Every Stone Cold Steve Austin Vs. The Rock Match Ranked From Worst To Best

When fans discuss the greatest rivalries in wrestling history, they usually come up with the likes of Hulk Hogan vs. Roddy Piper, Sting vs. Ric Flair, or, if they’ve been drinking the WWE Kool-Aid, Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar. 

One pairing that absolutely belongs in that conversation is a beer-drinking redneck from Texas and a third-generation jock with a penchant for talking in the third person. We are, of course, referring to Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock. 

Did you know that these two icons have only ever had 10 televised singles matches together? This is every The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin match ranked from worst to best! 

10. WWE Raw - May 3, 1999

This clash from the May 3, 1999 episode of Raw wasn’t really a match at all 

Shane McMahon, who had gone mad with power after recently forming the Corporate Ministry, set up a bout between Austin and The Rock for the main event of the show. The twist was that this would be a Lumberjack Match, with the various members of the new supergroup surrounding the ring. 

As soon as the bell rang, Austin and Rock went straight for the lumberjacks, resulting in a wild brawl. The closing bell sounded after just 22 seconds and this completely pointless bout was ruled a no contest. 

All of this was a set-up to end the show in a crazy fight featuring the Corporate Ministry and The Union, one of the worst stables in wrestling history. 

Rock and Austin didn’t even touch each other for the brief duration of the official match time.

Austin did find himself sent through a table off the stage by The Undertaker, though, while The Rock was beaten down by Triple H.

9. WWE Raw - March 23, 1998

Six days before Austin’s main event match against Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 14, he was put into a match on Raw against the man he would main event Mania with the following year. 

Austin took on then-Intercontinental Champion The Rock in a non-title match to close out the show, and whilst it wasn’t particularly special, it was still a fun TV encounter that was given plenty of time. 

It only went 10 minutes, but that was basically an Iron Man Match back in the Attitude Era. They had a good back and forth, with Rock getting some help every now and then from The Nation of Domination. Austin kicked out of a People’s Elbow, which is a strange sight looking back. 

The Texas Rattlesnake ultimately scored the win after a Stunner, only for DX to come out and stare him down to end the show. 

This was only the second time Rock and Austin had faced each other one-on-one and the first time it had happened on free TV. 

Whilst neither man was quite at the megastar level they would soon get to, their chemistry together was obvious and this served as a fascinating tease of the greatness that was to come. 

8. D-Generation X: In Your House

This is where it all began - the first-ever one-on-one meeting between two of the greatest rivals in the history of WWE and wrestling as a whole. 

Austin was the Intercontinental Champion at the time, but Rock had stolen the physical belt. This match from December 7, 1997, would not only determine the champion, but also who left the arena actually in possession of the famous strap. 

Before the bell even sounded, the crowd in Springfield, Massachusetts were at a fever pitch, as The Bionic Redneck made his entrance in a pick-up truck. He went straight for his opponent, which led to the Nation getting involved, much to their own detriment, as D’Lo Brown got smashed into the truck’s windscreen and took a Stunner on the roof.

The actual match itself only lasted around five minutes, but it was so blisteringly hot that it felt like a major main event. Austin won and reclaimed his stolen property, as it became clear to everyone that these two were pretty good at pro wrestling. 

7. WWE Raw - November 16, 1998

On the November 16, 1998 episode of Raw - the night after Survivor Series 1998 - Mr McMahon was celebrating alongside his new corporate champion, The Rock. Unfortunately, he’d forgotten one tiny little detail - Stone Cold was still around, and he was ticked off. 

This led to a world title match, the first of several these two would have together, in the show’s main event with the deck firmly stacked against the Texan. 

What unfolded was glorious Attitude Era pantomime. There was fighting in the crowd, fighting across the announce tables, threats with weapons, and run-ins from both Mankind and The Undertaker (who hit Austin with a shovel to end the match via DQ). 

Even with the bum finish, this was still a fantastically entertaining match, thanks in no small part to its absolutely electric crowd. 

6. WWE Raw - April 2, 2001

Whilst the big ‘Raw after WrestleMania’ wouldn’t become an established tradition for many years, the show following WrestleMania 17 was still a stacked card that promised a rematch of the previous night’s main event. 

After being screwed out of the WWE Title by Austin and Mr McMahon, The Rock faced off against his nemesis once again on April 2, 2001, this time in a steel cage. Considering how hot-headed The Rock was back then, it will come as no surprise that he wasted little time in pummelling his opponent, as the two scuffled outside the cage before the match started properly. 

Austin got busted open early from a shot with the belt, and the blood, the cage, and the stakes all made for compelling viewing, even if the crowd were a little reluctant to boo their one-time blue-collar hero. 

