The Rock's 10 Best Matches Ever

1. Vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin (WrestleMania X-Seven)

the rock kurt angle
WWE.com

If ever Rock had a "five star match" notched into his belt, this would be it. There are those who feel the somewhat-depressing ending of Austin selling out to "the dark side" ruined what had been a certifiable classic before then, but I disagree. If anything, in that moment, McMahon's involvement was a hard-to-read bit of chaos that spiked an already-tense match.

Prior to Vince's entrance, Austin and Rock brilliantly told the story that they'd already been telling for weeks, about how the match meant more than just championship gold. Their pained, grimaced selling within submission holds, and the not-so-subtle bits of weapon-based underhandedness, matched their fighting words.

It's the most intense match Rock has ever taken part in, and would've also been Austin's if not for WrestleMania 13. The undercurrent of tension and uncertainty took WWE's lawless main event style of match and helped it achieve beyond its usual expectations. No wonder the Attitude Era died at the match's conclusion - nothing was going to top this.

In this post: 
The Rock
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Justin has been a wrestling fan since 1989, and has been writing about it since 2009. Since 2014, Justin has been a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine. Justin also writes for History of Wrestling, and is a contributing author to James Dixon's Titan series.