The Rock Vs. Steve Austin | Wrestling Timelines
April 1, 2001 - Deal With The Devil
The Rock and Steve Austin are now completely inseparable.
Nobody would ever want any other song than Limp Bizkit’s ‘My Way’ to soundtrack the feud, but a better thematic fit is ‘This Town Ain’t Big Enough For The Both Of Us’ by Sparks.
They can’t play the same role, but both were born to play it. A luxury of a WrestleMania X-Seven main event conceals an inconvenient truth: the fans don’t want either man to lose, but one of them has to. They’re on the exact same plane.
This reality is reflected, brilliantly, in the theme of their most famous and most ferocious in-ring encounter. Both men trade their finishers to further this dynamic in what would happen and feel less earned in countless big matches subsequently. They can’t bring themselves to admit the extent to which they admire one another verbally; this is instead articulated through the action.
Flashbulbs. Deafening noise. Limbs. The WrestleMania X-Seven main event is a blood-drenched brawl in a bear pit: the indelible visual of the hottest period in wrestling history.
It’s Austin who wins a pyrrhic victory. He turns heel mid-match, aligning with Mr. McMahon as he brutally assaults Rock with a chair. Austin’s personal ambition to be the man again motivates him to do the unthinkable; McMahon, in a depressing coda, wins the years-long war. He gets his Corporate Champion in the end.
The execution of a business-killing idea is strong, at least; Austin looks unhinged as he blasts Rock over and over and over again with a chair, not pulling a single strike. McMahon looks almost fearful of the monster he has created.
It remains one of the most legendary main events in the history of the sport altogether, tainted and disastrous as it ultimately is. Business nosedives. WrestleMania X-Seven draws a record 1.040,000 buys. The next pay-per-view - Backlash - draws a paltry 375,000. Ratings, houses, and everything else enters into a tailspin.
Nobody wants to boo Steve Austin; the heel turn was one unpredictable swerve too many for an audience burned out by the WWF’s approach. The boom ends, as all trends do.