The Great Feuds – The Rock versus Stone Cold Steve Austin
It may well be the biggest money feud in pro wrestling history, an on-again, off-again war between the two biggest draws of the Attitude Era that would include three Wrestle Mania clashes, two of which were main events. In my column on the feud between Mick Foley and Triple H I mentioned chemistry, that elusive quality that means some guys just can’t fail to work magic together. The Rock and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin had chemistry with each other in abundance. Whether battling with words or with fists, they electrified crowds around the world and seemingly never let anybody down. Their feud began in the mid-card and quickly rose to become the ultimate angle of WWE’s most successful period of all time.
It was in November of 1997 that the two clashed for the first time. Austin was taking the company by storm, his popularity just soaring. He was the Intercontinental Champion, having regained the title from Owen Hart at that month’s Survivor Series. The Rock was now entrenched in The Nation of Domination and beginning to be as great a success as a heel, as he had been a failure as a babyface. Immediately after the Survivor Series, The Rock and his Nation buddies ambushed Austin on Raw, allowing Rocky to steal the Intercontinental Title belt. This led to a match at the next In Your House show in December, match in which rules would be largely forgotten. The Rock, still wearing the stolen belt, entered the ring before Austin, along with his Nation cohorts. Austin drove to the ring in his pick-up truck!
Austin wasted no time in stomping the shocked bad guys, picking up the win and reclaiming his championship belt. However, the story didn’t end there. Due to the fact that Austin had driven a truck to the ring, and a second referee had been needed to count the pin-fall when it had seemed as if the original referee intended to disqualify Austin, Vince McMahon ruled that a rematch was in order. Austin refused the match, instead seemingly accepting the option of forfeiting his title. However, rather than handing the belt over, Austin handed The Rock a Stone Cold Stunner and left the arena, still carrying the belt. The following week Austin threw the belt off of a bridge into the Cincinnati River. In truth, Austin’s neck issues necessitated some time off but the work around was better than another match. It helped further establish Austin as a guy who just did not play by anyone else’s rules, no matter what, and fans loved it. It also helped shift Austin into his feud with Vince McMahon.
The next major piece of interaction between the two came at the 1998 Royal Rumble. Austin and The Rock were the last two men left in the ring and, despite McMahon’s efforts to have him taken out before the match even began, Austin eventually stood victorious. For the next year or so, the two would wisely be kept away from each other, for the most part. Austin defeated Shawn Michaels to win his first WWE Championship at Wrestle Mania 14, in the process replacing Michaels as the “face” of the company and spent the summer feuding with The Undertaker and Kane. The Rock, on the other hand, wrapped up a feud with Ken Shamrock, before ousting Faarooq as leader of The Nation and then leading his faction in their memorable feud with DX. Both Austin and Rocky were continuing to get hotter and it was only a matter of time before they clashed again. However, something was happening that threatened to derail that plan. The Rock was becoming a popular favourite with fans. His heel act had gotten so good that people were beginning to react to him as a babyface.
To counter this, WWE played their number one heel card – Mr McMahon himself. After Undertaker and Kane finally managed to get the title off of Austin, McMahon declared it vacant and set up a tournament at the 1998 Survivor Series, the Deadly Game. The Rock met Mankind in the final match and, in a recreation of the previous year’s Montreal screw-job, McMahon ordered the bell to be rung when The Rock applied a sharpshooter to Mankind. McMahon had betrayed his Corporation stooge Mankind and The Rock had willingly joined The Corporation. As long as Rocky stayed with the McMahons, his heel status was assured. Moreover, the crowd sympathy for Mankind gave Rocky a ready-made feud.
In the meantime, Austin was being shut out of the title picture. He did get one title shot against The Rock, the night after The Deadly Game tournament but interference from The Undertaker cost him that match and, from then on, that was it. His only way to get back in, so it seemed, was to repeat his feat of the previous two years and win the Royal Rumble for an unprecedented third consecutive year. However, Vince McMahon had a plan to stop that from happening. McMahon ensured that Austin would start the Rumble from number one, although Commissioner Shawn Michaels ensured that McMahon himself would be the second entrant in the match. Of course, McMahon had no intention of fighting Austin one on one, so he took off the moment the match started, with Austin pursuing him to the back. Neither man left the ring over the top rope, however. McMahon led Austin into an ambush and took his seat at the announce table, thinking the job was done. Austin returned for the end of the match, however, only for The Rock to help Mr McMahon eliminate him. McMahon had won the Rumble and Austin was still being kept from a title shot.
