Ranking The Rock's top 5 WWE WrestleMania matches of all time - The very best of an epic trilogy, electric atmosphere, and more
WWE is firing on all cylinders lately. They are drawing record gates thanks to high demand for ticket sales and inflation possibly. In fact, it looks as if they're doing better numbers on a regular basis than they have in decades, perhaps since the Attitude Era.
Business is doing so well and there is so much buzz that even The Rock has returned to the sports entertainment juggernaut. The People's Champion is set to compete in a tag team match during WrestleMania Saturday and many long-time fans are thrilled to see him.
This match will mark The People's Champion's 11th main card WrestleMania bout. He has had several big matches over the years, some of which were all-time classics that will go down in history as bouts fans will never forget.
This article will take a look back at some of The Great One's greatest matches at The Showcase of The Immortals and will rank them. Number one is arguably his best match, while number five is the lowest here.
Below are The Rock's top 5 WWE WrestleMania matches of all time.
#5. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock at WrestleMania 15
The first entry on this list is one of three matches The People's Champion had with Stone Cold Steve Austin. The two legends had fantastic chemistry and it showed every single time they fought at The Show of Shows.
WWE WrestleMania 15 was held on March 28th, 1999 at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The main event saw The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin clash for about 17 minutes, with The Texas Rattlesnake standing tall at the end. Mankind was the guest referee.
While The Rock and Austin had great matches every time they locked horns at WrestleMania, this one was perhaps the least rated of the bunch. Much of the Attitude Era, especially in 1998 and 1999, suffered in terms of match quality. This was a great brawl, but it didn't quite measure up to their later efforts.
#4. The Rock 'n' Sock Connection vs. Evolution at WrestleMania 20
While many of The Rock's biggest moments in WWE came courtesy of his rivalry with Stone Cold Steve Austin, The People's Champion had memorable matches with others too. For example, he was once in a star-studded Handicap Match at The Show of Shows.
WWE held WrestleMania XX on March 14th, 2004. It was held at the infamous Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. Around 20,000 screaming fans watched The Rock re-form the Rock 'n' Sock Connection with Mick Foley and they lost to Evolution's Ric Flair, Batista, and Randy Orton in a 17-minute Handicap Match.
For fans of workrate and high impact moves, this bout may not excite you. In fact, Mick Foley himself has often spoke out about his performance being a let down. Despite that, The Rock brought electricity and really, all five performers put on an incredibly entertaining performance that should make almost any other kind of fan happy. It is just plain and simple in its execution.
#3. The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania 19
The third entry on this list is another bout between Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock. Notably, this is the pair's final bout together and arguably their second best. For close to two decades, this was Steve Austin's final match in WWE.
WWE WrestleMania 19 was held on March 30th, 2003. This show took place at the Safeco Field in Seattle, Washington and featured an impressive 54,000 fans in attendance. The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin clashed in the second-to-last match while Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar battled in the main event.
By this point, The Rock was a part-timer and Steve Austin had too many injuries to count, yet the pair managed to put on another classic match. The Rock finally winning to wrap up their feud after failing the previous two times made for a great story. The bout is bittersweet knowing neither ended up competing regularly ever again, but it was still a killer match.
#2. Hollywood Hogan vs. The Rock at WWE WrestleMania X8
The fourth entry on this list, clocking in at number two for The Rock's best WWE WrestleMania matches, saw two icons compete. The People's Champion went one-on-one with Hollywood Hogan, who had returned as part of the New World Order as a vicious heel.
The big show was WWE WrestleMania 18 and it took place on March 17th, 2002. The event, which was held at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, had 68,000 fans in attendance to see two legends of different eras clash. Interestingly, The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan wasn't the main event despite being the match people paid to see.
Triple H and Chris Jericho ultimately went on last, but it was the 16-minute classic between The Hulkster and The Rock that everybody remembers. The crowd notably turned on The Rock and loved Hollywood Hogan, which made for an electric atmosphere that fans can still enjoy to this very day. Once again, this bout wasn't about workrate, but it was truly special.
#1. The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin at WWE WrestleMania X7
Coming in at number one is the final entry on this week's list and it features another bout between The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin. This time around, the pair fought in the main event of WrestleMania 17. Despite a controversial finish, the bout was by far their best one.
WrestleMania 17 was held on April 1st, 2001. The big show took place at the Reliant Astrodome in Houston, Texas in front of almost 68,000 fans. This time around, the two WWE legends fought in a No Disqualification Match in what was the main event of the evening.
Again, the interference from Vince McMahon and subsequent heel turn by The Texas Rattlesnake didn't age well, but despite that, this is the best match the two had. With The Invasion angle soon kicking off, many believe that this match was the conclusion of the famed Attitude Era. If that's the case, the era ended on a high note indeed.