MANKIND vs. THE UNDERTAKER

• Mick Foley's Cactus Jack character left Extreme Championship Wrestling in early 1996, on April 1rst of that year, the day after WrestleMania XII, he debuted in the World Wrestling Federation on Monday Night Raw, as the psychotic character, Mankind. The Undertaker, a full-fledged face, had beaten Diesel (Kevin Nash) the previous night at 'Mania, and was wrestling Bradshaw. Midway through match, Mankind (who the fans had never seen before), along with Goldust, attacked the 'Taker, turning himself into a top heel with the fans. At the 1996 King of the Ring, Mankind and Undertaker squared off in the first match of their legendary feud. Mankind defeated "The Phenom" in his WWF Pay-Per-View debut when Paul Bearer, 'Taker's manager, accidentily laid him out with his urn, giving Foley the easy win. At SummerSlam 1996, the two fought again at their second-straight PPV in the first-ever "Boiler-Room Brawl." The match took place in the basement of the Gund Arena in Cleveland, OH. The rules stated that the first man to escape the boiler-room and find their way into the main part of the arena, climb into the ring, and touch the urn, which Paul Bearer had, won. After brawling eachother in the boiler-room, the two fought up into the main arena. Undertaker got to the ring first, but when he put his hand out to Bearer, his manager, for the urn, he was clobbered with it. Foley got the urn from Bearer, securing his second-straight PPV win against the 'Taker. Foley and Bearer walked out together, leaving The Undertaker in the middle of the ring, furious at what had just happened. By winning this match, Foley became the #1 Contender for Shawn Michael's WWF Title. Foley failed to win the title at the "Mind Games" PPV (although he and HBK did put on what Foley himself considers the best match of his own legendary career).

At the In Your House: Good Friends, Better Enemies PPV, Undertaker finally got some revenge on Foley when he defeated him, however, it was a non-televised match, so almost none of the fans knew about the match, meaning that, in most minds, Foley was 2-0 against 'Taker. In October of the same year, "The Phenom" and the crazed one renewed their feud, this time fighting in the first-ever "Buried Alive Match." There was a pile of dirt in the arena near the entranceway, and a grave (about 18 sq. ft. and three or so feet under the ground). that was dug, which, as you'd guess, making the object of the match to bury your opponent alive. Although Foley won, it certainly wasn't clean, and it certainly wasn't a pure defeat of the 'Taker. During the match, the late Terry Gordy and a ton of other heels attacked Undertaker, helping Foley to bury him in the prepared grave. 'Taker had supposedly "died," but, as the PPV was going off the air, a bolt of light (which was made to seem like lighting) shocked through the arena and struck the grave. The Undertaker's hand gradually broke the surface of his grave, proving that one can't kill what is already dead, just as the screen faded to black. With the exception of his non-televised loss, Mankind was 3-0 against The Undertaker on PPV. That streak was about to end.

At the Survivor Series, the two wrestled again, this time with the stipulation that, if 'Taker won, he'd get five minutes alone with his former-manager, Paul Bearer. He did win, but Gordy intervened and saved Bearer from the 'Taker's wrath. At WrestleMania 13, 'Taker unseated World Champion Sycho Sid to win the WWF Title. Mankind celebrated his one-year anniversary with the WWF by attacking 'Taker with a fireball at the March 31rst RAW tapings. So, at the "Taker's Revenge" PPV, the two once again challenged eachother, this time with 'Taker retaining his WWF Title. Foley took some time off, and returned to the WWF as Dude Love, and later Cactus Jack. After eventually returning to his "Mankind" persona, Foley renewed his feud with The Undertaker. A match was booked between the two for the King of the Ring 1998 PPV in only the second-ever "Hell in the Cell Match."

Going into the match, both men were sporting injuries. 'Taker had a broken feet, and, Foley, as usual, had numerous injuries. The match began with the two climbing up to the top of the cage. Even with a broken foot, 'Taker climbed up more than twice as fast as Foley. When they were eventually up, they brawled for a bit, and Foley was eventually tossed down 20 ft., from the top of the cell, crashing through the Spanish announce-table in a video clip that would be replayed millions of times over the next few years. A "Holy Shit" chant immediately filled the arena. Federation officials immediately ran as fast as possible down to him. Jim Ross apologized to fans for the short match when, to the shock of everybody, Foley signaled to the officials to leave and let him continue the match. Undertaker, too, was speechless. The match continued, with Foley once again climbing up to the top of the cell, along with a steel chair. The two brawled for awhile once again, until 'Taker got Foley in the Chokeslam position. He Chokeslammed Foley, but, to the absolute horror of thousands of fans watching live and millions watching at home, Foley broke through the steel fencing of the cage and crashed down 20 feet to the right below, right on his back, shaking the ring and the cell structure. The steel chair also fell, busting him open. This video clip would also be replayed millions of times over the next few years. Undertaker's face had filled with horror. This was not a professional wrestling match, anymore. This was real-life. When Foley's body crashed onto the mat, Jerry Lawler broke character (something he has only done one other time, that being when Owen Hart died almost one year later) and said that, "That's it. He's dead." The video clip certainly showed an accident that very well could have caused death. Jim Ross was screaming at the top of his lungs for somebody to "stop the damn match" and that this was now real-life, and had thoroughly crossed the line. Federation officials and EMT's once again ran down to the ring as fast ast their feet could carry them. Terry Funk, Foley's long-time rival in his Barbed-Wire bouts in Japan, also ran down. The fans were silenced. They too knew that this had crossed the line, and that Foley may have actually died. When the chair fell onto Foley when he crashed onto the mat, it had cut a hole in his lip. In a clip that would be replayed millions of times, Foley actually stuck his tongue through the whole (which was absolutely filled with blood). If you look at the clip carefully, you can actually see the smallest hint of a smile on Foley's part. Federation officials and EMT's placed Foley on a stretcher and began wheeling him away. Then, in perhaps the most shocking moment in the 2,000+-year history of this sport, Foley, who was a bloody mess, actually stepped off the stretcher. EMT's and officials were literally yanking him back on the stretcher with all of their might, but to no use. Foley, never the man to quit, climbed into the ring, and the match continued. Undertaker was clearly in absolute shock. Foley, going back to his hardcore instincts, eventually littered the ring in thumbtacks. Undertaker eventually got the upper hand and Tombstone-Piledrove the hardcore legend onto the tacks, and pinning him for the win in the legendary bloodbath. Undertaker had won the match, but the real story was the two all-time great bumps Foley took off the top of the cage, and even continued the match, only to get Tombstone-Piledrove on thumbtacks. "Foley" chants thundered through the arena after the match.

Thankfully, this was the last battle of the "Mankind-Undertaker" saga.

SuperCard/Pay-Per-View One-On-One Match Results:

1. King of the Ring (6/23/96): Mankind d.Undertaker
2. SummerSlam (8/18/96): Mankind d. Undertaker in the first-ever "Boiler-Room Brawl"
3. IYN: "Good Friends, Better Enemies" (4/28/96): Undertaker d. Mankind (non-televised match)
4. IYN: "Buried Alive" (10/20/96): Undertaker d. Mankind in the first-ever "Buried Alive Match"
5. IYN: "Taker's Revenge" (4/20/97): Undertaker d. Mankind to retain his WWF World Heavyweight Title
6. King of the Ring 1998: "Off With Their Heads" (6/28/98): Undertaker d. Mankind in a "Hell in the Cell Match: