WrestleMania 32 is this Sunday and The Rock has already confirmed that he will be making an appearance. The Rock has been reflecting on some of his big WrestleMania moments leading up to this Sunday and he recently shared an interesting story about his first ever WrestleMania main event.
In his first Mania main event The Rock defended the WWE Championship against Steve Austin in Philadelphia at WrestleMania 15. Rock revealed via Instagram that there were a lot of people backstage who didn’t feel like Rock deserved to be the main event. He went to Steve Austin for advice and Austin gave him the best advice ever. You can check out the story below.
“1999, #WrestleMania15 – Philly. I’m the hottest heel in the company and the youngest (and brashest) WWE Champion is history.
My opponent was the one and only Stone Cold Steve Austin.
At that time, Austin was the biggest wrestling box office star in the world and our leader who created and ushered in our now infamous #AttitudeEra.
Austin was also an EXTREMELY shrewd and smart business man when it came to his opponents and always had the final say with who he would get in the ring with.
Despite many attempts from a few “main event wrestlers” on the roster at that time who complained to Vince McMahon saying “Rock has no business being in the main event at WrestleMania”, it was Austin who when I went to him and asked how we should handle the complaints, he responded with the greatest answer I’ll never forget, “F*ck those motherf*ckers. We’re here to draw and make money and that’s exactly what we’re gonna do. We draw big money then everyone benefits.” The Rock vs Austin feud would go on to become the #1 box office drawing feud in the history of pro wrestling and the WWE.
Even though I lost the WWE title (which is considered an honor in our business) to Austin that night in my mind I literally felt like I was king of the world. I even celebrated like a wild man by ordering a big ass pizza to my hotel room.
Today, me and the Texas Rattlesnake are good buddies. Love that dude and I’ll always be grateful to him for takin’ me under his wing, teaching me the business philosophy that I still utilize today of “F*ck them we’re here to make money” and making me drink more beer nightly than I’ve ever had in my life.
Happy to share these “behind the curtain” stories with y’all to give you some insight and context to the crazy, complicated and amazing wrestling world that’s in my DNA. Again, it’s my honor and privilege to ELECTRIFY DALLAS and the #WWEUniverse this SUNDAY at #WrestleMania32.
#PeoplesChamp4L *raises a beer Austin style and slowly chugs it Rock style.”
