Today is the 25th anniversary of WrestleMania 17 and fans all over social media are sharing their opinions of the event. Steve Austin faced off against The Rock in a singles match in the main event, which was a big departure from the fatal four way that main evented the year before.
At WrestleMania 16, Triple H defended the WWE Championship against The Rock, Big Show and Mick Foley in a match that featured a McMahon in every corner. Ultimately Triple H shocked the world when he managed to retain the title.
Former WWE writer Brian Gewirtz recalled the after party for WrestleMania 16 and noted that no one looked happy. According to Gewirtz the feeling was that the show was overbooked, and there was a need to get back to one on one matches. Gewirtz also noted that the reaction paved the way for WrestleMania 17 when he posted the following:
“Will never forget the afterparty of WM 2000. No one looked happy. It was like “um…did we just s**t the bed with an overbooked mess of a show and desperately need to get back to 1-1 matches with huge personal issues?” Big letdown that paved the way for the greatest Mania ever imo”
WrestleMania 16 isn’t remembered fondly by many fans, but it seems that the show had a big impact on how WWE approached the Show of Shows the following year, and everything seemingly worked out for the best as WrestleMania 17 is considered by many to be one of the greatest Manias of all time.