Mankind vs. The Rock

[8.0] "Great match, heated feud, strong personalities, the use of the stipulation was on point, nothing else than maybe the best match of this show. 8/10 [****1/2]"

[6.0] "This match hasn't aged well with some of the sickening head shots, despite those I did like the ending 6/10"

[8.0] "What a nice last man standing match, so much violence by both wrestlers but Foley took the most bumps as always. They fought all over the place breaking tables and using different objects as weapons. At some point The Rock hits Mankind with a steel stair while Mankind was outside the ring. That must hurt. I disliked the fact that they both knocked each other out and the match ended in a draw but it is what is."

[10.0] "As I press to catch as much notable content as I can before all the wrestling on Peacock is scrubbed back into the vault, who knows when to be seen again, it's a great pleasure to finally catch one of the Foley/Rock '99 matches I hadn't seen yet. These two had a brilliant feud for the ages in early '99, one of the very best of the Attitude Era in my opinion. Foley is crediting with "making" many names in the WWF/E, and while the Rock was always going to make it to the top once he figured himself out, it helped a lot to cement him as a true main eventer to have all these bangers with Foley over the winter months. The conflict goes back to Survivor Series '98 (well farther but we'll start there). Foley had done everything possible to ingratiate himself with Mr McMahon, even donning the famous ragged suit and tie look, and with Austin finally screwed out of the title picture (temporarily of course) it was between the Rock and Foley for the next world champion. The Rock seemed poised for a face run but instead McMahon called the bell on Foley when Rock put him in the Sharpshooter, and early version of the often repeated worked Montreal Screwjob finish. Vince threw Foley aside in favor of the handsome and charismatic Rock to represent his vision of the WWF, but he probably didn't count on Foley coming after his man with such a terrible vengeance. Foley indeed won the title off Rock for the first time in what I think is still the loudest match of all time, when Austin helped him gain the victory to a deafening pop. That'll put some butts in seats, indeed! Since then they battled in a gruesome, concussion inducing I Quit match and an incredibly fun Empty Arena match, and now they take on the Last Man Standing stipulation. Vince and his goons are entirely absent from this one, locked in the ongoing conflict with Austin, but Rock is not afraid to step up and get into a real fight once again. Foley taunts Rock to prove himself early on, leaving himself open for some attacks before going furiously after Rock as only he can. Love Foley's presentation as always, perfectly unhinged yet not in a cliched way at all. These guys play perfectly to their strengths, namely Rock's big mouth and phenomenal heel confidence, and Foley bumping like a psycho. Great bit with the Rock where he sits down on commentary and starts trashing Foley, only for Foley to dive over the desk and start mauling him. Other highlights would have to be a really sick bump Foley took when he got back dropped off the commentary table to the floor, and a ridiculous moment where Rock fully threw the steps at him from inside the ring, all the way down to just obliterate Foley's hip and leg as he lay down on the floor. Crazy spot, can't believe they actually went for it but I think there was no bump ever Foley was not willing to take. Folks compare Darby Allin to Jeff Hardy but at least in terms of how he applies his in ring style, I think he's a lot more Foley-esque. In the end here no decision could be reached, after a vicious +20 minute battle both men clock each other with chairs and hit the mat for a double 10 count. Good finish to show these guys are evenly matched and great finish to show Rock can hang in equal toughness with one of the toughest wrestlers ever, this was a lot of fun."

"Nice last man standing match from the 90's. Blood filled feud and this match fit in with the rest of them 3.47/5."

[8.0] "Lots of violence between these two, but I remember this as the match where they both knocked each other out and we had no winner. Foley really is a crazy SOB."

[8.0] "Another really cool match between them, with a great amount of violence, and nasty bumps, which were taken by Foley of course, what a freak. This match was after the Empty Arena match, where Mankind became the world champion once again, and they had a couple of weeks to set-up the rematch, a Last Man Standing bout. That was another brawl, with a lot of weapons being used, and a very physical match, which I love, and it is the reason why this rivalry is so phenomenal. After an excellent wrestling display overall, the match ended in a draw, after both Rock and Foley hit each other with a chair on the head, a nice callback to the chair violence we've seen at the Rumble, with the I Quit match. Both guys were taken by the ambulance after the match, in a clearly try to present the match as super violent, which the wrestlers accomplished to tell that story in the match, it was indeed a very good match - {***3/4}"

[7.0] "Once again, they show a perfect alchemy between each other. I feel like the ending slightly ruined my appreciation for this contest but I still appreciate it a lot. A lot of great spots, this was a super enjoyable Last Man Standing. But I still feel that this should have been their final match with a solid winner. 3 3/4 out of 5 for me."

