I seem to be in the minority by thinking it was The Rock. Austin was a great character, and they were both great at the top of the WWF, but The Rock was the reason I kept tuning in.
Austin was good on the mic. He got his point across as an "everyman", and the fans loved the language and attitude. His promos were so much more than the mic work as well. If it wasn't a beer truck, cement truck, or beer can, he was flipping off the boss, or staring down Mike Tyson. Who wouldn't love that? We all wish we could do any of that. He had the entrance that was a guaranteed pop, whether he was a face or a heel. No one can say they weren't anticipating the shattering glass whenever a McMahon was in the ring. His post match celebrations are legendary. Everyone remembers Earl Hebner sharing in having a beer with Austin, or Piper getting fall down drunk at Wrestlemania with Stone Cold.
But, his in-ring work was mediocre to me. Don't get me wrong, what he did, worked in the ring for his character. He was limited by that. He had a finisher that looked great, and was sold well by everyone but The Rock. Once in a while, he'd pull of a good wrestling move or an arm drag. But, outside of stomping a mudhole in Vince's ass, or going crazy with punches and kicks, what else did he do? Granted, he definitely put on some great matches, but the rest were all the same.
The Rock is/was one of the greats on the mic. He had a litany of trademarks, and we all loved to hear them, whether he was a face, or a heel. It didn't make a difference if he was finally coming back to Anytown USA, explaining his love of pie, cooking something, giving directions to the Smackdown Hotel, or the recipe for a Jabroni Sandwich, we all loved it. If he was a face that turned heel, we all wondered "Why, Rock? Why?". We marked when he turned face. We despised the Nation because the Rock was the leader, and we hated the Corporation because he was against them. His promos may not have involved spraying down McMahon royalty with his favorite beverage, but they were still memorable. His entrance made us mark out just as much as Austin. "Do you smell what The Rock is cookin'?" worked for us just as much as the glass shattering. Climbing the turnbuckle and raising his arm in victory before the bell rung oozed greatness, and he'd breathe in the emotion of the crowd. The eyebrow was something that everyone tried to duplicate, and few mastered.
He was far better in the ring, in my opinion. Yes, the People's Elbow was a lame move, but it looked great, and that's what the era was about. The Rock Bottom was a great move as a finisher, or as a set-up, and he did the Sharpshooter almost as well as The Hitman. The rest of his in ring material worked very well, and he could wrestle any kind of match. Whether he was fighting for a submission, or trying to obliterate whoever he was facing, we bought into it.
I always liked The Rock more as champ, and always bought into his feuds more than I did with Austin. Austin was loved no matter where he stood, while The Rock had the ability to make us love him as a face, or as a heel. The Rock also had the bloodline of great wrestlers, and spent his entire career with the company, while we all knew Stone Cold as "Stunning" Steve Austin from WCW.
