M.O.T.Y? Mankind vs The Rock 1999

[IrishCanadian25]

At the request of Big "Dude, Where's My Car?" Will, the 1999 version of the Match of the Year feature will appear a day early.

1999 was also a massive transitional year for professional wrestling. Vince McMahon solidifed himself as a man who would put EVERYTHING on the line, including his own body and livelihood, to advance his company past WCW. He started by winning (!) the 1999 Royal Rumble to further his iconic feud with Steve Austin, who had risen to become the biggest draw since Hulk Hogan.

At the time this was occuring, a feud nobody saw coming was unfolding before our very eyes. Top heel "The Rock" was embroiled in a war for the WWF Title with an unlikely hero, and a man who had risen through the ranks to become a WWF Champion despite no brand split and a saturation of star power. That man was Mick Foley.

At the Rumble, these two men battle in an "I Quit" match for the belt, which was selected as 1999's Match of the Year by P.W.I. The match itself was controversial, as 1) Foley's wife and kids were at ringside watching Foley have his hands cuffed behind his back getting wailed in the head with a chair, 2) Foley lost the belt when Rock filtered Foley's voice through the PA from a prior interview, and 3) Foley was attended to medically in the back and was congratulated by EVERY superstar in the WWF - except the Rock.

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But was THIS the Match of the Year?

Or was Jerry Lynn vs Rob Van Dam better?

What about Austin vs McMahon or Austin vs Rock?

For the first time in these polls, I will be adding the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd runners up to the poll, as well as the "other" category. Please post your thoughts...WHAT WAS 1999'S MATCH OF THE YEAR?

 

[midgensa]

I think Rock vs. Austin at Wrestlemania was great ... BUT
This is clearly the match of the year. Somehow at the height of Austin's popularity and in the middle of the epic Austin-McMahon feud, The Rock vs. Mankind's series of matches STOLE THE SHOW.
This match absolutely sums up the greatness of this feud as the strap came off of Foley here to set up the build to WM and Austin v. Rock.
From the charisma of these two guys to the multiple chair shots ... to the actual look of concern on The Rock's face as Foley sat there taking shot after shot without falling. This is the best match of 1999.

 

[trev55]

The WWF/WWE has always had a habit of trying to get mileage out of feuds and this was one feud that worked well. They had a match at Survivor Series, Rock Bottom, Royal Rumble, And St.Valetines Day Mash, plus two Raw matches and the halftime of the super bowl. They had no dq, empty arena, last man standing, ladder and I quit matches . This feud alone could be a great DVD by itself. This was the match of the year. I personally prefered this feud over Vince/Austin. Hopefully someone at WWE reads this and takes my advice about the DVD.

 

[NEW_WWE_OWNER]

I'm going to say something that will get me slack but Hardy's vs E and C Ladder Match in 1999. It was the FIRST tag team ladder match. It also Cemented both teams, ESPECIALLY Jeff Hardy as a high flyer. Finally, it had 4 up and coming superstars, 2 of which became World Champion.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

Thank You Irish, now I can add the post that never was in the 1998 catagory.

First, I think 1999 was a very hard year to compete with because there was a lot of great feuds, and a lot of classic matches, so picking one out of the group is going to be completely hard to do. However, the Rock v. Mankind match at the Royal Rumble would be considered a great one.

Now the upside to this is while both men were already known, I strongly believe this match remade both of them for the Main Event spot. Mick Foley was already known as the guy who'd kill himself for ratings. And The Rock was unofficially the people's champion, even as a heel. However, when you truly break this match down.. should it be considered the MOTY when the most commonly used move in it, were chair shots? I'm torn but I'm going to say.. NO.

Now here are some examples I brought up.. (before)

1. No Mercy: Ladder Match: Edge & Christian v. The Hardy Boyz: If you want a gimmick match that steals the show and takes your breath away, turn your eyes from fat guys taking 2,000 chair shots to the face.. and rewitness the awe-inspiring Ladder match that MADE all four Superstars into what they are today.Without this ladder match, Jeff & Matt, Edge & Christian, none of them would be worth talking about and never would've got a second look. It was this ladder match that stole the show, and was (still is) talked about for years to come.

