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WrestleMania has been WWE’s biggest yearly event ever since the first one took place nearly forty years ago. To ensure that the show is as big as possible each year, WWE often pits the biggest and best names against one another, which has resulted in countless dream matches over the course of WrestleMania’s history. At WrestleMania 20, a dream match took place which has mostly gone under the radar, especially when looking at the names involved. Some of the all-time great world champions, Ric Flair, Randy Orton, Batista, Mick Foley, and The Rock, all shared the ring together in one of the most overlooked star-studded affairs in history - on paper anyway.
The Rock Came To The Aid Of Mick Foley
By the time 2004 rolled around, The Rock was very much a part-time name, competing very seldom and making only sporadic appearances here and there, which was all down to his commitment to Hollywood. Time was mostly running out on having The Rock face legends he’d rarely gone against previously, and for him to battle the upcoming stars of the next era. However, at WrestleMania 20, fans got to see him compete against an all-time great, and two young names who would rise the ranks to become sure-fire Hall of Famers too.
At the 2004 Royal Rumble, Mick Foley made his return to the ring after some time away, with it looking as though his career was slowing down, targeting Randy Orton, with whom a lot of bad blood had emerged in the year prior. Foley and Orton would topple over the top rope together, adding a lot of fire to their rivalry and reigniting it to another level, after Foley had previously been thrown down stairs and spat on. Ahead of WrestleMania 20, Foley was targeted by other members of Evolution, including Batista and Ric Flair.
Whilst Foley couldn’t quite even the numbers against Evolution, he enlisted the help of former tag team partner, The Rock, who had a big return at WrestleMania to add some significant star power to the proceedings. They reformed the beloved Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection tandem and challenged their opponents to a handicap match.
The WrestleMania Handicap Match Was Full Of Hall Of Fame Talent
When looking at those involved, it is staggering to see this many legends in one match together, especially due to there being a distinct spread of different eras involved. Flair was one of the biggest names of the 80s and 90s, with countless World Titles to his name, whilst The Rock and Mick Foley were legends of the Attitude Era, with several accomplishments, main events, and legendary moments to their names too.
Whilst Batista and Randy Orton were in the early stages of their career, they would go on to become two of the faces of the Ruthless Aggression and PG Era for WWE, each main eventing WrestleMania on more than one occasion, once again with ample amount of gold around their waist throughout their careers. Seeing these two in the ring with The Rock is something that almost nearly didn’t happen due to The Rock leaving WWE for Hollywood. It was also just as rare to see The Rock and Flair in the ring together, as they had been on opposing sides of the Monday Night Wars for several years. Looking back, it is surreal to see all these men involved in one singular match, even with them being at different points of their careers.
The Rock & Mick Foley Vs Evolution Was An Enjoyable Match
The match itself did live up to the names involved, with the bout jam-packed with action and an energetic audience, mostly when The Rock was involved. It wasn’t a match of the night contender, but it certainly did the job it was intended, giving the crowd a fun contest and utilizing as many big names as possible whilst not shoehorning them all into a match. Aside from his Rumble appearance, this was Foley’s first match in four years, as per cagematch.net, but he did a tremendous job as a babyface in peril, leading up to The Rock’s electric hot tag.
On the heel side, Flair excellently led the match, aiding the two lesser experienced names to have a strong match. In the end, the correct winners were chosen, as Orton hit an RKO on Foley to end the match and win it for his team. Putting Orton and Batista over two part-timers was the smart move. Overall, it was a well executed feud and match, which was simple yet fun, and did its job of putting Orton over in a big way, especially after he and Foley wrestled a tremendous match the following month at Backlash, in a star-making performance for the younger name.