Celebrating Raw 25 With 10 Moments in WWE Raw History

Credit WWE.com

Mankind Wins His First WWE Championship: January 4, 1999
By Trace Johnson

The career of Mick Foley was growing faster each year heading into 1999, but nobody saw what was coming for the often-overlooked superstar.  No matter which persona Foley was using, he always made things interesting and it always worked.

But heading into 1999, his Mankind persona was on a collision course with the top heel in the company, The Rock.  After turning heel at Survivor Series 1998 and aligning himself with The Corporation, The Rock was the WWE Champion heading into a battle against Mankind for the championship on the January 4, 1999 edition of Raw.

With The Corporation and D-Generation X ringside, The Rock and Mankind would take part in a match and night that changed wrestling forever.  The deck was stacked against Mankind from the start, but after DX thwarted off The Corporation, Stone Cold Steve Austin’s presence would be felt in what can be described as the loudest pop in WWE history.

Austin took out The Rock with a chair and put Mankind on top off The Corporate Champion to get the win amidst a frenzy in the crowd.  Foley had won his first WWE Championship in unbelievable fashion, but the night would be slightly tainted due to WCW revealing the results of the title change.  However, that move would cost WCW over half a million viewers and, in turn, the WWE’s arch rival lost the ratings that night.

Whoever laughs last laughs best, and the WWE was laughing best thanks to a monumental night for Foley and the company as a whole in their battle against WCW.