Squared Circle Soulmates: Chapter Three: Part One: The Rock v Stone Cold Steve Austin, WrestleMania 15, March 28 1999

Looking at the first of three epic matches between two of the WWE's greatest rivals

Welcome Back to Squared Circle Soulmates

Welcome back to another edition of my spotlight series “ Squared Circle Soulmates”. In this series, I look at three matches between two wrestlers who are considered “wrestling soulmates”.

I look at how the matches came together, where both wrestlers were at the time and the match itself. I also try and get some unique comments from fans who were in attendance for the match or were watching at the time.

This is Chapter Three of Squared Circle Soulmates. In this chapter, I will be covering three classic matches between The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin in WWE. Each match will be a separate article and this is part one.

In previous chapters I looked at three matches between Bryan Danielson & Nigel McGuinness ( ROH/AEW) and AJ Styles & Christopher Daniels ( TNA). Please check out my archives if you would like to read these chapters.

This chapter is my first deep dive into a WWE rivalry and I hope you enjoy. I also managed to grab some exclusive comments from a fellow wrestling Substacker and their thoughts on this match. Look out for those comments later in this article.

Attitude Era escapism

From left to right The Rock, Triple H, Mankind and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Some of the biggest stars of WWE’s Attitude Era

In 1998 and 1999, the Attitude Era in WWF/ WWE was in full swing. At the time, the focus was less on actual wrestling. Instead it was all about soap opera storylines, colorful characters and adult themed content.

We saw it all in the Attitude Era. We saw Pimps, Adult film stars, Vampires and scantily clad women. Whilst this content maybe deemed offensive today, it was insanely popular at the time amongst 18-34 year old males.

The 90s were a different time. What was big in pop culture was a far cry from 2026. However, those that lived it still look back fondly on the Attitude Era as one of the greatest periods in wrestling history. So much so that the upcoming WWE 2k26 video game has a full Attitude Era game play mode. The nostalgia is strong with the Attitude Era for long time fans and new fans alike.

During this era, the hottest feud in WWE was not between the two top wrestlers in the company. Instead it was between the top wrestler in Stone Cold Steve Austin vs the owner of the WWE in Vince McMahon.

Stone Cold Steve Austin and then WWE owner Vince McMahon going face to face before a match between them on WWE Raw in April 1998

Austin Vs McMahon

Stone Cold was the loveable rebel who fans could resonate with. Austin was anti- authority and did everything to make his boss Vince McMahon’s life a living hell including beating him up in a hospital bed and smashing him in the head with a bed pan! Bed pan McMahon was a hilarious segment. This story was something fans dreamed about. Being able to beat up your boss! It kept fans engaged and wondering what hell Austin would unleash next on Vince McMahon.

Whilst Austin would often get the better of McMahon and smash up his vehicles or spray him with beer, McMahon had his Corporation on hand who he could call upon to beat up Austin. Stars like Ken Shamrock, Test and Big Bossman were used as heavies to beat up and leave Austin laying on many occasions.

Vince McMahon surrounded by members of his Corporation

As entertaining as Austin v McMahon was and the ratings it gave WWE Raw, the feud had been ongoing since late 1997 As such by March 1999, the fans and the WWE needed something different. It was also a match that could not main event WrestleMania.

WrestleMania was the biggest show of the year for the WWE and traditionally the main event match for the WWE championship was contested between the two top wrestlers in the company. ( Think Hogan/ Warrior WrestleMania 6 or Bret v Shawn WrestleMania 12 )

As such, WWE needed to build to having the two top wrestlers compete for the championship at their biggest show of the year in March 1999. On this occasion the two stars destined for this match were The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Build to The Rock v Stone Cold at WrestleMania 15

After entering numbers 1 and 2 in the 1999 Royal Rumble match on 24 January 1999, Vince McMahon and Stone Cold Steve Austin battled at the start and end of the match.

