The Rock Vs. Steve Austin | Wrestling Timelines
October 18, 1998 - A Shift In Momentum
Make no mistake: Steve Austin is still Steve Austin. Austin is still the absolute number one tippy-top guy in an industry he has set ablaze. We are deep in the second WWF boom. Austin has officially crossed over into the mainstream as a recurring cast member and, many thought, the best part of MTV’s popular claymated ‘Celebrity Deathmatch’ series.
Still: back on the USA network, Austin’s exploits with the Undertaker and Kane continue. This is a significant downgrade from Austin’s incredible pay-per-view series with Dude Love in the spring.
The programme, centred on whether the storyline brothers are “in cahoots” at the behest of Mr. McMahon, is not the most riveting angle of the year. Austin himself is aware that he and ‘Taker do not share much in the way of in-ring chemistry, attributing that to both being “badass guys” with no contrast to work with on a dramatic level.
Austin is invincible, but they can’t all be winners. This allows the attention of fans to drift somewhat, and they hone in on the Rock whenever he’s onscreen.
At Judgment Day, in a strange turn, Steve Austin officiates the main event match between the Undertaker and Kane. This goes to a tedious draw. The fate of the WWF title, vacated at Breakdown: In Your House when both Brothers of Destruction pinned Austin, remains in abeyance.
Bruce Prichard would confirm on his podcast years later that, around this time - when the WWF flirted with turning Rock babyface after his tremendous ovation in MSG - a defensive and paranoid Austin would outwardly bury the Rock’s “silly” catchphrases. Rock does next to nothing with Mark Henry at the pay-per-view, but he reaches a point of being so unmissable that the fans will react to him doing anything.
The Rock is circling, and Austin knows it.