Wrestling Six Packs: The Rock's Best Matches

Rock, selling the return of the Hulkster as only he can
Photo Credit: WWE.com

The Rock is known more for his promos than for his wrestling, but really he was great in the ring too. Many people will tell you otherwise, but they're what I like to call haters. Rock was maybe the best wrestler in the company from 2000 on, and he had his moments before then too. Here are six of his best matches.

1. vs. Triple H, Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match, SummerSlam '98

This is an iconic match, before Rock came into his own and before Trips got all overrated and stuff. I've highlighted this match before and featured it on From the Archives. This is where Rocky came of age as a worker, and it's also where Triple H came of age as a character. Good work all around.

2. vs. Chris Jericho, WCW World Championship, No Mercy '01

Jericho was in the midst of a heel transformation into what could have been a main eventer, and if he didn't run into the eater of souls known as Triple H, he might have gotten there. Still, Rock and Steve Austin did their best to put him over. While the Armageddon two-fer for the Undisputed Championship is more famous, I liked this match a lot better. It was in the middle of a pseudo-feud, where Jericho and Rock were just beginning to sour on each other at the tail end of the Invasion, and you could see the hate for each other slowly building and then boiling over at the end of the match. Brilliant story.

3. vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, WrestleMania XIX

For whatever reason, Rocky and Austin were the ultimate foils for each other. This match would be Stone Cold's final match with the company, and he did so finally putting The Rock over at WrestleMania. How 'bout that for doing the ultimate favor for a friend? This was probably their best match, and that's saying something.

4. vs. Hollywood Hulk Hogan, WrestleMania X-8

If this isn't the best carry job in history, it's at least in the top five. Hogan came into this match with a reputation for being a broken down cripple, but under the generalship of The Rock, he turned in his finest performance in years. The most amazing thing about this match? The crowd turned on Rocky early on and started cheering Hogan, and rather than go by a preset script, Rock and Hogan, two of the most consummate professionals in wrestling history, flipped the script and switched roels. It was one of the most surreal but one of the most awesome sights I'd ever seen as a fan ever.

5. vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, WWF World Championship, WrestleMania X-7

Going into the match, it felt like it was just another WrestleMania main event between the two that maybe felt like something recycled. It didn't have a whole lot of heat outside of two of the best performers in the company going at it, with the plot of Austin going for the WWF Championship for the first time since coming back from injury. Of course, we all know what happened here. Austin and McMahon formed an unholy and yet ultimately rejected-by-the-fans alliance, and Rocky was Champion no more. While the finish was a bit overdone for me, the two produced a taut match before the shit hit the fan.

6. vs. Mankind, I Quit Match for WWF World Championship, Royal Rumble '99

I featured this one on FtA too! This match will be forever talked about for the right or wrong reasons, but it was memorable. Foley was always one of the most outstanding bumpers in history - you could argue that between this match and the Hell in the Cell against Undertaker, he went TOO far - but it always made for interesting theater. While Rocky hitting Mankind with the chair while handcuffed might be a bit cringe-inducing at least and sickening at worst today, it worked within the context of the feud. A very stiff, very tense brawl.

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