Post by recklessjack on Feb 18, 2008 0:27:03 GMT -6
Eleventh Match: "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. The Rock (c) for the WWF World Championship
Backstory: This is the best video package in WWF/E history. More so when it has "My Way" by Limp Bizkit with it. It sums it up all nicely when Austin says "I need to beat you Rock, I need it more then anything you can imagine."
Outcome: Steve Austin via pinfall after a gazillion chair shots.
Analysis: Paul Heyman sums this up. "This is the match both men need to win and neither man can afford to lose." But this is probably the single greatest match in the Attitude Era. And I'm not joking when I say that. It plays off of years and years of Austin's history and it builds to his heel turn. Think about this. Austin attacks before the bell. He uses his knee brace. He gets the ring bell in order to inflict more pain on Rock. Everything in this match pointed to his heel turn. He even tried to use the belt in the beginning stages of the match in order to give Stone Cold any kind of opening to beat The Rock in this match. Was it the wrong arena and place to do it in, you bet you ass it was. Just listen to the mega pop for Austin during his entrance. I can only imagine what that was like live. But this was just made for Austin's turn.
Now, the history that these two used worked out great. Austin busting out the Cobra Clutch. Rock using the turnbuckles like Bret Hart did a few times when Austin had it locked in on him. This time Austin knew well enough to let the hold go to not get pinned like Hart did to him. Then you have the homage to Wrestlemania 13 when Rock gets Austin in the Sharpshooter and the blood is pouring down Austin's face. Keep in mind that Rock had never beaten Austin up to his point on a stage like Wrestlemania. So why not use that Sharpshooter in order to get a win because it was the move that forced Austin to pass out at Wrestlemania 13.
Austin tries anything to keep the Rock down. The Rock Bottom, Cobra Clutch, the chair shot from Vince and even the Stunner itself couldn't put the Rock away because the Rock wanted to retain the title that much. When Rock tries to win after the People's Elbow, Vince comes out and pulls Rock right off of Austin, shocking the ever living hell out of the crowd. They didn't know why but once Austin told Vince to get the chair, it all became too apparent why Vince was down at ringside. Austin sold himself out in order to become the WWF Champion again. Austin always wanted to be the top dog and to see Rock taking control of the WWF while Austin was out just made him want it that much more, to show he was the best ever. To show that he was better then Rock despite Rock never beating him at a Wrestlemania in a title match.
This match had so much going for it. The super hot crowd. The psychology of the years Austin had spent wrestling Bret Hart in order for Rock to try to use that game plan in order to beat his hated rival. But everything in this match built towards the moment when Austin knew the Stunner couldn't get it done and decided to turn Rock into mush after hitting with the chair again and again and again until Rock was able to stay down for the three count and Austin was finally champion of the federation he brought back from the depths of hell thanks to WCW. This was the swan song for the Attitude Era in my opinion and this was the only conceivable way to end it.
But like I said, was it the best idea to have Austin's turn take place in Texas? Of course it wasn't. But I guess in the long run, they wanted to prove the point that Austin wanted to turn in front of people from Texas. The people who cheered for him through everything that had gone on during this match. Even when Stone Cold was shaking Vince's hand, they were still cheering as JR was exclaiming that Austin had sold his soul to the devil himself. But the title was on the line and that was good enough for Austin to sell out everything he believed in order to become the WWF Champion once again. And you better believe this was the pinnacle of both of their careers in my humble opinion because it cemented their legacies as the two greatest performers during the Attitude Era. *****
Backstory: This is the best video package in WWF/E history. More so when it has "My Way" by Limp Bizkit with it. It sums it up all nicely when Austin says "I need to beat you Rock, I need it more then anything you can imagine."
Outcome: Steve Austin via pinfall after a gazillion chair shots.
Analysis: Paul Heyman sums this up. "This is the match both men need to win and neither man can afford to lose." But this is probably the single greatest match in the Attitude Era. And I'm not joking when I say that. It plays off of years and years of Austin's history and it builds to his heel turn. Think about this. Austin attacks before the bell. He uses his knee brace. He gets the ring bell in order to inflict more pain on Rock. Everything in this match pointed to his heel turn. He even tried to use the belt in the beginning stages of the match in order to give Stone Cold any kind of opening to beat The Rock in this match. Was it the wrong arena and place to do it in, you bet you ass it was. Just listen to the mega pop for Austin during his entrance. I can only imagine what that was like live. But this was just made for Austin's turn.
Now, the history that these two used worked out great. Austin busting out the Cobra Clutch. Rock using the turnbuckles like Bret Hart did a few times when Austin had it locked in on him. This time Austin knew well enough to let the hold go to not get pinned like Hart did to him. Then you have the homage to Wrestlemania 13 when Rock gets Austin in the Sharpshooter and the blood is pouring down Austin's face. Keep in mind that Rock had never beaten Austin up to his point on a stage like Wrestlemania. So why not use that Sharpshooter in order to get a win because it was the move that forced Austin to pass out at Wrestlemania 13.
Austin tries anything to keep the Rock down. The Rock Bottom, Cobra Clutch, the chair shot from Vince and even the Stunner itself couldn't put the Rock away because the Rock wanted to retain the title that much. When Rock tries to win after the People's Elbow, Vince comes out and pulls Rock right off of Austin, shocking the ever living hell out of the crowd. They didn't know why but once Austin told Vince to get the chair, it all became too apparent why Vince was down at ringside. Austin sold himself out in order to become the WWF Champion again. Austin always wanted to be the top dog and to see Rock taking control of the WWF while Austin was out just made him want it that much more, to show he was the best ever. To show that he was better then Rock despite Rock never beating him at a Wrestlemania in a title match.
This match had so much going for it. The super hot crowd. The psychology of the years Austin had spent wrestling Bret Hart in order for Rock to try to use that game plan in order to beat his hated rival. But everything in this match built towards the moment when Austin knew the Stunner couldn't get it done and decided to turn Rock into mush after hitting with the chair again and again and again until Rock was able to stay down for the three count and Austin was finally champion of the federation he brought back from the depths of hell thanks to WCW. This was the swan song for the Attitude Era in my opinion and this was the only conceivable way to end it.
But like I said, was it the best idea to have Austin's turn take place in Texas? Of course it wasn't. But I guess in the long run, they wanted to prove the point that Austin wanted to turn in front of people from Texas. The people who cheered for him through everything that had gone on during this match. Even when Stone Cold was shaking Vince's hand, they were still cheering as JR was exclaiming that Austin had sold his soul to the devil himself. But the title was on the line and that was good enough for Austin to sell out everything he believed in order to become the WWF Champion once again. And you better believe this was the pinnacle of both of their careers in my humble opinion because it cemented their legacies as the two greatest performers during the Attitude Era. *****
