The True Story Of WWE's Most BRUTAL Hell In A Cell Match: The Undertaker vs. Mankind

[@Quindolin]

One thing people often forget is that Mick wasn't even done for the night after this match. He still did a run in during the Austin/Kane match later that evening. He deserves all the success in the world.

[@chad3232132]

Also unfortunate that the Austin-Kane match turned out to be one of the better matches of the year, but gets completely overlooked because of hoe epic the Taker-Foley match was. That Kane-Austin match was outstanding in its own right.

[@SsnakeBite]

The fact that Taker feared that Foley was dead should tell you just how scary that moment was. Undertaker is well known as one of the legit toughest guys in pro wrestling, so if HE thinks a fall was lethal, you know it's a miracle that Foley survived.

[@morgantaylor84]

This match is one of those things that you don't want to watch it, but you can't stop until it ends. From the two starting on top of the cell, to the huge falls, to Mick Foley as Mankind leaving the ring ON HIS FEET. It is captivating in a way that it becomes enigmatic instantly and you know you're watching something special.

[@chprete]

The one match you can always watch on repeat. They truly left a piece of themselves in that ring.

[@Matrim42]

Literally, in Foley’s case

[@jerwwilliams]

​@@Matrim42multiple pieces for Mick

[@jordylont1879]

Idk, knowing that a man could've died makes me not want to watch it

[@Matrim42]

@@jordylont1879 That’s fair, but it’s a real banger. On the WWE KZbin channel they just released a video of Mick and Mark rewatching and talking about what they were thinking. That might be a good way to watch it, because you can see the guys involved doing fine and laughing about it.

[@exilehunter907music]

Still kinda hard to watch tho

[@HyperActive7]

Seeing both Foley and Taker in the same room together twenty five years later is a feat in of itself and both of them are legit badass legends who pulled off the impossible with this match which everyone who was there and saw it to this day knows where they were when Foley took the dive into the table.

[@andrewlacerenza667]

You know it's serious when Terry Funk comes out worried about his friend taking a hard bump. T Funk is a hard-core legend, but this match even made him concerned.

[@lucozade1984]

GOD AS MY WITNESS HE'S BROKEN IN HALF!!!

[@cowser67]

Good God almighty they killed him!!

[@bigtime1351]

With all that he's put his body through for our entertainment, I will always have the upmost respect for Mick Foley.

[@matthewlane518]

You are correct sir!

[@bostondevil7]

*utmost

[@DS_IndustrieZ]

Our entertainment = their paycheck. But Foley is one of those sincere guys who does actually care about the entertainment factor.

[@jimmywest1526]

@bostondevil7 I’m glad someone did it before I had to

[@djtrankilo231]

​@DS_IndustrieZ especially after hearing about his frugal ways on the road and in the locker room back in the day, despite Foley earning a good pay and more.

[@petersiddorn1369]

Honestly this match will live forever because of that Foley fall and JR words a truly insane thing to watch even after 25 years of seeing it.

[@IggyStardust1967]

Jim Ross has stated that he knew nothing of the plan for the match, so that his reactions were "more real". I have no doubt he's telling the truth, there. Were I in his job, I would do the same thing. I wouldn't want to know what was going to happen, so that I could give a more natural reaction.

[@DateMike22]

I watched this match live on PPV in June 1998. It's one of the damnedest things I've ever seen in my 36 years of life.

[@IggyStardust1967]

I'm 20 years older than you, and have been watching wrestling since 1970.... and I can say the same exact thing.

[@BiscoWho]

I was watching that night and I was recording it on VHS too. You seriously just knew that what you were watching was something that everyone would be talking about the next day. Plus, you immediately knew in that moment that seeing that crazy shit was leaving a mark on you. I was 8 years old at the time btw. My family were religious WWF watchers since I was born. So, I was fortunate enough to be born at just the right time and into just the right situation to see the WWF in 1997 and 1998 in their entirety (and I remember a lot of 1996 too), which were two years where everything in the WWF changed significantly. And I truly LOVED IT and so did almost all my friends. The women in my family kinda shook their heads at some of the stuff. But, the men just laughed at the stuff the women shook their heads at. And for the record: None of the adults who were watching this match live with me showed any real concern, as if anything was out of the ordinary. Everyone just thought it was part of the show, and the greatest thing that any of us had ever seen at that point...the 90's were a different planet altogether, really.

