratus. Vince's daughter, Kaila Matteson-Kelmsley, was at first far from pleased about the turn of events. At No Way Out, Kaila and Trish squared off, with Kaila scoring the victory after a run-in by William Regal. On the February 26 episode of Raw is War, however, during a match that placed Vince and Trish against Kaila and William Regal, Stratus was turned on by the other participants in the match and had sewage dumped over her. In the following shows, Vince continued to demean Trish by having her do such actions as bark like a dog around the ring and stripping down to her lingerie. Despite this, Trish remained loyal to Vince and begged for his forgiveness. On the March 12 episode of Raw is War, Shane Matteson made his return to the IWF. Angry with his father's actions, Shane started to throw punches at Vince only to be stopped by William Regal. Shane explained his actions on the following episode of SmackDown! as a result of frustrations over the manipulation of his sister, his mother's state and Vince's treatment of Trish. On March 23, International Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. purchased the assets of their longtime rival promotion, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from AOL Time Warner. With it, the purchase brought in an extra twist to the storyline. On the March 26 episode of Raw is War (which was held at Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio), Vince Matteson made a live speech that was also simulcast on the final episode of WCW Monday Nitro (which was held in Panama City Beach, Florida). In the speech, Vince announced that the signing was not final and that he wanted Ted Turner to come to WrestleMania to hand-deliver the contract for signing. He then promised that with the purchase he was going to bury his rival forever. However, Shane, who was at the venue for Nitro, interrupted the speech and said:

Because, dad, the deal is finalized... with WCW, and the name on the contract does say, Matteson. However, the contract reads Shane Matteson. That's right! I now own WCW! And, dad, just like WCW did in the past, how it kicked your ass in the past and it will again, that's exactly what's going to happen to you this Sunday at WrestleMania!

— Shane Matteson on the series finale of WCW Monday Nitro, talking to Vince Matteson who was at Raw is War.

To make matters worse for Vince, Jon Foley appeared shortly afterward that night and revealed that prior to his firing, Linda had made multiple contracts for him to sign, one of them was for Foley to referee a match of his choice at WrestleMania. Foley then chose the match between Vince and Shane, which was designated a street fight.

At the Royal Rumble, Chyna (kayfabe) injured her neck during a match with Ivory, causing her to lose the match and fail to capture the Women's Championship. In order for Chyna to again challenge for the title, Ivory required the match contract to include a "hold harmless" clause, stating that if Ivory injures Chyna's neck again, there could be no legal recourse against Ivory. In doing so, the contract also included a provision to ban Ivory's Right To Censor (RTC) stablemates from ringside.

[edit] Event

Before the event aired live on pay-per-view, a Sunday Night Heat match was aired with Steve Blackman and Grand Master Sexay squaring off against X-Factor members X-Pac and Justin Credible. Near the end of the match, fellow X-Factor member Albert interfered by pulling Sexay out of the ring, allowing X-Pac and Credible to hit their X Marks the Spot finisher on Blackman for the win.

The first match of the event was the IWF Intercontinental Championship match between Chris Jericho and IWF commissioner William Regal. During the match, Regal exposed one of the top turnbuckles to throw Jericho's shoulder into it before giving him a double underhook superplex. Jericho attempted the Walls of Jericho submission hold but had it reversed into a Regal Stretch. After Jericho managed to grab a ring rope to break the hold, he retaliated with numerous chops before throwing Regal into the exposed turnbuckle and finishing him off with a Lionsault to retain the Intercontinental Championship.

Tazz and The APA (Bradshaw and Faarooq) took on Right to Censor (The Goodfather, Val Venis and Bull Buchanan) next in a short match that ended with Bradshaw pinning the Goodfather after a Clothesline from Hell.

The third match was the triple threat hardcore match between Raven, Kane and The Big Show for the IWF Hardcore Championship. During the match, the three wrestlers fought their way out of the ring and through the crowd into the backstage area. Big Show tried to lock himself, Raven and the referee in a security cage but Kane broke the padlock and afterward threw Raven through a glass window. Big Show and Kane continued to brawl ending with the two throwing each other through a wall. Raven tried to escape by driving off in a golf cart, but Big Show stopped him and caused him to crash. Kane shortly followed with another golf cart, accompanied by the referee, and ran into Raven. The fight headed back into the stadium with Big Show attempting to press slam Raven off the entrance stage but both were kicked off it by Kane. Kane followed this with a diving leg drop off the stage onto Big Show, pinning him to become the new Hardcore Champion.

The fourth match was the IWF European Championship match between Test and Eddie Guerrero. During the match, Test went over the top rope but got his foot caught between the top two ropes, forcing the referee and Guerrero to have to untangle him. With the help of his fellow Radicalz members Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn, Guerrero hit Test in the face with the European Championship belt while the referee was distracted and pinned him to become the new champion.

The fifth match pitted Kurt Angle against Chris Benoit. The match started with mat wrestling between the two but Angle soon punched Benoit out of frustration and threw him out of the ring, so he could throw him into the broadcast table and the steel steps. Back in the ring, both men tried to submit their opponent using the other's signature hold with Benoit using the ankle lock on Angle, and Angle using the Crippler Crossface on Benoit. Benoit eventually succeeded in forcing Angle to tap out to the Crippler Crossface but the referee was knocked down and didn't see it. Near the end of the match, Benoit tried to pin Angle after a diving headbutt but was met with a two-count. Angle then quickly rolled-up Benoit, using the tights for leverage to win the match.

The following match saw Chyna challenge the IWF Women's Champion Ivory. After an early bit of offense from Ivory, Chyna performed a Chynabomb and looked to have the pinfall, but picked Ivory up after the 2-count. Chyna then performed a gorilla press drop and nonchalantly pinned Ivory to win the Women's Championship.

