"I love you" - Steve Austin on his emotional moment with WWE legend

Stone Cold Steve Austin has recalled how he and The Rock said “I love you” to each other after their match at WWE WrestleMania XIX.

The event, which took place in March 2003, saw The Rock defeat Austin in the penultimate match of the night. The Texas Rattlesnake knew heading into the match that he was set to retire due to nerve and neck issues. However, WWE fans were not made aware that it was going to be his final match.

Speaking on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Austin said The Rock knew he did not want to retire. Following the match, they shared an emotional moment together in front of the crowd in Seattle, Washington.

“After the three-count, after he pinned me, after three Rock Bottoms, he just said, ‘Man, I can’t thank you enough for what you did for me. I just want you to know I love you, man.’ I’m laying there, we got 70 thousand people there, a couple of million people watching on pay-per-view. I just kind of looked up at him, I think I had my eyes closed, I said, ‘I love you too.’ Verbatim.”

Many of you know what’s about to happen in roughly 3 seconds after this beer 🍻 smash.... And @steveaustinBSR and I did this in a different city EVERY NIGHT. Much less was scripted back then and these were BRILLIANT times!!! What an era as all things ebb and flow in @wwe ❤️💪🏾 https://t.co/nBjm1copIa

— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) February 27, 2021

Steve Austin and The Rock competed in three singles matches against each other at WrestleMania events. The first two matches (WrestleMania XV and WrestleMania X-Seven) were won by Austin.

The Rock’s recent message for Steve Austin

Steve Austin and The Rock share a joke behind the scenes

The Rock is usually very active on social media. Last week, he responded to a Twitter account which shared a picture of himself moments before he drank a beer with Steve Austin.

The eight-time WWE Champion said he and Austin shared “brilliant times” working in a WWE environment that was less scripted compared to today.

Please credit The Kelly Clarkson Show and give a H/T to SK Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.