Has there ever been a better wrestling rivalry than the Rock versus Steve Austin? Now, you can debate that

till the cows come home, but let's face it, it was a pinnacle moment during the Attitude era.

And without Stone Cold, Steve Austin and the Brahma Ball, well, the sports entertainment

landscape would be totally different today. The real fun of going back and watching it right now

is that it is kind of crazy.

Vince Rousseau was the man behind the WWF scenes and as we know,

he was prone to utter madness sometimes advertising segments and matches that didn't actually happen.

And amazingly, nobody in the late 90s cared because you were locked in,

you wanted to hook it to your veins, because you were going to go on an insane ride.

So as fascinating as it was in front of the cameras, don't forget how it started too, with the rattlesnake doing the unthinkable, the man started to outdraw Hulk Hogan.

What a crazy world.

In order to cement himself at the top of the card, he had to have an iconic bag, guy.

Wouldn't you know it?

Fate had decided that's exactly what wrestling deserves.

Let's face it, too.

Even with all the bells and whistles in professional wrestling,

what we're essentially seeing is athletic rivals trying to outdo each other.

It is a simulated sport, but it's a sport.

Who is the best?

Steve Austin decided to make his play for that role on January 15, 1996,

because of course he debuted in the WWF that night and defeated an unknown Matt Hardy of all people. Let's be honest, he was just a dude and this confused a lot of fans. If you had been watching behind the scenes in general, you knew that WWF landing, Austin, was a huge cue, and yet here he was nothing just a man in black trunks

and he wasn't allowed to talk.

...