50 Must-See WrestleMania Matches

21. The Rock Vs. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin – WrestleMania 15

CM Punk The Undertaker
WWE.com

There are some rivalries that just transcend their original billing.

The Rock versus Steve Austin is one of those rivalries that you knew was going to be special as it unfolded, but even Vince McMahon couldn’t have imagined how electric it was. WrestleMania 15 was the first of three Mania matches between the two, at the height of the Attitude Era and at a point when WWF had turned the tide completely against WCW and was beginning to open up a huge lead on the backs of Rock and Austin.

The match itself was an overbooked mess (as was a lot of the stuff that came out during Vince Russo’s reign), but it was entertaining and had a charged Philly crowd behind it. This was Rock’s first taste of the main event, and he didn’t squander the opportunity.

Austin’s post-match celebration and beatdown of McMahon adds a little more flavor to it, something you don’t get to see anymore these days – the babyface physically getting comeuppance on the authority figure.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.