The Rock & Mick Foley vs Evolution (WWE, 3-14-2004)

WWE WrestleMania XX, New York, NY

This is a request via Ko-fi. Ol’ Mick Foley was having problems with Randy Orton and these Evolution boys, and The Rock came back to help even the odds.

Let’s start backstage with Mick Foley and Lillian Garcia, who reminds us that this is Mick’s first match in four years, which it legitimately was, not counting a Royal Rumble appearance in 2004.

“It’s more than just my first match in four years. It’s WrestleMania. It’s Madison Square Garden. It’s the biggest night in the history of our sport. Fans have flocked from around the world to be here. So when you ask, am I overcome with emotion? Yeah. I just hope the hatred I have for Evolution doesn’t overcome me, get in the way of the plans that The Rock and I have made–”

Rock interrupts. He does his shtick. Lilian isn’t allowed to look at his penis. Rock goes around and we see The Hurricane and Rosey (a “fat sumbitch”), then Jimmy Snuka and Don Muraco. Sons of bitches and candy asses, if ya smell.

Then Evolution — represented by Intercontinental champion Randy Orton, Ric Flair, and Batista — come out for this 3-on-2 handicap match. Then Foley’s out by himself. Jerry Lawler makes a reference to Tommy Lee. That’s the Mötley Crüe drummer and dude who was married to Pamela Anderson, if you’re young and that goes by you a bit. And Pamela Anderson was on Baywatch, the show not the Rock movie. Well, she was also in the Rock movie.

Anyway, Rock’s out and the match starts fast. Rock and Foley clear the ring quickly. Batista gets doubled up to end it. Rock in alone, and Flair comes in to meet him in something of a dream matchup.

Rock with a shoulderblock, then a bad Fargo strut. Flair gets up and woos. C&E, Flair pushes Rock to the corner. Chop, right hand blocked, Rock back with rights of his own. Rock with a backdrop as Flair bounces out of the other corner. Flair goes outside, Rock follows and Flair thumbs him in the eye. Then Flair, because he’s a crazy old man, takes a backdrop on the floor, and then Foley flies down with the Cactus elbow!

Flair tags to Orton, so Foley wants in. And he gets the tag. Orton calls Foley on, then bails out of the ring. But Foley follows and catches him with right hands, followed by ramming Orton’s head into the Smackdown desk at ringside.

Back in and Foley hits an elbow drop for two. Orton tied to the TREEAWOE. Rock gets tagged, but Mick drives a double axhandle into Orton’s face first, anyway. Then Rock kicks Orton in the nuts. Rock telegraphs a backdrop, but comes back quickly with a clothesline. Flair takes a shot at Rock from the apron, so Rock decks him and swipes at Batista, too, leading to Batista low-bridging Rock in retaliation.

Batista drops Rock face-first over the barricade. Orton comes out and stomps away at Rock. Flair gets a shot in on the inside when Orton brings it back into the ring. Batista tagged in officially. Drax vs Hobbs.

Batista takes it to Rock briefly, then tags Flair. Batista was still being largely hidden in tags, which was smart, it let him develop — and learn a ton teaming with Flair in particular — and kept his limitations out of the spotlight. So Flair takes it to Rock now, and lights him up in the corner with chops, talking old man mess and strutting.

Rock springs up with a running clothesline, but Flair’s up first. He goes up top. King: “Don’t try this, Ric, it never works! In all the years I’ve known you!” And indeed Rock slams him off the top, so Flair tags Batista back in.

Batista hammers away on Rock in the corner, whips him to the other side, and Rock flies out with a clothesline, then tags Foley. Foley with rights, kick to the gut, running kneelift. Shot at Orton misses, but Flair takes his. Batista drives Foley into the corner, throwing rights, Foley fights back and turns it around with rights of his own. Foley hits the BANGBANG, but Batista drills him with a lariat.

Foley dumped outside, and Orton goes after him, but Foley chokes Randy before Ric runs in from behind. They double on Foley. Batista has made sure Rock’s not a factor here, and Foley takes the knee bump into the steps.

Orton tagged and he European uppercuts Foley over the apron, then tags Flair back in. A lot of this match is about Flair, really — Orton and Batista are sure more Manias are ahead of them, but for Ric, this could be the last, you never know. (It wasn’t.)

Flair and Foley brawl a moment, then Flair trips Foley and makes the tag to Orton, who comes in with some chinlockery and fishhookery. Foley fights with elbows to the gut, but Orton takes him down and tags in the bruiser Batista. Flair keeping the crowd up with woos from the apron. Batista mounts and pummels Foley, who tries to cover up, and then Foley gets the mandible claw!

Batista, big as he is, can’t do shit about the mandible claw, so Orton comes in to break it up. Flair tags in. Chops, right hands, they’re fighting. Foley sent into the Evolution corner, Batista tagged back after getting a second to recover from the claw. Batista telegraphs a backdrop, Foley hits a swinging neckbreaker.

Rock on the apron is dying for the tag. He’s standing on the bottom rope and not holding the tag rope because he doesn’t know the fucking rules and Mike Chioda isn’t going to enforce them. But Batista drops Foley again, and Flair tags back in.

Flair sends Foley off the ropes, misses an elbow, and Foley drops him with a forearm. Rock tags in and fires off slappy shitty right hands. Forearm from Rock to Flair, DDT for Orton, Batista launched into the ring because Rock is a powerhouse superhero now. But Rock, cleaning house, turns around into a SPINE ON THE PINE from Batista. Flair wants the bones of the Rock, though.

Flair … is going for the people’s elbow. I know it’s coming but I smile and laugh anyway. Flair wastes too much time and Rock kips up and hits Flair with rights, mocks Flair again and puts him down with a big right. Batista in, he eats a DDT. SPINE ON THE PINE for Flair. People’s elbow for Flair! One interesting thing is the crowd is relatively split between Rock and Flair, but largely seem to just be rooting for seeing both guys have a good time.

Flair kicks out at two. Flair with a thumb to the eye and a tag to Orton. He goes for the RKO on Rock, but Rock blocks and hits the Rock Bottom! Cover, Flair pulls Rock out at one. Flair takes another bump on the floor because God bless him of course he does. Then Flair gets up and takes off sprinting, fetching a steel chair. Referee trying to deal with crazy old Flair.

Back inside, Batista Bomb (it wasn’t that yet) on Rock! Orton crawls in — cover, two, Rock gets a shoulder up. Foley desperate to get the tag now. Rock dives over and gets the tag. Foley in with Orton. Right hand Orton, right hand Flair, right hand Batista, Foley is a man on a mission.

Double-arm DDT on Orton! Foley gets the stupid fucking sock out. It’s clearly a very clean sock. RKO OUT OF NOWHERE! OUT OF NOWHERE! You know how the RKO is a full knockout shot for the last however many years? Not here. Foley barely didn’t kick out and sits up immediately after like he’s fuckin Road Warrior Hawk. But at least he sells disbelief.

After the match, Foley and Rock linger in the ring. The crowd chants for Foley, and Rock claps for him. They shake hands and hug, and Rock raises his hand as we fade into a Hall of Fame video package.

Rating: 3/5. It’s still a really enjoyable half-novelty match on one of the big shows of all time, with Rock and Foley working really hard, Orton and Batista making their first mark at Mania, and Flair having a ball. The match largely works on the charisma of Flair and Rock, and to a lesser extent, Foley. Actually, Orton is the most lost in the shuffle, and he was the guy they were trying to get over the most.