It was McMahon who would win the Rumble after spending most of it out of the ring or on commentary when he dumped Austin over the top rope due to a distraction from WWE Champion The Rock. This meant that owner of the company Vince McMahon would be competing for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania. This was absurd and WWE fans were not pleased.

On the same night, The Rock captured the WWE championship again defeating Mankind in a brutal “ I Quit” Match. This match was incredibly violent with multiple head shots to Mankind from The Rock with a Steel Chair.

Top picture: Austin being eliminated from the 1999 Royal Rumble by Vince McMahon

Bottom picture: The Rock hitting Mankind with a clothesline during their 1999 Royal Rumble title match

The next month at the St Valentine’s Day Massacre Pay Per View Event in February 1999, The Rock faced Mankind in a WWE championship return match. This time in a brutal Last Man Standing Match. This was a no disqualification match and the winner had to keep their opponent down for the count of 10. This was another brutal match between the two men, which actually ended in a draw. This would allow The Rock to retain his championship.

On the same night, Vince McMahon and Stone Cold Steve Austin would go one on one in a Steel cage match with McMahon’s WrestleMania title shot on the line.

This match would lead to the debut of the 7ft 2, 500ib Big Show who came from under the ring and attacked Austin. However the interference backfired as he threw Austin into the cage and it broke, allowing Austin to escape. This meant Austin won the match and the opportunity to face WWE champion The Rock at the grandest stage of them all. WrestleMania 15.

This meant the clash between WWE’s hottest star in Stone Cold Steve Austin and WWE’s newest star The Rock was on in the main event of the biggest show of the year for WWE in 1999. WrestleMania 15 on March 28, 1999 from the First Union Centre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Austin escapes the cage whilst Big Show and Vince look on at St Valentines Day Massacre

Where were they then?

Austin’s ascension to the top of WWE

In March of 1999, Stone Cold Steve Austin was 34 years old and was already a former x 2 Royal Rumble winner, a WWE Intercontinental champion , Tag Team champion and multi time WWE champion.

When he made his WWE debut in January 1996, Austin was paired with The Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase in his WWE debut and was called “ The Ringmaster”.

Formally in his career prior to WWE in WCW, Austin had blond hair. By this point Austin had shaved his head and credited Bruce Willis character “Butch” in Pulp Fiction as his inspiration for doing so. This was a good move, as Austin was balding anyway and the bald head and goatee would become his signature look.

Austin as “ The Ringmaster” in WWE in 1996

It was not until Stone Cold broke away from DiBiase and went out on his own that he became a true star. Austin would win the 1996 King of the Ring Tournament in June of 1996 defeating Jake “ The Snake” Roberts. Following the match, Austin cut a promo poking fun at Jake’s religious beliefs. He said:

“ You talk about your Psalms. You talk about John 3:16. Well Austin 3:16 just whipped your ass!”

After that line, Austin was a made man. Fans loved it and Austin 3:16 signs could be seen in the crowd most weeks on WWE Raw. From there Austin became a renegade rebel beating up as many stars as possible. He also had two amazing matches with Bret Hart at Survivor Series 1996 and WrestleMania 13 ( the latter made him an even bigger star and is considered the best match of both men’s careers).

Austin then skyrocketed to the top capturing the WWE Intercontinental championship from Owen Hart at WWE SummerSlam 1997 ( however Hart broke Austin’s neck on a botched Piledriver attempt).

The hottest new star in WWE nearly had his success derailed and his career ended. Thankfully he was able to bounce back from the horrific injury and go onto win the 1998 Royal Rumble ( last eliminating The Rock) and he would then go on to defeat Shawn Michaels for the WWE championship in the main event of WrestleMania 14 on March 29, 1998. The Austin era had arrived and he was finally on top of the mountain in WWE.

Special Enforcer Mike Tyson raises Austin’s hand after his championship victory at WrestleMania 14

From there Austin defeated all challengers for his championship including Dude Love, Kane and The Undertaker. He also went on to feud with WWE owner Vince McMahon in one of the companies biggest rivalries. Austin would be stripped of the championship in late 1998 and it would then be won by The Rock in a Tournament at WWE Survivor Series 1998.

