WWE: 5 Most Fitting Final Matches To Great Wrestling Careers

2. Stone Cold Steve Austin Losing To The Rock At WrestleMania 19

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=No9hkqsoEkg Though both men were hardly full-time players in 2003, Austin and The Rock were still the two biggest names in the biz. The Rock was dabbling in Hollywood, all the better to demonize him whenever he returned for a match. Meanwhile, Stone Cold was also a returning character, after the infamous "taking his ball and going home" incident the year before. His comeback at No Way Out against Eric Bischoff generated one of the loudest crowd reactions in WWE History. He had all the momentum in the world going into WrestleMania 19, rekindling his red-hot rivalry against "that sell-out" The Rock. Wearing a custom-made vest with the letters "OMR" emblazoned on it, Austin swaggered down the ramp for One More Round. We can't call this one anything but a slobber knocker, not just because it was a hard-hitting fight, but also in honor of Jim Ross, who made it all the more exhilarating with his commentary. They basically beat the crap out of each other, with The Rock taking everything Austin could throw at him, and exhibiting a tenacious cruelty by repeatedly attacking Austin's injured knees. Who can ever forget that image of Rocky cockily donning Austin's vest, Austin making his bionic redneck retaliation, and The Rock kipping up out of it? WHAT A MATCH. The did each other's finishers, they gave each other the finger, and after countless Rock Bottoms (3? 4?), The Rock got the pin. It was the kind of match in which the winner didn't matter, because it took every single person on an emotional thrill ride. I would love to know what Rocky whispered into Austin's ear just after the pin. And I can watch Austin's exit over and over without it losing an ounce of poignancy. We found out later that Stone Cold had been wrestling against doctor's orders for over a year, and he decided to hang up his boots after this match €“ and a damn good match it was.