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It’s not an easy thing to do, but it has been done countless times before. Comparing the two greatest superstars of the biggest era of the WWE isn’t easy. Both of them have their fans who believe one was better than the other. Stone Cold Steve Austin had the longer full time WWE career than The Rock. And in that aspect, Jim Ross himself stated that nobody had brought as much money as Steve Austin did in the length of his career. Though, that statement was made years before The Rock returned for Wrestlemania 27, 28 and 29. Anyway, here’s something that compares both of them but not to figure out who’s better but just to look at their jorneys and legacies to become one of the most relevant rivalries in the history of the business.
#5 Humble Beginnings
As is the case with most people, these two weren’t overnight sensations. They had their own hell to bear. Stone Cold Steve Austin wasn’t always bald. He was witness to many bad hair days as his many gimmicks in various promostions namely- WCW, ECW and as The Ringmaster in the World Wrestling Federation. Steve Austin even had to compete in a Tuxedo match in 1994. That ridiculous stipulation involved participants to strip each other off their respective tuxedos. The one who does that to their opponent first wins. Yes, The Rattlesnake- the biggest anti-hero of the company, had those days.
The Rock on the other hand, just like his cousin Roman Reigns, didn’t compete in any promotion except the WWE. He began his journey as Rocky Maivia. He was a textbook babyface with a ring gear that future Rock will definitely look at and say ‘Why on earth?!’. So much so that his original name was supposed to be ‘The Blue Chipper’. As is the tale, this gimmick did not work. He was showered with ‘Die Rocky, die!’ chants. And then, like clockwork, this gimmick died a natural death.
#4 Heels
‘The Ringmaster’ no longer preceeded Steve Austin. Along came the moniker ‘Stone Cold’ and along came the moment where he shaved his head bald and went all heel. He was supposed to be cold blooded and he looked every bit of it. So much so that, Bret Hart in his book recounts how he saw so much potential in this guy, he was sure he’ll make it big. His career took the biggest turn ever in 1996. Not only did he churn out the most famous catchphrase of all time in ‘Austin 3:16’, he began the first of many great feuds with Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart. There was no turning back from there, he was going on to carve his own niche and adding more relevant moments in the company’s history.
While Austin’s heel stint seemed to be coming to an end in 1997 with the double turn at Wrestlemania 13 and his surging popularity, Rocky Maivia’s gimmick saw its end. It paved the way for another heel quite simply called The Rock. He was repackaged but he was still being associated with Rocky Maivia. He just flat out demanded he be called ‘The Rock’. He formed one of the best known stables called The Nation of Domination. It is during this run that the future great rivalry saw its first beginnings in a feud for the Intercontinental title.
Rock was the Corporate guy and Stone Cold was the outlaw. This phase saw Rock act out mostly as a heel, until his promos and he himself became so popular that things began to look more interesting
#3 Ambiguous heroes
History is full of incidents describing Stone Cold Steve Austin as the biggest anti-hero in the company. His surging and unparalled popularity was what drove The Attitude Era and made it indelible. His rivalry with Mr. McMahon- the atrocious, evil, capitalist boss- was a goldmine. Stone Cold Steve Austin was the guy you’ll tune in to watch and see what he’s upto. You just wanted to know what he’ll do. It was one vs all. And for once, Stone Cold wasn’t an underdog, he was a legit badass.
What many people don’t recollect is how much of an anti-hero The Rock was. He called himself the Brahma Bull. His promos were just straight on monologues about him giving a piece of his mind to his opponents. And that wasn’t at all flattering. He would often resort to being a bully. He wasn’t virtuous as a textbook babyface is but yet he was breathtakingly popular. He just did not have a bad promo. Anything and everything he said turned to gold.
Another thing common between these two is that even though Mr.McMahon and Co. were out there to get them, they never looked down upon these two. These two were looked upon as legit threats and quite a big deal.
Both of them just did not give a darn about anybody else.
#2 The rivalry
All their feuds have had compelling storylines and all of them have culminated to make it one of the greatest and most relevant rivalries in the WWE. They went up against each other while they were both faces. Also took turns in being a heel. Rock took the most heel turns- once being The Corporate Champion and once being Hollywood Rock.
Stone Cold just had one and that was when he joined hands with the devil at Wrestlemania 17.
But fans just couldn’t help cheer for these guys even during their heel turns. Rock took the most losses. His only remarkable victory came when they faced each other for the last time at Wrestlemania 19. THis speaks volumes about this rivalry.The Rock lost most of his matches against The Texas Rattlesnake, yet his popularity never suffered. It was poetic and a great conclusion to their rivalry to have Rock win their last match together and Stone Cold’s last competitive match ever. ( He did return for a match against Eric Bischoff but that was very one-sided.)
P.S- Nobody, and I mean nobody, sold the Stunner as well as The Rock. Even Stone Cold believes that. So that’s the bottomline.
#1 The legacy
In an era which had so many main eventers in the making, Rock and Stone Cold made that era their own. Others were really important supporting characters but these two led that era and to this this day, their names are spoken in tandem with Hulk Hogan and Macho Man. They are the most recognizable pop culture icons for the WWE. Rock has even succeeded in carving a successful Hollywood career and becoming more mainstream than ever. Be it their catchphrases, wrestling style, finishing moves or entrance theme- they just grabbed the audience’s attention. I think they may be the last rivals who used each other’s finishing moves and made the match all the more exciting. The Stunner and Rock Bottom will live forever to be only their moves.
As celebrated as their individual credentials are, their rivalry falls in the same sphere. They upped the scale of importance of rivalries and none whatsoever could match that chemistry.
Though, I belive, John Cena and CM Punk came close.