After losing to McMahon in the Royal Rumble match in January 1999, Austin defeated McMahon at St Valentines Day Massacre in February 1999 earning back his WrestleMania title shot vs The Rock.

The Rock’s rise

The Rock as WWE champion in early 1999

Dwayne “ The Rock” Johnson in March 1999 was 26 years old. By this point he was a former Intercontinental Champion and a 2 time WWE champion.

The Rock debuted in WWE at Survivor Series in November 1996 as “ Rocky Maivia” the son of former WWE Tag Team champion “ Rocky Johnson” and the grandson of High Chief Peter Maivia making him the first Third Generation wrestler in WWE history. His name was a tribute to his Father and Grandfather.

Early on Maivia’s bland babyface character did not resonate with fans and they actually chanted “ Die Rocky Die” at him which was rather insulting. Rocky would use that as motivation and he slowly became a star and a new heel character in summer 1997, when he aligned himself with The Nation of Domination alongside Farooq, Mark Henry and D’Lo Brown. Renaming himself “ The Rock” he became a cool heel character who would refer to himself in Third Person and insult his opponents and fans.

The Rock would capture the Intercontinental championship and have some classic matches against Ken Shamrock in 1998. From there he would align himself with Vince McMahon and the Corporation and become the WWE champion at Survivor Series 1998.

After a brutal clashes with Mankind in early 1999 over the WWE championship, this would then lead him on the road to his face Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania 15 on March 28,1999.

The Rock was on top of his game but he found himself in the biggest match of his life. A main event championship match against the biggest star in the WWE and a former WWE champion in Stone Cold Steve Austin.

This was a blockbuster match that every WWE fan was excited for at the time.

Could The Rock who was untested in a WrestleMania main event, defeat The Rattlesnake who had already main evented WrestleMania in his own right the year before and won the WWE championship against Shawn Michaels?

It was a battle of the best in WWE and the beginning of one of the greatest rivalries in WWE history.

The match itself

WWE championship

Stone Cold Steve Austin ( challenger) v The Rock ( champion)

Show: WWE WrestleMania 15, March 28, 1999

Venue: First Union Centre, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Commentators: Jim Ross & Jerry “ The King” Lawler”

Pre match

• Jim Ross who had been absent from WWE TV since late 1998 made his return to the commentary table alongside Jerry “ The King” Lawler to call the main event match between The Rock and Stone Cold.

• Ross sadly suffered a bells palsy attack in December and took time off to recover. In his place was Michael Cole who called the action on Raw and the PPVs in JR’s absence. A return to the desk for JR was welcomed. JR had provided the soundtrack for some of Austin’s biggest matches and moments. Therefore it was only right he returned here alongside Jerry Lawler. This is still one of the best commentary teams in WWE history. Sign in the crowd says “ JR is WrestleMania” and at the time his voice certainly was an important part in getting the stars over.

• Special referee. Earlier in the night The Big Show and Mankind had a match and the winner would earn the right to be the special guest referee for the match between The Rock and Stone Cold. Mankind won the match but Big Show beat him up so badly that he was unable to ref.

• In his place was none other than WWF owner Vince McMahon! Before the bell rang, the deck was stacked against Stone Cold as his arch rival was in charge of the action. McMahon would do anything to ensure Austin would not leave the WWE champion. After entering the ring, Shawn Michaels ( WWE commissioner at the time ) comes out to interrupt Vince. He gets on the mic. He says “ Vince needs to read the WWF rule book. He said if he took the time to read it, there is only one man who can appoint an official at WrestleMania. That man is not Vince. He said he will ask the people to guess who can make that decision. He says the man who can make that decision is the Heartbreak Kid”. Shawn tells Vince to get the hell out of here and don’t let the door hit him on the ass on the way out. He says Vince and The corporation are barred from ringside.” Vince is kicked out and instead it’s referee Mike Chioda, who is in charge of the match.

