Soaked in blood, Steve Austin traded punch after punch with The Rock at the end of the 2001 Royal Rumble. Both men had been longtime rivals, but were now on the same side of the character alignment scale. Clear fan favourites, everyone watching relished the idea of seeing the pair fight it out to win the match and go on to main event the biggest show of the year. Then, along came Kane to ruin the moment and spoil the party for everyone. Just moments before Austin and The Rock squared off, the latter had thrown Kane out of the ring. Unfortunately for Rocky, Kane went through the ropes not over them. Thus, he was still technically involved in the bout, a fact which would come back to bite The Rock minutes later. As Austin teetered on the brink of elimination himself, Kane sneaked up from behind The Rock and pushed him over the top rope to the floor. Of course, this left Kane and Austin to duke it out for the right to go to WrestleMania X-Seven. Listening to the fan response as soon as The People's Champion was eliminated makes it clear that fans in attendance were bitterly disappointed. With The Rock in there, an element of doubt existed over who might win. As soon as he was gone, however, everyone realised that Steve Austin was the only realistic winner.