The rivalry between Steve Austin and The Rock deserves to get more attention for the smaller details that get lost in time. Everyone loves to discuss Austin spraying Rock and The Corporation with beer or their WrestleMania finishes, but many other things have been forgotten or are not known by the general fan.

RELATED: 10 Best Stone Cold vs. The Rock Matches, Ranked

Both wrestlers played a huge role in WWE reaching new heights and growing into the juggernaut that it would become. Austin and Rock each took steps forward as performers in both huge ways and subtle progression. A deeper glance into the Rock vs Austin rivalry will make you realize just how much they did together.

10 Austin Forfeited IC Title To Rock

The Rock as Intercontinental Champion

The first chapter of the Steve Austin vs Rock rivalry took place with the Intercontinental Championship as the title on the line. Rock chased Austin looking to take the title from him in late 1997 shortly before Austin moved into the WWE Championship picture.

RELATED: Why Stone Cold's Exit From WWE Hurt Them Worst (& Why The Rock's Did)

Vince McMahon demanded Austin defend the title against Rock following a victory due to using his pickup truck to his advantage. Austin instead forfeited the title and attacked Rock to send a message that he wasn’t following Vince’s rules. WWE did this to get the Intercontinental Championship off Austin before he won the WWE Championship.

9 Rock Returned From Hollywood Just To Diss Austin For Walking Out On WWE

The Rock poses

The Rock still worked for WWE during his first year and a half of acting becoming a main focus for The Great One. WWE convinced Rock to return faster than expected in the summer of 2002 for one episode of Monday Night Raw.

Vince McMahon was scrambling after Steve Austin walked out of the company following disagreements over his booking. Various wrestlers took shots at Austin on television, but Rock coming back to do it felt more savage given their rivalry.

8 Austin Eliminated Rock Last To Win WM 14 Title Shot Was Planned Out

Steve Austin in the Royal Rumble 1998

Fans forget that WWE started to telegraph a bigger program between The Rock and Steve Austin in the 1998 Royal Rumble match. Rock was still in the mid-card picture when Austin was finally moving into the role of face of the company.

WWE intentionally made sure Rock was the other person in the final two with Austin. Fans were completely invested in the finish, even though it was obvious Austin would win. The close finish for Rock helped set up bigger matches down the road.

7 WWE Changed Mind On Rock's Custom Belt

Brahma Bull Championship

The success of Steve Austin pushed The Rock to one-up him and vice versa during their battle for the top spot. Austin reached another level when WWE created his own custom WWE Championship title belt of his Smoking Skull logo.

There were initial plans for Rock to have his own Brahma Bull belt during his WWE Championship reign, but WWE canceled the idea. Rock revealed it was for creative reasons, even though WWE did sell replicas of the title never used on television.

6 Rock Remained Heel Longer Due To Austin

The Corporation

The biggest problem for the Steve Austin vs Rock feud was that the fans wanted to love both wrestlers. WWE invested a lot of time into their 1999 program when Austin defeated Rock to win back the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 15.

However, Rock started to receive cheers for his own promos since he was so entertaining. WWE held off on turning Rock face for months longer than ideal due to Austin already having that top spot. Rock eventually turned face by the summer of 1999 for the unique nature of two faces of the company thriving in unchartered territory.

5 Mick Foley Was Scheduled To Be In Their WM 15 Main Event Match

Mick Foley vs The Rock in a Ladder Match

The heel run of The Rock helped him reach the top of the mountain when defending the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 15. Steve Austin challenging Rock was always a given due to Rock’s placement in The Corporation faction representing Vince McMahon.

RELATED: 10 Funniest Stone Cold and Rock Moments Ever

However, the other feud for Rock with Mankind was still going strong after months of hardcore matches. Rumors indicate that Mick Foley was initially planned to be involved in a triple threat match at 'Mania, but Shawn Michaels talked WWE out of it claiming a singles match should always close WrestleMania. WWE instead made Foley the special guest referee for the big match.

4 WWE Rushed Their Previous Feuds For WM 17

Steve Austin vs Triple H at No Way Out 2001

The main event for WrestleMania 17 was unsure up to a month before the show. Steve Austin won the Royal Rumble match and was feuding with Triple H while Kurt Angle was still the WWE Champion. Rock was out of the picture until starting back his feud with Angle.

It felt like a short time for Rock to get past Angle and Austin to close his rivalry with Triple H. WWE rushed both programs to get to the biggest money match of Austin vs Rock. The title win for Rock over Angle placed him in the marquee against Austin to main event WrestleMania 17 for an iconic night.

3 Their Final Feud Unintentionally Hurt The Brand Split

Steve Austin vs The Rock at WrestleMania 19

WWE tried to create their own competition a year after WCW went out of business with the brand split. Raw and SmackDown became separate brands to extend the roster with many of the top WCW and ECW stars joining the already loaded WWE roster.

Steve Austin and The Rock were each placed on separate shows to split up the star power. The walkout and return from Austin saw him remaining on Raw in 2003. However, Rock would ditch SmackDown for Raw to feud with Austin since WWE wanted them to work together again. The lack of respect for the draft rules hurt the overall presentation of the split in the early stages.

2 WWE Used Their Rivalry To Save Invasion Flop At End

The Rock and Steve Austin at Rebellion 2001

The first attempt at making the most of purchasing WCW and ECW came with the Invasion storyline. Unfortunately, most of the top names from WCW didn’t sign until a year or two later when their established contracts expired without losing out on any money.

The Invasion turned into a mess with stars from WWE jumping ship and little logic applied to the storytelling. WWE eventually just had Austin representing The Alliance feuding with The Rock. Survivor Series 2001 saw the end of the angle with Rock pinning Austin for WWE’s win in a great match if you remove the logic holes of the storyline itself.

1 Debra Managing Rock Was The WM 17 Storyline

Debra

The build for the WrestleMania 17 showdown between Steve Austin and The Rock is remembered as better than it was. WWE put together an all-time great hype video of the two set to Limp Bizkit’s “My Way” song, and it is still talked about today.

However, Debra was actually the biggest part of Rock and Austin’s feud aside from the WWE Championship. Vince placed Debra with Rock as his new manager, which led to unhappiness from her then-husband Austin. The tension starting to build set the feud, but WWE thankfully strayed away from that in the week before the big night.

NEXT: 5 Reasons Steve Austin Was The Best Wrestler Of The Attitude Era (& 5 Reasons It Was The Rock)