15 Best Matches To Ever Take Place At Royal Rumble
3. Mankind Vs. The Rock (Royal Rumble '99)
If you are a wine drinker, you will appreciate this analogy. Some wines are just better after they have been allowed to sit in the bottle for several years. Some wrestling matches are the same. If given the chance to age so that they can be properly and historically contextualized, their place in wrestling lore only rises. Such is the case for Rock vs. Mankind. Scour the internet and you may note that the critical marks earned by this match have, largely, made its place in the top 5 of a list like this seem out of touch. No, it is the other way around. If Terry Funk vs. Ric Flair in 1989 had a 5-star I Quit match, then surely the same rating should be given to Rock vs. Mankind, which was more entertaining, more brutal, and better produced. Rock vs. Mankind at the '99 Rumble is one of the most underrated critical achievements in modern wrestling lore. Think of what it accomplished. The Rock, thought of before this match as more of a muscle car than an off-road utility, proved to be well within his element brawling the toughest wrestler in the history of the business, never backing down an inch despite taking a beating like he had never taken before. Mick Foley, thought of before this feud as a fantastic second-tier player in WWE, proved to be a top drawing stud in a ragamuffins attire, more than capable of putting asses in seats. Was it a little too much in the end? Sure, ten unprotected chair shots is not something that we ever need to see again in this business. It was and is too dangerous. We cannot go back in time and stop them from doing it, though, so we may as well celebrate it for what it afforded both men's legacies. Frankly, Rock vs. Mankind should be remembered as no less than the defining version of its gimmick in the history of pro wrestling. Even its finish piping in Mankind's voice screaming I Quit from a promo made as much sense as any other climax in the stipulation's storied past. These are larger-than-life characters. Would one elite persona really be able to make another say those words? To both guys, Thank You.
"The Doc" Chad Matthews has written wrestling columns for over a decade. A physician by trade, Matthews began writing about wrestling as a hobby, but it became a passion. After 30 years as a wrestling fan, "The Doc" gives an unmatched analytical perspective on pro wrestling in the modern era. He is a long-time columnist for Lordsofpain.net and hosts a weekly podcast on the LOP Radio Network called "The Doc Says." His first book - The WrestleMania Era: The Book of Sports Entertainment - ranks the Top 90 wrestlers from 1983 to present day, was originally published in December 2013, and is now in its third edition.
Matthews lives in North Carolina with his wife, two kids, and two dogs.
