The Rock’s Best WWE Matches

Before becoming one of the most successful actors in the history of Hollywood, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson made a name for himself as one of the most successful stars in the history of professional wrestling. Some of the biggest names in WWE went one-on-one with The Great One, creating many legendary matches and moments.

While wrestling fans think of The Rock’s epic promos and his entertaining backstage segments first, the Brahma Bull was also a terrific in-ring performer. As this list shows, Rock could go inside the squared circle, and he was part of some of the best WWE matches of all time.

UPDATE: 2024/05/07 18:30 EST BY Tomás Cunha

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson never fails to entertain inside the squared circle. From his amazing promo ability to his unique facial expressions to his underrated in-ring skills, most wrestling fans love everything about The Brahma Bull. It’s not just the entertainment aspect that allows The Great One to stand out, and this list can prove that. The Rock was involved in some phenomenal wrestling matches throughout his relatively brief (yet awesome) wrestling career. From the early days of the Attitude Era all the way until his returns in recent years, Rock has competed in several classics. Find out which is the greatest.

13 The Rock Vs. Mankind – No DQ Match, WWE Championship (Raw Is War, January 4, 1999)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8.5/10

• Dave Meltzer’s Rating: N/R
• Cagematch.net Rating: 8.04

The Rock had a tremendous feud with Mick Foley in late 1998 and early 1999. While the feud had many notable moments, the most memorable one was Mankind’s shocking WWE Championship on the first episode of Monday Night Raw in 1999.

Mankind and The Great One engaged in an entertaining back-and-forth battle in the main event of the show. Rock showcased his charisma in this bout. The ending saw Stone Cold Steve Austin run in and hit Rock with a steel chair, allowing Mick Foley to capture the WWE Title.

12 The Rock Vs. Mankind – I Quit Match, WWE Championship (Royal Rumble 1999)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8.5/10

• Dave Meltzer’s Rating: 3.75 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 7.54

Mankind might’ve won the WWE Championship, but their feud was far from over. Rock got an immediate rematch at the Royal Rumble thanks to The Corporation. However, Foley got his way and convinced the former champion to face him in an ‘I Quit’ Match. While fans did know it’d be a brutal match, no one thought it’d be quite as brutal as it turned out to be.

It was one of the most violent matches in wrestling history. When Foley refused to quit, Rock destroyed him with 11 unprotected chair shots. Rock won the title due to The Corporation playing a tape of Foley saying ‘I Quit’ in the weeks leading up to the bout.

11 The Rock Vs. Mankind – Empty Arena Match, WWE Championship (Halftime Heat 1999)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8.75/10

• Dave Meltzer’s Rating: N/R
• Cagematch.net Rating: 8.54

Rock’s controversial WWE Title win at the Royal Rumble led to a rather unusual rematch. Mankind got his title shot in an Empty Arena Match at Halftime Heat 1999. Rock and Foley fought all over the arena (including the backstage area) in one of the most entertaining matches of all time.

Mick Foley won the WWE Championship for a second time by using a forklift to pin The Corporate Champion.

While there were no fans, it would be hard to compare it to other matches without grading the ‘crowd reaction’ aspect. Plus, fans were loud for everything these two did in the Attitude Era, so this would’ve been no exception! Hence the 2.5/2.5 rating for the ‘crowd reaction’ aspect in the table above.

10 The Rock Vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin (WrestleMania 19)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8.75/10

• Dave Meltzer’s Rating: 4 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 8.43

As the two biggest stars from the Attitude Era, The Rock and Steve Austin went to war multiple times, most notably in three epic matches at WrestleMania. After Austin won the first two, Rock finally got his big win in their last match at the 19th edition of the Show Of Shows.

Their final match together has special meaning because it was Austin’s last bout as a full-time performer. This one relied more on entertainment than the usual brawling due to Austin’s physical condition, but it was still another banger from two of the best ever. In the end, Austin put his biggest rival over clean like a true professional.

9 The Rock Vs. Chris Jericho – WCW Championship (No Mercy 2001)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8.75/10

• Dave Meltzer’s Rating: 4.5 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 8.26

Although it is a somewhat forgotten match nowadays, this was the match that launched Chris Jericho to the next level. In fact, that was the storyline leading up to the PPV, with Rock claiming Chris Jericho couldn’t win the “big one”. Naturally, given the story, Rock worked heel at No Mercy leading up to Jericho’s first World Championship win.

While it might’ve seemed like a risky move given Rock’s insane popularity, The Great One worked the crowd masterfully and most of the fans in St. Louis were on Jericho’s side that night. Rock would later put Jericho over at Vengeance 2001 and Royal Rumble 2002 as well, helping establish Y2J as a de facto main eventer.

8 The Rock Vs. Kurt Angle – WWE Championship (No Way Out 2001)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8.75/10

• Dave Meltzer’s Rating: 4.25 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 7.74

The Rock was WWE’s top babyface in 2000, until his WWE Championship reign came to an end at the hands of Kurt Angle at No Mercy. They battled again on PPV four months later, knowing the winner would meet Royal Rumble winner Steve Austin in the main event of WrestleMania 17. While the story going up to the match wasn’t the strongest, especially compared to Austin vs. Triple H on the same show, they were at the top of their game and made up for it.

Despite a very random Big Show run-in and referee Earl Hebner screwing up the finish, Rock and Angle delivered a terrific WWE Title match and kept the crowd alive for it, even after they’d already seen a long (and great) Three Stages of Hell Match earlier. Additionally, Kurt Angle telling Rock he’d “break his f—ing ankle” while applying the Ankle Lock effectively turned him from an annoying milk-drinking heel to the more serious wrestling machine we all know and love today.

