Ranking Who Was Really The Man In Wrestling Every Year 1990-2020
22. 1999 - The Rock
Steve Austin had another incredible year only a brief part of which was missed through injury - he secured the highest-rated WWE TV segment ever, and drew an enormous buy rate for the second successive WrestleMania - but his opponent on March 28 firmly announced himself as a capable deputy.
Rock was in hilariously psychopathic form on the road to WrestleMania XV; deftly balancing heat and entertainment value in his controversial series with Mankind, he was so entertaining that fans almost politely waited for the formalities of the Rock Vs. Austin series to receive him with acclamation as the A to Austin's 1.
Rock, babyface house show super-draw, cut some of the most legitimately funny promos in wrestling history in 1999, appearing to somehow breathe in a bit more charisma each time he flared those nostrils to power his unassailable ascent to megastardom.