As we count down the last few days before WrestleMania XXVIII, NZPWI staff have taken a look back over the years and come up with some of their most memorable WrestleMania matches. Stevie McCleary continues with #2:

The Rock (c) vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin, WrestleMania 17, 2001

“I need to beat you, Rock. I need it more than anything that you can ever imagine.” - Steve Austin

Much like Hogan vs Warrior, this epic clash at the height of the Attitude Era featured the two of the biggest fan favourites in the history of the business. This would be the second of their three Wrestlemania matches and by far the most memorable. It was the perfect combination of build and payoff. The match itself, layered with much foreshadowing of their future direction while being masterfully commentated on by Jim Ross and Paul Heyman. This match was the perfect storm in regards to storytelling.

The fans wondered if he could still go. If he could be like he was. Since returning from spinal surgery, the Rattlesnake had has his own doubts. He won the Royal Rumble for the third time by eliminating the monstrous Kane, which should have silenced the critics. But he did so with the help of a steel chair, against someone that had survived over half of the Rumble. Austin knew it. Deep down, he knew it. That’s why when he walked into No Way Out against HHH, into the Three Stages of Hell, he knew it was necessary to win. And not just win but be triumphant. Dominant.

But he wasn’t. 

In the end, HHH kicked out of a final Stunner and when they both struck each other with weapons, Austin found himself lying underneath HHH’s unconscious body. Steve lost.

Heading in to his home state of Texas for Wrestlemania, Austin knew he had to maintain what must have felt like a slipping grip on reality. As brilliantly explained in the promo you see before the match (try for the original un-edited version, as it plays out a lot better with Limp Bizkit’s “My Way” behind it) this night would be everything for both men. For Austin, he needed this, to prove to himself he was still the man. The problem was is that The Rock stated very calmly, with passion behind his eyes, that Austin would be getting “every drop of sweat, every drop of blood, every ounce of energy I have. You are going to get the absolute best of The Rock at Wrestlemania.” Sure, Austin had beaten The Rock before but that was then. The Rock had carried the company on his back during Austin’s absence and had grown to be an electrifying opponent. Steve needed a plan.

 “And in this contest, there will be no disqualifications.” - Howard Finkel

The commentators were surprised at this sudden change right before the match. Seconds later, the two men were on their way to the ring. I remember being half off my seat already. There was an aura about this match that I hadn’t felt since Hogan/Warrior as a child. Within seconds of finishing his pose on the second rope, The Rock found himself on the receiving end of multiple punches from his challenger. Of course, as I first started watching, I saw Austin’s demeanour as his trademark aggression. I didn’t notice the desperation. A few seconds later, Austin attempted to open up The Rock with the title belt. I knew he’d miss. How? There was a certain something about Austin at Wrestlemania. See, Austin was well known for using whatever he can get his hands to injure his opponents. But not at Wrestlemania when going for the title. His two previous times, first against HBK at WM 14 and then against The Rock at WM 15, he’d tried to use weaponry for an advantage but had been reversed every time. In my head I thought this must be a deliberate choice. Austin, despite being cold blooded, is the hero in these situations, trying to take down the current king of the mountain. Nothing would taint these victories, was the logic I assumed they’d been using; a subtle bit of storytelling.

Austin did miss but continued to unload with his Lou Thesz Press and elbow drops. A Stunner attempt was blocked, as was a Rock Bottom attempt. Both men were trying to end this early. They knew the stakes. Austin was vicious, relentless even. They fought through the crowd, as was often the way in Attitude Era main events. Steve continued to stay in control as the opening minutes continued, just laying in shots to The Rock’s body. A superplex from Austin almost ended the match for the champion right then. Steve then removed the turnbuckle padding. The Rock began an essential comeback, ending in Austin being knocked outside the ring. They fought over by the timekeeper’s desk and when The Rock got momentarily distracted by the referee, Austin took the advantage – by busting The Rock open with the steel ring bell.

