Mankind vs. The Undertaker was a professional wrestling match between Mankind (Mick Foley) and The Undertaker (Mark Calaway) of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), and took place inside a Hell in a Cell, a steel cage structure with a roof. It was the third Hell in a Cell match, and it took place at the King of the Ring pay-per-view on June 28, 1998, at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Though the match had received little build in the way of storytelling before the event due to the unpredictability of the WWF's Attitude Era, the two characters had an extensive backstory that motivated both performers heading into the match.
The match would immediately set the standard for future Hell in a Cell matches, due to Foley taking two dangerous and highly influential bumps from the top of the cell in an attempt to surpass the previous Hell in a Cell in 1997; planned with veteran wrestler Terry Funk, the first came when The Undertaker threw Mankind through an announcer table positioned on the arena floor, but the second occurred unintentionally when The Undertaker performed a chokeslam on Mankind through the roof of the cell. The match was nearly stopped as a result of both incidents, but continued at the urging of Foley.
Foley received numerous legitimate injuries performing the stunts, and though the match had little impact on his career in the short term, it took a severe physical toll on him in the long term, and eventually became the match he is most remembered for following his retirement in 2000. The match received instant critical acclaim from the wrestling media and is widely regarded as a classic match in the careers of both wrestlers, as well as one of the greatest and most important Hell in a Cell matches and wrestling matches in general. The commentary duo of Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler also received praise, Ross in particular making some of his most famous calls during the match which have overlapped into popular culture.
Background
Upon debuting with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in April 1996, Foley's character Mankind immediately began feuding with Calaway's character The Undertaker, and the pair would go on to wrestle a series of matches, beginning with their first PPV match at the King of the Ring PPV event in June, followed by the first ever Boiler Room Brawl at August's PPV event SummerSlam. During the match Paul Bearer (William Moody), The Undertaker's longtime manager, turned on him by hitting him with an urn, allowing Mankind to apply the Mandible Claw for the win. This twist allowed the rivalry to continue into October's In Your House 11: Buried Alive PPV event, where the two competed in the titular Buried Alive match in the main event; The Undertaker won the match after a chokeslam into the open grave.
At the following month's Survivor Series PPV event, The Undertaker returned to face Mankind, this time with Bearer hanging above the ring in a steel cage, with a stipulation that if The Undertaker won the match, he would be able to exact revenge on Bearer. The Undertaker won the match, but interference from The Executioner (Terry Gordy) enabled Bearer to escape. With no manager, The Undertaker was developed into a more human character, with a gothic and rebellious attitude, proclaiming himself to be "The Lord of Darkness". He would win the WWF Championship at WrestleMania 13 in March 1997, and the rivalry with Mankind would be briefly renewed when they competed for the championship at the In Your House 14: Revenge of the 'Taker PPV event in April, with The Undertaker ultimately retaining.
Commentator Jim Ross cites the feud, and Calaway's eagerness to work with Foley, as helping persuade Vince McMahon of the merits of Foley and the Mankind character; McMahon initially had no desire on bringing Foley into the WWF, describing his style as "degrading" and thought Foley himself lacked any talent, but eventually relented to pressure from Ross, who had personally known Foley from their time at rival promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Foley had become famous for wrestling a violent and "hardcore" style, and in 1995 had been crowned "King of the Deathmatch" by Japanese promotion International Wrestling Association (IWA) at their Kawasaki Dream event, defeating Terry Funk in a tournament final, a match Foley has said he is the most proud of.
In regards to Foley's risk taking, former WCW executive producer Eric Bischoff stated that, when Foley had worked for him in the early 1990s, he "wanted to become more physical and more violent, bloodier, and more over the top" and that he had a "bizarre dark side that he needed to explore and feed". Speaking in 2021, Ross said of Foley: "I know Mick appreciated the concern that we all had for him, especially me, because I put my reputation on the line to get him hired. But, you couldn't convince him, he only had one style. He would listen, he would thank me for the concern or anybody else that was speaking to him but it wasn't going to matter. He was a wild horse, he’s going to run".