[7.0] "Another fun and highly entertaining match between these two. The draw finish while makes sense it does make the match probably the worse match of their late 98 early 99 feud. Despite that this is still a fun match that's worth watching foley takes more brutal bumps and the rock is his usual cocky entertaining self. 3.75/5"

[8.0] "A good match, whenever they both faced they were going to give a good match. The action was good and hard, although there were many moments where they did nothing. Those moments were fine, because that is based on Last Men Standing, everything is the suspense (more than on a singles match) and at the time where they are on the ground. I recommend it."

[7.0] "This was good for a first Last Man Standing match. They built on their previous experience and made a watchable match"

[8.0] "This was yet another very good Rock v Mankind clash and it's impressive that this was their sixth clash in the space of 4 months and yet none of them have felt the same as each other. The match starts put like a hardcore brawl where they briefly go backstage, but most of the action happens around ringside and you get a bit of everything where you would see some intense spots and also some lighter moments like Mankind going for the People's Elbow and the Rock singing Elvis whis was a very funny moment because he gets caught with the Mandible Claw. The Rock was feeling more and more like a complete performer at this point where his character work was always great, but he also looked like a killer in there when he needed to be and he was ruthless at times with the limb targeting that he caused on Heat. Foley bumps like a mad man, but this did feel like a much more even contest compared to the one-sided I Quit match a month before. Unfortunately the finish of the match doesn't really give fans the closure they was hoping for as it ends a bit abruptly in a draw, but the way The Rock sells that double chair shot and flies into the ropes was pretty awesome."

[7.0] "[***3/4] While I found this match great while it was on, and probably better than their "I Quit" and Empty Arena matches purely from an in-ring wrestling perspective, I feel like the ending came a bit too abruptly, despite being the longest match on the card (which is both a good and a bad thing). I would have preferred a clear winner, but unfortunately, this is a struggle I have with many Attitude Era matches. That being said, these two have incredible chemistry, and it always feels like, during this time, every time they are in the ring together, they bring the best out of each other and come out of the match more over and looking better than they were going into it. The Rock and Mankind are an unlikely duo, but somehow this works amazingly and is arguably the best thing the company has to offer during this period, possibly even better than the Austin and McMahon feud."

[8.0] "Another absolutely crazy match between the two men. They brawled all over the place for twenty minutes and the match didnt have a definitive winner."

[5.0] "There's only so much you can do when your feud consists of constant brawls around the arena. They didn't do anything new, none of the spots were really fresh and the finish could have been more original, but it was still a nice watch at times. Watching heel Rock is a pure joy and even if they didn't do much his body language and charisma were carrying the whole thing."

[7.0] "A lot of good spots here but it also has the dumb draw, The Rock playing it a bit too funny in a directly pop-the-crowd way considering what a prick he's been til now, and it's kind of slow and overlong as is hard to avoid in Last Man Standing matches. Still just about a 7 for me but an actual winner and more heat on Rock to go with the good stuff these two always bring and it'd be really great. (***1/2)"

[7.0] "I thought this was really great other than the ending. It was the longest match on the show yet it felt like it ended too soon, but that's probably just because it ended without a proper winner. There's better ways to do a Last Man Standing match finish without making anyone look bad than this. It's a PPV, the payoff should be on the PPV. But again I really liked everything else about it."

[8.0] "The first true Last Man Standing match in the history of the WWE (I refuse to acknowledge that Savage vs Crush match). Somehow, after months of beating the living shit out of each other, they still find new and creative ways to destroy one another. Once more, Mankind takes the hardest bumps, with the multiple suplexes on the outside and eating the steps that were thrown to him from inside the ring while he was laying on the outside. The Rock's singing was hilarious too, and led to an even funnier sequence where he was taking the Mandible Claw and selling it while holding the mic near his mouth. The match could have squeezed into a 9 or a 10 if it had a definitive finish, but at least it led to a cool ladder match on Raw."

