Ranking Every Triple H Vs Mick Foley WWE Pay-Per-View Match - From Worst To Best

9. Stone Cold Steve Austin Vs Triple H Vs Mankind (SummerSlam '99)

Triple H Cactus Jack
WWE.com

An awkward and anticlimactic ending to one of the company's biggest events during a white hot era, the WWE Title triple threat main event was littered with internal strife and completely overwhelmed during the build-up by frantic booking changes and the inclusion of special guest referee Jesse Ventura.

Considering the significant legal battles he'd had with Vince McMahon throughout much of the early-1990s, Ventura return was jaw-dropping, not least considering his new position as Governor of Minnesota. McMahon loved it, and was able to briefly push back increasing societal pressure on his product by virtue of Jesse's involvement. Ventura himself probably encountered less politics in his day job at the time than he did as the man in the middle for this disjointed effort.

And other than hurling Shane McMahon out of the ring towards the end of the match, 'The Body' had little else to do other than count a deeply unsatisfying fall as Mankind took the WWE Title from Stone Cold Steve Austin on a night that had appeared destined to be Triple H's coronation.

As it transpired, Austin had been less than enthusiastic about passing the torch to Triple H, contributing to an ever-changing main event picture and ultimately resulting in Mankind's late insertion to the contest. Nailing Austin with his double-arm DDT immediately after 'The Rattlesnake' had eaten a Pedigree, Foley raised aloft his third and final Championship and quickly stumbled out, ahead of transitioning it to 'The Game' the next night on Raw.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett