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The Undertaker has had multiple iconic matches over the course of his long career. Many of them taking place inside the brutal Hell in a Cell structure. While almost all of them were instant classics and will be remembered for the violence and brutality, none more so than his match against Mick Foley at King of the Ring 1998.
Mankind vs The Undertaker
While speaking to Sam Roberts on his podcast, the Undertaker talked about what finish Mankind, also known as Mick Foley, actually wanted for their gruesome match.
That’s just a tough son of a gun man. Most people don’t get up from that like he did. Again, he got up and finished the match, and I’m trying to talk to him. And I’m like, ‘Mick, let’s go. Let’s go home [as in end the match].’ All he wanted to do, he said, ‘We gotta get to the [thumb] tacks. We gotta get to the tacks.’ ‘Are you s***ting me?! Really?!’ I was looking at his — I had no idea what it was at the time — but his tooth went through his lip and got end up lodged in his nostril. You could look in his eyes and tell there was nobody home. He knew that you had to get to the thumb tacks, and that was the finish. I was pleading with him because like, ‘Man, Mick, can we go home?’ Because you could tell he was not there. (H/T: 411Mania)
The match has become infamous for The Undertaker throwing Foley off the top of the HIAC on to a commentator table below.
Mick Foley is called a 'Hardcore' legend and rightly so. Mick Foley has never shied away from putting his own body on the line for the entertainment of the fans. From broken teeth to chopped off ear, Foley has gone to unimaginable brutality to make his matches special.
While The Undertaker was the man who won the match, Mankind became immortal after taking one of the biggest bumps in WWE history.
Mick Foley has had some other brutal encounters with the likes of Edge and Randy Orton and many others including The Undertaker, where the veteran allowed himself to be beaten like a 'government mule,' as Jim Ross would say.
