The Greatest Wrestlemania Matches of All Time
WrestleMania X7: The Dudley Boyz vs. Edge and Christian vs. The Hardy Boyz
In 2001, WWE presented WrestleMania X-Seven from the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. It was a huge pay-per-view for the WWE featuring the main event that pitted Stone Cold Steve Austin against WWE Champion The Rock and an undercard that included Triple H versus The Undertaker and a Street Fight between Vince McMahon and Shane McMahon with Mick Foley as a special guest referee. Of the many memorable matches, however, it was the Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match for the WWF Tag Team Championship that I remember most.
In front of a deafening Texas crowd of 67,925 fans, three of the greatest tag teams in WWE history participated in one of the most unique matches in WrestleMania history. Of course, I’m referring to Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley defending their titles against the Hardy Boyz and the Canadian duo, Edge and Christian. It was the final big showdown in an epic three-way feud between the three tag teams and all six men went that extra mile to deliver a match for the ages. It was a show-stealing match at the biggest show of the year; one of the greatest WrestleMania matches of all time and a match that would define the Attitude Era.
Needless to say, the spectacle had everyone in the audience on their feet and the millions watching from home at the edge of their seat. Of the many matches between these six men, I’m confident in saying that this is by far the best— in fact, it might just be the best TLC match in the history of WWE.
Tables, ladders, and chairs matches are somewhat commonplace in professional wrestling now but what makes this match great, is how all six Superstars went above and beyond to give the crowd exactly what they wanted to see. The Dudleys, The Hardys, Edge— and even to some extent, Christian— had proven to be daredevils in the ring, and while no one quite knew what to expect, anticipation was at an all-time high.
Not only did the match live up to the hype, but it surpassed it, featuring plenty of highlights including one of the most famous spots in WWE history in which Edge jumped twenty feet off a ladder and landed a vicious spear on the vulnerable Jeff Hardy who left dangling mid-air from a harness.
What gave this match that extra push, however, was the involvement of Rhyno, Spike Dudley, and Lita who all played pivotal roles in the outcome. Spike Dudley ran to the aid of the Dudleyz; Rhyno came to help Edge and Cristian, and finally, Lita interfered on behalf of the Hardyz. Fans watched in awe as all eight superstars put their livelihoods on the line.
The match featured multiple leaps off a towering ladder and at one point Bubba Ray Dudley and Matt Hardy were thrown into a stack of tables set up outside the ring. Another highlight saw Jeff Hardy deliver a Swanton Bomb from the top of a ladder to put the interfering Spike Dudley and Rhyno through a pair of tables. Even Lita had plenty of moments to shine as well as Spike Dudley who took a vicious chair shot to the head.
The match would end with the Canadian pair grabbing the win and capturing the gold thanks to the assistance of Rhyno who helped carry Cristian up the ladder to grab the belts. TLC 2 ended the legendary rivalry between the three tag teams as Edge and Christian would go their separate ways the following year. The Dudleys and Hardys would face each other a few more times, including in a steel cage to unify the WWE and WCW championships but once the Hardy Boyz split, tag team wrestling in the WWE would never be the same. These eight superstars set the bar so high that it’s hard to imagine any set of tag teams working in the WWE being able to top this.
There are few WrestleMania matches that reach the same level of intensity seen here. What these superstars achieved is breathtaking and not just because of the high-risk manoeuvers but because of their ability to tell a great story among so much chaos and destruction. No matter how much time has gone by, this match still stands as one of the wildest in the history of WrestleMania— an absolute jaw-dropping spectacle, packed with unforgettable moments.
Wrestlemania X-Seven is widely considered one of the best in the series and arguably the best pay-per-view of the entire Attitude Era. Aside from the infamous Austin turn, the PPV did just about everything right and was one of the rare times WWE fans seemed to all agree on what they liked and didn’t like.
This article is part of an ongoing series looking back at the greatest matches in Wrestlemania history.
