8 Things Fans Didn't Know About WrestleMania 17

The legacy of WrestleMania 17 grows stronger as time goes on, with few shows challenging it as the best in event history. WWE delivered a loaded card that represented the Attitude Era perfectly. The main events featured legendary performers thriving in the top spots and a strong undercard showing off WWE’s depth at the time.RELATED: Every Match From WrestleMania 17, Ranked From Worst To BestTiming was key to the importance of this event when adding ECW talents a few months after that company ended and just days after Shane McMahon purchased WCW. A lot of noteworthy details went down behind the scenes in the build to this show. Each of the following stories will provide a deeper look at the backstage aspect of WrestleMania 17.

8 Shawn Michaels Was Considered For The Show

Rumors circulated during the months building up to WrestleMania 17 that Vince McMahon was considering bringing Shawn Michaels out of retirement. The location of Texas made it more appealing for Michaels to have one more match since he didn’t get an official send off in his last match three years prior.

RELATED: Why WrestleMania 17 Is The Best (& 5 Better Alternatives)

Michaels still had a lot of heat in the locker room and most of the top names already had opponents planned. McMahon decided against making a big offer to Michaels since he wasn’t necessarily needed with a loaded card to get the buy rates and attendance up. WWE did bring Michaels back the following year for an all-time great comeback story.

7 X-Pac & Steve Blackman Were Upset About Being Left Off Card

Wrestlers to miss the card of WrestleMania 17 ended up being snubbed from one of the most important nights in WWE history. The rumor mill named two names that were upset when their planned match was bumped from the main card to the pre-show.

Sunday Night Heatfeatured Justin Credible and X-Pac of X-Factor defeating Steve Blackman and Grand Master Sexay before the main show. Blackman and X-Pac were reportedly upset as they felt deserving of having a card on the bigger card.

6 Spike Dudley Had His Front Teeth Knocked Out In TLC Match

The infamous TLC match between the Hardy Boyz, Dudley Boyz and Edge & Christian featured them all leaving it in the ring for a violent masterpiece. Other wrestlers joined the fray when Spike Dudley, Rhyno and Lita have noteworthy moments interfering in the match.

Spike specifically took a few bumps that led to serious injuries. The front teeth of the smallest Dudley were knocked out and he needed over a dozen stiches after the match. Spike made his WrestleManiadebut count by putting his body at risk.

5 Vince Said He Never Wanted Another TLC Match After That Night

The violence involved in the TLC match made Vince McMahon consider shutting down the TLC stipulation for good. Bruce Prichard shared the story on his podcast that McMahon loved the match, but one of his first comments was about never wanting to do it again.

RELATED: Why Stone Cold Vs The Rock Was The Best Match On WrestleMania 17 (& Why It Was The TLC Match)

WWE however would book another TLC match just a few months later on free television when the same three teams challenged Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho. The match was too much of a money maker for Vince to stop advertising it as a draw.

4 Gillberg Was Bumped From Battle Royal In Fear Of Goldberg Chants

The gimmick battle royal was easily the worst match on WrestleMania 17, but fans enjoyed the moments of nostalgia. Many of the humorous or ridiculous gimmicks from WWE’s history returned to have a battle royal.

Gillberg was one name reportedly snubbed from the event after initially being booked for it as a parody act. The interviews from Gillberg claimed that WWE changed plans after purchasing WCW earlier that week as they feared it would encourage Goldberg chants when he wasn’t there.

3 Iron Sheik Won Battle Royal For Odd Reason

Another interesting story from the gimmick battle royal featured the rational behind The Iron Sheik winning. There are many humorous stories about Iron Sheik, but this one saw him benefiting from being in poor shape.

Bruce Prichard and Jim Ross both confirmed a longstanding rumor that WWE feared Iron Sheik wasn’t capable of getting thrown over the top rope without a severe injury. This influenced the booking decision to have him win since the others were all in better condition for such physical action.

2 Steve Austin Was The One To Pitch Turning Heel

The end of WrestleMania 17 featured Steve Austin turning heel to defeat The Rock with a polarizing reception. Austin doing anything needed to win back the WWE Championship was the story when he aligned with Vince McMahon.

Many fans blamed McMahon for the heel turn on the biggest stage not working out since WWE lost money and interest afterwards. Austin was actually the one to come up with the idea as he loved working as a heel and hoped to do something new.

1 Vince Shut Down Idea Of WCW Wrestlers Getting Involved In Matches

WWE purchasing WCW just days before the massive event of WrestleMania 17 had fans curious about the involvement of talents from the rival promotion on the show. Vince McMahon flat out stopped anyone pitching ideas that would see WCW talent getting involved, beyond sitting a skybox during the event.

The ideal show from McMahon would see the stories playing out the way they were planned without forcing new talents into the results. WWE not acquiring many of the biggest WCW names due to the contract status also made it impossible to have the presence meet fan expectation if they tried it.