10 Most Genuinely Frightening Moments In Wrestling History

There are several iconic moments of pure terror in Mick Foley's career, one of which will be appearing later on this list, but few have come close to the revolting fear and sickness that his Royal Rumble 1999 match with The Rock inspired.

After an epic brawl around the arena in their WWF Championship match, The Rock got desperate and handcuffed Foley's hands behind his back before hitting him over the head with a dozen unprotected chair shots. With every subsequent shot, The Rock swings harder and the sound of the chair colliding with his skull gets louder. There are few more devastating moments in pro wrestling than Foley, clearly concussed, continously standing up to take more brutal punishment for the sake of the match.

In the notorious wrestling documentary Beyond the Mat, intense focus is placed on the trauma that the last few minutes of this contest caused, the physical wounds for Foley and the emotional anguish that his wife and daughter went through witnessing the brutality. It was sickening at the time and almost impossible to contemplate in an era when the effects of severe CTE are so well known. The match is a masterpiece but deeply terrifying to witness.