Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin defined a generation. The two superstars were at the top of the business in the late 90s and early 2000s and basically “shared” the spotlight as the top guns of the Attitude Era of the WWE, which back then was named the WWF. Their years-long rivalry featured several iconic matches, including a trio of WrestleMania bouts that culminated in a “final” clash at WrestleMania 19.
For Stone Cold, that particular match at WrestleMania 19 against The Rock was the most special of all the times they had the chance to work together.
For one, it was the “end” of Stone Cold’s career as he’d effectively go on to retire after the bout. Because of this, Stone Cold was feeling emotional throughout the match. It didn’t help that his long-time foe whispered something heartwarming into his ear.
In a specific clip from a WWE documentary that’s since gone viral on Reddit, The Rock recalled the events of that eventful night:
I lowered my head to Steve’s ear and I said, ‘I can’t thank you enough for everything that you have done.’ And I said, ‘I love you.’
Stone Cold corroborated the story, sharing that he replied “I love you too” to The Rock as the match ended moments after.
Steve Austin gets emotional talking about what The Rock whispered to him at his retirement match in Wrestlemania 19
by inSquaredCircle
It’s not unusual for in-ring rivalries and animosity to spill over into real life, but it appears that the two pillars of the WWF at the time had nothing but love for each other.
This particular moment also speaks a lot about how much respect The Rock had for Stone Cold. In what was also one of the last few times that The Rock was heavily involved in the WWE – he’d make sporadic appearances as his Hollywood career took off – he could’ve easily taken this opportunity to take the spotlight. Instead, The Rock shared this special moment with Austin.
The Texas Rattlesnake and The People’s Champion have crossed paths several times in and out of the ring in the years since and they haven’t been shied away from praising each other in interviews.
Given how much history these two have with each other and how they basically carried the WWF on their backs for more than half a decade, it’s a treat to know that they hold each other in such esteem.
Hopefully, when the time comes that The Rock calls Triple H to give him a retirement match, so he can be inducted into the Hall of Fame, Stone Cold will be the one to usher him into the exclusive club.
Speaking of these two iconic wrestlers, we’ve heard plenty of rumors in recent months that they’ll be at WrestleMania 39. In The Rock’s case, this isn’t likely going to happen but it won’t be because he can’t get into in-ring shape. On the other hand, Stone Cold and the WWE appear to be at an impasse as they couldn’t find a worthy storyline to pitch to the Bionic Redneck in time.
