Stone Cold vs. The Rock: B/R Roundtable Decides Who Was the Attitude Era's Best

The Attitude Era of WWE bred stars the likes of which most promotions could only dream of, making household names out of castoffs and rookies, but none rose to the level of popularity and stardom as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and The Rock.

Those men, genuine icons in an industry full of mere mortals, defined the era while achieving fame and fortune. 

Austin, the anti-authority hellraiser who would not hesitate to drive a Zamboni into an arena if it meant kicking the evil Mr. McMahon's ass.

Rock, the charismatic third-generation competitor with a penchant for trash talk and laying the smackdown.

They headlined WrestleManias, made millions and achieved a level of fame considered inconceivable by most in their profession. All this while revolutionizing what it meant to be a star in sports entertainment, with their stars forever linked thanks to the numerous matches, angles, segments and vignettes they appeared in together. 

Bleacher Report's Erik Beaston (Austin) and Chris Mueller (Rock) sat down to discuss the industry giants and their defining matches and moments in an attempt to crown one the undisputed king of the Attitude Era.

Who emerged victorious and why? Find out now with this look back at two Superstars most deserving of placement on wrestling's Mount Rushmore.

Defining Moment: The Rock

CM: Pinpointing a defining moment is difficult for most Superstars who have had as many standout moments as The Rock. He is a trailblazer and a legend, but his career may not have been as good if he had continued using his original gimmick.

Rocky Maivia was a smiling babyface who the crowd did not buy one bit. He had the look and the athleticism, but his personality left a lot to be desired. Fans eventually began chanting "Die, Rocky, die" to show their displeasure.

The moment he became The Rock is when everything changed for Dwayne Johnson.

It all happened on the August 18, 1997, episode of Raw. He had helped The Nation of Domination defeat The Disciples of Apocalypse the week before and finally had a chance to tell the WWE Universe what he really thought.

This was the first moment when we could see what he was capable of on the mic. The Rock was finally the character WWE needed him to be. He was cocky, outspoken and could back up every word of trash he spoke.

This was the moment he became The Great One and set himself on the path to becoming one of the most popular Superstars of all time.

Defining Moment: Stone Cold

EB: "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's defining moment happened outside the time frame of the Attitude Era.

On June 23, 1996, he defeated Jake "The Snake" Roberts in the finals of the King of the Ring tournament. His lip freshly sewn together following a wicked injury suffered during his semifinal round match with Marc Mero, he met Michael "Doc Hendrix" Hayes for a post-match interview.

Watching as Roberts limped up the aisle with assistance from officials, Austin mocked the future Hall of Famer's religious beliefs: "You sit there and you thump your Bible, and you say your prayers, and it didn't get you anywhere. Talk about your psalms, talk about John 3:16...Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass!"

The immediate reaction was telling. Fans popped for the line and within 24 hours, Austin 3:16 signs popped up in the arena for Raw. T-shirts soon followed and Stone Cold had a major marketing and merchandising hit on his hands.

More importantly, fans believed in it. Though he would still technically be a heel for another 10 months, there was an overwhelming sense of popularity that, along with the company's edgier direction, appeared to set him up perfectly for a major run at the top.

To this day, Austin 3:16 is one of the most recognizable catchphrases and T-shirt slogans in the world. People who know nothing about professional wrestling recognize it and understand it has something to do with the business. That is a testament to the creativity of Austin and the mark he left on the business during his time as an active performer.

Professionally, it catapulted him up the card, where he eventually engaged Bret Hart in a rivalry that changed the fortunes of both men forever.

Defining Match: The Rock

CM: The Great One didn't earn that nickname by having boring matches. He tore the house down with the likes of Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker, Kurt Angle, Triple H and Stone Cold himself.

The Rock is the definition of a big-money performer, and one of the only other people who made the same kind of impact on the industry was Hulk Hogan. They met in one of the biggest dream matches of all time at WrestleMania 18 in front of thousands of fans at the SkyDome in Toronto.

The crowd lost its collective mind before they even made contact. The icons stood toe-to-toe and took in the reaction for a full minute before engaging in battle. Their fight had everything: They stole each other's finishers, the referee was knocked out, illegal weapons were used and fans went wild the entire time.

After 17 minutes of back-and-forth action, The Rock defeated one of his idols and earned his respect in the process. They even got to work together to dispatch Scott Hall and Kevin Nash after it was over. Their post-match handshake and walk to the back was the perfect way to close out their storyline.

This match signified the end of many things. These were two of the men leading the struggle on opposing sides during the Monday Night War, so having them fight at the biggest show of the year just over 12 months after WWE bought WCW was huge.

It was also something of an unofficial end to the Attitude Era, as WWE began transitioning into its Ruthless Aggression phase when John Cena debuted on June 27, 2002.

Defining Match: Stone Cold

EB: Sticking with the parameters that the Attitude Era officially began in December 1997 with Vince McMahon's introduction and ended in June 2002 with his demand for Ruthless Aggression, Austin's defining match of the period is his WrestleMania X-Seven showdown with, fittingly enough, The Rock.

Arguably the two biggest stars in WWE history, they clashed inside Houston's AstroDome in a match pitting the most popular stars in the industry against each other for the top prize in professional wrestling. Anticipation for the match was at a fever pitch, and the performers did not disappoint.

The aggressive, home-state hero Austin took the fight to Rock from the outset of a match that would become a wild, chaotic, Attitude Era brawl. Both men bled, Rock trapped Austin in the Sharpshooter a la Stone Cold's WrestleMania 13 classic against Bret Hart while Austin dug deep into his arsenal and pulled out the Million Dollar Dream, a move he utilized during his time as The Ringmaster.