Believing his job done, McMahon relinquished his title shot the next night on Raw, only for Commissioner Michaels to straightaway award it to Austin! Stone Cold was going to Wrestle Mania after all and, while McMahon tried to win back the title shot in a cage match in February’s St Valentine’s Day Massacre, he was unsuccessful. From that moment it was set in stone – Wrestle Mania 15, Stone Cold versus The Rock. As the weeks went by, the two traded insults, The Rock’s arrogant, grandiose and theatrical delivery contrasting perfectly with Austin’s down-to-earth, honest straight talking. Both men could deliver some hilarious put-downs and fans enjoyed participating in the promos of both villain and hero. Finally, the match came around. Michaels was once again instrumental, stopping McMahon from appointing a crooked referee and banning all Corporation members from ringside (that wouldn’t stop Vince himself from approaching the ring late on in the match – but then, he was The Corporation’s leader, not a member). These two men had only had one singles match together in the previous year and that had quickly ended due to outside interference. Fans were practically salivating over this one, and expectations were through the roof.
Fortunately, The Rock and Steve Austin were determined to live up to and exceed all such expectations. The two went at it in a match that spilled out of the ring, took in the announce tables and went through numerous false finishes. The return of legendary broadcaster Jim Ross, especially for this match after his bout of Bell’s Palsy only added to the “big fight” feel of the occasion, as well as pleasing both wrestlers immensely. Sometimes at Wrestle Mania, under-card matches steal the show. Wrestle Mania 15 was not one of those ‘Manias. This show was all about the main event. It was the match everyone wanted to see going in, and it was, far and away, the best match of the night. Ultimately, it was Austin that stood victorious in the ring, a stunner for Vince McMahon the icing on the cake, as he finally became a three-time champion, a feat thus far achieved only by Hogan, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and The Rock himself.
The Rock wasn’t done, however. He wanted his title back and, what’s more, he had bargaining power. He still possession of Austin’s custom “Smoking Skull” championship belt and Austin wanted it. The Rock lured Austin onto a bridge with the belt, before throwing Austin off said bridge into a river! He then threw the belt in after Austin. The next week on Raw, Rock held a funeral for “the biggest piece of trailer-park trash ever to walk God’s green earth” in which he amused himself by poking fun at Austin’s legacy and revealing that, actually, he still had the Smoking Skull belt. He was not so amused when Austin, alive and well, drove a monster truck into the arena and proceeded to drive it over the hearse that Rocky had brought in…and then The Rock’s limousine.
At Backlash, therefore, the only option was a rematch, the two men having even more reason to hate each other now. This time, however, Shane McMahon (who had ousted his father as leader of The Corporation) would be the referee. Some felt that this match actually topped the ‘Mania match (I don’t know that I would go that far myself) but The Rock doing his party piece of snatching a head-set from an announcer and keeping up his own commentary as he beat on Austin was, once again hilarious, made more so when Rocky turned cameraman temporarily. Ironically, it was Vince himself who replaced Shane with a real referee, allowing Austin, once again to emerge victorious. The following night on Raw, The Rock turned babyface at last, turning on Shane to start a feud with the younger McMahon and his new ally, Triple H and thereby drawing a line, for the moment, under the feud with Austin.
We now fast forward to the beginning of 2001. Austin had returned after being run over at the 1999 Survivor Series and unmasked Triple H as the instigator of that assault. Austin won his third Royal Rumble in 2001 and, when The Rock defeated Kurt Angle for the title at No Way Out, the stage was set for a Wrestle Mania clash between the two once again, this time with both men the top babyfaces in the company. Muddying the waters, once again, was Vince McMahon who decided to make life interesting by making Austin’s wife, Debra, The Rock’s manager. Debra had been eager to return to management but The Rock had neither wanted nor asked for a manager. Despite Rocky’s reluctance, Austin told The Rock that he would hold him personally responsible for any harm that befell Debra and, when she inevitably got in harm’s way, the stakes were raised between the two men.
