The Attitude Era in WWF/WWE produced some of the most enduring names in the industry. They defined wrestling during the Monday Night Wars, helping lift WWF's crumbling ratings and giving them the victory over WCW. Two of the key names during that era were Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H.
They were a part of of some of the biggest storylines during that time, facing off against each other on more than a few occasions. They even stood side by side from time to time. But it was the rivalry between these two legit superstars that defined them and an entire generation of wrestling fans. Without further delay, here are the 10 best matches that Stone Cold and Triple H had.
10 WWF In Your House 11: Buried Alive (1996)
1996 was a hell of a year for Steve Austin. After winning the King of the Ring tournament in grand style, he cut the infamous 3:16 promo that would establish his popularity for the rest of his career.
But a few months later at a WWF In Your House branded pay-per-view, Austin would face of against Hunter Hearst Helmsley in one of their earliest matches in that era. Both performers were still finding their voices but they would still put on one of the best matches of the evening, starting a brand new rivalry.
9 Armageddon (2000)
After The Undertaker and Mankind put the match on the map, WWF/WWE have continued to try to catch lightning in a bottle again with Hell in a Cell. Some attempts have been more successful than others, this one being one of the better ones.
Kurt Angle defended his championship against Rikishi, The Rock, The Undertaker, Triple H, and Stone Cold Steve Austin at the same time. While there were other wrestlers involved, this was the only time Triple H and Austin would face each other in the brutal match.
8 Steve Austin & Triple H vs Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho
Austin and Triple H did some of their best work fighting against each other but they also made an incredible tag team. The duo thoroughly proved this point on an episode of Raw, the day after the Judgement Day pay-per-view.
The superstar heel duo would team up to face Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit, two relatively new superstars to WWF still on the rise. Excluding the horrific injury Triple H sustained towards the end of the match, it was a stellar bout that helped cement Jericho and Benoit as top dogs in the company.
7 Mayhem in Manchester (1998)
When Vince takes a pay-per-view on the road, he likes to do it big. Mayhem in Manchester was no exception. Ken Shamrock and Owen Hart took on The Rock and D-Lo Brown. The Artist Formerly Known as Goldust and Catcus Jack squared off. The Undertaker and Kane let that bad blood boil over one more time.
But the top match of the the night was Stone Cold Steve Austin successfully defending his championship against Triple H. Even in what seems like a straightforward match, these two always knew how to steal a show.
6 SmackDown #1
The very first episode of SmackDown aired in April 1999 and never looked back, no matter how many times which night it airs on has changed. That episode featured a tag team match that pitted four of the greatest wrestlers of all time against each other.
Austin and The Rock would team up to face The Undertaker and Triple H in what became a truly iconic moment. If you're going to launch a new show, you bring out the big guns and there few guns bigger at this point than these four.
5 Survivor Series (2000)
It's rare that Triple H and Austin stand across a ring against each other and the match doesn't turn into an all out war. When they faced off at Survivor Series in a No Disqualification match that would roam the entire arena, it certainly did.
Eventually, The Radicalz interfered on behalf of Triple H. The match would end up in a no contest because Austin trapped Triple H in a car and dropped it from a forklift 30 feet up in the air. Austin and Triple H always left it all in the ring, the backstage area and apparently the parking lot.
4 No Way Out (2001)
Looking to take their rivalry to the next level, Austin and Triple H would face off in a two out of three falls match. But was that good enough for them? No, of course not. Their match would be a Three Stages of Hell match.
The first fall was a normal Singles match. The second fall was a Street Fight. The final fall was a Cage Match. Any one of those matches could have been a barn burner but these two men destroyed each other through three falls in an almost 40 minute match. Somehow, this wasn't even the main event that evening!
3 SummerSlam (1999)
This was an interesting night for everyone because of how backstage politics were involved in the finish. The match would see Mankind, Triple H and Austin face off in a triple threat match for Austin's championship.
Reputedly, the original plan was for Triple H to get the win and the belt but Austin nixed that. He didn't think Hunter was ready to beat him so the win went to Mankind, who lost the belt to Triple H the next night on Raw. Regardless of what actually went down behind the scenes, fans got an incredible triple threat match in the ring between three of the best.
2 Backlash (2001)
Once again, the tag team of Triple H and Steve Austin showed up and showed out, heading home with all the gold. Austin walked into the evening with the WWF Championship around his waist. Triple H had the Intercontinental Championship around his.
That evening, they would defeat Undertaker and Kane, aka The Brothers of Destruction, for their WWF Tag Team Championships. This made Austin and Triple H the most powerful duo in WWF.
1 No Mercy (1999)
The main event of No Mercy that year was an Anything Goes match. It lived up to both the name of the pay-per-view and the name of the match as Triple H and Austin absolutely destroyed each other.
For just over 20 minutes, the two wrestlers beat the daylights out of each other within an inch of their lives, in and out of the ring, and using any object that wasn't nailed down. Triple H successfully retained his belt but even after the match they kept fighting all the way out of the arena. Triple H barely made his escape in a limo driven by Chyna.