The Complete A-Z Of WrestleMania

26. A - Austin

There were few wrestlers who embodied the significance of WrestleMania quite as well as Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Though bookended with admittedly bland displays against Savio Vega and Scott Hall in 1996 and 2002 respectively, every match he had on 'The Grandest Stage of Them All' was era-defining, driving his character (and the industry in general) giant leaps forward.

Most famous are probably still his three entirely different scuffles with The Rock. A smoke and mirrors brawl at WrestleMania 15 was emblematic of the time, with WWE Title victory for 'The Rattlesnake' closing off a riotous event.

His heel turned that followed their 'Mania sequel cruelly overshadows their best in-ring effort and one of the top matches of the decade, as the two played off their prior epic battles with each other and historic opponents.

Their final clash at WrestleMania 19 marked Austin's secret retirement, going down honourably after three Rock Bottoms in emotional fashion without the prior knowledge of the crowd.

Despite these incredible contests, his match with Bret Hart at the 13th iteration of the 'Show of Shows' remains to this day one of the greatest matches in company history.

Pivotal in reshaping the entire future of the wrestling business, it lay the groundwork for his meteoric ascent, culminating a year later when he'd dethrone Shawn Michaels for WWE's top prize.