The Rock Vs. Steve Austin | Wrestling Timelines

February 23, 2003 - No Way Out

Steve Austin Eric Bischoff
WWE

The rift with Rock is resolved, as is Austin’s relationship with WWE. He returns at the No Way Out pay-per-view to quickly defeat former WCW head Eric Bischoff. It’s a pantomime match premised on the idea that the Raw General Manager had failed to re-sign Austin. It also riffs on the real story that Bischoff was the man who fired Austin from WCW all those years ago.

Austin returns, just to pay off an eight year-old story against a non-wrestler?

If something feels off, that’s because something is in fact wrong: nobody knows it beyond the inner sanctum of WWE management, but Austin has very little time left. His neck is shot. His entire body is.

February 24, 2003 - The Beginning Of The End

Hollywood Rock
WWE

After losing the chance to challenge Triple H for the World Heavyweight title at WrestleMania XIX, after Booker T dumps him out of a Battle Royal on Raw, a pissed off Rock expresses his disbelief that Austin was voted ahead of him by fans as WWE’s Superstar of the Decade.

Advertisement
Contributor
Contributor

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!