RockHis return to the wrestling scene last year was one of the best comebacks in history. WWE story. As for Bad Blood, The Rock is back again, and this time appears to be targeting the trio of Cody Rhodes and former Bloodline mates Roman Reigns and Jimmy Uso. More will be revealed as the storyline progresses, but it can be assumed that WWE is preparing audiences for another match involving the Final Boss. Time will tell, but this idea is reminiscent of classic matches of the past involving The Rock.
The most impressive man in sports entertainment has a wrestling career spanning 28 years. Not everything he did in the ring was a success, but The Rock rarely missed a chance to leave the crowd satisfied. From WrestleMania main events to rare gems, these are matches that every Dwayne Johnson fan should watch at least once.
10
The Rock vs. Chris Jericho – WCW World Heavyweight Championship match
No Mercy 2001
It’s a testament to The Rock’s natural charisma that we see him overcome his promotional work, but little is said about how he was able to attract other people due to his work in the ring. Take for example his feud with Chris Jericho in 2001, when Y2J was still firmly ascending to the main event scene.
Even though The Rock was easy to love, crowds everywhere adored Jericho, so Rocky took an unprecedented (for the time, considering what it was like) approach. The more Rock insisted that Jericho would never win a major, the more people wanted to see him win his first world title. The groundwork that Rock laid in the match with Jericho Jericho has firmly established itself as a premier event organizerpaving the way for his reign as the Undisputed Title.
9
The Rock vs. Kurt Angle – WWE Championship Match
No Exit 2001
This was the last WWE PPV before WrestleMania X-7. Since Stone Cold Steve Austin had won the Royal Rumble a month earlier, it seemed obvious that The Rock would regain the title at No Way Out to set up a rematch in the Mania main event. At the same time, The Rock and Kurt Angle somehow managed to create a match filled with tension. This made it seem like it was someone else’s ball game.
Kurt Angle has a reputation for being able to put up a great fight with anyone, and this is no different. What’s particularly impressive is that on a night where Stone Cold Steve Austin had one of his best matches against Triple H in the “Three Stages of Hell” bout, the WWE Title could easily have been overshadowed, but Angle and The Rock still managed to get the match done . It’s worth talking.
8
The Rock vs. Triple H – Iron Man Match for the WWE Championship
Doomsday 2000
This won’t be the last time Rock vs. Triple H will appear on this list. After all, the two have always been intertwined in each other’s careers. As a result, some of their best matches are against each other. (special shoutout to their oft-forgotten ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam 1998). This match is no different as the two competitors once again bring out the best in each other.
This match is a textbook Attitude Era match starring two outstanding superstars of that era. Shenanigans galore, soap opera-style drama (in this case revolving around the involvement of DX and Shawn Michaels as special referee), twists (Undertaker officially debuting his American badass character) and, of course, non-stop carnage. If anyone is looking for a match that oozes Attitude, this is a must see.
7
The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar – WWE Championship Match
Summer helmet 2002
As such, this ranks as one of the best SummerSlam main events ever, but it’s the significance of the match that really puts it a step above what it already is. The Rock was leaving as a permanent superstar in favor of Hollywood, while Brock Lesnar was literally being touted as “The Next Big Thing.” Ahead of the biggest match of his then-short career, all eyes were on Lesnar to see how he would perform on the big stage.
​​​​​​Rock tries his best to make Brock look strongand the result is Brock Solid. It also helps that despite the WWE Champion coming into this match as a babyface and Lesnar as a monster heel, the crowd wasn’t very understanding after learning that The Rock was leaving WWE for Hollywood. Understanding the atmosphere, The Rock was able to do a heel tilt on the move, which was not the first time he had done this in an important match on short notice.
6
The Rock vs. Kurt Angle vs. The Undertaker – Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship
Revenge 2002
There was a time when this match was held in high regard. Best Triple Threat Match in WWE History. While matches like Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena vs. Seth Rollins and Sheamus vs. Gunther vs. Drew McIntyre seemed to take that crown in recent years, this match is still remembered fondly. Some still argue that this match represents the blueprint for what every Triple Threat match should look like. Continuous action from bell to bell, where everyone has the opportunity to go at each other.
