3. The Rock vs Mankind - Royal Rumble, January 1999
Surprise! Its the return of Mick Foley again, this time in his persona of masked lunatic Mankind. Its important to note that all of Foleys gimmicks are essentially variations on a very simple theme: deranged psychopath. This match is even more infamous with the benefit of hindsight, now that chairshots to the head are regarded as a cause of serious long-term damage. In perhaps the most brutal chair-based assault in wrestling history, The Rock handcuffed Micks hands behind his back and swung for a home run. Heeding Foleys pre-match instructions, Rock was relentless in his attack, battering his opponent with headshot after headshot. While clearly an incredibly brutal bout, this match is also a very poignant one. Immortalised in the highly critical Beyond The Mat wrestling documentary, Rock vs Mankind is notorious for driving Foleys infant daughter to tears at ringside. It forces an often unconsidered side-effect of wrestling to the fore the effect such a dangerous profession can have on the performers families.
