wrestling / Columns

The Top Ten 6.18.08: Rock Matches

June 18, 2008 | Posted by Julian Williams

How goes it people? Welcome back to another electrifying edition of The Top Ten and this week we’re going to look at The Top Ten Rock matches. I was inspired by The Great One’s new DVD (which you should pick up NOW) so I hope you enjoy this list as much I enjoyed making it by reliving Rocky’s greatest moments. Enough of the fluff, let’s get into this crap.

The Top Ten Rock Matches

Honorable Mention: The Rock vs. Steve Austin (Wrestlemania 15)
This was the first in the trilogy of Wrestlemania matches between The Rock and Austin and it showed just how much chemistry these guys had with each other as well as the potential for even better future matches. The Rock came into this match as The Corporate Champion and Austin was looking to stick it to Vince McMahon by beating his golden boy and reclaiming the WWE Title. These two had a straight up fight for the title and even though The Rock seemed poised at time to pull off the upset, Austin was able to hit Rocky with a stunner (with some stank of it) to claim his third WWE Title. This was just the tip of the iceburg because these two would go on to have even greater matches with each other.

Honorable Mention: The Rock vs. Steve Austin (Wrestlemania 19)
This was the third confrontation between these two megastars at Wrestlemania and The Rock was looking for redemption after losing to the Rattlesnake in their two previous encounters. I love this match simply for The Rock being an arrogant heel the whole time and having the crowd react to every little thing that he did. The Rock would finally get the monkey off of his back by beating Stone cold, even though it took three Rock Bottoms to do the job. This was a terrific match and it included one of my favorite moments in wrestling ever when The Rock put on Stone Cold’s vest to mock him while Jerry Lawler freaked out on commentary about how much bad luck that was. Ahhh, good times.

Honorable Mention: The Rock vs. Mankind (St. Valentine’s Day Massacre)
This match was a follow-up to their classic I Quit match and their hellacious Empty Arena Match so it seemed like the only was these two could resolve their issues was in a Last Man Standing match. This match featured some fantastic action like Mankind DDT’ing Rocky through a table, Rock backdropping Mankind from the announce table (which made Michael Cole freak out like a crazy, drunk man), Rock throwing steel steps from the ring onto Mankind’s prone body on the floor, and The Rock having a sing-a-long with the crowd while Mankind was down (which made him vulnerable to the Mandible claw). The match ended when both men knocked each other out at the same time with steel chairs which resulted in both men being counted out. Despite the bullshit finish, this was a great match and it would lead to….

Honorable Mention: The Rock vs. Mankind (Raw, 2/15/99)
This was a rematch to their Last Man Standing match and the winner of the match would go into Wrestlemania as the WWE Champion. After brutalizing each other just 24 hours prior, these two did it again by beating the crap out of each other once again. The Rock focused on Mankind’s injured leg (which was hurt the previous night) and dissected it with some vicious shots which included smacking Mankind’s leg with a steel chair while he climbed the ladder and sandwiching the leg between a ladder and whacking it repeatedly with a chair. Mankind fought back by delivering some hard shots to The Rock as well including slamming the steel steps on Rock’s back, but The Great One delivered a Rock Bottom through the table which seemed to be the end of Mankind. Rock started to climb the ladder, but Mankind recovered and applied Mr. Socko at the top of the ladder until Paul Wight (not yet The Big Show) came down to deliver a chokeslam to Mankind from the top of the ladder. That gave The Rock smooth sailing to capture his third WWE Championship. This was a great way to cap off the feud between The Rock and Mankind because it contained all the insane action that these men brought in their previous bouts.

Honorable Mention: The Rock vs. Steve Austin (Backlash ‘99)
This was a rematch to the main event of WM15, but this time Shane McMahon was assigned as a ref to try to screw Austin from retaining his title. This was a No-DQ match, so these two men brawled all around ringside. The Rock was able to gain the advantage after delivering a Rock Bottom through the announce table and it seemed like it was only a matter of time until the belt was back around the waist of The Great One. In a cool little moment from this match, Rock assumed the role of cameraman while Austin was out and he flipped off Austin and talked a bunch of smack while he filmed the crowd. Then suddenly when he turned back, Austin was back up and gave him the double bird before giving him a stunner. It was cool because you saw Rock getting the stunner from his point of view so it was like the viewer at home was receiving the stunner. Cool stuff. The finish started when Shane accidentally hit The Rock with a belt, but refused to count for Austin when he covered Rocky. This brought out Vince (who was in the midst of one of his yearly one month face turns) who clocked Shane with the title belt and sent in Earl Hebner to ref the rest of the match. Soon Austin was able to hit a Stunner and hit Rocky with a belt shot to retain his title. A fun match with some entertaining brawling makes this a must-see match.

