The Rock Vs. Steve Austin | Wrestling Timelines

March 24, 2003 - Rock Concert

Hollywood Rock The Rock Concert 2003
WWE.com

After a terrible March 10 Raw, on which Rock rubbishes the idea of a Lumberjack match stipulation for Austin Vs. Bischoff II, because a No DQ match will allow him to freely interfere - thereby making episodic TV itself pointless - the Rock stages a Rock Concert.

The issue with the WrestleMania X-Seven build was that the fans could never buy that Austin would betray them. With the Rock, it’s different. They’re in love with him, but he’s over them. He’s moving on to bigger and better things, and he’s smart enough to grasp how much they’ll miss him. Every time they try and interact with his call-and-response catchphrases, he shuts them down with a sh*t-eating grin.

This is outstanding sports entertainment. This is different from a standard heel promo. He is a true celebrity megastar - a stand-up doing a roast, but the audience is the target.

He sings that he’s happy to be in Sacramento - yay! - but only because it means he gets to leave in an hour and a half. The boos are thunderous, and then he refers to the LA Lakers beating the Sacramento Kings. It’s, debatably, the loudest sustained heel reaction ever recorded. Rock’s face is amazing. He exudes more charisma than any wrestler ever has - and he’s leaving you all behind and laughing at you. What an act.

Austin, driven by the Hurricane, arrives unexpectedly, though it’s guaranteed at this point, to beat Rock up and destroy his guitar.

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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!