“What won’t Stone Cold do to get his hands on the title?” – Paul Heyman

At was at this moment when I realised what this was all leading too. I was enthralled. The timekeeper got thrown out of the way by Stone Cold and the referee had a middle finger in his face for attempting to disagree with any of it. What would follow inside the ring were about thirty desperation-fuelled punches to the face of The People’s Champ, with a bit of choking for good measure. A brief comeback by Rocky just lead to a neckbreaker and more punches from the Bionic Redneck. But Stone Cold wasn’t able to avoid the Brahma Bull forever though and that exposed turnbuckle ending up meeting his bald head. Rocky also got some payback with the ring bell to Austin’s head. The crimson mask now coated Steve’s face. The Rock seized this chance, focusing on the face of the bloody challenger. Austin responded to this with a monitor to Rocky’s face. And when back in the ring, Austin sized up his opponent and poised for the Stunner – The Rock quickly grabbed the kick and applied his version of the Sharpshooter. Austin would make the ropes and when it was tried again, Steve raked the eyes and applied his own Sharpshooter. The bloody-faced champion powered over to the ropes, his face a red mask of pain. And then Austin applied it again. Once more, The Rock made it to the ropes. Austin stalked the champion and applied the Million Dollar Dream, the submission hold he hadn’t used in years, not since becoming embraced by the fans.  There were all these dimensions to the way Austin was carrying himself in the ring, and the way he was performing, that were telling you everything you needed to know as a viewer, even if you weren’t realising it. The Rock wasn’t thinking about such things though and he used the same reversal that Bret Hart had done years earlier to almost get a pin while being in the hold. Austin escaped by couldn’t escape Rock hitting Austin with his own Stunner. It wouldn’t get the pinfall and neither would the spinebuster than Austin would hit on Rocky next – but the real story at this point was that Vince McMahon came down to watch outside to ring. The Rock wasn’t aware of this and nailed Austin with his spinebuster, followed by the most electrying move in sports entertainment, The People’s Elbow. And Vince McMahon broke up the count.

The Rock was, you could say, less than thrilled. The People’s Champ chased Vince but when they chose a path back through the ring, Stone Cold nailed a Rock Bottom for a near count. A Stunner attempt was reversed, inadvertently knocking out the referee. This didn’t bother Austin, who nailed a low blow on The Rock. And then he asked Vince for a steel chair. Stone Cold Steve Austin held The Rock up for a chairshot and Vince McMahon struck the champion. The referee was now up. He counts... It’s not enough.  Austin tried the chair himself but found himself on the receiving end of a Rock Bottom. Rock noticed Vince was distracting the referee and dragged him in. Fists flew at Vince’s face but his own distraction cost him – The Rock was hit by the Stone Cold Stunner by a waiting Austin. The ref counts... It’s not enough.  

McMahon handed Austin the chair again. He struck the champion again. The referee counts... It’s not enough. What followed was sixteen chairshots to the body of The Rock. This time, it’s enough. We had a new champion: A desperate, vicious, determined champion who did what he needed to do in order to make himself believe once more that he was the best.

“Stone Cold is shaking hands with Satan himself. For the love of God, someone tell me this isn’t happening!” – Jim Ross

Stone Cold had done the unthinkable; he’d hatched a plan with his nemesis in order to regain his own sense of self-worth. In the process though, he cost himself everything he’d actually worked hard for. But he couldn’t let it go, couldn’t admit that maybe his time had passed him by. The Rock never saw it coming. What was brilliantly portrayed in the lead up to the event as the climatic physical showdown between two almost mythic competitors was really the story of Austin’s cold heart. The desperate need to be the best by any means necessary.

“Austin and McMahon might as well urinate on The Rock, that’s what they’ve done to him.” – Jim Ross  

The lasting image at the end of the night, along with one more title shot to The Rock’s face for good measure, was Vince and Austin sharing a beer together and walking off together. The company would never quite be the same again.

Wrestlemania 17 is considered by many as the last great moment of the Attitude Era. After the fall of Austin as the great anti-hero, there was the ill-fated WCW/ECW Invasion angle, followed by the years that John Cena even stated weren’t ‘cool’ last week on Raw. While there were many great moments to be had in the following years, it is true that WWE struggled to find an identity. They proclaimed any major shift as a new ‘era’ but in truth, the closest has been the PG Era. Are we heading in to the next great time in sports entertainment – The Reality Era? One can hope. CM Punk has certainly started the ball rolling. Here’s hoping at Wrestlemania he cements it. 

 Continue the journey:

NZPWI’s Must-See WrestleMania Matches - #6 (Kirsty Quested)
NZPWI’s Must-See WrestleMania Matches - #5 (Scott Anderson)
NZPWI’s Must-See WrestleMania Matches - #4 (Dion McCracken)
NZPWI’s Must-See WrestleMania Matches - #3 (David Dunn)
NZPWI's Must-See WrestleMania Matches - #1 (Blake Leitch)