10 Times Wrestlers Got Standing Ovations In Defeat

6. Stone Cold Steve Austin (WWE WrestleMania XIX)

Shinsuke Nakamura Sami Zayn
WWE.com

It was easier to figure out what was going on watching on pay-per-view than it was inside Safeco Field when Stone Cold Steve Austin took longer than average leaving the ring following his loss to The Rock in what proved to be the final chapter of their epic WrestleMania rivalry.

The match was a fair distance from being their best, but it wasn't what the extended ovation was for.

With Jim Ross putting 'The Rattlesnake' over as one of the greatest of all time and the crowd being given ample opportunity to show their love, it became evident that this wasn't just goodbye for now.

It'd be 24 hours until it was folded into a storyline with Eric Bischoff, and longer still that the full extent of Austin's hospital dash the night before was fleshed out by documentary makers, but the fans in attendance didn't need any of that to give the biggest star of the rapidly bygone era one last chance to remember the glory years.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett