One MIND-BLOWING Secret From Every WWE Royal Rumble

1999 - The Infamous I Quit Match Almost Looked Very Different

One of the most infamous and harrowing moments in WWE history unfolded at Royal Rumble 1999; the Rock took a steel chair and drilled a handcuffed Mick Foley several times with it, full-force, in the back of the head. It was a transgressive attempt at building drama, since Mankind had been built as a man with a supernatural pain tolerance, but it was taken much too far - particularly since Foley’s children were present at ringside, visibly devastated. Even traumatised. It is Foley’s biggest career regret.

The scene was bleak enough, but it gets worse: according to a report in the Observer, in the weeks leading up to the event, Foley requested tapes of two famous, incredible ‘I Quit’ matches: Tully Blanchard Vs. Magnum TA (NWA Starrcade 1985) and Terry Funk Vs. Ric Flair (NWA Clash of the Champions 1989).

While both are forever classics, the first in particular is a masterpiece. In the climactic scene, Magnum threatens to puncture Tully’s eyeball with a wooden chair leg. This is the moment that forced Tully to give. There is no dangerous, real violence here; only the threat, sold to perfection. They were working. Perhaps Foley held naive thoughts of sparing his body this time.

Foley need not have bothered wasting his time; the implied violence was never going to be enough for a now insatiable Attitude Era fandom.

Foley did agree to the sequence, but not to its revolting, senseless extent. He has claimed more than once that the Rock took liberties and exceeded the agreed-upon number of chair shots.