Post Preview
When it comes to wrestling matches, few have left indelible memories like this one. It was between Mick Foley, who was in his Mankind persona, and Mark Calaway, otherwise known as The Undertaker. The people who saw this June 28, 1998, Vince McMahon production, both on Pay-Per-View television and in-person, would come away buzzing about what had just happened.
The Set-Up
For people not familiar with the WWE, this was known as Hell in a Cell, where a giant steel cage was lowered over the wrestling ring. The action would take place both inside and outside the cage, and the rules were pretty much out the window. There weren’t any disqualifications, and victory was only achieved by pinning the other person or getting them to submit.
Foley was no stranger to this kind of scenario, though. He’d even done matches in Japan where they used things like barbed wire — which meant that there was bound to be a lot of blood that would seep into the ring floors. Undertaker was also a wrestling veteran, so both knew what kind of show they needed to put on for the Pittsburgh crowd. (this was part of the King of the Ring event held at the Civic Center)
The Start
The two wrestlers immediately began scaling the cage and began throwing punches at each other on top of the cage. This cage was made of wire mesh, and they were secured by ties. There’s a reason that this is important a bit later on.
After a bit of trading blows, Undertaker grabbed Mankind and got ready to throw him off the top of the cage. This led to one of several moments that WWE fans are still talking about today. It also left both wrestlers briefly wondering if they had made a horrible, horrible decision.
The First Fall (aka He Came Back From THAT?)
Foley fell a good distance from the cage, and it was only his instinctive twisting of his body that allowed him to hit the announcer table at an angle that would minimize the chances of serious injury. Still, he was dazed and the WWE staff tried to take him away to get medical help.
A sane person would’ve allowed them to treat him. Foley’s a wrestler, and he was intent on giving the King of the Ring crowd the spectacle that they had paid for, even if it meant his possibly paying the ultimate price. He came roaring back and began climbing up toward Undertaker to continue the match.
The Second Fall (Thumbtacks and a Lost Tooth)
The two of them continued what was already a legendary match. Then Undertaker went for one of his trademark moves – the chokeslam. This meant he would pick up his opponent by the neck and then slam him down. Remember the part about the cage being secured by ties? Well, when he slammed Mankind, Foley fell through the “floor” of the cage and down to the ring below.
That meant Foley had taken ANOTHER massive fall. Oh, and there were thumbtacks strewn all over the floor of the ring. Mankind was essentially a pincushion. Also, the fall had jarred one of his teeth loose, and it could be seen sticking out one of his nostrils.
People tend to forget that Undertaker won the match. They remember both of Foley’s huge falls, the thumbtacks, and that tooth. Although “Gladiator” came out a couple of years later, both wrestlers could have bellowed the movie’s most memorable line: “Are you not entertained?!”
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