“This Was a Historic Moment”- Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Mick Foley Celebrate Historic Career Point
WCW had the upper hand over WWE in the Monday Night Wars and all hope seems lost until two men changed the course of professional wrestling history- The Rock and “Mankind” Mick Foley.
The infamous night on January 4th, 1999 saw a massive switching viewership from WCW to WWE to witness the crowning of Mankind as the new WWE Champion, leaving WCW in the dust.
22 YEARS AGO, TODAY
JANUARY 4, 1999
THE NIGHT THE CHANNELS CHANGED!
Thanks to everyone who played a part in the biggest win of my career – and one of the biggest ratings wins in the #MondayNightWars
Thank you @TheRock for doing the honors! pic.twitter.com/5f9W7Yyqfp
— Mick Foley (@RealMickFoley) January 4, 2021
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To celebrate the iconic incident, Mick Foley and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson took to Twitter. The two of them recalled the glorious night that changed history and decisively set WWE on the perch over its arch-rivals.
Before the infamous Raw episode, WCW had been beaten WWE for 84 straight weeks in viewership ratings. They were recognized as the most popular Wrestling promotion at the time.
This was a massive and historic moment in pro wrestling during the infamous “Monday Night Wars”.
It all hinged on one man becoming @wwe champion – @RealMickFoley.
We all had our role to play and I was honored to “do the honors” for you and our business, my friend. #foley 👑 https://t.co/YsSnM43b59— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) January 4, 2021
However, it all changed on January 4, 1999, when The Rock was set to defend his WWF Championship against Mick Foley. Unfortunately, the results of the fight were leaked to WCW, and then CEO Eric Bischoff instructed commentator Tony Schiavone to announce the news on WCW Nitro live.
WCW lost about 600,000 viewers to WWE in its biggest mistake
This was an effort to spoil the mystery element of WWE’s product but would go down as the biggest mistake made in Bischoff’s life. Excited to see the big underdog Mankind win the title, about 600,000 viewers switched channels to USA Network for WWE from WCW Nitro!
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While Mankind was busy winning the Championship, WCW featured Hulk Hogan pinning Kevin Nash after touching him with a finger. This blatant oversell enraged viewers who obviously found the WWE product far more interesting.
The incident would go down as the Fingerpoke of Doom as it diluted WCW’s product, as well as its upper hand on WWE in terms of content and viewership.
The Rock and Mankind gave the fans a match of a lifetime
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The massive change in viewership, ridiculed by Schiavone as putting “butts in seats” ironically came back to bite WCW and the phrase also became a popular saying.
This decisive victory for WWE ensured its future as the top of the Pro Wrestling chain and also gave them a huge advantage in the Monday Night Wars, a privilege Vince McMahon had not enjoyed for a long time.
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If it was in terms of battles, January 4, 1999, was the Waterloo for the Monday Night Wars. The Rock and Mankind will forever be remembered and glorified as the men who changed the trajectory of Professional Wrestling history.
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