10 Money Matches WWE Rushed To Give Away For Free

2. Steve Austin Vs. The Rock (23 March 1998, Raw)

The Rock Steve Austin 1998
WWE Network

If you've forgotten all about this one, don't be too hard on yourself. Everybody else did.

The same week Steve Austin would topple Shawn Michaels and become the new face of the WWF, he wrestled The Rock on Raw in a short, unmemorable main event. It marked the latest chapter in a feud that'd been blighted by Austin's inability to work proper matches following a career-threatening broken neck the prior year.

In March 1998 however, Austin was back on his game and raring to assume the mantle of WWF Champ. It was a bit illogical, then, to see him blast through Rocky (who was the reigning Intercontinental Champion) and his entire Nation Of Domination backup en route to 'Mania without so much as even a thought towards the future.

The WWF would have been better served writing a short double DQ or count out that kept Austin looking hot without beating The Rock. Then, in the aftermath of Austin's WrestleMania glory and when HBK disappeared, Rock would have been able to crow about how he was the true champion.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.