Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock are two of WWE's greatest ever icons. 

The pair both did incredible things during their careers, but it's the magic they made together fans will remember most fondly. 

While they spent much of their time on-screen at war, 'The Great One' and 'The Rattlesnake' have always spoken highly of one another since stepping away from the business. 

Recently, Stone Cold was asked to reflect on his groundbreaking rivalry with The Rock once again and gave some insight into the relationship they shared while in WWE. 

"Rock and I had been great friends from the moment he came into the company, and we turned our relationship into a rivalry," Austin said during an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show.

"And at many times, regardless of who was playing the good or bad guy, we always had a great friendship and a lot of respect and love for each other.

"The Rock was always my favourite opponent because he brought out the best in me, and I brought out the best in him. When you put the two No. 1 guys in there together, magic happens." 

Stone Cold also spoke about his famous WrestleMania battles with The Rock and once again recalled the words the pair shared in the ring as he retired at 'The Show of Shows' in 2003.

"Rock and I headlined three WrestleManias together, which nobody has ever done," Austin said.

"He knew that after that match, I was going to retire and ride off into the sunset. He knew that I didn’t want to retire but I had some nerve and neck issues and I needed to get out of the business. 

After the three count, after he pinned me following three Rock Bottoms, he told me, 'man, I can’t thank you enough for what you did for me. I just want to know I love you, man.' 

"I’m laying there, with 70,000 people going crazy, and I remember looking up at him and saying, 'I love you, too.' Verbatim." 

Beautiful. Just sheer respect between two WWE legends.