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#5 Bigger Than Stone Cold (2000-02)
When Stone Cold's neck, severely injured at Summerslam 1997 by Owen Hart, finally gave out in November 1999, he underwent neck surgery which benched him until September 2000.
In his absence, Rock went from the second biggest star in the company to the biggest. Surpassing Stone Cold, in popularity and mainstream appeal, Rock in 2000, guested on Saturday Night Live to huge acclaim and teamed up with Wyclef John to release the hit LP, "It Doesn't Matter." Rock became a sensation and huge national celebrity.
When Stone Cold returned in late 2000, he couldn't re-create the same spark he had when he left and was firmly the number two babyface. Not content with being an also-ran and believing his character had become stale, Stone Cold turned heel on The Rock at Wrestlemania X-7.
This led to the best performances of Austin's career but sapped his drawing power. However, Rock remained as popular as ever.
His mainstream celebrity saw him deluged with offers from Hollywood and a bit part in "The Mummy Returns", led to his first starring role in "The Scorpion King" and another in the comedy action flick, "Welcome to the Jungle."
Rock's fame was about to lead him out of WWE and into Hollywood permanently and he, therefore, dropped his ninth World Championship to Brock Lesnar at Summerslam 2002.
