UnWrest Focus- The Rock vs. Stone Cold at WrestleMania Part III- WrestleMania XIX + Overall Thoughts on Trilogy

This is the final post in this edition of UnWrest Focus looking at the rivalry between Stone Cold and The Rock at WrestleMania. This will be a look at their final match ever at WrestleMania XIX, and Austin's farewell to in-ring competition in an unannounced retirement from the ring.

Click Here for WrestleMania XV Match Review

Click Here for WrestleMania X-Seven Match Review

When we last left Austin and Rock, they had an absolute classic at WrestleMania X-Seven. The finish saw Austin selling his soul to Satan himself, Vince McMahon, to win the WWF Championship. The Rock and Austin would wrestle again the next night on Raw, but Triple H and Austin would join McMahon in decimating The Rock to form The Two-Man Power Trip. When Rock came back in July 2001, WWF was in the middle of its Invasion angle with Austin now leading the Alliance. You'd think he'd face Austin at SummerSlam, right? No. Instead he got Booker T. Austin and Rock would face off at Rebellion 2001 (a UK-Only PPV) and again as Team Captains when Team WWF beat Team Alliance in the Winner Take All Match at Survivor Series 2001.
Despite that brief interaction, fans wanting to see a legitimate rematch between Austin and The Rock would have to wait a while. Rock and Austin never faced off at Vengeance 2001, but both lost to Chris Jericho on the same night to make Jericho the first ever WWF UNDISPUTED CHAMPION. (A Jerichoholic just needed to point that out.) Austin and Rock would end up feuding with the nWo and famously tagged together on the go-home edition of Raw before WrestleMania X8. But soon after, The Rock went off to promote his movie "The Scorpion King" while Austin, troubled with poor health and bad booking decisions by WWF, walked out on the company for 8 months.
When The Rock returned himself in June 2002, he cut a scathing promo about Austin taking his ball and going home. And telling Austin and anyone in the back that didn't want to be there to get the F out. (Then again, The Rock was gone 2 months later. So who was he to talk? I digress. Again, I'm a Rock fan saying that.) Rock would help put over Brock Lesnar in a huge main event WWF Championship match at SummerSlam 2002, and he would reemerge in the weeks leading to No Way Out. Guess who else came back at that time? You guessed it: STONE COLD! Eric Bischoff, in storyline, had to bring back Stone Cold within 30 days or be fired. While being fired by Vince McMahon, he was rehired later that night when Austin agreed to come back. Then McMahon made the match for No Way Out: Bischoff vs. Austin. It wasn't even a match. It was a destruction. And it was damn entertaining.
But after The Rock beat Hulk Hogan thanks to Vince McMahon that night, he transferred over to Raw to deal with unfinished business with Stone Cold. The Rock let it be known that he was obsessed with beating Austin at WrestleMania. Up to this point, The Rock had lost both times to Austin, a fact that consumed The Rock with anger despite having seemingly done everything from WWE and Hollywood. The match was then set between Austin and The Rock.
The night before  WrestleMania, Austin was in the hospital having drank too many energy drinks and having heart issues. However, only he and Jim Ross knew about this. Austin was not going to let down McMahon or the WWE in this one final go-around after having just mended fences with the company.
What follows next is a send-off to perhaps the biggest box office attraction in WWF/WWE history and the culmination of one of the greatest rivalries in wrestling history.

Let's Do This!

WrestleMania XIX
The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin

The Rock comes out to the Hollywood video entrance and slower theme. The Rock was merely playing the part of a Hollywood megastar in 2003, but 15 years later, you can look back and say "The dude IS a major Hollywood superstar." The biggest Box Office Attraction in wrestling history, and it's not even a debate anymore when you add in Hollywood figures.
The Glass Shatters, and here comes Stone Cold Steve Austin. The pop is tremendous, and Stone Cold is put over by J.R. as the toughest S.O.B. in the WWE. (And on this night, you cannot argue that given what he had been through the last 24 hours, let alone working 2 years with a messed up neck.)  Austin gets to do the corner salutes to the audience.
The Rock meets Stone Cold in the center of the ring. Austin goes to take off his vest. The bell rings, and THE FIGHT IS ON! 

