During their long rivalry, the Rock had typically played the heel character, as he often aligned himself with Vince McMahon and the Corporation, while Austin had played a tweener character that primarily acted as a face. This would be the second meeting between the two at WrestleMania, as they had previously wrestled for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania XV, a match that was won by Austin. Unfortunately for the Rock, he would also come up short in this contest, with Austin turning heel and aligning himself with Mr. McMahon for the first time in his career. Speaking of McMahon, he had purchased rival WCW just a few days before WrestleMania 17. With the rivalry between Austin and McMahon as dead as the dodo and rival WCW out of the picture, this night marked the end of the Attitude Era, perhaps the greatest and most profitable period in company history.
Michael Hicks is a writer originally from Pittsburgh, PA. He has written for a number of websites about subjects ranging from professional wrestling to raw denim.
