10 Wrestlers Who Do The Same Spot EVERY TIME They Wrestle Each Other

6. Stone Cold Steve Austin & The Rock - Finisher Theft

AJ Styles Daniel Bryan
WWE

Though neither invented nor championed by Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock, the finisher theft trope was magnified and perfected by 'The Rattlesnake' and 'The Great One' thanks to the enormous stage they'd built for themselves at the commercial height of Vince McMahon's empire.

Their main events - particularly the pair at WrestleManias XV and X-Seven - were loaded with everything that made company headliners so great at the time. In 1999, it was in-crowd brawling and a wacky stack of run-ins that invariably ended badly for the heels. Two years later, and with a vastly improved in-ring product and Austin's surgically repaired neck good to absorb the action, the two went hell-for-leather in one of the most enduring 'Show Of Shows' headliners in company history.

In these and countless other clashes between the two, both Austin and Rock engaged in spamming their biggest hitters and trying out their own versions in acts of desperation that betrayed their cool. It became over-familiar in WWE before being artistically remained in NJPW, but few embedded the chaos into scenes with such stakes.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 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 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, 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