• The Rock makes his entrance to a huge reaction by the Philly crowd. He looks cool, calm and confident as he saunters to the ring with the WWE championship over his shoulder. He looks like a star and that he belongs in the main event of WrestleMania.

• Glass shatters and Austin makes his entrance to a huge pop. Austin was the biggest star in the WWE at the time and the fans gave him a heroes welcome. He comes out in a T shirt rather than his traditional vest. Austin had this to say about the vest:

  “So 15 was really cool… but I was mad at 15 because hell, I was going through a hell of a divorce and forgot my damn ring vest, and so I had to walk to the ring in a t-shirt… and you never want to walk to the ring in a t-shirt when it’s WrestleMania.”

The match

• Both men come face to face. Austin tries to walk past but The Rock doesn’t let him. Rock showing no intimidation and trying to establish dominance early on.

• Austin then starts the action with a right hand and they exchange punches at the opening bell. Forget the chain wrestling. This is the Attitude Era where wrestling is secondary and a more brawling style is favored.

• Austin gets the better of The Rock but Rock backdrops him over the top rope to the floor and then chokes Austin with his own t shirt. JR says “this was made a no disqualification match earlier on Heat so anything goes”.

• They exchange punches in ring and Austin sends The Rock flying over the top rope to the floor. Both men then brawl with each other through the crowd. This was very typical of an attitude era main event. Crowd brawling. Fans are going wild being that close to these two huge stars.

• Austin throws The Rock over the guardrail on the other side and they brawl in another section of the crowd.

• Both men brawl near the entrance way and Austin decks The Rock with a clothesline. Austin tries to piledrive The Rock on the floor but Rock backdrops him off and Austin’s leg and knee smashed into a metal light fitting. Rock goes to work on the leg.

• Austin fights back up with right hands and chokes Rock with a TV cable.

• Austin then launches The Rock into the WrestleMania sign in the aisle which causes it to sway.

• Austin drags the Rock back to the ringside area. He tried to suplex him on the floor but Rock blocked it and suplexed Austin on the floor turning the tide.

• Rock bounced Austin’s head off the steel steps and then spits water in his face after taking a drink! Lovely!

• Austin fights back and lays The Rock out on the Spanish announce table. He dives off the barricade with an elbow but the table doesn’t break. Austin climbs back up and drops another elbow and the table breaks!

• Rock fights back and takes Austin’s leg and smashed it against the steel ringpost.

• Austin kicks off The Rock and he ends up in the crowd again. Austin brings him back into the ringside area and whips Rock into the steel steps. He then throws Rock back into the ring.

  

• In ring The Rock hits a Rock Bottom out of nowhere for 1,2 but no only 2 as Austin kicks out!

• Rock brings in a steel chair. Austin stops Rock from hitting him with a boot to the gut. He then rips the chair away from Rock and swings it but referee Mike Chioda takes it in the head! Rock then capitalizes on Austin’s error with a big swinging neckbreaker!

• Rock tried to hit Austin with the chair again but Austin stops him with a boot and he goes for the stone cold stunner but Rock shoves him off into the ropes and connects with a back elbow flooring Austin.

• Rock then hits Austin’s legs with the steel chair in a viscous assault. Shots to the legs and the gut and a big steel chair shot to the face. New referee Tim White is in and it’s a pin by the Rock but only a 2 count. After another 2 count Rock locks in a chin lock.

• Austin battles up to his feet and reverses a whip but Rock floors him with a clothesline. Rock then goes back to the chin lock and takes it down to the mat.

• Austin battles out with right hands. An Irish whip is reversed and Rock hits a Samoan drop on the rebound for a 2 count.

• Rock is not happy with the count and he hits The Rock Bottom on referee Tim White.

• Austin then hits the Stone Cold Stunner out of nowhere and the Rock sells it like only he can by flipping backwards with his legs hitting the ropes. Austin crawls to the cover but there is no ref! No there is! Earl Hebner runs in for the 1,2 but no! Rock kicks out?

