Steve Austin's WrestleMania Matches Ranked - From Worst To Best
3. Vs. The Rock - WrestleMania XIX
The final chapter in the greatest in-ring rivalry in the history of professional wrestling, this was the perfect ending to the Rock and Austin story. There were very big question marks coming into this match beforehand, with Austin's health a very serious concern to fans and WWE officials. This would be his last ever match. The only match in the trilogy that wasn't for the richest prize in the game, this was as emotional a wrestling match as you are bound to find. The Rock needed to beat Austin, and he needed to do it on the biggest stage. When John Cena tells people that they need to cement their legacy by defeating him, this is the feeling he is trying to create. The Rock had done it all, but if he couldn't beat Austin at WrestleMania then what was it really worth? He was able to come out on top, and the finish of the match has stayed with me for a very long time. Rocky hit Austin with three straight Rock Bottoms, and even then I was convinced Austin would find a way to kick out. It wasn't possible that The Rock would finally defeat him cleanly at 'Mania. But defeat him he did, and the emotion was palpable. In the post-match, Rocky leaned over to tell Austin he loved him before beginning his celebrations, and like that the rivalry that defined the most lucrative period in professional wrestling history was over with Austin's in-ring career.
Born in the middle of Wales in the middle of the 1980's, John can't quite remember when he started watching wrestling but he has a terrible feeling that Dino Bravo was involved. Now living in Prague, John spends most of his time trying to work out how Tomohiro Ishii still stands upright. His favourite wrestler of all time is Dean Malenko, but really it is Repo Man. He is the author of 'An Illustrated History of Slavic Misery', the best book about the Slavic people that you haven't yet read. You can get that and others from www.poshlostbooks.com.