[6.0] "Foley lost the title to Rock back at RR in the infamous I Quit match, then won it back on halftime heat super bowl special. Rock attacks and goes for the knee that he injured on Sunday Night Heat. Mankind comes back with the championship belt and knocks Rock cold, that gets an 8 count. They fight up the aisle and Rock gets sent into the set, but comes back and whips Mick into it as well. Over to a table, where Mankind DDTs Rock through the table. Rock answers the bell at 8. Back to the crowd, where Rock gets a sudden backdrop suplex and Mick takes a bump onto concrete, but he's up at 3. Back to ringside and Rock gets whipped into the stairs. Into the ring for a People's Elbow from Mankind, but it misses. Rock takes a break to do color commentary while the ref counts Mick down, but he's up at 7. Mick attacks him to cut off the talk and drops the elbow from the apron to the table. Rock answers the bell at 8. Back into the ring and Mankind charges with the stairs, but gets them kicked back in his face. Rock gets a chair and goes after the knee again, but does the spot where he hits the ropes and knocks himself out with it. Cactus clothesline puts both guys on the floor and they brawl back to the announce table again. Mick goes for a pile driver, but Rock backdrops him into the timekeeper's table and thus hurts the leg again. Rock tosses the stairs onto Mick's leg for good measure in a horrible spot where Mick takes the full weight of them on the hip. Cole says they weigh 250lbs (rolls eyes) but Mick still answers the bell. Rock grabs the mike and stops to sing, but Mick awakes and gives him the Mandible Sock in mid chorus. Rock answers the bell at 8 and comes back with a DDT, which puts Mankind down for 8. Mankind gets his double arm DDT for 8. Claw is countered with Rock Bottom, they fight up and each has a chair and they joust eachother taking wild swings and blasting each other at the same time and it's a draw. HUGE BULLSHIT chant and I agree. Although the good guy retained the belt so they shouldn't feel bad. It's stupid to book this type of match and do a draw when your not trying to keep the belt on the heel."

[6.0] "Draws in matches specifically set up to prevent draws are one of the worst things in wrestling, and the result here nearly ruined what was otherwise a pretty good match. It was heading towards being an overbooked mess before that, but barely controlled chaos is something these two guys - especially Foley - do well."

[8.0] "Mankind and The Rock just can? t seem to have bad matches, and this was no exception. They once again brawl all over the place which is good as usual, and Mankind takes some pretty rough bumps like the suplex on concrete, receiving a back body drop from the announcers table to the ring bell and getting steel steps just thrown on to him. Rock? s heel work as always is awesome with him talking trash, his leg work on Mankind with the chair shots all match was awesome and Mankind sold the leg well. Draw occurs when they both hit each other in the face with chairs which the crowd does not like it one bit which is understandable, still an amazing match tho.****1/4"

[6.0] "This is a pretty good match, they brawl in the ring and around it. They use steel stairs and chairs."

[8.0] "Yet another great match in their awesome rivalry. They went to war once again, this time and a last standing match, which ended in a no contest after Mankind and Rock beat each other up so bad that no man could make it to their feet. Foley and Rock worked incredibly well together here, and the crowd was thoroughly invested, going crazy for everything. This was a great Attitude Era match, and well worth a watch. ****"

[8.0] "The first true Last Man Standing match in the WWF. Another great match in this classic Rock Foley series. Crowd wasn't into it but I won't let that ruin the match. ****"

[8.0] "When you think Mankind can't be more crazy than what he showed before, there is still this Last Man Standing match, impressive battle with a now highly charismatic The Rock who sings when the opponent is down. Really funny match with a strong conclusion. ****"

[8.0] "This match is one of my least watched matches of the Rock/Mankind feud, not because it was a bad match, it isn't, but because it was dwarfed by the other matches leading up to it."

[8.0] "Real classic of Last Man Standing matches. It is a lot of sophisticated ways to force the opponent not to stand and not such bad more likely natural final. My rating: ****."