Punches by Austin. The Rock almost gets hit with a Stunner, but he wisely bails through the ropes to the floor. The Rock heads up the aisle, but Austin runs up and attacks him. Chops and strikes by Austin. Back around the ring, Austin smacks Rock's head against the steps. More chops by Austin. Rock's chest gets smacked against the guard rail. Rock now gets sent over the announce desk at ringside.
Rock tries to get away from Austin, but Rock gets dropped chest first across the barricade and sent violently into the steel steps. Back in the ring, Austin stomps at Rock and chokes him. BACK SUPLEX by Austin. 2 count. Rock gets Irish whipped into the corner and into another one. Rock reverses a third one, but Austin gets him with a clothesline. (This match so far has been ALL AUSTIN.)
Rock gets set up head first on the middle rope. Austin chokes him on the rope, and the referee gets him away. Rock chopblocks Austin's knee while he's distracted. Austin rolls outside to gather himself, but Rock chopblocks the knee again on the outside. Rock bounces Austin's knee off the top of the announce table a couple times. Austin tries to get away, but Rock continues to attack.
Back in the ring, Rock continues to press the attack against the knee with kicks. Rock rolls out of the ring, takes Austin's knee, and whacks it against the ring apron and the ring post. Back in the ring, Austin blasts Rock with a series of desperation strikes, but Rock punts Austin in the face and kicks the knee. Rock mocks Austin and the fans pointing at his head. Rock smashes Austin's knee against the mat. Rock locks in a Sharpshooter. Austin gets dragged to the center of the ring. But eventually, Austin gets to the rope to break it up. J.R. (to King): "For God's sakes, it ain't about Hollywood. It ain't about puppies. It ain't about nothing but a wrestling match between two of the greatest that have ever been in a ring!" God, I love J.R. That just added more to the match.
The Rock goes after Austin's knee again. He drags Austin back to another ringpost and smacks his knee against it. The Rock is determined to cripple Austin. And now, he's determined to humiliate him as he dons Austin's vest and walks back into the ring. Austin unloads more right hands to The Rock, and both men collide in the center of the ring going for a clothesline on the other.
They're back up. Austin gets Rock with a few blows. LOU THESZ PRESS! AUSTIN UNLOADS WITH A LOT OF PUNCHES! ELBOW TO THE FACE! 1-2-KICKOUT. Austin begins stomping a mudhole in The Rock in the corner, and he walks it dry! Rock dodges a bunch of strikes, and he hits a FLYING FOREARM AND KIPS UP! Austin ROCK BOTTOMS THE ROCK! 1-2-Kickout. Austin gets up and gets in position to hit The Stunner. Rock grabs The Stunner boot and hits Austin with his OWN STUNNER!!!! Rock turns Austin over. 1-2-KICKOUT.
Rock gets up and unloads with rights to Austin. Double bird. BUT AUSTIN HITS THE STUNNER! ROCK MISSES THE ROPES IN THE FLIP, BUT IT WAS STILL AWESOME! 1-2-KICKOUT! Austin now gets up and goes to pull up The Rock. The referee gets pushed away, and The Rock hits a low blow. The Rock applauds himself and gets up. Austin is down. The Rock kicks the arm, he pulls the elbow pad, and he's going for it. THE MOST ELECTRIFYING MOVE IN SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT MISSES! SPINEBUSTER BY THE ROCK! He rips off the vest, rips off his other elbow pad, kicks the arm, and NAILS THE PEOPLE'S ELBOW!!!! 1-2-and AUSTIN WILL NOT LAY DOWN FOR THAT MOVE!!!
The Rock gets up and gets in position. ROCK BOTTOM! 1-2-KICKOUT!!!  J.R. loses it. Rock is selling complete utter shock. The Rock gets back into position again. Austin tries to block out, but The Rock catches him again and NAILS ANOTHER ROCK BOTTOM! 1-2-KICKOUT AGAIN!!!! ROCK IS BEWILDERED!!!!! Rock gets back up and gets back into position again. Austin is struggling to get back to his feet. Rock continues to stalk him like a young lion ready to feast on the King of the Jungle to take the throne. He gets Austin in position, milks the moment, AND DRILLS HIM FOR A 3RD ROCK BOTTOM!!!! 1-2-3!!! ROCK HAS DONE IT! HE HAS FINALLY DEFEATED STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN AT WRESTLEMANIA!
The crowd explodes for the finish. He pushes the referee away, and he turns his back to the camera while he talks to a laying Austin. After a good few seconds where Rock is probably thanking Austin for everything that he's done for him and his career (I think Rock said that actually in a documentary once), he gets up and salutes the crowd. Before leaving the ring, he again talks to Austin who is still down on the mat. Afterwards, he goes over the barricade and kisses his family at ringside. The Rock is leaving uncharacteristically as a heel with a lot of face mannerisms. He walks up the aisle looking back at the ring, pounds his chest and points back at the ring quickly, and turns around holding his arm up. (A class act here by The Rock all around. Obviously, he knew what Austin had been going through, and he showed a lot of respect to a man who was his peer and rival in the company.)
Stone Cold walks back up the aisle to his theme music. J.R. continues to put over Stone Cold and the match. The walk up the aisle for Austin seems very poignant. Of course, we all know now that it was indeed Austin's final match. Austin holds up his middle fingers one last time on the stage and soaks in the roar from the audience on the stage before heading backstage.