7 The Rock Vs. Hollywood Hulk Hogan (WrestleMania 18)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8.75/10

• Dave Meltzer’s Rating: 3 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 8.48

As you can see in the table above, this all-time WrestleMania classic is perfect in literally every aspect outside of the technical wrestling ability. That’s not a knock on either wrestler, as the match was exactly what it should’ve been – the perfect ‘sports entertainment’ match between two larger-than-life megastars.

It’s hard to find a crowd reaction like Hogan and Rock got in Toronto at WrestleMania 18, as the two created magic and delivered a masterpiece that will be remembered forever. For those who claim it’s a “terrible match to watch on mute” – please remember professional wrestling was never supposed to be seen or experienced on mute!

6 The Rock Vs. John Cena (WrestleMania 28)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 9/10

• Dave Meltzer’s Rating: 3.75 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 7.78

Ten years after the iconic battle with The Hulkster, The Great One came back to WWE for yet another clash between two icons. This time, Rock went one-on-one with the man who replaced him on top of WWE after he left for Hollywood, John Cena. It was another exciting matchup that fans will never forget.

Furthermore, it was Rock’s first singles match since he lost to Goldberg at Backlash 2003, so the match was a lot better than it had any right to be from a technical standpoint. For someone who hadn’t wrestled in nearly a decade, the Brahma Bull looked great in this 30 minute match.

5 The Rock Vs. Brock Lesnar – WWE Undisputed Championship (SummerSlam 2002)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 9/10

• Dave Meltzer’s Rating: 3.25 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 7.80

As noted earlier, The Rock did a great job of putting younger stars over and launching them into the main event scene. Much like he did with Chris Jericho, Rock made ‘The Next Big Thing’ Brock Lesnar look like a million dollars in their WWE Championship match at SummerSlam 2002. Also, The Great One proved yet again he had no problem following a legendary matchup – he still had the crowd in the palm of his hands even after Shawn Michaels’ return match against Triple H.

Fans in the Nassau Coliseum turned against The People’s Champion, knowing full well he was about to go to Hollywood. Aware of this reaction, Rock started working a more heelish style as the match progressed, taunting the crowd. After a great physical main event bout, Lesnar turned a Rock Bottom attempt into the F5 to win the WWE Title.

4 The Rock Vs. The Undertaker Vs. Kurt Angle – WWE Undisputed Championship (Vengeance 2002)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 9.25/10

• Dave Meltzer’s Rating: 4.5 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 8.77

One month before SummerSlam, Rock took the Undisputed Championship away from The Undertaker in this great triple threat match that also featured Kurt Angle. With three of the greatest ever inside the same ring, it’s no surprise they delivered one of the best triple threat matches in history.

The three wrestlers threw everything but the kitchen sink at each other to win, even stealing each other’s finishers. Ultimately, The Great One prevailed after hitting a Rock Bottom on Angle, with Undertaker breaking up the pinfall just a second too late. Brilliant finish to a brilliant title match.

3 The Rock Vs. Triple H – WWE Championship (Backlash 2000)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 9.25/10

• Dave Meltzer’s Rating: 3.75 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 8.41

The Rock became WWE’s top face in 2000 during Steve Austin’s absence. After Triple H stole a cheap win in the main event of WrestleMania, Rock got his one-on-one match against The Game at Backlash. However, Shane McMahon would be the special referee. Then, Linda McMahon shocked the world by announcing the returning Austin would be in Rock’s corner to even the odds.

The match was absolutely chaotic, filled with shenanigans as the McMahons did everything they could to screw The Rock. That is until Steve Austin finally appeared near the end, hitting all McMahon Helmsley Faction members with a chair and allowing The Rock to pick up the win after hitting the People’s Elbow, with Earl Hebner counting the fall.

2 The Rock Vs. Triple H – Iron Man Match, WWE Championship (Judgment Day 2000)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 9.5/10

• Dave Meltzer’s Rating: 4 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 8.68

One month after Backlash, Triple H got his rematch against the Brahma Bull in a 60 minute Iron Man Match at Judgment Day. This time around, Hunter’s former DX buddy Shawn Michaels would be the special guest referee. While fans were excited to see these two work together again, some people questioned their ability to work a 60 minute match.

Rock and The Game proved all those people wrong at Judgment Day. Not only did they deliver yet another entertaining brawl worthy of the Attitude Era, they had their best match from a technical standpoint too. Triple H stole the title in the end, with the returning Undertaker attacking The Game in the final seconds and giving him the deciding fall via disqualification.

1 The Rock Vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin – WWE Championship (WrestleMania 17)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 9.75/10

• Dave Meltzer’s Rating: 4.5 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 9.38

Finally, The Rock’s best match happened against his greatest rival, in arguably the biggest main event in the entire history of WrestleMania. Bell to bell, Rock and Austin put on a fantastic match in every aspect, only slightly ruined by Austin’s anticlimactic heel turn post-match.

WWE smartly brought back spots from Austin’s iconic feud with Bret Hart as false finishes, particularly the Million Dollar Dream block into a pinfall from Survivor Series 1996 and the iconic Sharpshooter on a pool of blood from WrestleMania 13. Austin used Vince McMahon to win the title, which actually made sense given the story, as Austin promised he’d do anything to have the belt again.

But once the bell rang and Austin had what he wanted… he should’ve knocked Vince on his butt like he’d done countless times before!