2. Wrestlemania XV: The Rock v. Steve Austin: How this match wasn't instantly put in the "can you top this?" I'll never know. This was their first Wrestlemania match-up together, and its one of their biggest talked about matches to date. I'm not instantly sure why, because I was still iffy on The Rock being as over and huge as Steve Austin, to match him evenly, however they went out and put on a great show. And I honestly feel this match alone could and should beat The Rock/Mankind - I Quit match.

3. Spring Stampede: W.C.W. Heavyweight Championship: Hulk Hogan v. Ric Flair v. Diamond Dallas Page v. Sting: (w/ Savage as special ref.) This was one of the very few matches during the 1999 era that made me love W.C.W. In fact, the Spring Stampede & Slamboree p.p.v.'s both left me wanting more of the same.With this specific match, you had Hulk Hogan still a heel, yet gaining more fan base than the 'face' Ric Flair, who was turning heel in the process. You then had the natural face in Sting, and the unknown never before World Champion in D.D.P. Throw Randy Savage as the special ref. into the mix, and you have an explosive Main Event.This was D.D.P.'s coming of age match, and I love remembering it.

4. Slamboree: Triple Threat Tag Team Championships: Rey Mysterio & Kidman v. Raven & Saturn v. Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko: When I think of Tag Team matches, and a great Tag Team division.. I think of this match.You had a perfect blend of speed, hardcore/power, and technical ability all mixed into one. Going in, The Four Horsemen (Benoit/Malenko) were feuding with Raven/Saturn, and Kidman/Mysterio had the Tag Championships fall into their lap as a result. The outcome.. quite possibly the greatest Tag Team contest I've ever seen.. EVER!

5. Nitro: Chris Benoit v. Bret Hart: After the tragedy of Owen's death, there was a lot of concern over whether Bret Hart would simply retire from the business, or continue wrestling. This match, whether he stayed or left, was a tribute to Owen.. and it gave us everything and more.Chris Benoit and Bret Hart are two of the greatest technical wrestlers today, and this match proved why.

6. Guilty As Charged: E.C.W. Heavyweight Championship: Shane Douglas v. Taz: This was a great match for both men, and one of the very first E.C.W. matches I ever witnessed. I felt that Douglas had a great match with Taz, and Taz showed me that E.C.W. wasn't all about violence and weapons.This was a tremendous match, and anyone who wants to see Taz at his best.. should definately watch this match.

7. E.C.W.: Rob Van Dam v. Jerry Lynn: Numerous encounters from 1999, and you notice I didn't pick a single one out of the group, why? Because any one of them can top the Rock/Mankind, I Quit match. When you wanna see a great mix of power, speed, technical style and an overall great blend to a match.. you pop in an R.V.D./Jerry Lynn match. Anyone, doesn't matter. And it all started in 1999.

Note-Worthy Mentions: Billy Gunn v. X-Pac KOTR Finals, Rey Mysterio v. Kidman at Spring Stampede, R.V.D. v. Taz from November to Remember, etc, etc, etc.

EDIT: I voted R.V.D. v. Jerry Lynn, because it was a perfect blend of styles. Their matches had everything, and it was amazing that even for their first match to have everything, each one their-after continued to add more. How anyone could ever get disappointed with an R.V.D./Jerry Lynn match, I'll never know.

 

[xmoshx]

i think this match was a great pic for M.O.T.Y. it was interesting it had some sick bumps mic foley getting thrown from the stands into the sound and lighting board and half the arena getting blacked out, the way they used to mic was very funny from trash talking to the rock singing it was hilirous an the top it all of the 20 somethin steal chair shots that mick foley took to the head while hand cuffed was crazy and the way the rock won wit the recording playin was classic heel.i think its the perfect pic fot the M.O.T.Y.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I'd possibly go for Hart/Benoit from Nitro. But I find it hard to truly get behind TV matches. Does nobody find that ad bearks, even if the screen only goes blank for a second, ruin the continuity of a match?

Overall I'd go RVD/Lynn. Illogical spot fest? maybe. Who gives a shit. Great match. In 1999 ECW was like TNA on Bravo. Itt was on. But I wasn't watching it at that time of day. So it was up to this new invention called ECW VHS. Expensive but cool. This be the match that got me hooked. Like most good matches it suffered from the laws of diminishing returns, but this is still a classic.