When you think of WWE history, there are a few rivalries that immediately jump out at you. Hogan/Andre, Cena/Edge, Hart/Michaels… They stand the test of time and become must-watch matches for die-hard fans. Arguably the biggest, and certainly one that defined much of the Attitude Era, was The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin. In a feud which lasted about 5 or 6 years, we saw these two rise to heights rarely achieved by wrestlers, and they did it together. As we saw them wrestle (or just fight) in numerous matches, for multiple belts, it all came to a head with Wrestlemania X-7 (I know they have one more match, but this is the third match of their big trinity of the Attitude Era).

To give a (as has become the norm for this column) BRIEF rundown of Rock/Austin history, since much of it is common knowledge at this point. Initially, they feuded for the IC belt, and moving on to the WWE Championship, when Rock aligned himself with Mr. McMahon and The Corporation. After the matches at Wrestlemania 15 and the following Backlash, the two would continuously encounter each other, until Austin sustained an injury, and in the story, he was famously hit by a car driven by Rikishi who “did it for The Rock”. This led to Triple H, becoming the main heel of the company, as The Rock took over the roll of main event babyface. This turn also launched The Rock to unparalleled levels of popularity at the time, as almost all the steam that Stone Cold had was transferred to The Rock. A few months later, Austin would return to help the Rock triumph over Triple H for the title, and, while the two were both heroes, a collision course was clear.

With Stone Cold winning the Rumble in 2001, and Rock being the reigning champion, a title match was set for Wrestlemania. The two were booked as heros, with more hype around the match itself rather than the story. In a famous sit down interview promo between the two, they both explained why they needed to beat each other, and, by extension, needed the belt, which built this match with two side of goodness in a way never done before. Even with Hogan and Warrior, the tension and desire wasn’t as palpable as it was for these two. With Rock/Austin, booking them in the main event of Mania was a no-brainer. In most cases, when it comes to booking, it’s best to not overthink things, and WWE showed that idea here.

With Wrestlemania X-7 being arguably the best Maina ever in terms of in ring work, the bar was already set extremely high for the two legends. The match, unsurprisingly, was near perfection. Physically, it was a brutal match. The two worked stiff (or as stiff as Rock gets) and eventually cut each other open. While trading finishing moves to near falls can get boring, these two have perfected it, and their in-ring psychology might be the best WWE has ever seen. Say what you will about The Rock being over the top, the man knows how to sell and knows how to make you feel for him. It’s hard to truly explain this match without just having you watch it, which you should right now, but take my word, it’s one of the best in the company’s history. I’ve probably seen it about 6 or 7 times at this point and it never diminishes in quality.

The match itself is an important moment in itself, but what really makes this specific showdown impactful is the end of the match. The Rock may have been one of Austin’s main rivals, but his true nemesis was always Vince McMahon. Looking back at WWE in the late 90s, the Austin McMahon feud was what shot them to the top, and over WCW. That said, it’s an earth shattering moment when Austin receives help from McMahon to beat The Rock, which is what happens here. Stone Cold made his name being the voice of the working man, and rebelling against the boss in Vince, and this was him spitting in the face of all the fans. To see Austin, standing tall and having a beer with Vince, goes against almost everything we were led to believe about these two. You’re left thinking, ‘how could Stone Cold do this?’ At the time, it seemed almost inexplicable, but looking back, it’s a stroke of storytelling genius. There was really no other way to effectively turn Austin heel, so having him turn his back on everything he stands for was the logical step. Also, this turn has no better locale than the closing moments of Wrestlemania. And when you think about this in the history of Wrestlemanias, very rarely do heels leave the night standing tall.

When you look at this in a macro WWE history way, there’s a sense that this is the true ending of the Attitude Era. We are on the brink of the Ruthless Aggression era with Triple H, Kurt angle, and the like rising. This moment was a transition to a new relationship between the company, the stories they were telling, and their relationship with the audience. There is no greater paradigm shift than taking your biggest hero and making him a villain, and convincingly so. The issues come up in the follow-up to this match. You’re left with questions, and assuming that the answers will come in the following months. As that was beginning to look like it would happen, and Austin teamed with the hell Triple H to form the Two Man Power Trip, the story, and all stories, got derailed. The purchase, in real life and in story, of WCW by WWE brought everything to a grinding halt. With this purchase, and so many important questions from both real life and story surrounding it, it’s hard to not say it was justified. That said, it leaves this extremely important Rock/Austin story cold. Yes, they would square off as Austin would turn his back on WWE (in story) and lead the Alliance, but there’s still a hollow feeling.

The two ended up meeting again at Wrestlemania 19, where Rock finally got his victory over Austin. However, by that point, their peak had past. This match from 17, and the finish, will go down as one of the seminal WWE moments in history. It’s a changing of the guard, it’s a display of the power of effective storytelling, and it’s just a damn compelling set of wrestlers doing what they do best. I urge you all to strongly watch this. If you already have, do it again.