[@CodiakGrizzly]

@@IggyStardust1967And what’s your point

[@IggyStardust1967]

@@CodiakGrizzlyWhich word didn't you understand?

[@The_Farwall]

Due to getting back into WWF in 99, I managed to read Have a Nice Day before I got to see Hell in a Cell. Knowing Mick's thoughts on the match, the build up and the aftermath gave watching the thing even more emotional weight. The clips still get me pretty emotional all these years later.

[@joshhale9355]

Mick Foley is one of the few people I hope never has a bad day ever for what he did for wrestling. He put his life on the line to entertain us, but turns out he’s one of the most wholesome guys to ever work in wrestling. Edit: Cultaholic is too damn good at these documentaries

[@jannix5383]

A Match that was More of an angle due to takers foot injury but you can Watch it over and over again. What Mick Foley did for Vince is beyond imagination. It always gives me a smile knowing that he was rewarded with three WWF Championships for all his suffering

[@trelard]

The watchalong with Taker and Mick WWE posted a few days ago was a great wee watch.

[@undertakernumberone1]

btw. in case anyone didn't see it: WWE released a video of Taker and Mick rewatching the match together.

[@ConsistentlyInconsistent21]

It was such a great watch.

[@sumairrana]

Mick Foley is a true Professional Wrestler.

[@cliffbeavers6158]

Watching this match live at the time was mind blowing. Mick is a living legend.

[@bpitkin1812]

I think I've concluded the best all round VO at cultaholic is Jack G King. He combines the professionalism of Pacitti with a dash of Tom bombast, Sam excitement and Ross sincerity into the perfect package, I think I could happily audible his self narrated autobiography - 'King of the Rings', in a few years, nice video good job JK and editors

[@ahimsamovies4484]

Very well put together documentary. Jack makes the best in-depth content in this channel.

[@Ceielo]

I watched this at my best friend's house live on PPV. After the first fall, I legit thought I witnessed a murder. By that time, I knew it wasn't real sports, but both falls were terrifying to see.

[@chrisxavier3147]

25 years on, I feel ancient

[@joywilson4668]

Excellent job, Jack. These more informative videos are great.

[@joeywrestling9536]

Cannot wait to watch this back it it’s entirety! Thank you lads for all you do!!

[@ajmorley1519]

Superb video from all. Excellent re account of a legendary event. Thanks to Jack for the perfect description of it all!

[@llydrsn]

How many matches - all time - do we celebrate the anniversary of? That's how iconic this match is. I don't know what else also has been covered as intensively as this one match. There may even be a cottage industry on KZbin just covering this match alone!

[@mickmickymick6927]

Video starts here: 24:08

[@SunshineStateCoasters]

27:35 I disagree there. To me there are 3 (technically 4) main bumps not just falls but the electric chair drop and the chockslam into the thumbtacks are equally as insane as the first 2 bumps.

[@brunitodmencia]

"I've never felt so bad in my life, but I've never been happier" is aphrase from mick used at the end of the song "CACTUS JACK" from EAT THE TURNBUCKLE, That's why i love mick, despite all the sh!t he got from guys like flair (i know they're friends now) and some "purist" "true true" wrestling fans, he puts his body and mind in his art

[@ROBken2654]

It’s amazing Mick Foley did not end up, paralyzed or dead I remember my dad screaming HE FUCKING KILL HIM

[@Rando1975]

If Foley went up for the chokeslam as normal he probably would have been dead or paralyzed. He would have landed on his head. Thankfully he barely got any height of the cage.

