17 Reasons WrestleMania 17 Is The Greatest Wrestling PPV Ever

3. The Reactions For Austin And Rock

With Wrestlemania being in Texas, there was the possibility of a partisan crowd being in the favor of Steve Austin. Still though, Rock was the second-biggest name in the WWF at the time (and some may argue that he was already bigger than Stone Cold because of the work he did in 2000 when Austin was on the shelf), and there may have been enough of an influx of fans outside Texas to counter-balance the reaction. Nope. The crowd was largely in Austin€™s favor. He received a rousing ovation when he came to the ring. Rock€™s reaction was mixed, veering on the side of boos. It€™s something that Rock would experience again a year later going against Hollywood Hogan in Toronto Skydome, although that reaction would be even more partisan and even more surprising.