0 of 7
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin has had a collection of classics on The Showcase of The Immortals.Credit: WWE.com
Few WWE Superstars are more synonymous with WrestleMania than “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.
He may not have had as many matches on The Grandest Stage of Them All as fellow icons such as The Undertaker, Hulk Hogan and John Cena, but a majority of the matchups he did have are considered classics by fans and rightfully so.
The Texas Rattlesnake made his Show of Shows debut at WrestleMania 12 in an undercard gem against Savio Vega. From there, he went on to win the WWE Championship three times at the event and headline with the likes of Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart and, of course, The Rock.
In fact, Austin’s last match ever was at WrestleMania 19 with The Great One. Since then, he’s been a part of many monumental ‘Mania moments including serving as a special guest referee, being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame and straight up raising hell like only he can.
This year, he’ll be back under the bright lights of WrestleMania as a guest on The KO Show with Kevin Owens. Rumors have been running rampant for over a month that he could be stepping back into the ring in an official capacity at the event, but regardless of what happens, it promises to be a must-see segment.
Ahead of his highly anticipated return, here is every “Stone Cold” Steve Austin WrestleMania match ranked from worst to best.
1 of 7
The final WrestleMania match for the late, great Scott Hall came against Austin at 2002’s installment.
The unconventional contest came together on a whim with the idea of Austin facing the famed Hulk Hogan originally being discussed for the event. When plans fell through for that dream bout, Austin was put in a program with Hall instead after the New World Order attacked him the month prior at No Way Out.
As legendary of a competitor as Hall was, it felt like a significant step down from where Austin was on the card a year earlier at WrestleMania 17: the main event with The Rock for the WWE Championship. Neither Austin nor Hall were in all that good of a place in their respective careers at that point and their ‘Mania match suffered as a result.
Mediocre may be the best way to describe the match since it wasn’t egregiously terrible but it won’t be remembered for featuring exceptional in-ring quality, either. In fact, the most memorable part of the entire outing was when Austin launched the former Razor Ramon across the ring upon connecting with his patented Stone Cold Stunner.
The Texas Rattlesnake can lay claim to never having a single stinker on his WrestleMania resume, but that isn’t to say this match will be looked back on with any sort of reverence. Rather, it serves as a reminder of what could have been.
2 of 7
Austin vs. Hall had more star power, but Austin vs. Savio Vega at WrestleMania 12 was much more entertaining from an in-ring viewpoint.
The former “Stunning” Steve Austin had just arrived on the WWE scene a few months earlier and had Ted DiBiase serving as his manager. Unfortunately, The Million Dollar Man didn’t add much to his act since Austin largely let his intensity inside the squared circle do the talking for him.
Vega was Austin’s first true test as a WWE Superstar, and WrestleMania was the perfect place for him to prove his mettle. If the soon-to-be Texas Rattlesnake could weather the storm and score the victory, he’d be well on his way to singles stardom.
They had a perfectly solid technical wrestling match. This was one of the few bouts Austin had on a big stage before the neck injury he suffered at SummerSlam 1997 forced him to switch up his in-ring style, so it’s a different type of bout than most fans would expect from him.
The constant cut-ins to the Hollywood Backlot Brawl between Roddy Piper and Goldust were a tad distracting, and Austin winning via nefarious means wasn’t ideal, but it was a well-wrestled affair with the right outcome. Vega famously went on to avenge the loss at In Your House: Beware of Dog, but at least Austin won when it mattered most.
Vega deserves a lot of credit for working with him early on and lending him the credibility he needed.
3 of 7
At WrestleMania 14, Austin cemented his status as a main event player in the company when he won his first WWE Championship. It was no doubt an iconic moment, even if the match itself left a bit to be desired.
Austin was riding high into WrestleMania 14 as the Royal Rumble winner and the No. 1 contender to the prestigious prize, while then-champ Shawn Michaels was in the midst of a white-hot run coming off his historic victory over Bret Hart at Survivor Series and back-to-back classics with The Undertaker.
The only issue was that Michaels was walking into WrestleMania a wounded man. He suffered what would turn out to be a devastating back injury at Royal Rumble, and although he knew the (temporary) end to his career was near, he was intent on finishing out his feud with the up-and-coming Texan and dropping the belt to him at The Show of Shows.
The matchup paled in comparison to the terrific championship clash they produced at the King of the Ring pay-per-view the summer prior, but it was still leagues better than anything else on the card for WrestleMania 14.
It had a strong dynamic with both men playing their roles remarkably well, along with special guest referee Mike Tyson. An emphatic Stunner was what earned Stone Cold the win and his very first taste of WWE world title gold.