• Vince McMahon then comes back down to ringside in a suit. Austin grabs a chair. He goes to hit Rock with it but Rock low blows Austin and stomps him on the ground.

• Vince McMahon enters the ring and hits the ref. Vince and The Rock then stomp Austin in the corner and it’s two on one!

• What a minute. Mankind comes to the ring to even the odds! Mankind decks Vince. He takes over the referee duty he earned earlier in the night.

• Austin rolls up Rock and Mankind counts 1,2 but no only 2!

• They get back up and go off the ropes but Austin hits the Lou Thesz press followed by an elbow off the ropes to the face. He whips Rock off but lowers his head too early and Rock catches him with a kick and a clothesline.

• Rock then hits the Rock bottom again center ring. He then goes for The Peoples elbow but gets to cocky and Austin moves and Rock elbows the mat!

• Back up Austin goes for the Stunner. Rock fighrs out but goes back into it and Austin hits a huge Stone Cold Stunner. Mankind counts and it’s 1,2,3! Austin wins and is once again WWE champion. Crowd goes crazy. Camera goes to McMahon who is in shock and despair!

Verdict

6 out of 10

• This match had a big fight feel. Both men were masters of keeping the crowd invested. They also knew when to slow down and quicken the pace.

• This was not much of a technical wrestling match but more of a brawl. This was very typical of the Attitude Era. Many main events during this period featured less wrestling and more brawling with crowd brawls and lots of interference from other superstars.

• Austin came out like a house on fire with right hands and took it to the Rock. The Rock held his own against Austin’s brawling style and showed his own mean steak.

• The Rock tried to get away from the brawling and turn to wrestling where he could. He did this by hitting moves like a Neck breaker, Samoan drop and his trademark Rock bottom.

• For Austin, the brawling style was his bread and butter and he did not deter from this. The Stunner was his main course and all he needed for a win. He went for it at every opportunity.

• For The Rock, this was about cementing his position as the next big main eventer in WWE. Proving he could hang with the WWE’s top star on the biggest stage in a WrestleMania main event. He did this and showed just how good he was and would be. On this night The Rock showed he was ready to be just as good as Austin and maybe even surpass him one day.

• Although The Rock lost the match, the outcome did nothing to diminish him. In fact, it accomplished something far more important: it proved that The Rock belonged at the very top. Headlining WrestleMania against Stone Cold Steve Austin was not a consolation prize—it was a coronation. It validated him as a legitimate main-event superstar and proved he could carry the WWF Championship into WrestleMania. It also positioned him as Austin’s equal.

• For Austin, this was about moving away from his feud with Vince McMahon. It was about moving towards another top star he could work with and build a rivalry around. Austin belonged in the main event title picture and he needed top talent to work with. He found it in the Rock. This was just the beginning of what both men would achieve against each other.

• Austin had already won the WWE Championship twice and main-evented WrestleMania 14 the year prior, and the company was evolving rapidly. The Rock’s meteoric rise threatened to eclipse even Austin’s immense popularity. WrestleMania 15 served as proof that Austin was not a transitional star—he was the cornerstone.

• The win also marked Austin’s third WWF Championship reign, reinforcing his dominance at a time when the roster was deeper and more competitive than ever. In many ways, WrestleMania 15 confirmed that no matter how hot The Rock became, Stone Cold was still the man.

• They had a good match and fans enjoyed it, but it was the tip of the iceberg compared to what would come in later matches.

• This match was just chapter One in an epic rivalry between two of the best in the WWE . They gave you a taste of what they were capable of here. They also showcased that their rivalry would be a blockbusters and change the course of WWE forever.

What did Rock and Austin have to say about this match?

“Steve had broken his neck and he’d come back from a broken neck, so he was very particular with who he wrestled with. He trusted me and there were only a handful of guys he trusted at that time.” - The Rock

“Me and The Rock had instant chemistry. We both loved working with each other and got along like gangbusters… we were on the exact same page, the exact same word all of the time.” - Stone Cold Steve Austin

What did fellow Substacker Daniel Everhart AKA DanTheWrestlingFan think of this match?

