The Rock will forever be grateful to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin for giving the “People’s Champion” his first WWE WrestleMania main event.
There’s a consensus that The Rock versus Steve Austin is basically one of pro wrestling’s greatest rivalries of all time. Both men were a major part of one of WWE’s hottest periods, the Attitude Era, taking the business to new heights with their star power.
Despite the rivalry originating in 1997, when a brash and cocky Rocky Maivia held the Intercontinental Championship, it wasn’t until 1999 that Austin and The Rock headlined the first of their two WrestleMania main events against each other.
As The Rock revealed during a recent interview with Sports Illustrated alongside MMA legend Mark Kerr, it was Austin who handpicked him as his opponent to main event WrestleMania XV in 1999.
“Speaking of good guys, this guy helped me so much, Mark,” Rocky said. “He was on top of the world. He saw just a little bit of potential in me, but also smart enough to know, he’s like, man, we got some chemistry, man. Me and you.
“And I was not in a position to say, ‘Hey, let’s me and you work together. Let’s go headline WrestleMania.’ He had to say it. And he went on, he went to Vince McMahon in 1999, in January of 99, I think. He said, ‘I wanna main event WrestleMania with The Rock.’ The rest is history. We went on, and I went on to have just the greatest rivalry with him.” [H/T Fightful]
The Rock stars as Mark Kerr in Kerr’s biopic The Smashing Machine, set to release on October 3. The movie also features Emily Blunt as Kerr’s ex-wife, Dawn Staples, and Ryan Bader as Mark Coleman. Fans can check out WrestleZone’s exclusive interview with Bader here.
READ MORE: The Rock Got A Concussion While Filming The Smashing Machine
