Our match of the week this week is The Rock vs Mankind, taped on January 26, 1999 (airdate January 31, 1999), from Tucson, Arizona (WWF).
This WWF World Title bout aired on USA Network as “Halftime Heat” during halftime of Super Bowl XXXIII, and saw Mankind win the WWF title for the second time.
This bout was part of a seven-match stretch of Rock vs Mankind televised WWF title matches between late 1998 and early 1999, with the title changing hands five times. That seven-match stretch featured multiple iconic WWF moments, including The Rock’s first-ever WWF title win in the finals of the WWF Championship tournament at Survivor Series ’98 Deadly Game, Tony Schiavone infamously spoiling Mankind’s first title win during a live Nitro broadcast which resulted in 600,000 viewers changing the channel to see it, and the brutal “I Quit” match at the Royal Rumble, later immortalized in Beyond The Mat. The Rock vs Mankind feud helped elevate The Rock to megastar status, and would qualify as an all-time pantheon WWF/E feud by any definition.
Watch & discuss: https://www.patreon.com/posts/match-of-week-2-62244450
