The Rock Vs. Steve Austin | Wrestling Timelines
April 19, 1999 - Dearly Beloved
On Raw, the Rock speaks at the mock funeral he hosts for the ostensibly dead Steve Austin. With no body found, he instead threatens to bury the belt he has only pretended to throw away.
No expense is spared for Austin’s grand return from beyond the grave; the WWF bring out the Buried Alive set for the ceremony, and Austin somehow procures a custom-branded monster truck, which he uses to drive over and destroy the Rock’s new Lincoln Continental.
The scene is absurd, lavish, frenzied. It’s also silly. The obsession with vehicles and stunts, like the idea of Backlash itself, is a diminished return.
It’s not ineffective, this live action movie, but Austin and Rock will one day create magic with just two, significantly less expensive props: a pair of beer cans.