10 Infamous Wrestling Matches That Took Place Outside The Ring
3. The Rock Vs. Mankind - Empty Arena Match (Halftime Heat 1999)
Another match that WWE presented as the first of its kind took place on Super Bowl Sunday in 1999 as WWE Champion The Rock defended his WWE Title against Mankind. Despite the calibre of the two performers and the high stakes, this match is one of the worst ever in WWE history.
The match started out innocently enough in the ring before moving through the empty arena, into the kitchen, getting more ridiculous each step of the way. The match quickly devolved into a glorified food fight with bags of popcorn, bowls of salsa and other culinary accuoutrement used as weapons.
Had it been presented as a comedy match between two lesser competitors, it might not have been as offensive. As it was, the World Wrestling Federation title was on the line and the match involved two of the company's top stars.
Things didn't get any better when the finish came and suddenly the camera angles cut to The Rock's point of view, looking up at a forklift being lowered onto his torso. Mankind had taken control of a forklift and pinned a palette of kegs on top of The Rock while he stood on the palette as the referee counted three.
What's more is that this is how Foley won his second WWF Championship, via forklift pinfall in the loading dock area of the Tuscon Convention Center.
For anyone that hasn't seen this match, I wish I was making it up.