411’s WWE Rivals Report (Episode Three): ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin vs. The Rock

-Previous episodes on Shawn/Bret and Undertaker/Kane.

-The opening starts with their famous sit down with JR before Mania X-7. Austin: “There can be only one.” I mean, that one line right there pretty much encapsulates their entire rivalry. Rock says Austin’s popularity motivated and drove him because that’s what he wanted. Rock: “There is only one number one spot and I am going to take it.”

-Show opening narrated by Freddie Prinze Jr.

-As a reminder the roundtable they cut to features Prinze Jr, JBL, Kevin Nash, Kofi Kingston, and Tamina.

-The roundtable: JBL feels Rock and Austin are the two biggest draws of all time with all due respect to Bruno, Hogan, and Flair. Yeah, no! Austin sure, but Rock isn’t above Hogan as far as a draw. He continues it was the first-time wrestlers were megastars in all of society. Again, Hogan! Kofi says they transcended into pop-culture. Again, Hogan!

-Austin says it took a while for him to find who he was in wrestling and realized it was just who he is turned up a bit. We see Austin stun Vince, curse him out and throw middle fingers all over the place.

-Meanwhile The Rock was a babyface rookie while Austin was on the rise. Austin doesn’t remember the first time he met The Rock. He just knew the gimmick was wrong. The Undertaker crushes the Rocky Maivia character and the stereotypical good guy promos he had to cut.

-KO says Austin was the guy everyone wanted and Rocky wasn’t. Rock says Steve was so successful because he was authentic while he was just happy to be there even when he lost. Obviously, that’s not who The Rock is.

-The fans turned on Rocky with “Die Rocky Die” and “Rocky Sucks” chants. Rocky gets put on the shelf with a knee injury and they questioned what they should do with him when he comes back. They decided to make him a heel and Rock was all about it. He gets placed in The Nation of Domination and a superstar is born as he started crapping on all the fans that turned on him. Austin says now he believed in what Rock was saying and he had the character to go with the size and look.

-RAW: Oct 13, 1997: The Nation confronts Austin and he challenges any of them to a fight in the ring. It ends up being The Rock and he eats a Stunner as soon as he hits the ring. The seeds were planted for the rivalry. They both knew just off that little tease they had something. HHH says they knew the two of them together worked and that it was going to be special.

-Commercials!

-Roundtable: Kofi says you have to appreciate the growth of The Rock and where he came from. Tamina says Rock was doing promos as a kid and we see some of them as she cuts a promo as Hulk Hogan. JBL says they knew how talented Rocky Maivia was in the ring, but when he came The Rock they knew they had someone to rival Austin.

-IC Title: YES! Austin’s famous promo where he told Rock “when your beeper goes off and it says 3-1-6 you know your ass belongs to Stone Cold.” Rock’s bug eye sell of his beeper going off is still awesome. Rock says Austin was on his path to the WWE Title and see see Austin relinquish the IC Title to Rock and then stun him.

-That leads to a Austin throwing the IC Title off a bridge. Love all of this! The roundtable discusses the belt toss and Nash has heard they never recovered the title from the river. Austin knew that they would meet at a higher level down the line once they finished The IC Title feud.

-At WrestleMania XIV The Austin Era begins and Austin becomes the biggest wrestling star in the universe. Rock says Austin’s popularity was so massive you had to experience it. Rock notes they were chatty with each other, but there was competition. He tells a story of Austin signing a stack of 8×10 and Austin signs one to him. “Hey Rock, you might make it one day. Keep working hard. Stone Cold Steve Austin #1.” Rock laughed as he felt Austin was messing with him, but then he noticed Austin signed his autograph with “Stone Cold Steve Austin #1.” Austin tells us he believed he was #1 and he wanted the person who received that picture to know they got an autograph of the guy who was number 1. Rock decided he had to get to the place where he could sign #1 on his autographs. Austin told him he had to earn that right and he wasn’t going to take it from him.

-Taker says that Rock always studied and wasn’t afraid to try new things. He had never seen anyone grow so much week after week. Back at the roundtable Kofi notes that The Rock was so good at being a bad guy that he was getting cheered. Austin notes the business is competitive and he was always aware of where Rocky was and reactions he was getting. Prichard tells a story of Austin telling them just because Rock could raise an eyebrow and say nursey rhymes, he wasn’t over. That told Bruce and the rest of the office that Rock was catching up because Austin had noticed. You only notice people nipping at your heels.

-Commercials!

-Survivor Series 98: The Rock beats Mankind in the finals of a tournament for the WWF Title to become Champion for the first time thanks to Vince McMahon ordering the bell to ring. A brilliant swerve as Rock looked like the next big babyface and instead he is The Corporate Champion because he never forgave the fans for “Rocky Sucks.”

-Roundtable: Freddy says his grandma, who made him a wrestling fan, was so mad at the Rock for going corporate that when Freddy’s wife (Sarah Michelle Gellar) did a movie with Rock, grandma stopped speaking to her. AWESOME! I want that woman in the front row of a show with a heel insulting her so much that she swings at him.

-Austin says they were a match made in heaven as he was anti-corporation and Rock was now corporate. It extended the McMahon/Austin rivalry while getting Rock to the next level. From the close of Survivor Series 1998 you knew where they were going for Mania XV. Rock says they were so different as far as their character, but exactly the same as they both wanted to be the best.

