10 Incredible Wrestling Title Wins (…That Led To RUBBISH Reigns)
4. Mankind: WWF Heavyweight Championship
The Rock was not 'The People's Champion'; Mick Foley was.
Unlike his Rock'N' Sock Connection pal, Foley didn't have a family name backing his path to success, instead wielding his way there through strikingly homicidal performances. Bouts vs. Vader, Terry Funk, and The Nasty Boys were among Foley's most barbaric, but it was Foley at his best. He demonstrated the foolhardy approach to pro wrestling better than most at the time, a trait which he carried over to the WWF.
His 4 January 1999 victory of the WWF Championship was a contradictive match compared to the aforementioned trio. There were no potent blows to the head, no ears being severed, and no incineration, but rather an uber-sports entertainment performance from Foley that the Mankind persona became renowned for. His title win wasn't entirely clean - 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin compressing The Rock's skull with a chair was a neat visual, nonetheless - but Mankind's first stint with the title deserved more than a mournful 26-day reign. Dropping it back to Rocky at the Royal Rumble wasn't a necessary move, but Vince McMahon wasn't primed to have the Heavyweight Champion heading into WrestleMania be a man who he thought "didn't have any talent".
Mick Foley! No talent!
It's a bold statement coming from the same man who thought an incest storyline with his daughter was "Such good sh*t, pal".