4. WWE Championship Match: "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. The Rock (WrestleMania X-Seven)
At WrestleMania XV, Steve Austin defeated Vince McMahon's hand-picked corporate champion The Rock, bringing an end to the brash, young star's reign atop the WWE mountain. In the two years that followed, the Superstars would take different roads back to the marquee match on wrestling's biggest night. Austin underwent potentially career-ending neck surgery, returning just in time to win the 2001 Royal Rumble and earn the WWE Championship match at WrestleMania X-Seven. The Rock, on the other hand, had benefited exponentially from Austin's absence. He became the industry's undisputed top babyface. Their championship clash at WrestleMania X-Seven was not only a battle for WWE's top prize, it was a war for sports-entertainment superiority. WWE's most elite waged war with one another, brawling around ringside and bloodying one another, all the while captivating the fans inside Houston's Astrodome with dramatic nearfalls and superb storytelling. The inconceivable union between anti-authority rebel Austin and evil owner Vince McMahon proved to be Rock's downfall, leading to the Texas Rattlesnake's latest heavyweight title run. More importantly, it brought an end to WWE's Attitude Era, ensuring that the company would never be the same again.
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.
