We’re currently on the Road to WrestleMania, and business has been picking up in recent weeks. Back in 2001 the stars of WWE were gearing up for WrestleMania 17, and The Rock challenged Kurt Angle for the WWE Championship at the No Way Out pay-per-view, which was the last PPV before the Show of Shows.
The Rock managed to defeat Kurt Angle to win the title, but the finish was botched. The Great One hit Kurt Angle with the Rock Bottom, but referee Earl Hebner broke the count despite the fact that Angle made no effort to kick out.
During an episode of the Kurt Angle Show the Hall of Famer discussed the match, and he explained why Earl Hebner broke the count.
“Well, you know, I distinctly remember Earl probably thought that was the first Rock Bottom. I believe we had a Rock Bottom earlier in the match, and Earl forgot. So, the finish was supposed to be the second Rock Bottom, and Earl thought the second one was the first. So that’s why he hesitated on the count.”
The Rock went on to hit another Rock Bottom to put Angle away and win the WWE Championship, and according to Angle The People’s Champion was not happy in the heat of the moment.
“Dwayne, The Rock was pissed. He picked me up, Rock Bottomed me, and told Earl, looked him in the eye, and said, ‘Count the m*********ing finish!’ (laughs). He is pissed! Earl is going to get it when we get back to Gorilla. But Dwayne, he was mad at the time, and when he got backstage, he cooled down. He didn’t yell or anything. We all make mistakes.”
H/T Sportskeeda
