“Stone Cold” Steve Austin versus The Rock is one of the greatest rivalries in WWE history. The two biggest stars of WWE’s most memorable era were very often on opposite sides, resulting in so many iconic moments, matches, and more.

Although they seemed to be at each other’s throats more than not, they actually only ever ended up having eight singles matches in WWE, but this only made their encounters all the more epic and anticipated. TheSportster’s rating system will determine which of these matches is the very best, and these ratings will be compared to those from Cagematch.Net and Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

8 WWE RAW 03/17/1998 - A Brawl Before WrestleMania 14

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 6.75/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: N/A
• Cagematch.net Rating: 5.11

With WrestleMania fast approaching, neither The Rock nor Steve Austin looked especially invested in giving their all in this match, though the strong brawling, the excitement from fans, and chaotic atmosphere of the Attitude Era managed to ensure that the fans were enjoying it at the very least. The focus on this match was Austin’s title match with Shawn Michaels, though Austin & Rock still managed to showcase their very natural chemistry.

7 A Forgotten Bout At WWE Rebellion 2001

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 6.75

• Dave Meltzer Rating: 3.75 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 7.17

Steve Austin and The Rock continued their rivalry on UK soil, and it was very much a house show style of match which didn’t have a lot of storytelling involved, but the fans were invested at the very least. The brawling did drag on for quite a while, and even when the action entered the ring it was clear that they were holding back a pace or two. All in all, it was a disappointing match between these two, but it wasn’t bad.

6 Their First Ever Singles Match At WWE In Your House 19: D-Generation X

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 6.75/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: 2.25 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 5.81

The very first singles match between Steve Austin and The Rock came at In Your House 19 when the pair battled for the Intercontinental Championship. Just over five minutes in length, this was far from the classics these two would go on to have. It wasn’t bad by any means, with it simply just being a complete brawl with Austin fighting off the Nation Of Domination, with the crowd firmly behind him. Austin was a little slower than fans had become accustomed to due to his neck injury, so that did slow down the action somewhat.

5 WWE RAW 11/16/1998 - Fun & Chaotic Bout

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 7/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: N/A
• Cagematch.net Rating: 6.50

If there was one thing that top stars were good at during the Attitude Era, it was making the most of their minutes. In a match which lasted just six minutes, Steve Austin and The Rock had an electric brawl which saw a sea of interferences from all sorts of stars of Monday Night RAW at the time, such as Mankind, Undertaker, Shane McMahon, and many others. It was messy in truth, and some of the interference was nonsensical, but it was still a huge amount of fun.

4 WWE WrestleMania 15 - Their First WrestleMania Main Event

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 7.75/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: 3.5 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 7.40

The first of three WrestleMania matches between The Rock and Steve Austin was their worst, but it was still a whole lot of fun. It was a pretty entertaining Attitude Era style of brawl jam-packed with interferences, overbooking to the highest degree, and a hot crowd who came unglued for everything they saw. It must be said that some fans might not be too fond of the overbooked nature upon a rewatch, but it is hard to deny that those in the arena elevated the match to even higher proportions. It wasn’t a technical masterpiece, it must be said, but it did not try to be.

3 No DQ At WWE Backlash 1999

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: 4.25 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 8.20

On the back of a hot WrestleMania 15 main event, Steve Austin and The Rock went at it again at Backlash with an even better match. Even though there was arguably still an even higher level that this match could reach, the crowd were wild for the brawling, the overbooked interference, and the all out chaos which spread around the arena. The no disqualification aspect certainly added to the match, allowing them to get more physical and violent in their assaults on one another.

2 WWE WrestleMania 19 - Their Final Encounter

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8.75

• Dave Meltzer Rating: 4 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 8.42

The final ever match between The Rock and Steve Austin was a magical one, completing their story with The Rock finally getting one last victory over Austin. As ever with these two, it was their character work, crowd control, and storytelling which won over the audience and allowed this to deliver, rather than their technical qualities. Their chemistry over the years was absolutely undeniable, and even the latest iterations of their respective characters clashing was special here once again.

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 9.75/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: 4.5 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 9.34

The greatest match between The Rock and Steve Austin is among not only WWE’s best WrestleMania main events, but also one of the best matches in WWE history full stop. This had everything from great in-ring work, world class selling, storytelling of the highest regard, and a crowd who was on fire the entire duration. It wasn’t quite perfect, but it was mightily close. Of course, the heel turn from Austin will always be a contentious moment, but it only added to the memorable nature of this thrilling match.