"I need to beat you Rock. I need it more than you could ever imagine," Austin said on the final SmackDown before the event. Fans got an idea of just how desperate The Texas Rattlesnake was when he aligned himself with sworn enemy, the evil Mr. McMahon, and battered The Great One with a barrage of steel chair shots.

Stone Cold would regain the WWE title that had eluded him all the way back before his neck injury sidelined him in November 1999 but more importantly, would shake hands "with Satan himself," as commentator Jim Ross called it, signifying the end of the Attitude Era as fans had known it.

The epic storytelling throughout, the callbacks to prior matches and moments between the two and the swerve ending helped make the classic encounter one of, if not the greatest main event in the five-year history of the era.

Why The Rock?

CM: The Attitude Era had a lot of amazing talent. D-Generation X helped lead the way with pushing boundaries while young stars such as The Hardy Boyz, Edge and Christian were popularizing a more hardcore style of wrestling.

The Rock and Austin are arguably the two biggest stars of the time. They headlined three WrestleManias together and had countless matches and feuds fans still remember to this day.

However, The Rock is the bigger icon because he broke through the barriers of mainstream culture while Austin is mostly associated with pro wrestling and nothing more.

Rocky was so big that he still holds the Guinness world record for being the highest-paid first-time actor for his role in The Mummy Returns in 2001 with a paycheck of $5.5 million.

If we want to compare statistics, The Rock has 10 world titles to Austin's six. The only WWE accolade Stone Cold has over The Great One is winning three Royal Rumbles.

At this point, comparing The Rock and Austin's in-ring careers is like comparing red apples to green apples. They have both done it all several times over. It's outside the ring where The Rock outshines Austin in every single way.

Are people asking Stone Cold to run for president? Is he headlining multiple film franchises at once? Was he ever People magazine's sexiest man alive? Was he ever the highest-paid actor in Hollywood? Did he ever host Saturday Night Live once, let alone enough to enter the prestigious Five-Timer's club? Did Wyclef Jean ever make a song out of one of his catchphrases? The answer to all of these questions is no.

The Rock isn't just an Attitude Era icon. He is an entertainment icon who only continues to find more success as he goes.

Why Stone Cold?

EB: There is no denying that The Rock is the bigger household name. He seemed destined for stardom in Hollywood and achieved success in the motion picture industry that most can only dream of. He is, without a doubt, the single biggest star in film and his work ethic and genuine likability have a lot to do with it.

Had we been asking which Superstar, Austin or Rock, became a bigger crossover star, the answer would be obvious.

But we're not.

The question poised is: Who is the greatest star of the Attitude Era in WWE? And with that in mind, it has to be Stone Cold.

The Attitude Era was a direct reflection of the no-nonsense personality Austin brought to the table. He had the attitude that directly influenced the boom period. He became the face of the era, the opposition to the uptight, megalomaniacal owner of the company, the evil Mr. McMahon.

The moments he created while warring with The Chairman, from beer trucks to Zambonis, became staples of the era that people still look back on with great fondness today.

According to data compiled by Chris Harrington, attendances doubled with Austin at the top of the card. From 1997, when he first became a main event attraction as the foil for The Hart Foundation, through 1999 when he enjoyed his first full year as the headline draw, live events jumped from an average of 5,330 to 11,426.

Also according to Harrington, pay-per-view numbers skyrocketed with Stone Cold leading the charge. Pay-per-view buys from May 1, 1997 through April 30, 1998, totaled 2,93,100. Within a year, Austin's first as "the guy" in WWE, they jumped to 5,365,100; and from May 1999 through April 2000, they were at an astonishing 6,884,600.

Austin and the attitude that engulfed his on-screen character was appealing to an audience desperate for change. He made WWE programming and live events must-see again and became a star for the company the likes of which it had never seen before.

While he may not have become a massive film star, he was all over mainstream television, making headlines on ESPN for brawling with Mike Tyson and guest-starring on Nash Bridges.

Is Rock the bigger household name now, in 2020? Absolutely. No question about it, but during the Attitude Era, there was no one who would pop a crowd or demand viewer attention like The Texas Rattlesnake.

That there may not have been a Rock, at least as history knows him, without Austin making him during their string of PPV main events, is even greater evidence of Stone Cold's influence during WWE's most popular period.

Conclusion

Comparing Rock and Austin is like comparing two top-shelf whiskeys. Both are excellent in their own ways, they're equally edgy and leave an impression, but one just burns so good.

Austin burned so good.

Whereas The Rock benefited from the groundwork laid by Austin, Stone Cold was the architect of the Attitude Era. Without him, there is no telling what would have happened to Vince McMahon's wrestling empire.

Austin came along at exactly the right time, like a jolt of energy to a company that had fallen into childlike complacency for so long that a bigger, nastier company came along and kicked its ass for 83 weeks in the Monday Night War.

He revived the company, headed the Attitude Era and carried the ball until Rock picked it up and ran with it when injury struck.

The Great One carried the company through 2000, easily WWE's most critically acclaimed year, further establishing himself as an industry icon. His catchphrases became part of everyday jargon and the term "smackdown" even entered Webster's Dictionary.

The Rock became a bona fide movie star and an international entrepreneur. However, no matter how close he came, he just couldn't eclipse the connection and relationship Austin had with the fans.

The closeness of the two can be reflected in the fact that the B/R Wrestling Team selected "Stone Cold" Steve Austin the top dog of WWE's Attitude Era.

Now crack open a Steveweiser, raise an eyebrow and pay homage to the two greatest stars of their generation.