The Rock: His Most Important Match

[D-Will316]

Let's run down some high profile matches of The Rock and you decide what you feel is his most important.

Summer Slam 1998 vs. Triple H
This was, to alot of people one of The Rock's best matches and one of the greatest Ladder matches. He may have lost but the match was very good propelling both stars to the next level. This was also for the Intercontinental Championship.

Survivor Series 1998 vs. Mankind
The Rock won his first WWE championship in this match. With an unforgetable heel turn in the process siding with Mr. McMahon. This is my choice for his most important match it set the tone for everything else he's accomplished.

Royal Rumble 1999 vs. Mankind
The historic I Quit match. One of the most talked about matches ever. Extremely brutal and hardcore. Not a 5star match on an in ring level but definately on an extreme rules level.

WM15 vs. Steve Austin
His first WM main event match not too much I wanna add. I don't even know why I put it on the list..

Royal Rumble 2000
Out lasting 30 others to become the #1 contender for the WWE title at WM16. That's about it.

WM17 vs. Steve Austin
This, in alot of peoples mind may be his best match but I don't think its his most important one. If anything this may be Austin's most important match. (but that's for a later thread)

Survivor Series 2001 The Aliance vs. Team WWF
Hmm this is my second pick for most important. He ended up being in the final 2 of this elimination match against Austin. With some help from Kurt Angle he defeated Stone Cold and won the winner take all match for the WWF/E

WM18 vs. Hulk Hogan
You know what I changed my mind THIS is my choice for his most important match. Icon vs. Icon. Generations Clash. The Past vs. The Present. The fact that The Rock won makes this my choice.

WM19 vs. Steve Austin
The third time these 2 clashed at WM The Rock desperately wanted and needed a victory. In Austin's last match he defeated him cleanly.

WM28 vs. John Cena
Didn't get a chance to see the match but I heard it was great. I don't think this match was in the least bit important to The Rock. It was a big match but not important.

Any Others? Please list it!

 

[AwesomeRko]

Survivor Series 98 vs Mankind: He obviously won his first title here and turned heel becoming the corporate champion, a role which really enabled him to let loose and flourish. In my view this was actually when Rock was at his most entertaining and really cemented his status as the top talker in the business and Austin's arch-nemisis. The match itself was terrific and really proved to the world both Rocky and Mankind belonged in the main event.

 

[WCW/WWF Halo 4]

His match with Hulk Hogan, without a doubt.

Really displayed that he was the top dog at that time.

In his match with Cena, he was in Hogan's position, and Cena in The Rock's. But alas, the torch was not passed.

 

[grantedisme]

I'd personally pick the 1999 bout with Mankind. I know it came after he won the title, but that's where he solidified himself as a mainstay in the main event card for me, at least.

The match in 1998 where he won his first title is definitely a monumental achievement for him, and if asked about it, I imagine he would probably put more importance on that one for himself, but I didn't really care much for him at that time or take him very seriously as a contender or champion. 1999's "I quit" match changed that perception for me.

 

[KennedyKennedy]

His match with Hulk Hogan, without a doubt.

Really displayed that he was the top dog at that time.

In his match with Cena, he was in Hogan's position, and Cena in The Rock's. But alas, the torch was not passed.

the torch was passed six/seven years ago, lol.

on-topic, i'd say vs. austin at WMX7. massive match, so much hype and just perfect in so many ways. still remains my favourite match of all-time. the hogan match was awesome because of how big it was, but honestly it wasn't that great of a match wrestling-wise. i really enjoyed the cena match from sunday, but i'll wait a while before watching it again and judging it. definetely think it was the highlight of an amazing wrestlemania tho.

 

[Pedigree1]

Personally i pick the Hogan match!! Icon Vs Icon that match for me was the torch being passed to the rock!! That match had everything the crowd swung from the rock to the mega heel Hogan!! Not a five star match but one helluva of a story being told.

I don't need to tell you what happened but in the end the crowd was eating it all up!! What a match and what a story!! By far the rocks most important match he has had.

 

[DetectiveZelix]

I'm going with WM 19 with Austin because Rock finally accomplished something that's been eating at him for years. you can tell he finally felt complete after losing to Austin twice at previous mania and you could see it in his eyes and even as a heel the crowd showed their respect to Rock after the match and Rock showed his respect to Austin as he made his way back up the ramp. There were even little tears in his eyes when he hugged his mother and wife I think in kayfabe and real life that victory meant so much to the Rock. I know the other matches were gold but you could see Rocks desire and feel his passion and knew it was something he NEEDED to do before he left. Just my opinion. Thank You

 

[Jenna.]