10) The Rock vs. The Undertaker vs. Kurt Angle (Vengeance ’02)
This was actually my favorite triple threat match of all time before Wrestlemania XX came along and blew all other triple threat matches out of the water. This match was absolute excellence and was so good in fact that it turned a lot of naysayers, who stated before the match that triple threat matches were played out, into believers that triple threat matches can be great when done correctly. All three men held their own in this match, but Kurt was definitely the glue and brought this match from the “good” level into the “fucking awesome” level. The E is including this match on their History of The WWE Championship DVD and it’s for good reason because this match is a joy to watch. The perfect definition of a fun match.

9) The Rock vs. Hollywood Hulk Hogan (Wrestlemania 18)
Hulk Hogan had returned to the WWE in 2002 as a member of the nWo and was soon challenged by The Rock for a match at WM18. The match was suppose to feature Rock as the face and Hogan as the heel, but the Toronto crowd had a different idea as the cheered ferociously for Hogan and unmercifully booed The Rock. No matter what heelish things Hogan did, the crowd roared with approval. The Rock seemed to have the match won after hitting Hogan with The Rock Bottom, but then the unthinkable happened and Hogan started hulking up! The entire crowd (and myself) started going wild at the sight of seeing The Hulkster hulk up once again in a WWE ring for the first time in nine years. Rocky eventually won the match with a People’s Elbow, but Hogan hulking up and bringing the SkyDome fans out of their seat is one moment that I will never forget and one of the reasons this match will go down as an all-time Wrestlemania classic.

8) The Rock vs. Triple H (Summerslam ’98)
This match is seen as the coming out party for both these guys as it was the first true indicator that both were ready to be in the main event. This was a ladder match for the IC title and these two guys put on a performance that had Madison Square Garden rocking. This was during the height of popularity for DX and The Rock was in his awesome heel mode, but both men received the respect of the Garden as well as millions of fans around the world. And the People’s Elbow on the ladder is still one of my favorite Rock moments ever.

7) The Rock vs. Mankind (Royal Rumble ’99)
This match is one that is very hard to watch, but you can’t help but look because of the sheer insanity of it. Mick Foley proved in this match why he is regarded as one of the craziest son-of-a-bitches to ever step foot in a wrestling ring. This match has gained an infamous reputation due to its inclusion on the “Beyond The Mat” documentary as well as the knowledge that Mick’s family was ringside while he absorbed all this punishment. The match included Mankind getting knocked off a ledge in the crowd onto an electrical unit that caused sparks to fly everywhere, a people’s elbow to Mankind’s face with a chair on top of it, and at least 10 unprotected shots to Mick’s face with a chair. Absolutely brutal shit that is now the stuff of legend and is quite difficult to watch knowing the toll it took on Mick’s body and career.

6) The Rock vs. Chris Jericho (Royal Rumble ’02)
This is a match that I feel is unjustly overlooked when people talk about some of the best matches ever at The Royal Rumble. Jericho had won the Undisputed Championship the prior month at Vengeance and The Rock was poised to dethrone Jericho of his title. This match featured some absolutely awesome action and Jericho hung in tough with The Rock, making him seem like a true main eventer. Everytime that it seemed that The Rock might pull off the win, Jericho would reach in his bag of trickeration to stay alive. The ending to this match is one of my favorite ever as Jericho used not one, not two, but THREE illegal maneuvers to pick up the W. First he gave The Rock a low blow, then threw him into an exposed turnbuckle and then rolled Rocky up with his feet on the rope. THREE TIMES THE HEELERY!! I felt this match made Jericho seem like a big time heel capable of using his cheating ways to outsmart his opponents ala Ric Flair & HHH, but alas Jericho would be promptly bitched out at Wrestlemania 18 and would never get another chance to run with the big belt. Shame I say, he was a damn good champ.

5) The Rock vs. Triple H (Backlash 2000)
This match featured Shane McMahon as the special guest referee and he seemed to be out to screw The Rock out of his chance of regaining the WWE Title. On top of Shane as ref, Rock also had to deal with both Stephanie and Vince McMahon being in HHH’s corner. The match featured Rock fighting his best against the odds which included Shane fast counting and Vince & Stephanie creating distraction from the outside. This match also features one of the coolest spots ever as The Rock gave the Rock Bottom to both Shane and HHH simultaneously when Shane tried to stop Rocky from giving HHH a Rock Bottom through the announce table. The odds seemed to be too much for Rock after Vince clocked him in the head with a steel chair, but then the glass broke and Stone Cold Steve Austin came out and proceeded to beat the shit out of everybody in his way with a steel chair. Rock was able to use that to his advantage and give a spinebuster and then a People’s Elbow to HHH to pick up the three count and his fourth WWE Championship. Great match with an insanely hot ending.

