"Stone Cold" eventually recovered from his injuries and began his meteoric journey to the top of the WWE hierarchy. Austin wrestled superstars like as Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, and The Undertaker, but he's most known for his confrontations with two men: The Rock and WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. In December 1994, The Heartbreak Kid took on The Sandman at The Survivor Series in what would become one of the greatest matches of all time. During the match, The Rock made his WWE debut by jumping into the ring to help Austin defeat The Sandman. This led to The Rock and Austin forming a tag team later that night on Monday Night Raw when they faced The Hardy Boyz and their opponents The Godfather and Mr. Perfect. From then on, "Stone Cold" became one of The Rock's earliest allies. Over the next year, The Rock and Austin went head-to-head several times with each man trying to be the first to win the championship. In 1995, The Rock defeated Bret Hart to become the champion. Then just months later, Austin came back from a 3-year retirement to wrestle The Rock to a no-contest after both men were doused in gasoline and set on fire by McMahon. After this incident, Vince McMahon banned Austin from wrestling for a year, which forced him to retire again.