[@Dylangreen2122]

Pittsburgh is so proud of this match and the men in it

[@henrikschmidt3964]

Like the Austin 3:16 promo, it took a little while before the impact set in with the fans. Mick didn't get too loud an ovation after the match but as the legend grew, Foley got over tremendously with the fans.

[@chrisbucci5769]

I was there. Civic Arena. Good times. No one knew we were there for history.

[@tanaka7341]

Its insane that was 25 years ago 😂😂😂

[@Meatman8089]

This match is still considered one of, if not, the greatest Hell in a Cell. Can you imagine how much better it could have been had it not gone sideways?

[@MrTommygunz0482]

I'm starting to wonder how many truly interesting videos you can make on this match before I get tired of them. Not there yet though😅😅😅

[@marvelsProtege]

23:53 you don't really think about how Taker must of felt like trying to kill his friend I never had that until now

[@MudSluggerBP]

If you watched them talking about the match they say going through was the intent, they just didn’t plan on it being the first choke slam that did it 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@billytee8052]

I had the privilege of listening to Mick tell this story in person

[@domincklalicata1186]

Love this episode. You guys are the very best at these documentary style videos!!

[@clintsmith794]

Great video Jack

[@BigDemz]

I was there! 13 years old and 4 rows back from the 1st table bump. I thought Mick was dead! That crash sounded INSANE!!! So sad the Igloo is gone! But That show and the 1st time I seen Pantera, The Civic Arena will always be memorable to me!

[@seanschmidt8408]

Nicely done!

[@paulgili5843]

This is a very roundabout way to cover this match.

[@TheLonelySoulja]

1 of my all time favorite match.

[@benjaminclark4030]

And to think, this was a quarter of a century ago now.... 🤯

[@ralphj.limbrickjr2043]

6/28/1998. 25 years ago today

[@ashlielove6513]

Pretty sure this match is quoted in every professional wrestling fans household at least once a month in some way, STILL 25 years later. ❤

[@ginofrancejr555]

The greatest hell in a cell match of all time the greatest steel cage match of all time

[@venomousnate7263]

It’s easily one of the most famous matches in not just WWE, but in all of wrestling.

[@jaystreet46]

Mick is a certifiable legend! Def my favorite wrestler of all time! He did all that with a dad-bod

[@Dr_1212]

Respect to Both Taker & Foley When WWE was Awesome

[@Stu_Kennedy]

In a few days this match will be 25yrs old. That’s crazy, as was this match.

[@rubenhenderson6275]

I visited my pops.old skool pirate box. He told me,'never I seen shit'...nor had ,I.

[@EverybodyIsInShowbiz]

The partition was zip ties. They almost went through earlier when forgetting so the cell, potentially messing with the planned spot later. Information that came from an interview with foley and taker. From where did your info on the spot come?

[@kootnoah5765]

I got to see the video with Mark & Mick watching & talking about the match beginning to end of it eh

[@Sharkz117]

My favorite part about all of this is that after Undertaker accidentally slams Mankind through the roof of the cage, you can see that he himself is struggling to stay in character while holding back just enough as to not make the injuries too much worse but still sell the performance.

[@GutturalReef]

I like how out of a 30 minute video on the "most brutal hell in a cell" only 10 minutes is about the actually match.

[@Rando1975]

I don't know if I'd say Mankind bounced off the mat, it was more of a dull thud on that stiff ring.

[@Sp3cialk304]

This match shows that interesting characters, and story telling mean way more in wrestling than "work rate". You can do 500 spring board spots, 20 different suplexes and 99 super kicks and it won't come close to the emotion that this match captures. This will be remembered far longer than any so called 5 star match.

[@chad3232132]

Been watching wrestling for 30+ years now and to this day, this is the match that defines wrestling. Yes, the sport is scripted, but the violence can be very, VERY real, and this match was a prime example. Watching this match live, I simply didn't understand how Mick Foley survived that those two falls, let alone continued to fight. Crazy thing is another of the better matches of that era happened later than night when Kane beat Steve Austin for the world title, but the match was completely overlooked by how historically great and shocking the Undertaker-Mankind match was.