Winner: The Rock
Match Grade: B+. This is the pure wrestling match between the three matches with less reliance on blood, gimmick stipulations, or outside interference. It was strictly The Rock vs. Stone Cold in a 1-on-1 match. No frills. Just two of the best going at it. It was their worst match at WrestleMania in my opinion, but it was just barely below WrestleMania XV. Austin's health scare just adds more resonance to the match here as he was legitimately hospitalized only a day prior. And the way the match ended, with giving both men their due for the excellence they provided over the years and as a sendoff to the career of Stone Cold in general, provided great closure to what was an extraordinary rivalry.
_ _ _ _

Overall Thoughts on The Rock vs. Stone Cold at WrestleMania

To me, this trilogy is the epitome of all WrestleMania rivalries that have multiple matches. Later, we'd see Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H tell a multi-year story that culminated at WrestleMania 28. But this was the first time two guys met in three different matches at three different WrestleManias at this level. And they all delivered in their own way.

If you want a perfect example of what the Attitude Era was, WrestleMania XV's match is it. Rock and Austin brawled all over the arena and destroyed everything and everyone in sight. You had multiple run-ins, multiple storylines being told, and multiple referees to boot! It's also the match that helped elevate Rock to another level in WWF.
If you want the best overall match with a lot of weapons, a lot of technical wrestling, and the most shocking ending, WrestleMania X-Seven should be the match you prefer. They destroyed each other for 30 plus minutes hitting each other with chairs, bells, submission holds, exposed turnbuckles, and everything in between. While the heel turn didn't pan out well, the ending of the match is still iconic as Austin proved he would do ANYTHING to beat The Rock at WrestleMania and regain his championship.
If you want the swan song of a rivalry, a career, and a trilogy, or you want to see The Rock beat Stone Cold clean for once, WrestleMania XIX is for you. As stated earlier, this is the closest thing to a basic wrestling match between the two of them with Rock and Austin doing everything to best the other. Rock finally caught Austin and beat him in the center of the ring. Rock gets his win, and Austin gets to walk off into the sunset one last time as an active wrestler.

The Rock vs. Stone Cold was a truly once-in-a-lifetime rivalry that we may never see again. Two MEGA superstars performing at the same time at the same level competing on the grandest stage of their industry to put on a show that entertained and enthralled. The competitive rivalry to be the very best in their industry and to produce the best product possible resulted in classic matches that we as fans will remember for decades to come. The fact that we are looking at this feud 15 years after its conclusion shows the absolute greatness that we were all happy to have witnessed. If you have a cold one, salute it to Steve Austin and The Rock one time.

And that's the bottom line.

Until next time, take care of yourselves and spread some awesomeness.