[1999-01-04-WWF-Raw] The Rock vs Mankind

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Okay match, but a great/borderline classic moment with Mankind winning the title. The pop Austin gets for his run-in is one of the loudest he ever received, maybe the loudest. Yeah, the referee had to pretend not to hear the loud ovation and Austin's music, but I don't think Austin would have gotten the same pop without it. I'm not crazy about how frequently Rock and Mankind traded the belt back and forth during their feud, although Mick winning it once was a good thing.

[Bix]

Doesn't matter what the referee heard, it's no DQ.

[tim]

Is this the single best segment the Attitude Era produced? Absolutely classic stuff.

 

The match itself was better than I remember it from last watching. Nothing mind blowing but it was all action, some neat moments and had a hot crowd and felt like a big deal. Rock and Mankind have a cool dynamic, them having a world title feud really feels fresh at this point to me. The ending makes this one of the best title changes of all time. Post match is great too. Really fantastic overall segment that could hardly be any better.

[Tim Cooke]

Fantastic moment with Foley winning the WWF Championship after Austin screws over McMahon in the biggest way possible. The match was pretty bad as Rock and Foley seemed to meander through the opening of the match and never got completely in sync down the stretch.

[Tim Evans]

The only thing that might have made this better is if Jim Ross was on the call. Cole did a good job though. Just fantastic all the way. Love Mankind wearing a Job Squad T-shirt.

[soup23]

Decent match but I am still waiting on these two to really click. I did like the commentary bits and Rock Bottom through the table of this one. The finish is deservedly memorable as the roof completely blows when Austin's music hits. What a great moment where Austin remains the Guy but Mick is the champ bringing everything full circle. Such contrast to Nitro. (**3/4)

[Zenjo]

Mankind had such amazing music at this time. Alas they changed it just afterwards. It seems churlish to critique a TV match that connected so perfectly with its audience. The heat level for the Austin run in and the finish were thermo nuclear. Such a wonderful feel good moment to see a great personality and character of the wrestling world reach the top of the mountain. It's a shame JR wasn't on commentary. Or rather he was, only using Michael Cole as a mouthpiece. Combined with the atrocity on Nitro this helped the WWF overtake WCW for me at the time.

[PeteF3]

We get our first look at some spots that would become staples, like Rock doing commentary mid-match, and the "Smackdown Hotel" catchphrase. Fun match with a few neat near-falls, but an even better moment. On a night when WCW decided to pull the rug out from under everybody and rip off 40,000 attendees while also inviting us to check out the competition, we flip over to the other channel to get one of the biggest feelgood moments of this or any other year.

[Superstar Sleeze]

WWF World Champion The Rock vs Mankind - WWF RAW 1/4/99

 

On one of the most influential nights in pro wrestling history, Mrs. Foley's Baby Boy owned it. While New Japan and WCW bombed with disastrous angles on this night, WWF delivered one of the all time great feelgood moments in pro wrestling history. Mick Foley is a truly great underdog story that really does make you believe that any dream is possible. To do it on a night where WCW openly called out that he would win the championship ahead of time and actually causing a ratings spike for WWF is a testament to how great a story it is.

 

The match in of itself is oddly constructed. The Rock basically kicks the shit out of Mick Foley and whats weird is that he doesn't cheat at the start. He is just beating him up. Like there was no big transition. The Rock just starting kicking him. It was odd. Foley takes the ring steps bump, suplex on the floor, smashed in the face by a bell and Rock Bottomed through the table. The Rock did his mid-match commentary which I believe was the first time he did it. Some damn good trash talk. I thought the lack of shine hurt the match. The pops for the kickouts were not that great. It was a pseudo-lumberjack match with D-X and Corporation there but they did not get that involved. D-X even let Foley get hit in the head with the belt and kick out. I feel like there should have been more interactions with the wrestlers outside. Let me take this opportunity to say how big a mark I am for the Corporation. Vince, The Stooges, The Rock, Shamrock, Bossman and a coerced Kane is a very underrated stable and it is too bad it got merged with the Ministry of Darkness. Shamrock gets involved and now D-X vs Corporation goes down. Then it happens.

 

The single loudest pop in history. Austin's music hit and THE PLACE ERUPTS! It is not just the noise, it is the visual of every single person standing putting there arms in the air. Austin wallops Rock with a chairshot and Mankind wins. Great celebration coupled with Vince being pissed and Austin flipping him off. This match defies ratings. It is a classic.