Moreover, the star power involved amplifies this to a new level. Don’t overlook the three men who have spent the last few years at the top of the main event picture sharing the ring. They also managed to show off their very different styles, resulting in a fast-paced, emotion-packed match that had fans on the edge of their seats the entire time.
5
The Rock vs. John Cena – Singles Match
WrestleMania XXVIII
Every generation of wrestling fans has at least a few dream matches, but rarely do those matches ever come to fruition. There was a time when John Cena vs. The Rock was one of those unlikely matches, as Dwayne Johnson had a successful Hollywood career by this point and had been absent from WWE for seven years as a result. The Rock’s return at WrestleMania 27 and the interruption of the main event brought new hope that the match was possible.
Connected
Fast forward to a year later, and The Rock had his first singles match in nine years. This may not be the most technically sound match on the list. but it’s the sheer spectacle, atmosphere and fanfare that makes this match special.. This is the definition of sports entertainment: doing so much with so little. They tried to achieve the same effect in a rematch at the Mania main event the following year, but it did not have the same effect.
4
The Rock and Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins – Tag Team Match
WrestleMania XL
There was a lot of fanfare surrounding The Rock’s return to the ring in 2024, but more importantly, there was a lot of doubt. The Rock looked visibly out of breath after a basic Spinebuster/People’s Elbow combination with Jinder Mahal on the January 1, 2024 segment of Monday Night Raw, and it was enough to convince some readers that the 52-year-old should stay out of the ring.
The Rock silenced all his critics on the first night of WrestleMania XL. Even before this match, everyone thought Roman would take the brunt of the offense so The Rock wouldn’t have to spend much time in the ring, but no. It was practically a tag team tornado match as all four men brawled all over the arena. It was just as fun and crazy to watch as a typical Attitude Era match, and it added to the drama of Roman Reigns’ title match with Cody the following night. When emotion, storytelling and great in-ring action collide, the result is a spectacle like this.
3
The Rock vs. Triple H – WWE Championship Match
Backlash 2000
In hindsight, this is the match that viewers probably should have seen a month earlier at WrestleMania 2000, where The Rock was one of the four men in a losing bid against Triple H for the WWE Championship. Backlash is where Trips and Rocky returned to their one-on-one feud, but since it happened at the height of the Attitude Era, the two were able to recapture the same synergy – in terms of chemistry and crowd atmosphere – that WrestleMania produced.
Connected
This time, viewers got the happy ending they wanted, as well as the long-awaited return of Stone Cold Steve Austin after injury. Despite all the pomp and circumstance it created, this is by far The Rock’s best match with Triple Hand the only thing that could have made things better is if it happened at WrestleMania 2000.
2
The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin – No Disqualification Match for the WWE Championship
WrestleMania X-Seven
Even though The Rock was constantly feuding with Triple H, his feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin is the main rivalry of his career.. Heck, Austin vs. The Rock is the definitive rivalry for a generation of wrestling. Their matches against each other constitute some of the best matches in each man’s catalog, and one could argue that several matches from their feud should be included on this list.
However, if only one match had to be picked, it would have to be their shocking, chaotic second match in the WrestleMania trilogy. Since the match suddenly declared as a no disqualification match without warning or the reason before the bell, there was intrigue that made this match different from their meeting at WrestleMania XV. No one was prepared for the plot twist at the end, and no one expected it to turn out that way. a perfect finale for the Attitude Era as a whole.
1
The Rock vs. Hollywood Hulk Hogan – Singles Match
WrestleMania X-8
The dream match to end all dream matches. Everything said earlier about John Cena vs. The Rock applies here, with the caveat that Hogan vs. The Rock set the standard for what a dream match should be. Long pause. Silence over the crowd awaiting the first contact of these two gladiators. A slow, growing eruption of a crowd given over to a magnitude of confrontation they had never imagined. And this is all before they actually touch each other.
WWE tried to recapture that same magic at No Way Out the following year with an inverted dynamic – Hollywood heel rock versus babyface Hulk Hogan – but it still didn’t compare. In fact, knowing that the unexpected cheers from the Toronto crowd for Hogan caused The Rock to back down makes their Mania match even more impressive. This is Rock’s best WWE match, and for many fans it is their favorite match in wrestling history.