Tumbles, teeth and retirement - Foley's Hell in a Cell history
Thursday 27 October 2016 12:58, UK
As General Manager of Monday Night Raw, Mick Foley is now charged with making Hell in a Cell Matches - but he used to wow fans in them.
The Hardcore Legend wrestled inside the demonic metal structure four times during his in-ring career and although he was never victorious, the fan favourite carved out some indelible memories.
Top of the pile was surely Foley's 1998 bout with The Undertaker, in which he suffered two staggering tumbles, one from the top of the Cell and another through it (more on that later).
The Indiana-born star was not involved in the inaugural Hell in a Cell encounter - that honour was bestowed upon The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels at the Badd Blood event in October 1997.
But he did compete in the next three, with THAT match against Undertaker sandwiched by a star-studded tag-team skirmish and a singles scuffle with The Phenom's brother, Kane.
Foley - then competing under his Mankind guise - had actually partnered Kane in the second Hell in a Cell match in history, with the duo taking on The Undertaker and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.
The bout, which took place on Raw in June 1998, ended in a no contest with Taker assaulting Paul Bearer inside the locked Cell, while Austin and Kane tore clumps out of each other on the roof.
Ah, the roof…
The Cell's ceiling played a pivotal role when Mankind and Taker went one-on-one inside the compound two weeks later at the King of the Ring pay-per-view in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
With both competitors atop of the structure, Undertaker chokeslammed his adversary onto the mesh surface, causing a panel to give way and Foley to slam into the canvas below.
The shocking fall left the WWE announce desk reeling - "Good God, Good God! Will somebody stop the damn match? Enough's enough!" cried lead commentator Jim Ross, with co-broadcaster Jerry Lawler yelling: "That's it. He's dead."
Foley had already suffered a startling moment earlier in the contest when he was hurled off the 16ft-high Cell roof - the Cell was heightened to 20ft in 2006 - and through the Spanish announce desk below.
The Spanish announce desk really does take a pounding, doesn't it?!
Foley ended the bout with a tooth in his nose and a dislocated jaw, as well as a number of other war wounds - one of the many reasons the match is considered one of the most famous in WWE history.
Foley has since admitted his memories of the match - won by The Undertaker when he planted his opponent into a pile of drawing pins, some of which remained lodged in Foley's arm for a good while afterwards - are sketchy, and he believes Undertaker's clash with Michaels a year earlier is the finest Cell match to have taken place.
Mankind, perhaps tentatively, stepped back into the Cell later in the summer of 1998 against Kane - though he clashed with Undertaker during the bout when he was chucked into the announce desk by the Demon of Death Valley.
Foley looked primed for defeat when he was Tombstoned onto a steel chair but the clash had no winner, rendered a no contest when Austin emerged from under the ring to batter Kane.
The next time Foley competed in the Cell he did so under another persona - Cactus Jack, a gimmick he had previously adopted in World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling.
Foley had made the switch from Mankind while embroiled in a rivalry with Triple H for the WWE Championship, with a Cell encounter announced after he had lost a Street Fight to the Game at the 2000 edition of the Royal Rumble.
A month later at No Way Out, there was more than the title on the line - with the stipulation that should Jack aka Foley fail to dethrone Triple H he would retire.
That's what happened - but not before another sparkling match, which saw Foley tumble though the top of the Cell, just as he had done against Taker, and then through the canvas below.
Triple H pinned Foley following a Pedigree to bring Foley's tenure as a full-time member of the WWE roster to a close, albeit that The Hardcore Legend has competed on an ad-hoc basis after that, most recently as an entrant in the 2012 Royal Rumble.
Raw's General Manager - a job he was handed in the summer of 2016 - hasn't left Hell in a Cell completely behind, however.
He refereed Triple H's World Heavyweight Championship defence against Kevin Nash at Bad Blood in 2003 - receiving a chair shot from The Game for good measure - and has regularly informed first-time Cell combatants of the perils of the bout.
In fact, he did the latter just this week, telling the wrestlers in the first-ever Women's Hell in a Cell Match, Charlotte and Sasha Banks, just what they are letting themselves in for this weekend.
Watch Raw's latest pay-per-view, WWE Hell in a Cell, from midnight on Sunday (Monday morning) live on Sky Sports Box Office.
The show costs £14.95 for customers in the United Kingdom and €21.95 for viewers in the Republic of Ireland.
You can also follow the pay-per-view on skysports.com and Sky Sports' mobile and iPad apps with our live blog.
WWE Hell in a Cell booking details
ONLINE: Visit this link: https://my.sky.com/orderboxoffice/?DCMP=hellinacell
PHONE: UK viewers can call 03442 410 888 to book WWE Hell in a Cell, while customers in the Republic of Ireland should call 0818 220 225. (There may be an additional charge for telephone bookings).
REMOTE
Sky+: Press the box office button on your remote, then click the sports tab followed by WWE Hell in a Cell.
Sky Q: Press Home on your Sky Q remote, select TV guide, then Box Office and the WWE Hell in a Cell. Enter your TV Pin if prompted. (Only bookings via Sky TV remote are recordable using Sky Plus).
Sky TV residential customers only. Commercial customers contact Sky for price and to order. Sky Box Office terms apply. Cable customers should contact their local cable operator.