-March 22, 1999: RAW: Austin drives a beer truck to the ring and douses Rock, Shane, and Vince. People remember the beer bash, but forget Austin’s money promo while on top of the truck. That’s a go home promo and angle fit for WrestleMania. HHH calls it a groundbreaking piece that added to their groundbreaking rivalry.

-WrestleMania XV: Rock says he was 26 years old in his first Mania Main Event and just wanted to do a great job. Austin says he will never forget the match and knew Rock would deliver. Austin hits The Stunner and wins back the WWF Title. HHH says it was amazing to watch and while most rivalries culminate at Mania, this one was only starting.

-Each week they raised the bar and tried to one up the other. In a call back, Rock knocks Austin off a bridge into the river where the IC Title was tossed and then tosses Austin’s smoking skull belt (until he revealed he really didn’t). Austin crushes Rock’s Lincoln with a Monster Truck.

-ROCK’S FLIP SELL OF THE STUNNER! Austin says there was a period where everything they did was a grand slam. STUNNER ON THE TABLE WITH ROCK TAKING OVER THE CAMERA.

-In 1999 Austin is still feeling the effects of the botched Tombstone with Owen. He says people broke his neck, but really he bruised his spinal column. He needed surgery and would be out for a year. Rock had to put on his big boy shoes and be the man.

-Commercials!

-Halftime Heat: Jan 2000: JR has an interview with Austin just after his neck surgery and brings up the Rock’s popularity. Austin says he has noticed and wants to get in the ring with him, so he can punch him in the face. Heyman mentions The Rock became the top star as nobody could do what he did. At the roundtable Kofi feels both Austin and Rock could lay claim to being The People’s Champion.

-Austin returns and now we have two super over top guy babyfaces. Austin notes that in his absence Rock got huge, HHH came up the card and The Undertaker was always there.

-Austin wins The 2001 Royal Rumble and it’s Rock/Austin at WrestleMania. We go back to where we started with their awesome sit down interview with JR. Goosebumps still! “I need to beat you Rock. I need it more than anything you can imagine.” Austin says that was a shoot line from him because he knew what The Rock had become in his absence. Rock says he didn’t want to be second and neither did The Rock. On SmackDown they toast to each other and then the fight is on and I WANT TO GO WATCH WRESTLEMANIA X-7 RIGHT NOW!

-WrestleMania X-7: GREATEST PPV OF ALL TIME! THE END OF THE ATTITUDE ERA! Austin says Rock was white hot, but his reaction was bigger. Well, I would hope so since it was in Texas, which also makes the heel turn kind of weird. They tear the house down on what was a stacked card with classic matches all over the place. Vince heads down to the ring as JR questions what’s going to happen.

-Commercials!

-Stunner from Austin, but Rock kicks out. Austin says at that time he felt his character had started to flatline. It was his decision to turn heel and he did so by joining Vince McMahon and taking his help to beat Rock for the WWF Title. Heyman says it was surreal for a lot of people. The turn only made the audience want to have their hero back. Rock says he wanted that top spot but only wanted it when he earned it. He also credits Steve for getting him there.

-They had a respect for each other and had the goal to bring the house down no matter if a RAW, Mania, or house show. We get house show footage of them staying well past their match and having monologues and singing contests. That’s fantastic!

-Nash notes you can be great friends with someone in the business and then you can be really great friends when you draw money with someone. “That bond gets real tight.” Prichard notes you can argue that they were interchangeable in that top spot.

-Austin had surgery to correct some things and he could see what his body was turning into. He realized that his body was giving him signals to get out of here. Before leaving though it was Rock/Austin III at WrestleMania. Rock says he was honored when he found out it was Austin’s last match.

-WrestleMania XIX: THE MOST STACKED WRESTLEMANIA CARD OF ALL TIME! Rock’s goal was to give Austin the greatest performance he could and wanted to do right by the company and Steve.

-Commercials! Brock/Angle next week!

-Austin and Rock tear the house down again even with Austin’s health problems. Rock finally gets that elusive WrestleMania win over Austin. Oh, and Hollywood Rock is still phenomenal. Rock is emotional talking to the camera after the show and talks about what he told Austin in the ring after the match. Steve says he loves The Rock and Rock loves him. Two tough guys saying they love each other in front of millions of people.

-Roundtable: Nash says people say lightning never strikes twice and yet, Austin/Rock did Mania three times. The rest of the table gush about Rock and Austin because I mean, who wouldn’t.

-Hall of Fame where Rock inducted his father, he mentions Austin and the crowd starts “One More Match.” I mean, Austin did just have a 15 minute match with KO. It’s still possible and you know you would watch. They could face each other at Mania until Mania 100 and I wouldn’t mind. Rock says they take pride in it being The Greatest Rivalry the Sports Entertainment History. I’m still a Hogan/Savage guy but that’s because that was my childhood.

-I loved this just because it’s Austin/Rock and it made me want to watch every match they’ve ever had against each other again. Nothing new here as they have talked about their rivalry a ton, but doesn’t matter. It’s Rock! It’s Austin! It’s always going to be amazing. Thanks for reading!