"Good God Almighty! Good God Almighty! They've killed him! As God as my witness; he is broken in half!"
Hell in a Cell. Possibly the most brutal, awe-inspiring and truly special matches the WWE has ever created. People thought they had seen it all with the Undertaker against Shawn Michaels at "Badd Blood" in 1997...
My God were they wrong...
1998. The Pittsburgh Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, infront of just over 17,000 crazy fans, Mick Foley and Mark Callaway put on one of the greatest spectacles in wrestling.
Before the bell even rang, Mankind was already on the top of the Cell with a steel chair. And when Undertaker came out... well that's when it all came to life. As Taker climbed the cell people couldn't believe what they were seeing. "Taker and Mankind on the roof of the Cell... now? That's crazy!" And that's exactly what it was.
Between chair shots and Taker putting his foot through the Cell everyone knew something unbeliveable was about to happen. But what happened was life changing...
Mankind was thrown 16 feet. Sent flying from the top of the cell and crashing through the Spanish Announcer's table. The crowd exploded. 17,000+ on their feet; some screaming, some crying. Everyone shocked.
The medical crew came flying out. This is the end of Mick Foley I thought. He's dead. Replay after replay. It got worse each time I saw it. But somehow, just showing how much this business means to Mick Foley, he got up... and continued to not only wrestle... but to climb back up the Cell. Mick Foley defide reality.
And when we thought we'd seen it all...
"Would someone stop the damn match!"
Foley was sent crashing through the roof of the Cell. Scripted or not... this was truly immense. So Foley was left lying there, unconcious for a while... that had to be the end...
But yet again Foley got up and continued to wrestle. As Mankind reversed the "Old Skool" from the top rope and sent Taker to the mat, he smiled with the blood trickling down his face. He was truly a psychotic individual.
And as some actual "wrestling" took place, people were left to wonder just how the hell Foley was still there standing. The thumbtacks came out, BOOM, chokeslam. One, Two, Thr... "He just kicked out? For god sake Mick ain't you had enough."
Finally, Mankind fell to the Tombstone Piledriver. The crowd erupted once more. They had just witnessed a match that truly changed the face of Professional Wrestling. Now in these times of water-downed "extreme", we can only look back at the memories of these truly special moments.
That night, Foley and Taker changed the rules. Not only for Hell in a Cell, but for wrestling.
- James Prideaux
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