“The cool thing about being a Wrestling fan at the age of 5 is that everything felt like a big deal.

By the time WrestleMania XV rolled around in March of 1999, I had only been a Wrestling fan since the prior June. But even still, watching the build for Steve Austin vs. The Rock was incredible.

You can tell I was only a child. In hindsight, WrestleMania XV was a horrendous show, where every match was pretty terrible, aside from the WWE Title Match, and surprisingly, the European Title match between Shane McMahon & X-Pac.

Steve Austin was the most important person on my TV screen at this time. The Rock, even as a heel, oozed charisma to me. Their match had plenty of buildup - arguably since September, when Austin had last lost the WWE Title - and every week on Raw, you could just feel the intensity.

It was like watching a powder keg slowly get ready to explode. I have vivid memories of watching Raw live when Austin sprayed the beer on the Corporation. Nothing else mattered in my kid head.

I had a unique situation where I was in what they called “PM Kindergarten,” so that meant that I didn’t have to go to school during the week until 12 in the afternoon.

That meant that I could stay up late and watch all of WrestleMania XV with my mom. So, I was fortunate enough to see Austin and Rock’s first WrestleMania match as it happened.

And boy, what an awakening that was! Even this far into my Fandom, I’d never seen anything like it to that point. The intensity, the chaos, the heat. These two made the most of the environment, and it turned into a white hot match.

It was also incredibly ridiculous, as the Attitude Era was. Mankind had won a match earlier in the evening to earn the right to referee this match. He made the winning pin count for Austin to take his 3rd WWE Title.

There’s likely no such thing as “peak WWF in 1999,” because the Year was as good as moldy bread in terms of in ring quality. But, this comes pretty damn close.”

Thank you Dan for your comments. At only 5 years old at the time, you were already hooked on wrestling and more specifically “ The Attitude Era”. I think this is a testament to how popular wrestling was at the time as everyone from all ages was tuning in to see the drama and action.

If you are a wrestling fan, please give Dan a follow or subscribe to his work. Dan reviews multiple matches and shows from allover the wrestling world. His work is very high quality and he is one of the best wrestling writers on Substack.

You can follow or subscribe to him here: Daniel Everhart

Final thoughts

While WrestleMania 15 wasn’t their first encounter, it was the first WrestleMania chapter of what would become arguably the greatest rivalry in professional wrestling history.

Austin vs. Rock was unique because it wasn’t built on traditional good-versus-evil storytelling. Both men were immensely popular, charismatic, and believable as the top guy. WrestleMania 15 established that dynamic and allowed it to evolve organically over the next several years.

Without this match:

• Future matches between them wouldn’t have carried the same weight

• Their epic WrestleMania trilogy wouldn’t feel as historically significant

• The Attitude Era would lack its defining duality

This was the moment the WWE realized it didn’t have one megastar—it had two.

Legacy Beyond Match Quality

Critically, WrestleMania 15 is not remembered as their best match from an in-ring standpoint. Interference, shortcuts, and Attitude Era chaos dominated the bout. But its importance transcends star ratings and technical execution.

This match mattered because of what it represented:

• A changing of the guard that didn’t require a clean break

• The confirmation of Stone Cold’s legacy

• The arrival of The Rock as a generational icon

It was a snapshot of a company at its hottest, powered by two performers at the peak of their creative and cultural relevance.

Thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed this edition of Squared Circle Soulmates.

If you liked what you read and you don’t already subscribe, please hit that button it would mean a great deal.

Join me next time for future articles such as:

20 for 20: Looking at 20 of the best wrestling matches of 2006

Year of the Rattlesnake: Why 2001 was Stone Cold Steve Austin’s best year ever

Squared Circle Soulmates: Chapter Three: Part Two: The Rock v Stone Cold Steve Austin, WrestleMania 17, April 1, 2001

Until then. Thank you and happy wrestling to all.