[@SumnerTube21]

All these people thinking the cell was not supposed to break from the chokeslam is insane. In his book. that was written within a year of this match, Foley runs through the whole thing and how himself and Terry Funk setup the entire match (Foley did not want the chokeslam through the cell, he wanted to be thrown off the top again but Vince denied it. You can blatantly see Foley walk towards the panel while Undertaker is not even entered yet, he stops and literally walks around the perimeter of the exact panel. Further more if you watch you can see that the entire roof is a full sheet of mesh-link fence held on with cable ties, when Foley and Taker start to fall through before even the first fall from the top you can see that the entire 4 panels in that quarter are 1 piece. The only panel separated is the one they break through and you can even see the panel is marked out on top and clearly edged which is visible the entire match after it is hanging, no other panel of the 16 is like this single one

[@ATKL2k12]

Damn, didn’t know until now the planned slot around the second cage fall & how close Mick was to being seriously hurt or worse from it

[@joserobertcarranza877]

No no no best match ever. The Undertaker VS Man Kind. Cage match at wrestlemania June 28, 1998 best one ever for me number 1 match of all times

[@Spetsnazty]

born in 93, this is the earliest wresting I remember. I mostly remember everything after being compared to this match.

[@Gogohunter]

Mrs Foleys baby boy owns the highlight reel of my childhood.

[@dickeyboyenglishnotbritish2462]

I've always respected Foley from day 1 after HITC 98. As a kid I thought he was a god.

[@SsnakeBite]

I really appreciate that this video shows why people loved the Attitude era and that, when done well, it really was pro wrestling at its best and showed a surprising amount of maturity at times. I feel like too many people these days dismiss it as being overly edgy for the sake of being edgy and that it was all Mae Young giving birth to a hand and people stealing coffins with someone's deceased dad inside.

[@abbybonilla4511]

This match will never be topped. WM 28 Undertaker vs HHH close but no dice.

[@arvindshastry6434]

You should watch Triple H vs Batista hell in a cell match from Vengeance 2005, that match was extremely violent

[@ConsistentlyInconsistent21]

Mick Foley is my favorite wrestler of all time. He put his body through so much for us. Shane McMahon is in my top 10. Shanes matches were amazing.

[@slimmusic757]

During Taker and Mick’s watchalong they all but confirmed that the chokeslam was in fact meant to send Mick through the cage. Despite what had been told for 25 years that it was some sort of freak accident and they broke through the cage as a shoot.

[@Macephtopheles]

I mean it was both. The cell was meant to be gimmicked for that to happen, but it was supposed to be after at least a few slams to "soften" it. It'd be like if someone was planning on jumping from a cliff into water and was doing practice runs to psyche themselves up but tripped and fell in. Them going into the water was obviously planned but the way they done it was an accident. Same thing here.

[@KSE828]

I ain’t sure this is the most brutal, but it’s definitely the most memorable.

[@luisinzunza2491]

I miss that old school blue tint they used on ring Matt's,

[@theinvisiblemusic]

This is my favorite match all time.

[@andyneilson3301]

The Monday Night War officially ended that night

[@theunwelcome]

the amount, and insanity level, of the things that man was willing to do for our entertainment, was nothing short of absurd; Foley is Good

[@davidhunter6134]

Greatest match in WWE history. The only other match close to this was Hogan and Andre in the 80s.

[@jasonjimerson7046]

That rat Foley played with in the early vignettes was Jim Cornette's pet rat named George... True story. This is the one match I will never say no to watch if anyone offered to show it to me.

[@mikethornton498]

The only part that wasn't planned was the chair that hit him on the way down

[@Allen7]

sadly mick foley kind of never recovered from those injuries

[@JuneGirl35]

Mankind and Undertaker both were 33 years old in this match

[@javieracosta5528]

The dang chain link sections were ZIP-TIED TOGETHER!!!! ZIP-TIED!!