The seventh match was the street fight between Shane Matteson and Vince Matteson with Jon Foley as the special guest referee. Shane dominated his father during the earlier part of the match by attacking him with various weapons such as a kendo stick and monitors from the Spanish broadcast table. Shane laid Vince on said table and performed a diving elbow drop off the top rope but his sister, Kaila, pulled Vince out of the way, causing Shane to crash through it. Trish Stratus came towards the ring, pushing Linda Matteson out in a wheelchair, and then slapped Vince, causing her and Kaila to get into a fight that led them out of the stadium. As referee Foley tried to wheel Linda out to safety, Vince hit him with a steel chair, and then pulled Linda into the ring to make her watch as he beat down Shane with a garbage can. However, Linda stood up and low-blowed Vince, allowing Foley to recover and attack him. With Vince prone in the corner, Shane placed a garbage can in front of Vince's face and hit a Coast-to-Coast dropkick, pinning his father to win the match.

The eighth match, dubbed "TLC II", was the Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match for the IWF Tag Team Championship between the HooperBoyz, Edge and Christian and the Dudley Boyz, the defending champions. Respective associates of each tag team, [[[Matthew Havens|Spike Dudley]] for the Dudley Boyz, Rhyno for Edge and Christian, and Lita for the Hooper Boyz, interfered during the match. With Spike (who had just taken a chair shot to the head from Lita) and Rhyno (who had already been dispatched by Josh Hooper) both laying on two tables outside the ring, Josh Hooper set up a huge ladder beside them and performed a Swanton Bomb onto them through the tables with most of his body landing on Spike, taking him out of the match. Lita was taken out of the match when Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley performed a 3-D on her. When Josh tried to unhook the belts but had the ladder beneath him pulled away by Bubba Ray, leaving him hanging in the air, and allowing Edge to jump off another ladder and spear Josh to the ground at a height of 12 feet. Bubba Ray and Matt Hooper climbed the same ladder but Rhyno tipped the ladder over, sending Bubba Ray and Matt through four stacked tables at ringside and taking them out of the match. D-Von then set the ladder up again and attempted to grab the titles, but was held back by Edge. With Edge holding onto D-Von's legs, Christian sat on Rhyno's shoulders as he climbed up the ladder and unhooked the belts, making him and Edge the new Tag Team Champions. A total of 9 tables were destroyed in this match, and every performer involved except D-Von and Lita went through at least one table.

The ninth match was a gimmick battle royal, involving nineteen IWF alumni famous for their outlandish gimmicks. To further increase the nostalgia, former announcers "Mean Gene" Okerlund and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan handled commentary for the match. the Iron Sheik won the match by throwing Hillbilly Jim out of the ring. In revenge for being eliminated, Sgt. Slaughter reentered the ring and put him in the Cobra Clutch.

The penultimate match was between The Undertaker and Triple K. For his entrance, Triple K had British heavy metal band Motörhead perform his theme song, "The Game", live. The match started with the two fighting outside of the ring with Triple K quickly being put through the replacement Spanish announcers' table. Later on, referee Mike Chioda accidentally had Triple K catapulted into him and was then attacked by Undertaker due to his dissatisfaction over a two-count. With Chioda knocked out, the two brawled outside the ring, through the crowd, and into the technical area. On top of scaffolding, Triple K used a steel chair to attack Undertaker's legs, but Undertaker retaliated with a chokeslam off the scaffolding, followed by a diving elbow drop. Back in the ring, Undertaker hit Triple K with a Tombstone piledriver and went for the pin but Chioda was still unconscious. Later in the match, Triple K tried to pin Undertaker after hitting him in the head with a sledgehammer while in the Last Ride position but only gained a two-count. Triple K sent Undertaker into the corner and stood on the second rope to hit him with more punches, but Undertaker countered with a Last Ride, allowing him to pin Triple K and increase his WrestleMania winning streak to 9–0.

The final contest of the night was the IWF Championship match between The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin, which had a surprise no disqualification stipulation added just before the superstars were introduced. During the match, the two brawled inside and outside of the ring, with both men bleeding after hitting each other with the ring bell. The Rock attempted to place Austin in a Sharpshooter hold, but Austin reversed it into a Sharpshooter of his own. After Rock reached the ropes to force a break, Austin applied the Million Dollar Dream, a submission hold best known from his former gimmick, The Ringmaster. Shortly after, Rock used Austin's own finishing maneuver on Austin by executing a Stunner. Vince Matteson then came to ringside to observe the match. When Rock tried to pin Austin after the People's Elbow, Matteson seized Rock's leg and pulled him off Austin, breaking the pin attempt. After chasing Matteson around the ring, Austin responded by using Rock's signature move, the Rock Bottom. Later, Rock executed a Rock Bottom for a near fall. After Rock attacked Matteson, he was given a Stunner by Austin for a near fall. After Rock kicked out of the Stunner, Matteson handed Austin a steel chair to hit Rock with at Austin's request, revealing that Austin had sided with Matteson, a man he once considered his nemesis. With this, Austin turned heel. Austin attacked him with the steel chair, hitting him sixteen times, before pinning him and becoming the new IWF Champion. The show ended with Austin and Matteson shaking hands and sharing beers.

[edit] Reception and legacy

[edit] Aftermath

[edit] Results

^ The other participants were: The Bushwhackers (Bushwhacker Luke and Bushwhacker Miller), Duke Droese, Doink the Clown, Nikolai Volkoff, Tugboat, The Goon, Earthquake, Gobbledy Gooker, Brother Love, Michael Hayes, One Man Gang, Kamala (accompanied by |Harvey Wippleman), Kim Chee, Jim Cornette, Repo Man, Hillbilly Jim, and Sgt. Slaughter.

[edit] References

[edit] External links