Welcome to a new weekly column here at Bleacher Report, appropriately titled WWE Throwback Thursday. This is where we look back through the long history of WWE and highlight a specific moment, match or event from the same week from a previous year.For the first edition of this article, it felt right to choose something that might not be familiar to every fan, and that is where Rebellion 2001 comes in.For those who don't remember, or are too young to know about it, WWEused to hold an annual event in England that was only meant to be seen by fans in the United Kingdom. Thanks to the WWE Network, now we can relive these greatshows, or in the case of many American fans, see them for the first time.2001 was an especially good year for the British pay-per-view. The Attitude Era was starting to wind down, Kurt Angle still had hair, it seemed like everyone had a title around their waistand the Invasion angle was in full swing.WWE already owned the ECW brand when the company purchased WCW and closed its doors in early 2001, so select wrestlers were brought in as part of a large stable looking to take down the giant that defeated their beloved promotions.Every single match on the Rebellion card featured someone from the WCW-ECW Alliance taking on a loyal WWE talent, and it made for some outstanding matchups.Edge and Christian opened the show with a hard-fought cage match, the Dudley Boyz retained the WCW Tag Team Championships in a Triple Threat bout against the Hardys and the APA and Chris Jericho fought Angle for the WCW title in a classic encounter, but none of those matches were as anticipated as the main event.The Rock was the face of Team WWE, and his greatest rival, Stone Cold Steve Austin, had defected to the Alliance. Austin had wrestled for both WCW and ECW before finding fame as Stone Cold in WWE, but he returned to his roots to combat Vince McMahon.By this point, Rock and Austin had already headlined two WrestleManias, so they had developed a long feud that showcased theirgreat chemistry on the mic and in the ring.When talking about the most epic rivalries in wrestling history, it's impossible not to mention these two. Their contrasting styles made for great conflicts, but it was their ability to tell a story that made them so much fun to watch.Austin was in full heel mode during this match. He attacked Rocky before the bell, flipped off the crowd and ref every chance he got and even went as far as to choke his opponent with one of the many electrical cables around the ring.Referee Earl Hebner didn't adhere to the standard rule of disqualifications and count-outs, so Austin and the Rock could take the fight all over the ringside area, and they took full advantage of the leniency they were given.The crowd was firmly in Rock's corner, and the Brahma Bull was in rare form that night. Anything Austin dished out, the Rock sent right back his way.Having Paul Heyman playing the heel on commentary while Jim Ross played the babyface added an extra layer to the story and made for some entertaining exchanges between the two veteran broadcasters.Like every match featuring these legends, the pace was quick and the action was brutal. Their competitive nature forced them to try and outdo every previous performance, and this was no exception.Just when it looked like the Rock would put away his nemesis with a Sharpshooter, Angle came down and attacked him with a steel chair.Jericho tried to make the save, but some confusion led to the Rock thinking it was Y2J who had hit him. Rocky was able to take out Angle and Jericho, but their distraction affected the Great One.It was all too much for the blossomingbox-office mogulto overcome, and Austin was eventuallyable to secure the win and retain the WWE Championship.It was yet another chapter in their long history of great matches, and it almost went unseen by the majority of the WWE Universe. Thanks to the WWE Network, everyone can now go back and see what fans in England were treated to that night.Thanks for reading andfollow meonTwitter:@BR_Doctor.
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