Austin v. The Rock WM X-7

[Dylan Waco]

A few days ago, I said I would do an in depth review of Eddie/Rey from June 2005 opposite The Rock/Austin WM 17. Not sure this is really going to match that promise, but after just rewatching Rock v. Austin it is my attempt to explain why I prefer Eddie/Rey and think it's as good a candidate for the best match this decade as anything else.

 

First off as a said before, the Eddie v. Rey match is basically their feud self contained to a single match. In a sense that is a grandiose idea, BUT Austin v. The Rock is really the career ups and downs of Steve Austin contained within a single match at the biggest show of the year. For that reason alone, it's a more ambitious match. By the standards of ambitious matches in the U.S. this decade it's pretty much unparalleled.

 

The Rock v. Austin in many ways is the preeminent "Sports Entertainment" match. You've got; larger than live personalities, ref bumps, gratitious weapon use, low blows, guys using each others finishers, outside interference galore, et. What makes it interesting and so great is how well done the whole package is and the succesful integration of more "pure" wrestling charactoristics into the equation.

 

The Rock v. Austin to me is like the career of Austin reverse. It starts off right where he is. The offensive exchanges at the beginning are simple, but frentic, and within the realm of Austin's usual "big match" traits. Lots of punches, clotheslines, smashes into the table, thesz press, and of course The Rock brings his standard "big match" over the top rope swandive bump (it's a really good bump, less over the top than alot of his big schtick bumps, but just as theatrical). They trade attempts at each others finishers early and it sort of fits with the pacing of the match and the speed they are working. Things settle down a bit right around the time Austin hits a superplex and we ease into the second segment which is basically alot of Austin cheating with bell shots and dirty tricks to open Rocky up.

 

At this point the main thing I notice is that the match is well paced, but the execution is not very good. It's not that what you see is bad per se, but we've already seen some punches and clotheslines with alot of air and little impact, and The Rock kind of missed a blade.

 

Still this match isn't really about high end offense or smoothness, it's about Austin and his devolution of sorts. The best spots in this match are spots that steal from Austin's history. The sharpshooter spot, with Austin bleeding ala WM XIII (via a returned bell shot, which is what juiced The Rock earlier in the match), really is a great, great spot. Visually it's incredible, and it plays off of Austin's peak moment as a performer. It's also a throwback to Austin in defeat at the biggest show of the year, which is sort of important and relevant to the match. Austin returning the favor on the sharpshooter isn't bad either, though the break of the hold and return to it strikes me as pretty unnecessary.

 

When Austin brings back the million dollar dream it's also a flashback to Austin's past. when The Rock does the Bret Hart kickoff ala Survivor Series, there is another cool PSYCHOLOGY! moment. All of this is like a big set up for the desperate feeling of Austin that is leading toward his siding with Vince by matches end. The end run, is interesting, with the guys running through various things, including each guy doing the others finishers (GREAT BUMP by Rock on Austin's Rock Bottom) and stuff of that ilk. Rock is very good as the guy who can't be pinned and Austin is very good as the frustrated guy doing anything to get his title.

 

It's a great match, but it has problems. The execution is not what it should be. In and of itself that's not really a huge problem, but when comparing it to a match like Eddie v. Rey that had incredibly good execution, with more difficult stuff going on, isn't favorable. Also while the story of the match is good, and the build is great, the finish is one I have never been much of a fan of. In general I'm not high on screwjobs, but what I really don't like about this finish is that it really felt like a massive deflate from the rest of the match. A match like that should build to a finish that feels as authentic and urgent as everything else. The finish, despite the "snap" and crazy sequence of chairshots, felt really delibrate. Maybe had Vince not been standing right there it wouldn't have been so bad, but I just have never been satisifed by the finish. For "Sports Entertainment" style matches, the Foley v. Austin OTE 98 match, has far more "shit" going on, and just as wacky a finish, but the viewer is left feeling that the peak of the match was the end of the match. Not so with Austin v. The Rock.

 

Austin v. Rock is a great, great match. Rarely are matches that ambitious on shows that big so succesful. But it was not a perfect match. It was not a match that I find to compare well to Eddie v. Rey in particular, because the Eddie v. Rey match builds to a stronger finish, has surperior execution, and tells just as solid a story, both internally and as part of a long term storyline. Rey v. Eddie right now would be my MOTD. Not sure Rock v. Austin would be top five.

[shoe]

I have always really enjoyed the Rock/Austin match in Houston. To me the problem with finish was that the company misread the landscape of how over Austin was in his home state of Texas. The fans still didn't want to boo Austin so the turn came off flat. The crowd was pro Austin before and after the bout. The way the audience reacted to his turn was foreshadowing of his heel run in general.

[Guest Chainz]

Thanks for that man, really interesting read. The things high points you mention about Rock / Austin are the bits that i just can't forget when thinking of MOTD. You are right the execution wasn't top and you won't really get better than Rey vs Eddie, which i'm about to watch again, and don't get me wrong, it is definatly one of my favourites of the decade too. I'm just a sucker for over-the-top-epic-grandeur type shit, andyou can't get much better than this match for it. And i'm talking all the pre Vince ending stuff, i try to think of that part in the context of what happened afterwards, but i still like the ending.

 

Really enjoyed you comments though, i'd never thought of the match as Austin's career in one, definatly intruiging.