Mick Foley is telling the world about that wild night.
WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley has been traveling all over the United States and Canada for his "20 Years Of Hell" tour where he speaks to ticket holders about the story of and everything that led up to the infamous 'Hell In A Cell' match that he had with The Undertaker at the 1998 'King Of The Ring' PPV.
Highlights and clips from the match are consistently show in network specials and in the WWE intros. Kevin Eck of Pressbox had the opportunity to speak with "The Hardcore Legend" and during their conversation Foley shared that the head honcho of WWE was truly in the dark about most of what was going to transpire in the match so-to-speak. Foley stated that he gave off the impression to Vince McMahon that he knew exactly what he was going to do and that this match was mapped out but in actuality Mick winged it as the match went on.
"I do talk about this in the show. He knew bits and pieces. I did a remarkable sell job on convincing him that I knew exactly what I was doing -- that I had been on top of the cell and I was completely comfortable up there -- all three of which were lies of monumental proportions." Foley said
That night on June 28th in the summer of 98' was one that will never be forgotten by wrestling fans. Mick Foley will also never forget it as it was the match that elevated his 'Mankind' character to new heights. The WWE Hall Of Famer was asked to reflect on the infamous match that is now 20 years old.
"Everything as far as conversations after the match had to be pieced together. One of the challenges of this show is finding humor in the unlikeliest of places, and there is humor to be found; that's what makes it so rewarding. But in the aftermath of the match there was kind of a juxtaposition because it was clear that something special had happened, especially with Jim Ross giving voice to a couple of the big moments, but it didn't seem like anyone even knew about it." He said. "Shawn Michaels was a guest on RAW the following night, and he walked up to me after he went out in the ring and said, 'Well if those guys weren't going to talk about it I figured I would.' It wasn't in the cold open, it wasn't talked about, the storyline was done and I don't think anybody realized what we had until there was a grassroots uprising that took place, and by uprising I just mean that people started rising up and saying, 'Hey, let's talk about that match. What exactly did we see?' I speculate that if this had been in the age of social media it probably would have trended for three or four days and then been largely forgotten, because it was instead allowed to grow in a grass roots way. The legend grew over the weeks, months and years and now even decades."
One important person in Mick Foley's life who has not pleased with his efforts in the match was his wife. Foley has stated in a number of interviews that his wife was not happy and gave him an earful once she was able to get a hold of him.
"She had zero idea what I was going to attempt that night and she was very angry with me. When our road agent Dave Hebner informed me that I needed to call home because my wife was very upset, I was expecting some sympathy and I got an earful about scaring the children. She definitely wasn't happy about the lengths I went to to entertain the fans."
The former 3-time WWF Champion also spoke on the adrenaline that rushed through his body during the match which carried him through despite his pain, shared his first thoughts once all his senses came back to him, and discussed more. To read the rest of the interview with Mick Foley, click here.
