Stone Cold's Highest Rated PPV Matches, According To Cagematch.net
Before he arrived in WWE, "Stunning" Steve Austin had all the makings of a major star. He was a multi-time champion in WCW, but he never got the chance to become the star he deserved to be until he left. When Austin arrived in WWE, he started as a mid-card talent and then became the biggest star in the world.
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Stone Cold was a character above all else and while he was a great in-ring worker, he wasn’t a technical star who had many five-star matches for work rate. However, he had highly rated matches because he knew how to tell a story and pull emotion from the fans. In the end, Austin had some of WWE’s most legendary matches in history.
10 Vs. Dude Love - WWF In Your House 22: Over The Edge - 8.59
Mick Foley is a hardcore legend and had some legendary matches as Mankind, Cactus Jack, and Mick Foley. While his days as Dude Love were more of a comedy gimmick, he had one of the best matches of his career in that persona. Dude Love battled Stone Cold at Over the Edge ‘98 for Austin’s WWE Championship.
Dude Love was working for Mr. McMahon here. The two fought for 22 minutes with McMahon as the referee. Dude Love accidentally knocked out McMahon with a chair shot and Austin pinned Dude Love, using an unconscious hand to count to three.
9 Royal Rumble 2001 - 8.60
Most of the time, a Royal Rumble match wouldn’t be associated with one man. However, there are a few where it is all about one wrestler, with Ric Flair’s title win in 1992 and this event in 2001 with Stone Cold Steve Austin. This ended up as one of the best Royal Rumble matches in history and ended with Austin, The Rock, and Kane as the final three men. Kane eliminated Rock and then Austin used a chair and beat down Kane before winning the third Royal Rumble of his career.
8 Hell In A Cell - WWF Armageddon 2000 - 8.63
The main event of Armageddon 2000 was a Hell in a Cell match with Kurt Angle defending his title against five other wrestlers. For Attitude Era fans, this was the match where Rikishi was thrown off the top of the cage.
The match was a long one, going for 32 minutes with Rikishi, The Rock, Steve Austin, Triple H, and The Undertaker helping make this the most star-studded Hell in a Cell match in history. Austin almost won when Triple H interfered and Angle stole the pin over The Rock.
7 Vs. Kurt Angle - WWF SummerSlam 2001 - 8.85
Stone Cold Steve Austin and Kurt Angle fought for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam 2001. This was during the WCW Invasion angle, and the WCW Title match actually was the main event of the show. Despite that, Austin and Angle held their own.
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The match ended up as one of the best of 2001, although it had a screwy finish. Angle won by disqualification when Austin hit the referee. Austin retained the title but still made Angle look strong.
6 WarGames - WCW WrestleWar 1992 - 8.92
The best WarGames match in history took place in 1992 at WCW WrestleWar and "Stunning" Steve Austin was part of this match. Austin was part of The Dangerous Alliance with Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton, Larry Zbyszko, and Rick Rude. They lost to Sting’s Squadron, which saw Sting teaming with Barry Windham, Dustin Rhodes, Nikita Koloff, and Ricky Steamboat. This was a five-star match that saw Sting’s team win when Sting made Eaton submit to an armbar.
5 WWF Survivor Series 2001 - 9.01
The WCW Invasion angle ended at Survivor Series 2001. While this angle fell apart fast thanks to WWE burying WCW from the start. This match also caught a lot of flack because the only WCW star left in it was Booker T, although Rob Van Dam was there to represent ECW. Despite that, the match was better than expected. Steve Austin was the wildcard here, with fans thinking he might jump ship back to WWE, but it was Angle who made the jump and WCW officially died here.
4 Vs. Bret Hart - WWF Survivor Series 1996 - 9.10
When people talk Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Bret “The Hitman” Hart, they talk about WrestleMania 13. That is for a good reason, as it is one of the best WrestleMania matches of all time. However, it wasn’t their only match. Another PPV match between the two ranks amongst the best of Austin’s career.
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This match saw Bret needing to beat Austin to earn a title shot at the next PPV. It also went a long way to make Austin look like a star, as this was after his “3:16 promo” but before his career-defining WrestleMania moment. Hart won, but this setup big things in the future for Austin.
3 Vs. The Rock - WWF WrestleMania X-7 - 9.35
The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin wrestled three times at WrestleMania. Austin won the first two, and The Rock won the third, which was the last match of Austin’s career. The middle match at WrestleMania X-7 was the best of the three and the most controversial. This was the match where Austin took a chair from his enemy Mr. McMahon and smashed The Rock over and over to win. This was also a spectacular match up to that point, a high-point in their feud.
2 Vs. Triple H - WWF No Way Out 2001 - 9.38
In 2001, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H fought in what was close to being the most violent match of Austin’s career. This battle was at No Way Out 2001 and within the rules of the Three Stages of Hell Match. The two fought in a straight wrestling match and the second was a street fight. Austin won the first fall with a Stunner. Triple H won the street fight with a sledgehammer. That led them to the third fall in a street fight, which Triple H won after 39 minutes of brutality.
1 Vs. Bret Hart - WWF WrestleMania 13 - 9.68
Stone Cold Steve Austin became a major star thanks to his match against Bret “The Hitman” Hart at WrestleMania 13. This was one of the biggest double turns in wrestling history. Hart was a babyface, and Austin worked as the heel. However, Hart was an arrogant babyface and Austin refused to give up. By the end of the match, Hart had Austin in the Sharpshooter and Austin preferred to pass out rather than give up. One year later, Austin won his first world title.
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