The Rattlesnake and The Chairman teamed up to beat Rocky down, only for Triple H to storm the ring, sledgehammer in hand, and hit The Rock too. 

The match was thrown out, Austin remained the champion, and the Two-Man Power Trip had just been born. 

5. WrestleMania XV

Rock and Austin faced each other five times on pay-per-view for the WWE Championship, with their ‘worst’ (i.e. least good) meeting under these circumstances also being their first. 

After earning a ‘Mania main event match at St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, Austin stepped into the ring to battle the corporate champion at WrestleMania 15, an important ‘Mania, but not necessarily a great one. 

In the first of their iconic trilogy, the stars of The Scorpion King and The Condemned had a fun, if slightly messy brawl. Punches, kicks, elbows, crowd brawling, ref bumps - seriously, this match had four different referees, including Mankind - it was all here in this No DQ Match, which ended with Austin getting his revenge and winning back the title. 

Though it wouldn’t reach the heights of their later encounters, this was still a suitably epic way to close out the most important supercard of the year.

It isn’t like there weren’t good spots - Austin hitting an elbow to Rock through the announce table stands out - it’s just that these two could and would do much better. Even so, this was by far and away the best match on the card.

4. Rebellion 2001

The final time The Great One and The Hellraiser would face off for the WWE Title wasn’t at a WrestleMania or another of the so-called Big Four pay-per-view; it was on a UK-exclusive show from the tail end of 2001. 

November’s Rebellion was the final pay-per-view before Survivor Series, AKA the night the company fully gave up on the whole Invasion angle. As a result, Austin was still in heel Alliance mode, whilst Rock was the valiant babyface attempting to take the title back for Team WWE. 

This match was a weird mixture of greatest hits and house show nonsense. Rock and Austin did all their big spots - brawling outside the ring, stealing each other’s moves, flipping each other off etc. - and there were run-ins from Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho to further their respective storylines. 

That’s not to say this wasn’t a lot of fun, of course. This was Austin and Rock fighting in their prime, it would have taken a miracle for it to be boring. 

Stone Cold retained with a Stunner in a very predictable result, marking the last time these two goliaths would ever close out a WWE pay-per-view. They went out on a high.

3. Backlash 1999

Fans have argued for years that the card at Backlash 1999 was much stronger than the one for WrestleMania 15 one month earlier, and looking at just the main event, it’s hard to disagree. 

The Ringmaster and Rocky Maivia were once again thrown together in a match for the world title, only this time it was Stone Cold who was the champion. 

It was No Holds Barred and these two titans made full use of the stipulation, battling across every square inch of the arena. 

This was so much fun with way more exciting spots and big moments than their Mania affair. One highlight was when Rock stole a TV camera and taunted the crowd with it, only to turn back and see Austin’s middle finger framed perfectly in the middle of the shot.

A Stunner on the announce desk followed, naturally, with the camera catching the first-person viewpoint. 

After some typical McMahon shenanigans, Austin kicked out of a belt shot and then delivered a Stunner to retain the championship in front of a rabid crowd. 

2. WrestleMania XIX

In 2003, on the Grandest Stage of Them All, Stone Cold and The Rock had their final singles match together.

The Rock, who was now a full-on Hollywood heel, desperately wanted to score his first-ever WrestleMania win over Austin at the show’s 19th event. The Rattlesnake agreed, even though his body was pretty much falling apart by this point. 

Such was the magnitude of these two coming together one last time, they didn’t need to put on a mat classic. They simply stood across the ring from each other, threw out a few taunts, hit all their big moves, and that was enough. 

The crowd hung on every single second. 

After a whole host of finishers, Rock pinned Austin for the first time ever - not just at WrestleMania - after a Rock Bottom, bringing their rivalry and the Rattlesnake’s in-ring career to a close. 

1. WrestleMania X-Seven

Not only is this the iconic Rock/Austin match, it’s also the iconic Attitude Era match, and one of the most famous and celebrated wrestling matches ever to grace the squared circle. 

WrestleMania 17 - April 1, 2001. Royal Rumble winner Stone Cold vs. WWE Champion The Rock. Babyface vs. babyface - at least to start with - No Holds Barred. 

In what might still be the biggest Mania main event of all time, our heroes waged war like never before, battering each other to within an inch of their lives all to get their bloodied hands on the most coveted prize in sports entertainment. 

Of course, you can’t talk about this match without mentioning the heel turn to end all heel turns, when Austin sold his soul for a McMahon-endorsed steel chair, which he used to beat The People’s Champ and reclaim the top prize.

An amazing wrestling match, a history-making moment, and a spectacle for the ages. For all the great things Steve Austin and The Rock have done together, nothing else has come close to the magic they made that night in Houston.