And with that, the Austin era was officially underway.
4 of 7
You know the Austin vs. Rock trilogy of matches was legendary when one of their encounters doesn’t crack the top three best Stone Cold WrestleMania matchups ever.
As previously noted, Stone Cold was sent into the stratosphere with his WWE title win at WrestleMania 14, and he spent the year that followed firmly in the main event mix. The Rock, on the other hand, was just finding his footing as champion upon turning heel and capturing the gold at Survivor Series 1998.
The two future faces of WWE had been on a collision course for well over a year and thus their ‘Mania match was hugely anticipated among fans. Sure enough, they did not disappoint as they brawled all around ringside and brought the fight to each other like only they could.
Mr. McMahon more than made his presence felt throughout the bout and attempted to cost Austin the win on multiple occasions. The overbooked nature of the match won’t be for some despite that sort of stuff being par for the course in the Attitude Era.
All in all, it was a highly entertaining outing and the Philadelphia crowd was ecstatic to see their redneck hero overcome the odds to regain the gold. It was also a fun first chapter in what would be one of wresting’s greatest rivalries.
5 of 7
Fast forward four years and Austin and Rock found themselves in yet another marquee match at ‘Mania, this time with both men at the opposite end of their decorated careers.
Austin had beaten The Great One on The Grandest Stage of Them All twice before, so Rock challenged his archrival to one last dance at WrestleMania 19 to right that wrong. The story was simple yet compelling, largely because the matchup sold itself and fans were going to be excited regardless of whether there was anything at stake.
When they stood across the ring from each other and exchanged looks for the final time, the energy at Safeco Field in Seattle was palpable. Rock was brilliant as the heel, while Austin put forth an exceptional effort despite getting the diagnosis that weekend his in-ring days were essentially over.
It didn’t have to be a technical masterpiece in order to hold the audience’s interest. Everything they did had an epic feel to it, and the constant counters and finisher attempts in the closing minutes took it to another level.
It was no easy feat, but The Great One managed to keep Stone Cold for a three-count following a third Rock Bottom. Even in defeat, Austin ended his career on a high and rode off into the sunset in spectacular fashion.
6 of 7
Credit: WWE.com
WrestleMania 17 will forever hold a very special place in the hearts of many fans and for good reason. It was a near-perfect pay-per-view, capped off with an outstanding WWE Championship main event between—you guessed it—Austin and Rock.
This was the middle match in their ‘Mania series yet arguably the best of the bunch for a few reasons.
For starters, the build was excellently executed and that video package featuring “My Way” of Limp Bizkit is absolute gold. Secondly, the atmosphere was electric inside the Houston Astrodome that night and the No Disqualification stipulation only added to the magic of the matchup.
This was the definition of “big fight feel” with both men receiving raucous reactions from those in attendance. Austin was desperate to put Rock away and take the title, and thanks to his foe-turned-friend Mr. McMahon, he was able to achieve that goal.
The momentum shifting so suddenly between the two throughout was nothing short of exhilarating. McMahon aiding Austin to victory with the repeated steel chair shots to The Rock dragged on for the finish, but it was a wonderful piece of business, nonetheless.
Austin has since regretted his decision to turn heel at WrestleMania 17, but the visual of him and McMahon standing side-by-side to end the event was simply surreal, to say the least. This match is in the upper-echelon of all-time WrestleMania main events as well.
7 of 7
Credit: WWE.com
No gold was up for grabs when Austin met Bret Hart one-on-one at WrestleMania 13, only the baddest of bad blood.
Austin was still on the rise at this point and was eager to avenge his loss to Hart from Survivor Series 1996. He stopped at nothing to make a name for himself at Hart’s expense, yet the Chicago crowd at WrestleMania admired his tenacity and favored him over the frustrated Hitman.
This is as close to a five-star match as you’ll find in WWE’s history. All of the attention to detail, the emphasis on storytelling, and phenomenal psychology are responsible for that.
Austin was the hated heel coming into this contest but had the audience rallying behind him by the end. That was because he withstood all of Hart’s punishment and proved he was in fact on his level.
Blood isn’t necessary in every hardcore war, but that visual of a crimson-masked Austin passing out to the Sharpshooter was something special. That alone was worth more than any top title he’d win in the years that followed; he was a made man from that point forward.
The clinic Austin and Hart put on is the epitome of what WrestleMania is all about and how stars such as Austin can be eternally immortalized with a performance of a lifetime.
Graham Mirmina, aka Graham “GSM” Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