First Hell in a Cell match
The first Hell in a Cell match took place at the WWF's Badd Blood: In Your House PPV event in October 1997, and was between Shawn Michaels (Michael Hickenbottom) and The Undertaker. The Hell in a Cell match concept was the brainchild of Jim Cornette, and according to Hickenbottom was inspired by a 1983 match in Georgia Championship Wrestling between heated rivals Tommy Rich and Buzz Sawyer, known as the Last Battle of Atlanta. The match was designed to prevent interference from other wrestlers, as well as to allow for the match and the rivalry to reach a definitive conclusion, with the "cowardly" Shawn Michaels character spending portions of the match trying to elude The Undertaker. The conclusion arrived when Kane (Glenn Jacobs), the storyline brother of The Undertaker, débuted by tearing down the cell door and costing The Undertaker the match. During the match, Hickenbottom performed a stunt where he dangled off the roof of the cell and crashed through the announce table, setting a "dangerous precedent". The match received widespread acclaim, including receiving a rating of five stars out of a possible five by professional wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer for his Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Prelude to the pay-per-view On the June 1, 1998, edition of Raw is War, having spent months alternating between the characters of Dude Love and Cactus Jack, Foley would revert to the Mankind character, and formed an alliance with Kane. That night, the Undertaker and Kane had a match to determine who would be the number-one contender for Stone Cold Steve Austin's WWF championship. During the match, Mankind interfered by choking Undertaker, allowing Kane to win the match. Mankind and Kane would challenge Undertaker and Stone Cold to the second Hell in a Cell match on the June 15 episode of Raw is War, with the match ending in a no contest. This set up the double main-event for the June PPV King of the Ring; Austin and Kane in a First Blood match for the championship, while The Undertaker and Mankind would be booked for a Hell in a Cell match. The event was scheduled to take place at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, from Freedom, Pennsylvania, where Foley had trained to become a professional wrestler at Dominic DeNucci's wrestling school, bringing his career full circle.Foley, Have A Nice Day!, pp. 66–67, 78
According to WWE producer Bruce Prichard, the original plan for the PPV was for Mankind to challenge Austin for his championship, before Vince McMahon changed the direction in an attempt to be unpredictable. Subsequently, the match had little promotion or storyline building. Calaway went into the match with a fractured ankle, but was adamant he would go through with the match and stunts as planned, later saying that it was of such great importance that he "had to do it". Foley credits head-writer Vince Russo for believing in the Mankind character, giving him confidence heading into the PPV.
Planning the match
Before the match, Foley and fellow wrestler Terry Funk were in Stamford, Connecticut, to watch and discuss the previous year's Hell in a Cell, brainstorming ideas about how to try and top that match, with Funk saying "maybe you should let him throw you off the top of the cage".
When presented with the idea of throwing Foley off the top of the cage, Calaway was hesitant, going as far as to ask Foley, "Mick, do you want to die?" Writing in his autobiography Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks, Foley recalls being asked by Calaway about why he wanted to execute the plan, and his response being, "I'm afraid this match is gonna stink. You can't walk, and, let's face it, I don't have any heat. We've got a heck of a legacy to live up to, and I don't want this match to ruin it. If we can start it out hot enough, we can make people think we had a hell of a match, even if we didn't". Ultimately, Calaway reluctantly agreed to perform the spot. Foley sold him on the idea by saying they could not only begin a match in a way nobody had ever done, they could then have a unique match.
Foley later admitted that he had lied to McMahon, firstly regarding climbing the cell earlier in the day to acclimatize with the situation, as well as about his comfort in performing the stunt, reasoning that had he already been on top of the cell, he "would have realized that getting thrown off was a terrible idea". In a 2018 interview with former wrestling announcer Sean Mooney, match referee Tim White said that although he knew some of the planned moments, he recalled feeling like he was "having a heart attack through the whole match", while commentator Jim Ross remembers hearing rumors backstage of Foley's plans, but dismissed them as absurd and unrealistic.
Match details Mankind's two falls
Mankind came out first and once he reached the cell, he threw a steel folding chair on top of the structure and began to climb to the top. The Undertaker then made his entrance, and followed Mankind by climbing to the top. Once on top of the cell, Foley considered aborting the planned stunt, but quickly changed his mind, later telling Ross he "wanted to create a moment" for the fans. The pair began exchanging punches and moved towards the edge of the cell. Then, in an "unbelievable moment", The Undertaker grabbed Mankind from behind and threw him from the top of the structure, propelling him through the air, sending him crashing through the Spanish commentators' table and landing on the concrete floor of the arena, which triggered Ross to famously shout, "Good God almighty! Good God almighty! They've killed him!" and "As God as my witness, he is broken in half!" Ross later said his reactions were real, and Calaway said he experienced an out-of-body experience in the moment, visualizing himself watching Mankind fly off the cage. It was seen as extra surprising as stunts involving announcers' tables are usually telegraphed by a performer removing bulky CRT monitors to protect the recipient.