Wrestle Mania 17 was a very different show to Wrestle Mania 15. This card had been loaded from top to bottom and, rather than being the saving grace of the event, Rock versus Austin was the crowning glory. Both on the night and historically, the match had a lot to live up to. With both men being booked as babyfaces, fans were expecting something akin to the legendary showdown between The Ultimate Warrior and Hulk Hogan at Wrestle Mania 6. The first sign that something slightly different might occur came when, with no prior notice, the ring announcer revealed that the match would be No Disqualification. “Who made that call?”, asked a bewildered Jim Ross, calling the match at ringside. It was not until the closing moments of the match that the truth was revealed. Despite this being a match of two heroes, the two had been utterly brutal with each other, brawling outside the ring, each man cutting the other open with shots from the ring bell and even using each other’s finishing moves. Late on, Vince McMahon came to ringside but did not do anything until The Rock hit the People’s Elbow on the Rattlesnake. With the match seemingly won, victory was snatched away from The Rock when Vince pulled him off of the prone Austin. The crowd were shocked as Vince handed his long-time nemesis a chair, which Austin just wore out on Rocky before, finally, pinning him. Austin had won his fifth championship in the most unexpected way, turning heel and allying with his most hated rival. Wrestle Mania 17 closed with the unbelievable image of Austin and Vince sharing triumphant beers.
The next night, people wanted answers. Not just The Rock but also Triple H, who had been McMahon’s ally against Austin up to that point. When McMahon and Austin double-teamed The Rock in a cage that night, Triple H came down to ringside, prompting fans to think that he was going to help The Rock. After all, if Austin could turn heel surely anything was possible! In fact, Triple H joined in the assault, forging a new alliance with Austin and leaving The Rock utterly beaten down. Soon after, Vince McMahon indefinitely suspended The Rock “for his own safety”. It seemed that his new allies had helped Austin win a decisive victory in chapter two of this feud. Of course, not all was as it seemed.
In reality, The Rock needed time off to go and shoot The Scorpion King and, in his absence, the WCW Invasion angle played out. It was this angle that provided the impetus for The Rock’s return and wrapped up chapter two of Rock-Austin. Austin defected to The Alliance, the heel faction formed in the union of Shane McMahon’s WCW and Stephanie’s ECW, primarily because he had become jealous of his place in Vince’s priorities. He believed that Vince was trying to persuade The Rock to return to WWE, to assist in the fight against The Alliance and he (Austin) took this as a slight against himself. His defection, of course, forced Vince to do exactly what Austin had accused him of and beg The Rock to return. Return he did, and so the battle lines were drawn once more.
Again, Rock and Austin were not thrown together immediately for this one. The Rock worked programs with Booker T and Chris Jericho, while Austin continued a feud with Kurt Angle before they went head to head. At Survivor Series 2001, however, the storyline came to a head in one final “winner takes all” elimination tag match. Austin was captain of Team Alliance, his cohorts being Shane McMahon, RVD, Booker T and Kurt Angle (who had just defected to The Alliance himself). Against them were ranged Team WWE: Kane, The Undertaker, Big Show, Chris Jericho and their captain, of course, The Rock.
Inevitably, after many eliminations, it came down to two men – The Rock and Steve Austin and, this time, Rocky was finally able to overcome Austin in the big match. It wasn’t Wrestle Mania but it mattered. Rock had to contend with a double-cross by Jericho, who just couldn’t bring himself to put team loyalty before personal animosity but it was Kurt Angle’s sneak attack on Austin that finally decided matters. Angle’s defection had been fraudulent – he was simply a mole placed in The Alliance’s camp by Vince McMahon. Thanks to him, and The Rock, WWE was saved. Austin, however, was still WWE Champion, so he remained with the company. In the aftermath of this he turned face again, his heel run having been a failure in the eyes of many fans (although not me, I thought he did a great job – I absolutely hated his guts back then). With both men back on the side of the angels, once again their interaction was cut short.