For me it's a toss up between the Icon vs Icon match nd the WM19 match against Austin.

The Icon vs Icon match was freaking huge, because this is Hogan we're talking about. I don't think Rock ever thought in a millions years he'd face Hogan, one of the biggest if not biggest wrestler of all time, on the biggest stage ever and actually defeat him? That's huge.

For me personally though I think I'll lean towards WM19 against Austin. The first time he faced him, he lost and I know that must of ate him up. The two top guys in the company and you lose on the biggest stage? Not a good look. Okay now you got the second match between the two and again he loses but because he got screwed over. So now we have WM19, his last chance to beat Austin and what made this match amazing to me was by the way he won. He needed three Rock Bottoms in his third match against him to finally defeat Austin. Huge huge moment. It would of been even better if it was for the title, but nonetheless definitely a historic and important match.

 

[RJJ]

Wow tough question.


As a character, it's Rock-Austin WM 19. After losing to austin twice at WM, Rock NEEDED to beat his long time rival at WM in order to consider himself the greatest.


To me personaly, I think HHH/Rock SS 1998 was the most important match in his career, cause his popularity took off right after that match. That match took rock to a whole another level. It took him to the main event picture(even though he lost the match). He also earned the fans respect. That match made the Rock, no doubt.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

all this storyline bullshit being argued bothered me. Rock didn't NEED to beat Austin at WMXIX, it was just a good story. With or without that match, he's at basically the same spot.

I'd say his best match would be WMX7. Epic, epic in ring storytelling there.

Importance? It's a tie between Hogan/Rock and Cena/Rock. Generational clashes don't happen often. Rumor is that Cena/Rock drew 1.9 million buys. Let me type it out, 1,900,000 buys. A record. A record, in an era where a TON of people stream/torrent illegally. Do you guys realize just how INSANE that is? For any of you to say that Cena/Rock isn't at least top 3 you are either a mark who thinks the storylines mean more than they do, you're a Cena hater, you're a modern era hater, or you're just an idiot.

 

[DeathClutch]

I don't think it was one match;

I see it as a 3 matches, that were important to the rock that got to him to where he is now.

1. WrestleMania X7; Austin had always beaten the Rock before hand and without help and in the year Austin was out The Rock shot up to 1# in WWE, Austin needed help and who better than the guy who screwed Rocky a year earlier.

2. Survivor Series 2001; This was the first event The Rock FINALLY got that pinfall win over Austin, so many matches so many jobs but finally he got his big win, which kind of saw the pengilum swinging in his favor (even though around this time he was jobbing to Jericho, in a great feud).

3. WrestleMania X8; People shall moan that Austin/Hogan should have happened, but I never saw it that way, Rock was the 1# guy in WWE, Austin's stock had dropped in the sense that his 2001 year from Invasion to Survivor Series Austin's character had been turned from a ruthless bastard to a crying lil bitch and the effects it had on his character, Rock on the other hand came back from Hollywood, won the WCW title, Tag Titles put Jericho over in such away, he'd feuded with Taker and was in a stronger point where he could contend with Hogan from a character stand point.

Cut that rhetoric out, Austin & Hogan had a limited move set and a match between them would have been the biggest let down in WWE history, Rock could do and could sell much better than Austin, Rock IMO was always the better worker between the two and his matches showed so having Rock/Hogan made more sense, though I do believe Vince should have tried to have tempted Austin back for SummerSlam 2002 and Hogan with that match, the card was epic to start with but that match would have been EPIC OVERLOAD.

Them are the 3 matches I think defined the Rock.

 

[The Jeff]

For me, The Rock's 3 most important matches were

1. Rock v Austin WM X-7. amazing match, great buildup, exactly what a WM main event is all about

2. Rock v Cena WM 28. This was not about passing the torch (which I have mentioned MULTIPLE times), this match was about The Rock proving that he still had it and he did.

3. Rock v Hogan. The Rock was the only person to beat Hulk Hogan on multiple occasions. Personally I put Rock at #1 of all time, but in the grand scheme of things, this cemented him as the best, right after Hogan

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

WrestleMania 17 vs. Steve Austin, and it's not even close.

It's simple - Steve Austin was the biggest star in pro wrestling in his prime. He was on top when he and Rock battled at WM17. Rock was the second biggest star on the planet. The match was amazing, so it's #1.

Rock vs. Hogan the next year doesn't compare. Why? It wasn't Austin vs. Hogan, and that's the match people really wanted to see. Austin was always a notch above Rocky, and heel Hogan from the 1990's vs. face Austin from the late 1990's was the dream match of all dream matches. Rock vs. Hogan was a lot of fun, but wasn't the match people had dreamed of.