Mick Foley Explains the Reasoning Behind His I Quit Match With The Rock

– During a recent edition of Foley Is Pod, WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley recalled the reasoning behind his legendary I Quit Match with The Rock back at Royal Rumble 1999. He said the following on the matchup (via WrestlingInc.com):

“It’s inevitable people are going to cheer him. You just kinda try to hold off the inevitable until after WrestleMania. It’s hard to really boo him because he’s such a gifted entertainer, and he makes you smile [and] laugh. But if we could show a vicious, vindictive side [to him], we could hold off the inevitable for at least a few months.”

Foley also revealed that the original planned finish for the match was going to be Foley losing the match by quitting due to sparing his family in the crowd from watching him suffer further. However, Foley said that TV executives veoted the idea because it was too “emotionally powerful.”

Ultimately, the pay-per-view match ended with Mick Foley being knocked out, and The Rock had help from his stable The Corporation by having Foley saying the words “I Quit” over the speaker system using his comments from a promo earlier in the night, which tricked the referee. As a result, The Rock won the match and regained the WWE Championship.