4) The Rock vs. Chris Jericho (No Mercy ’01)
This was a match for the WCW Championship and it was a very personal one as The Rock and Y2J had been pissing off each other in the weeks leading up to this confrontation. Jericho wanted some respect and The Rock felt like Jericho was overstepping his boundaries because he quite frankly wasn’t that good. Well of course you know that was enough to rile Jericho up. This is the match that I feel made fans look at Chris Jericho as a serious main event player as The Rock sold his ass off for Jericho and made him look like a huge star. They had a phenomenal contest that actually saw Jericho dominate the majority of it and the end came when Stephanie McMahon came down with a steel chair that Jericho utilized to deliver The Breakdown (remember that move?) on The Great One for the three count. These two had great chemistry with each other and this match is a shining example of that.

3) The Rock vs. Kurt Angle (No Way Out ’01)
This was a rematch for the WWE title that was held by Kurt Angle months after he had beaten The Rock for it at No Mercy. This match featured some off the charts intensity (By Gawd!!) as both men felt it was their destiny to go into Wrestlemania as the WWE champion. Kurt Angle showed glimpses of the future badass he would be including holding The Rock in an anklelock while screaming, “Tap out or I’ll break your fucking ankle, you son-of-a-bitch!” The Rock was able to put away Angle after two Rock Bottoms (even though Kurt never kicked out of the first one, but the ref said his shoulders were up) and went on to face Stone Cold at WM17 in a classic match while Angle went on to have his own classic with Chris Benoit also at WM17. But before those two classic encounters, these two modern day legends gave us this great match which should be remembered for years to come.

2) The Rock vs. Triple H (Judgment Day 2000)
The Rock and Triple H faced off in this epic Ironman match to determine the WWE Championship. They had a lot to live up to since this was the first Ironman match in the WWE since Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels had put on a classic 4 years earlier at Wrestlemania 12. I actually prefer this Ironman match to the Bret/Shawn one due to there being a bunch of unique finishes and The Game using HEELISH TACTICS to gain an advantage on The Rock. What made this match so great is that it was completely different from the first one in that there were numerous falls instead of one and HHH earned his moniker as The Cerebral Assassin by busting out a bunch of ingenious moves. After he delivered a Pedigree and got a three count on The Rock, he pinned him again to pick up another fall since The Rock was still out of it. He also cracked The Rock in the head with a steel chair which caused him a fall due to a DQ, but gained him three falls since Rocky was still out of it due to the vicious chairshot. The Rock was able to fight his way back into the match and tie things up as the last few minutes ticked away. In the closing seconds, The Undertaker made his return after months off under his biker gimmick and I must say that was one of coolest moments I’ve ever seen as the crowd went insane for The Deadman’s return. ‘Taker got involved in the match by taking out DX and dropping Triple H on his head with a Tombstone which gave special ref Shawn Michaels no choice but to DQ The Rock and award the match to HHH. This match had thrilling action and some inventive moves which really sets it apart from any other Iron Man match that I’ve seen.

1) The Rock vs. Steve Austin (Wrestlemania 17)
This was the main event of (in my opinion) the greatest PPV of all-time and these two capped off a great event with an unforgettable main event. Austin was desperate to win back the WWE Title and The Rock wanted more than anything to keep his belt on the biggest stage of all. The match was made No DQ right before it began and all hell broke loose as the two warriors beat the hell out of each other all throughout the AstroDome. The match was going along perfectly when all of a sudden Mr. McMahon sauntered down to ringside. Everybody wondered what the hell Vince was doing at ringside given his history with both men. We soon got our answer when Vince began aiding Austin in trying to defeat The Rock. The Rock fought back valiantly, but the odds were too much as Austin repeatedly beat on Rocky with a steel chair to finally pick up the win and the WWE Title. A unholy alliance had been made and the image of Stone Cold sharing a beer with Vince after the match is one of the most surreal moments ever seen in the WWE.

The Sign-Off

I’m out of here people. Apologies for the short column this week, but I’ll make up for it next week when I present The Top FIFTY matches of the 21st Century. Sure, it’s only been 8 years, but if VH1 can do it, so can I.

Buy the new WWE 3-disc Rock DVD set for $18.99 at Amazon border=

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