Greatest Match Round 1: Rock/Austin WM17 vs. Hart/Bulldog SS1992

[Everlong]

SquaredCircle's Greatest Match of All Time!

(2) The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin, No Disqualification, WrestleMania 17



VS

(7) Bret Hart vs. British Bulldog, Summerslam 1992



VOTE NOW for which you liked better. Voting will last three days. In the event of a tie, the winner will be decided by which match had more people commenting in its favor.

[VaderBomb]

Austin/Rock at WM17 is the best match that the two of them had together but despite the chemistry that they had feuding, they couldn't top the chemistry that Bret and Davey Boy had at Wembley in August '92.

[EmperorWu]

Can we please extend these until the weekend? I don't know that I have the time to watch these during the week. Between 12 hour shifts, catching up on homework and studying for my final, it's hard to find the time. However I really do want to participate.

[Everlong]

^I can do that if others are fine with it.

I love Rock/Austin. Their match at WM17 is, to me, the height of my wrestling fandom as a kid. My two favorites coming together at possibly the best WWF pay per view of all time with a super memorable ending.

But in no way is it a better match than Hart/Bulldog. The Rock/Austin atmosphere is incredible, but Hart/Bulldog had atmosphere and technical excellence. It is easily the better match of the two.

[prophet]

Hart/Bulldog is my favourite match of all time purely for sentimental reasons (Summerslam '92 being the first wrestling show I ever owned as a kid therefore the one I watched the most) so I'll definitely be casting my vote that way here. I love Rock/Austin and agree that this is arguably the finest match of that rivalry but technically it isn't in the same league at Bret/Davey nor is it on par for atmosphere, emotion and storytelling.

[Everlong]

So Rock/Austin is winning five votes to four, but has no posts in its favor. It'd be cool to have some people explain their vote.

[Str8Shooter]

So Rock/Austin is winning five votes to four, but has no posts in its favor. It'd be cool to have some people explain their vote.

I haven't voted yet but will likely vote for Austin/Rock, I'll say my piece then.

[Tom]

Rock vs Austin all the way for me.

Bret vs Bulldog was great, and a great spectacle indeed. My brother even attended that particular Summerslam, something I will always be jealous of considering I don't think he ever appreciated it as much as I would have . It was also great to see two "mid carders" fighting over the IC belt in the main event in front of such an enormous crowd. Bulldog winning the belt was also an awesome moment.

However, although it was clearly a better technical match, I don't think I was as entertained as I was during Rock vs Austin at Wrestlemania X-7. Wrestlemania X-7, to this day, remains the best pay per view I have ever seen. And this was the best match on the card in my opinion. And that is a tough choice to make considering the pay per view was filled with some incredibly memorable matches throughout, unlike Summerslam 92 which really only had Warrior vs Savage (as well as Bret/Bulldog) in which the fans could get into.

Austin vs Rock was a tremendous brawl, from the get go. The intensity was there from the build up and what impressed me so much is how the title was presented in this one. The build up put a lot of focus on the WWE Championship, and how important it was to both competitors. And the match delivered on that. The Rock came across as someone who would do anything to keep the title and he took everything he possibly could from Austin before being defeated. Which brings me to Austin ...

To this day, I don't think I have ever been as shocked in a moment in wrestling than I was when Austin turned heel (possibly outside of Foley's bumps at KOTR98) . Watching it live was surreal and even when he aligned with McMahon I was still hoping he would stun him. As a young teenager it shocked me that much. It was WWE's equivilent to Hogan turning heel, with the exception that it didn't have the same pay off and Austin wasn't getting booed like Hogan was.

I am gonna try not to say much more about this match (in hopes of creating debate whilst also leaving some material to talk about Austin/Rock in the final rounds). What I will say though is that although Bret vs Bulldog was awesome, it didn't captivate me like Austin/Rock. Bret/Bulldog had a highly entertaining bout, with a lot of family history involved to make it better. But the overall feud and build up didn't do as much to entice me as Rock/Austin did. I also feel as if Bret/Bulldog doesn't stand out as much in it's genre of wrestling as Austin/Rock does. I struggle to think of many, if any, No DQ matches which have happened since which have been as intense and made the most important championship in the industry feel as important as it should always be. It's capped off by the fact that it delivered on a pay per view which brought so much to the table before it also, and had one of the most shocking moment's I remember ever watching with Austin and McMahon aligning. So for those reasons I choose Austin vs Rock at Wrestlemania X-7!

[Everlong]

Man I thought for sure Rock/Austin would be the first higher seed to fall, but it looks like I was wrong, Slightly surprised by this vote.

[VaderBomb]

C'mon Bret and Bulldog. You're gaining! You got this!

[The Legend]

Toughest vote for me to decide on by far to this point of the tournament. Rock/Austin took it by a nose, but I love both of these matches.

[prophet]

I'm sad at the poll so far! Some tough choices this round for sure but I thought Bret/Davey would edge this!

[SortaCreative]

Bret/Bulldog is by far the better match but I can understand why people might vote the other way.

You should all be ashamed of yourselves.

