10 Iconic Wrestling Storylines Summed Up In A Single Frame
1. Steve Austin Vs. The Rock
If you believe Bruce Prichard, the rise of the Rock put Steve Austin out. It's one of Prichard's more believable tidbits, which isn't difficult, since he is infamous for his "We meant "WCW guy" by "people like you"" b*llocks defence of the Triple K business.
Prichard claims that whenever a young stud emerges as real player, the jealousy manifests as defensive, tacit burial tactics from the established order. In the case of Austin, he is apocryphally said to have given the following verdict of the Rock in 1998:
"I don’t think lifting his eyebrow and a couple of cute sayings is really going to get you over."
That professional jealousy was always in reality a profound respect, even if Austin could not or would not articulate it at the time.
It's why the feud was good and so even and so dramatic and so bereft of the political bullsh*t that undermined, say, Bret Hart Vs. Shawn Michaels in the ring. These were two men, secure in their spot, confident in their own ability and in admiration of one another's. The real-life competitive edge was adapted to thrilling effect in the ring, and it ended with a show of that which they had overtly denied to one another onscreen.
After Austin finally did the job, in a fittingly badass last stand in which he worked through a terrifying health scare, Rock leaned over and told him he loved him.