The rivalry between Mick Foley and The Rock became a huge part of the Attitude Era’s success. Steve Austin, Triple H and The Undertaker were the other three names joining those two as the top names of that time. However, Rock and Foley had a more unique chemistry between each other than any other combination of those five names.
WWE placed them in both beloved tag team acts and intense hated rivalries. Foley and Rock knew how to play off each other and had unselfish mentalities for top stars. The feud deserves a lot of credit for creating massive business for WWE. A legendary rivalry like that stands the test of time today. The following notes and memories about Rock vs Foley will shine a deeper light on their feud.
10 Both Men Won Their First WWE Championship Vs Each Other
The WWE Championship dictated the feud between Mick Foley and The Rock. Both wrestlers won their first world title against each other in career-defining moments. Survivor Series 1998 featured Rock beating Mankind at the end of a tournament to become the new WWE Champion.
Foley ended up scoring his first title win a few months later when dethroning Rock during an episode of Raw. Steve Austin dominated the top spot for most of 1998 and 1999, but this stretch with him out of the title scene allowed both stars to reach the top of the mountain.
9 The Rock Caused The First Hardcore Title Change
Vince McMahon awarded the Hardcore Championship to Mankind as a cheap manipulation tool of making him the first person to hold a new belt. However, the betrayal of Vince screwing Mankind to help Rock led to things falling apart for Mick Foley.
Mankind lost the Hardcore Championship to the Big Boss Man when Rock interfered in their match and got away with it due to the no DQ stipulations. A funny story shared on JBL and Gerald Brisco’s podcast revealed that Boss Man didn’t even want the belt when finding out he’d have hardcore matches every week.
8 Exchanged WWE Championship Four Times In Three Months
The late 1998 and early 1999 program between The Rock and Mick Foley led to the WWE Championship being exchanged more than ever before. WWE booked a total of four title changes only involving these two wrestlers in a three-month span.
Foley winning it from Rock started the chain of events with both men hot potato’ing the title in a short time. WWE wanted the unpredictable feel of title changes coming when fans least expect it, but it ended up being a bit overbearing.
7 Triple H Forced Them To Fight When Friends
The Rock n Sock Connection proved that sometimes bitter rivals can become tremendous tag partners. Both Mick Foley and The Rock were mega-faces when Triple H gained power marrying Stephanie McMahon to create the McMahon Helmsley Regime.
Triple H booked a match between Foley and Rock trying to create a blood feud between them again by having the loser getting fired via a pink slip on a pole match. Rock won to cause Foley’s firing, but he also staged a boycott the following week until Foley was rehired.
6 Mick Foley United With Triple H Vs Rock At WrestleMania 2000
The layered storytelling between Triple H, The Rock and Mick Foley made their past all work in a variety of stories. WrestleMania 2000 was the final chapter of Foley facing either man since he ended his full-time in-ring career that night.
A shocking moment came after Big Show was eliminated first leaving the other three in the match. Foley united with Triple H to try to eliminate Rock since it would allow them to face off at the end. Rock survived as Foley was eliminated next, but Triple H won the whole thing.
5 The Rock Getting Cheered Over Mick Foley & Ken Shamrock Sparked Face Turn
One of the first noteworthy matches between The Rock and Mick Foley came before they entered a personal feud. Rock, Mankind and Ken Shamrock competed in a triple threat catch match at In Your House: Breakdown inside of a steel cage.
All three wrestlers delivered an underrated classic of that year, but the bigger story was fans cheering Rock when he was still heel. Rock getting cheered over Foley was enough to turn him face right at the end of the Nation of Domination’s run.
4 DX United With Mick Foley To Even Odds
The Rock joining Vince and Shane McMahon gave him a lot of support from The Corporation to often cheat against Mick Foley. Steve Austin being removed from the title picture until WrestleMania 15 allowed Mankind to challenge Rock multiple times.
The first losses came due to the odds being stacked against Foley with Rock using his power. However, D-Generation X having issues with The Corporation saw them uniting with Mankind against The Corporation. Fans will see DX members in the background of any photos of Foley’s first title win.
3 "I Quit" Match Had A Cop Out Finish
The infamous “I Quit” match between The Rock and Mankind led to the controversial spot of Mick Foley taking a dozen unprotected chair shots to the head. Many fans forget that this was actually an “I Quit” match since the ending took away from it.
Foley shouting “I quit” in a doctored clip after getting knocked out was obvious to most fans. WWE went with the cheap finish of Rock cheating to protect both wrestlers. A face like Foley quitting wasn’t going to happen in that scenario, but this allowed them to have Rock retain.
2 Super Bowl Halftime Heat Match Did Incredible Rating
WWE is still pulling in the highest ratings most weeks for non-sport television ratings. However, the television audience used to be a drastically higher number. Mick Foley and The Rock proved that with their Halftime Heat match during halftime of the Super Bowl.
This special themed Sunday night special drew 11 million viewers as one of the most watched matches in wrestling history. The ratings were skewed a different direction since it wasn’t a traditional show, but everything about it was successful to prove Super Bowl viewers wanted to watch Foley and Rock at halftime.
1 Had The First Big Double Turn After Steve Austin & Bret Hart
The use of a double turn can only work if it leads to fans changing their opinions on both talents as faces and heels. Bret Hart vs Steve Austin from WrestleMania 13 is still considered the peak of this storytelling device.
However, the next best instance and the first one to take place after that featured The Rock and Mick Foley at Survivor Series 1998. Vince McMahon helping Rock win the WWE Championship and screwing Foley made fans completely change course on both with an effective double turn.