[@eddiejoewalt7746]

5:26 you got your facts wrong Cultaholic GOLDUST WAS DUSTIN RHODES IDEA!

[@homerjay706]

good story telling jack

[@FloridaManRacer]

watched their video from WWE yesterday where they rewatch the match together... Hard to believe I was 14 when this happened. It doesn't feel that long ago...

[@TheRealAhoy]

Because you binge on this stuff an ungodly amount, instead of moving forward with your life you're reducting to a glorious past that really wasn't as great as you thought, you were just allowed to live life without responsibilities

[@The_Ragman]

​@@TheRealAhoy I'm not gonna say you're wrong, but damn, you ain't gotta go for the throat like that.

[@TheRealAhoy]

@@The_Ragman That was a slap in the face. Throats aren't on faces, they're on the neckline. If I was saying that to encourage being progressive and not being regressive, it wouldn't make sense for me to go for the throat because that would be the ultimate form of regressiveness.

[@kammyharris3026]

THATS WHY HE'S THE GOAT!!.... THE GOOOOAAATTT!!!

[@AFMountaineer2000]

Not a 5 star classic but its hard to name a more memorable match

[@pinoi78]

Does anyone really give a shit about Dave Meltzer's ratings?

[@KemeticKingAsar]

Only hardcore fans. If you ask casual fans, they either don't don't who he is or if they do know who Dave Meltzer is, they're quick to call out his bias towards AEW & New Japan, questioning how many great WWE matches (The Rock vs Triple H at SummerSlam 98, Shawn Michaels vs Undertaker at Wrestlemania 25, etc) don't have 5 Stars, but many Young Bucks / Kenny Omega matches do.

[@charleswills8756]

I remember watching this on vhs at my best friend's house it blew me away.# foleyisgod

[@ryandonovan5205]

To think we went from ECW and The Attitude Era to what you could only call someone's sick joke of a last couple years.

[@GavinWoods]

From the same people who brought you Chilly McFreeze (the first moniker offered to Steve Austin) comes Mason the Mutilator!

[@yadielenielbellecolon982]

Thank For The Story Video 📖🙊🤯🥰😍😁💐🌟🥇🏆

[@Jay54GoSooners]

Um if you listen to Foley and Taker talk about this match together while they watch it Taker had no idea Foley was getting up off that stretcher

[@mangrove]

The rat from the early vignettes was Jim Cornette's pet, named George.

[@michaelbreen7865]

It should be noted that if Undertaker had stood on that same panel Mick went through, he would've landed on top of Mick which, I am no scientist or doctor of any kind, Nor do I play either in a movie or on TV, but that would've been worse than what Mick went through in this match.

[@MuhammadsMohel]

Man Kind = Dude Love is still the best synonymous play

[@Canuplease1974]

In that ring? More like on top of that Cage.... But I digress... This made both of these wrestlers into legends

[@drpepperrulez123]

You know it’s interesting how close Foley was to dying. Zip ties…fucking zip ties are what WWF thought was good enough to keep their wrestlers safe. It’s no wonder they had an accident like Owen Hart the following year, it’s entirely possible in a different timeline we lose both foley and Owen to their stupidity and negligence

[@NavyVet4955]

I don't think those who assembled the cage knew they would hold the majority of the match on top of it 😂

[@drpepperrulez123]

@@NavyVet4955 there was a planned spot for mick to get slammed into the top numerous time for a more "controlled" fall. WCW as well, Davie Boy Smith fucked his back up on the account of shitty safety oversight when he landed on a trap door in the ring. Why do people want to defend WWF so hard

[@arkantochiron]

Who remembers the Austin Vs Kane match that came after this one? That's right, Nobody! 😂

[@cliffbeavers6158]

Can we all just give Corny a high 5 ? Meltzer and his opinions are inconsequential.

[@cowser67]

Foley is lucky to be able to walk