50 Things You Learn Binge-Watching Every WWE Royal Rumble
29. The "I Quit" Match Is…Uncomfortable!
Mick Foley was no stranger to putting his body through the wringer and sacrificing everything to put on a show by '99. He'd had his brains beaten in by Big Van Vader over in WCW and had already sustained two of the biggest bumps ever in a heralded Hell In A Cell war vs. The Undertaker by this point. Yeah, the Mickster had taken his lumps, but he was about to take some more.
As Mankind, he took a hellish number of unprotected steel chair shots to the head during a blistering “I Quit” match vs. The Rock at the Rumble. Apparently, Rocky took liberties with Mick, and Foley wasn’t happy about it. Looking back now, it's kinda obvious that Rock went overboard with at least one shot too many. Seeing a handcuffed Mick floundering about in his own blood looking totally out of it became even more distressing when watching Beyond The Mat with his kids and wife crying in the crowd too.
That put a new spin on the drama, and the real human misery that came with it. Foley was paying quite the price for his art, shall we say. He was legit annoyed once the cobwebs cleared and he realised what had happened though. Mick thought The Rock could've been a little less...barbaric during the main chunk of the match, especially because he was going against what the pair had planned pre-match.
Viewer discretion is advised. Pro wrestling has largely moved away from chairs to the noggin, and rightly so given the serious threat of repeat concussions, so it's ugly to watch Foley's pain even 25 years on.