10 Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Matches You MUST See

7. The Rock vs. Chris Benoit – Fully Loaded 2000

While the Attitude Era was built on incredible characters, it also featured more than its fair share of fantastic wrestlers. While The Rock has gotten flack in recent years for being a bit clunky in the ring, it is important to remember him for his best performances. At his best, he was one of the smoothest workers of his time.

Who better to showcase that with than Chris Benoit. Benoit’s legacy will always be ruined by his final days but it was matches like this that exemplified why he was one of the best technicians in history. 2000 was the year The Rock was pushed as wrestling’s top babyface and this match at Fully Loaded was perhaps his best of the year.

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6. The Rock vs. Steve Austin – Backlash 1999

One of the most defining rivalries in wrestling history has been The Rock’s rivalry with Steve Austin. They had many classic matches and you will see more of them as this list continues but the first is their encounter at Backlash 1999. Their match at WrestleMania XV was fine but the rematch the month later was much better.

This match was great and was another example of Attitude Era wackiness. Shane and Vince McMahon were heavily involved but not in an annoying way. Austin had to overcome the odds in order to retain the title and get his Smoking Skull belt back. Thankfully, he managed to do it. The Rock was always a fantastic foil to Austin in and out of the ring and this was a perfect example of that.

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5. The Rock vs. Kurt Angle vs. The Undertaker – Vengeance 2002

This is a match that probably doesn’t get talked about enough. When you consider three of the best competitors in WWE history had a Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship, it should come as no surprise that it was one of the best three-ways ever.

This was just before the WWE fans turned on The Rock for leaving for Hollywood. While that was on the horizon, he was still the People’s Champion and they were ecstatic to see him win the title one more time. This was one of the last times The Rock would appear as a babyface in WWE until his second tenure began in 2011 and it is definitely worth seeing.

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4. The Rock vs. Steve Austin – WrestleMania X-Seven

For other lists, this could be the top spot. Steve Austin and The Rock’s main event match from WrestleMania X-Seven remains a legendary clash and the symbolic end of the Attitude Era. For that reason alone this is a must-watch match but this match is also important because these two are on equal footing much more than they had been in 1999.

Heading into WrestleMania XV, The Rock was still on the rise but after his monumental 2000, he and Steve Austin were stars of equal magnitude. For many people, this show was the peak of wrestling and being one half of one of the biggest main events ever was a very big career moment for The Rock.

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