[Hanley!]

This is one of the easier choices so far for me. It's Bret/Bulldog by far.

I didn't love Austin/Rock. It was a great main event pairing on a great show with a great crowd and a great atmosphere. Add a memorable (if not celebrated) heel turn, and you have the perfect storm of reasons for fans to remember this match fondly. But on its own merits it's good, maybe very good, but certainly not great.

The brawling was good, because Austin is great at that. There were some nice spots on the outside, like Rock being flung into the ring post, or dropped chest first onto the barricade. There was a lot of heat and fire between the two, which kept the crowd going. I thought there was some good references in there. Rock tried to defeat Austin with two of the finishes that Bret Hart used against him. That was a nice little nod. There was a lot to like.

But there was stuff that wasn't so good too. Both of them were pretty horrendous at locking in the Sharpshooter. It didn't look good. Vince came out too early, and we learned he was siding with Austin too early, so then the match ended about 5 minutes after the turn. This didn't build to a climax. Also the Rock's kickouts got a bit much. You can get burned out on finishers and kickouts after a while. This match felt too long in the end, and they dragged the ass out of the finish.

Bret/Bulldog is still a favourite of mine. It's slow at times, but it's peppered with great little spots to keep the audience going. The moves look so crisp and there's a lot of contact on each move. Bret and Davey had chemistry together and they just made the little things look awesome. The story was simple but effective, and I thought Diana Hart was used quite tastefully in the angle. I enjoyed Bret playing heel slightly and getting the heat on Davey Boy. The finish was clever and the kind of finish I'd really like to see more of in today's wrestling. Not everything needs to be a series of finishing moves. This one definitely appeals to me more.

And I think this was more of a classic moment than Rock/Austin. If that makes sense. Nobody was questioning this decision after the fact, and as the main event of the only real pay per view ever set in the UK (possibly in front of WWE's largest ever crowd), this was a monumental occasion. A huge deal in both guys' careers and probably an underrated moment for WWE in general.

Bret/Bulldog for me. I really hope this can pull it back, as I'd much rather see it go through than Rock/Austin.

[Str8Shooter]

A tough match up here, I knew that Bulldog vs Bret would have it's backers, and deservedly so, as it's a great match, but it's not the one I'm choosing.

Rock vs Austin was pretty much an encapsulation of the Attitude Era. I just watched the match, and so many things were just hitting full cylinder in the match. This essentially was the biggest match, between the two biggest stars, at their peak, in the main event of the biggest show of all time. Right after this WCW came into play, and the Invasion, and Rock leaving periodically, and Austin breaking down mentally and physically, and the decline of ratings and PPV buys began and really hasn't stopped much.

The match had everything you could ask for a big match from this era. The crowd brawling, the table breaking (hilariously but still), the use of weapons, the outside interference from a McMahon, the near falls, a white hot crowd, crimson masks, and topped off with memorable if ill advised heel turn of one of the biggest babyfaces of all time. Was it a better pure wrestling showcase than Bulldog/Bret? Probably not, but as a total package spectacle and everything that a wrestling match involves beyond just the ring, it was better to me.

The in ring brawling was solid too, from a frenetic start to the match, to a wild finish. It was non stop. There were some great callbacks too throughout, from Austin in the Sharpshooter with the blood down his face, and escaping this time. To Austin trying the Million Dollar Dream and getting pinned, just like vs Bret, only to kick out this time. The ending made Rock look like a total badass in defeat, and Austin look psychotic.

This was the peak of the Attitude Era, with two massive stars. Bulldog/Bret was great, and I enjoyed it, but ultimately I have to go with my head and my heart, and it says Rock/Austin deserves to move on further.

Also, I think the fact the Bret/Bulldog match was in England and this was the biggest British card ever, might be colouring the vision of some of the Europeans on here who hold this match very close to their heart

[Str8Shooter]

Also, did voting close on this? Or did I vote already and forget?

I'm pretty sure I didn't vote. Are we still doing the three days vote thing? Doesn't it make sense to keep voting for Round 1 open until the conclusion of all Round 1 matches in case people aren't as on the ball and watch the matches right away?

[KaiserGlider]

Also, did voting close on this? Or did I vote already and forget?

I'm pretty sure I didn't vote. Are we still doing the three days vote thing? Doesn't it make sense to keep voting for Round 1 open until the conclusion of all Round 1 matches in case people aren't as on the ball and watch the matches right away?

Voting is closing too fast. Post matches every three days yeah, but keep the voting open for everything else.

[Everlong]

Voting is closing too fast. Post matches every three days yeah, but keep the voting open for everything else

I've asked several times if the voting period was OK and nobody has ever responded. I can lengthen voting times for these if people want.

[Str8Shooter]

Voting is closing too fast. Post matches every three days yeah, but keep the voting open for everything else

I've asked several times if the voting period was OK and nobody has ever responded. I can lengthen voting times for these if people want.

We want

[VaderBomb]

C'mon Bret and Bulldog. You're gaining! You got this!

Fuck. Was 5-7 and is now losing 5-9.