Stone Cold & The Rock
The two biggest Superstars of the Attitude Era, Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock would face one another in more high profile encounters than any pairing before, but their face vs face main event match at Wrestlemania XVII would be a definitive moment when the two were the cemented joint leaders of the WWF. With Stone Cold cemented as the guy at Wrestlemania XIV, the WWF would need a top heel for him to do battle with. Enter, The Rock. In 1998, The Rock was working his way up through the ranks of the WWF when Stone Cold was the Champion. Whilst Austin was feuding with Vince McMahon and anything he threw at him to try and take his WWF Championship, The Rock was carving out his popularity as the second most popular Superstar in the company after transitioning from a heel to a face. Due to his funny catchphrases and huge levels of charisma, The Rock was turning via the fans as they began to cheer more and more for his brash, confident actions. These traits were offset against Austin's beer drinking, working class appeal, and fans were able to cheer both men happily as the two never found themselves in direct competition. That was until Survivor Series 1998. At the Deadly Game Tournament for the WWF Championship, The Rock aligned himself with Austin's arch nemesis and the most hated man in the company, Vince McMahon. This would catapult The Rock to being the top heel in the company, and a feud with Austin would begin. After Austin defeated The Rock at Wrestlemania XV, the two would have a rematch at the following PPV Backlash, before breaking off in to separate feuds. The Rock once again swayed back to being a face, entering a feud with HHH, whilst Austin would enter a series of matches with the Undertaker. Austin would be written off television at Survivor Series 1999, leaving the path open for The Rock to become the sole top face of the company. Stone Cold would remain out of action for 11 months before returning at No Mercy late in 2000, and during this time The Rock had been the man in the WWF. With Austin back, it would only be a short time before the two would collide again at Wrestlemania XVII. Classed as one of the biggest Wrestlemania events of all time, the WWF once again found themselves in a situation with two top faces that divided the audience as to who their favourite was. Some preferred the whoop-ass, drive trucks and drink beer style Stone Cold portrayed, whilst others preferred the quick witted, confident and cocky mouthed Rock. After Austin turned heel at the end of their second Wrestlemania encounter, fans again no longer had to be divided into who their top face was. The feud between these two would reignite again 2 years later and end in a third and final Wrestlemania match, however fans would not again have this chance to be split between the two top guys again until the point we are at now...