The Rock is one of the biggest names in pop culture today, playing a key role in some of the best-selling movies of the last two decades. Before the big screens and the bright lights of Hollywood, Rocky left his mark in WWE as one of the biggest stars in wrestling history during his illustrious, yet relatively short, career in professional wrestling.
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Despite only spending a handful of years as a full-time WWE performer, followed by a brief part-time run in the early 2010s, The Rock held a WWE World Championship ten times. He had many memorable classics over the belt throughout the years, particularly against Steve Austin, Triple H and Mick Foley. Here are his ten highest rated WWE World title matches on Cagematch.net.
10 The Rock Vs. Mankind, I Quit - Royal Rumble 1999 (Rating: 7.90)
From the ending of the Deadly Games tournament in November 1998 up until February 1999, The Rock and Mick Foley traded the WWE Championship back-and-forth in some exciting brutal matches as part of their great rivalry.
Their most famous is, without any question, the violent I Quit match at Royal Rumble 1999. The challenger blasted Mankind with numerous violent chair shots to the head. The Corporate Champion regained the gold after playing a clip of Foley saying 'I quit' on a previous situation.
9 The Rock Vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin - Backlash 1999 (Rating: 8.15)
When one thinks of The Rock and Stone Cold, their incredible WrestleMania trilogy is immediately what comes to mind. However, they had what can arguably be considered their most underrated match at Backlash 1999, in a rematch from their first 'Mania bout.
The two had a tremendous Attitude Era brawl all over ringside for Austin's newly-won WWE Championship, with loads of memorable spots throughout the bout (the one with Rock holding the camera and taking a Stunner on the announce table immediately comes to mind). Austin beat Rock in the end much like at 'Mania XV, retaining the belt.
8 The Rock Vs. Chris Benoit - Fully Loaded 2000 (Rating: 8.19)
The Rock was one of the highlights of the awesome year 2000, holding the WWE Championship for a long time in that year. The Great One had many fantastic title matches during that reign, and one of those took place at Fully Loaded against Chris Benoit.
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Their intense see-saw battle initially ended with Benoit winning the championship via disqualification, which could happen given the pre-match stipulation. However, Commissioner Mick Foley quickly restarted the match as it was not Rock who hit the referee with a chair, but rather Shane McMahon. Rocky eventually retained the gold after hitting a Rock Bottom.
7 The Rock Vs. Chris Jericho - No Mercy 2001 (Rating: 8.35)
After taking a few months off to film The Scorpion King, The People's Champion made his in-ring return to WWE at SummerSlam 2001, besting Booker T to capture the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Afterward, Rock was challenged by the popular Chris Jericho, who people deemed unable to "win the big one".
The pair battled over the Great One's WCW World title in one of the featured contests at that year's No Mercy pay-per-view. The Rock smartly played heel-in-peril during the course of the bout, playing to the crowd's negative Rocky sucks chants. After a highly entertaining and dramatic matchup, Jericho won the big one after hitting Rock with his short-lived finishing move, Breakdown, onto a chair.
6 The Rock Vs. Triple H - Backlash 2000 (Rating: 8.40)
Having been screwed in the main event of WrestleMania, Rock got to challenge The Game one-on-one for the gold at Backlash, however, Shane McMahon was the guest referee for the bout. Attempting to even the odds somewhat, and also to boost the already-impressive pay-per-view buyrate even more, Linda McMahon announced the returning Stone Cold Steve Austin would be in the corner of his former arch nemesis.
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The Texas Rattlesnake made his presence during the bout, while Rock was being outnumbered by the McMahon-Helmsley Faction, helping his eternal rival dethrone The Game and capture his first World Championship as a babyface.
5 The Rock Vs. Mankind, Empty Arena - Halftime Heat 1999 (Rating: 8.54)
If the "I Quit" match at Royal Rumble is the most infamous matchup of this feud, then their unique Empty Arena match (at least until 2020...) is their most famous one.
The competitors battled all over the building, hitting each other with everything from chairs and pallets to a whisky bottle and popcorn! In the end, Mankind knocked out Rock backstage and pinned him under a giant palled with beer kegs on it.
4 Six Way Hell In A Cell Match - Armageddon 2000 (Rating: 8.64)
The Rock took part in the historic six-man Hell in a Cell match at Armageddon 2000, for Kurt Angle's WWE Championship. It is of course remembered for Undertaker's impressive chokeslam to Rikishi off the top of the cell, but everyone played an important role in the match.
Rocky teased a showdown with the returning Steve Austin many times throughout the violent match, which went on to main event the following WrestleMania a few months later. In the end, Angle managed to luck his way out of the dangerous structure with his WWE Championship intact.
3 The Rock Vs. Triple H, Iron Man - Judgment Day 2000 (Rating: 8.74)
One month after taking the WWE Championship from The Game at Backlash, the two went to war in an Iron Man match for 60 minutes at Judgment Day. Shawn Michaels, The Game's former ally in DX, served as special guest referee.
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The match was highly dramatic, with both champion and challenger exchanging numerous falls back-and-forth. With seconds to go and the score at 5-5, The Undertaker made his historic return and attacked everyone in the McMahon-Helmsley Faction, giving the last fall and the belt back to the Cerebral Assassin.
2 The Rock Vs. The Undertaker Vs. Kurt Angle - Vengeance 2002 (Rating: 8.82)
One of the most critically acclaimed triple threat matches in WWE history happened at Vengeance 2002, between The Rock, Kurt Angle and champion The Undertaker for his WWE Undisputed Championship.
They went balls out and threw everything at each other during this match, with each wrestler even usurping their opponents' signature moves a few times. Rock was able to finish Angle with a Rock Bottom, scoring the pinfall and the gold just before Undertaker could break the count.
1 The Rock Vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin - WrestleMania X-Seven (Rating: 9.38)
Rock and Steve Austin met in what is arguably the biggest main event in WrestleMania history, with the Great One's WWE Championship belt up for grabs. The atmosphere in Houston was incredible, and so was the contest.
It featured many callbacks to some of each guys' biggest matches, particularly Austin's all-time classic battles with Bret Hart, and ended with Austin shockingly siding with Vince McMahon in order to reclaim the World Championship. Although the finish divides fans, there's no denying the match was a true classic.