2002 was an awkward year for Austin. Increasingly depressed and dissatisfied with both his performances and the storylines he was given, he quit the company. In August, The Rock once again took off to go filming. It could have been the end. Fate, however, had one last run in mind for them. Both men returned to WWE at around the same time, for No Way Out in February 2003 but in very different roles. His past troubles behind him, Austin returned as the classic babyface, back to punish crooked Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff. The Rock, on the other hand, returned in the role of an arrogant heel, slightly different to his earlier heel roles as this time it was his newly acquired Hollywood stardom that made him think he was better than everybody else. Moreover, Rocky played this new heel role with a beautiful touch of blindness, always smiling and joking, seemingly oblivious to the fact that nobody liked him. They had to get together one last time.
After his second victory over Hulk Hogan at No Way Out, Rock informed everyone that he had done it all – all except for one thing. He had never beaten Austin at Wrestle Mania. That was his sole remaining goal in wrestling. Austin accepted the challenge in his own inimitable style. At a Raw show in Sacramento, The Rock treated the audience to a “Rock Concert”. Strumming a guitar that he claimed was given to him by Willy Nelson, he sang a series of songs that disparaged Sacramento, its people, its sporting teams and Stone Cold himself. This has to be in the top ten funniest moments ever in wrestling. Finally, Austin’s truck drove into the arena. As The Rock prepared to defend himself, he was shocked to see The Hurricane emerge from the driver’s seat – Austin was actually behind The Rock. Quickly beaten down, Rock could only watch in agony as Austin trashed the Willy Nelson guitar.
It was great stuff, recalling something of the heyday of the Attitude Era at a time when WWE was somewhat in the doldrums, at least on the Raw brand. The match itself, at Wrestle Mania 19 completed a trilogy in which the two men faced each other at every alternate ‘Mania. It wasn’t the main event anymore – that honour went to Kurt Angle versus Brock Lesnar – but even at the very end of Austin’s career, it was still a big deal. Perhaps it didn’t quite match the earlier matches but it was still entertaining, worthy of its place on the card. As at Wrestle Mania 17, each man used the other’s finishing move but nothing worked. The Rock worked Austin’s knee, in a touch that slightly differentiated the match from the earlier encounters, as well as playing up Rock’s heel role, but he couldn’t make Austin tap in the sharpshooter. Finally, The Rock gained his elusive victory when he pinned Austin after three consecutive Rock Bottoms. In another setting, I might have quibbled that the guys were diminishing their finishing moves but, given the circumstances, with Austin’s career ending and Rock’s largely winding down, that hardly mattered. What did matter was sending Austin off on the right note and tying up the last loose end in one of the all-time great wrestling rivalries. They certainly did that.
So, why did Austin and Rock work so well together? It’s impossible to identify exactly what the intangibles are that go into this but I’d hazard a guess at the following – they were similar in many ways but just different enough. Both men connected with the fans as heels and became so successful that it is difficult for anyone who didn’t watch wrestling at the time to really understand how over these men were. I don’t mean it as a slight on the current performers but nobody in the business today can provoke the scale of reaction that these men drew in their heyday. Both men were much better wrestlers than they are often given credit for. They were muscular but athletic, able to wrestle long matches if necessary. They had distinct styles in the ring, not just one or two finishing moves but practically every move they did had their signature, their own definitive stamp on it. People can talk about move-sets and work-rate as much as they like but I think it was Tully Blanchard who said that the best worker is the one who makes the fans shout the loudest, for the longest. By that criterion, Rock and Austin may just have been the best two workers in history. As characters they just meshed superbly. The Rock was one of the greatest talkers of his, or any, era in wrestling and Austin was well able to hang with him in that department.
All of these things explain why The Rock and Steve Austin were such great wrestlers; they don’t necessarily explain why they were such great opponents for each other. Ultimately, as I hinted above, sometimes the answer is not something that can be definitively analyzed and explained. These two men had chemistry with each other. When they worked together there was magic in the air. Quite why that was, we’ll never know. We don’t need to. It’s enough to know it was there.
Marshall Law 