The Rock Vs. Steve Austin | Wrestling Timelines

December 2, 2000 - A Night Off

Steve Austin The Rock Rebellion 2001
WWE.com

The Rock and Austin share the ring when they headline the UK exclusive Rebellion pay-per-view in a Fatal 4-Way match also involving Rikishi and the WWF champion Kurt Angle, who retains. The match, as ever, is barely canon, but at a brisk 08:50, it’s exhilarating for what it is.

December 10, 2000 - Armageddon

Steve Austin Triple H Hell in a Cell Armageddon 2000
WWE.com

After another Fatal 4-Way teaser on the December 7 SmackDown - Rock Vs. Austin Vs. Undertaker Vs. Kurt Angle - ends in a DQ, those four men (and Rikishi and Triple H) do battle inside of Hell In A Cell at Armageddon.

The match is incredible. The match graphic alone is a flex of the WWF’s luminous star power, an excessive figure fed collage somehow made real, and it’s every bit as good as its brain-scrambling promise. Intense, blood-soaked, and chaotic, the fans never stop roaring at the crazed frequency of the near-falls. Austin and Rock build towards their big late interaction brilliantly amid the lunacy, and it’s a step above the counter sequence at WrestleMania XV. It really seems as though Austin is about to drill Rock with the Stunner before Rock desperately fires him off into the ropes. The intent behind everything is much more believable, the drama much more fraught.

As much as the wider creative is in decline - the WWF, in fact, has so much star power that they don’t quite know what to do with it - the good times are still here.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!