Steve Austin went down memory lane in a recent interview to recall his final match at WrestleMania 19. He had clashed with none other than The Rock, whose original name is Dwayne Johnson, in the WWE's premiere event in 2003.
The Final Laugh
According to Steve Austin, The Rock was aware of the fact that The Texas Rattlesnake was not keen to retire from the WWE and it was nerve and neck injuries which were forcing him to quit the sports entertainment. "After the three counts, after he pinned me following three Rock Bottoms, he told me, 'man, I can't thank you enough for what you did for me. I just want to know I love you, man," WWE Inc quotes Austin as saying on The Kelly Clarkson Show.
Steve Austin said that he looked at The Rock's eyes and said "I love you, too." He further opened up on the kind of equation that they share by stating that they were great friends from the day The Brahma Bull joined WWE. He added, "And at many times, regardless of who was playing the good or bad guy, we always had a great friendship and a lot of respect and love for each other."
Steve Austin further said that The Rock was his favourite contestant and they both brought the best out of each other every time they clashed. He concluded, "And when you put the two No. 1 guys in there together, magic happens."
The Three Clashes at WrestleMania
The Rock and Steve Austin had headlined in three Wrestlemanias. Austin as a babyface had emerged victorious at WrestleMania 15 held in Philadelphia Pennsylvania in 1999 for WWE (WWF then) Championship.
In 2001, Steve Austin turned heel and beat The Rock at WrestleMania X-Seven for the WWF Championship in Houston Texas. Their final clash at WrestleMania 19 was held in Seattle Washington. Once again, The Rock turned heel in this match, but this time he won.
