10 WWE Moments Only The Rock Could Get Away With

9. The Vicious Beating Of Mick Foley

THE ROCK CM P
WWE

As a snapshot of pro wrestling indulgence, it may be one of the most villainous moments in the history of the industry.

The Rock's systematic and brutal caving-in of Mick Foley's skull in their ultra-violent January 1999 'I Quit' match remains an uncomfortable experience in the final stretch, where a handcuffed Mankind is left completely unprotected as The Rock wails on him with around a dozen wicked chair shots.

As if the scene wasn't terrifying enough, Foley would later go on to reveal that the pair only agreed upon a total of five during the cuffed spot, which exhibited a rather overzealous side of 'The Great One'.

Thanks to Barry Blaustein's 1999 opus 'Beyond The Mat', the devastating impact of the over-egged assault ran deeper, as Foley's crying wife and children were exposed to his destruction as WWE and Hollywood cameras alike.

Due to the frenetic nature of the era, the match was shunted to one side within weeks, as the duo moved onto their rematches and Rock set about becoming the biggest babyface in the entire industry within five months of the heinous sequence.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett