In 1998, WWF held its quasi-annual King of the Ring PPV, featuring matches that saw future WWE Hall of Fame inductees and future UFC Hall of Fame inductees. The finals saw MMA’s first breakout star (Ken Shamrock) triumphant over arguably the biggest icon professional wrestling has ever seen (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson).
And virtually no one remembers a thing about that night except one match: The Undertaker vs Mankind in the second-ever Hell in a Cell.
It has been chronicled in numerous documentaries from WWE’s in-house library to Barry Blaustein’s Beyond the Mat but Dark Side of the Ring emphasizes the perfect storm that left Mick “Mankind” Foley with an undeniable legacy and irreparable damage.
The largely unregulated nature of professional wrestling (even in the largest company in the world), a lack of transparency to (not from) the producers, and Foley’s own personal (and possibly pathological) drive resulted in a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle that nearly sat in the Venn diagram overlap of “criminal negligence” and “assisted suicide.”
The interviews come from Foley and an archived Undertaker but also from three other distinct viewpoints. We see Mick’s wife, Collette and two of his children, Noelle and Mick Jr, express the fear and bewilderment they felt watching the match live and again many years later. Former WWF/E producers, Gerald Brisco and James E. Cornette, recount the surprise of match unfolding and the dubious construction of the 20-foot steel cage. Caught between their perspectives is Al Snow, former WWE wrestlers and Foley’s best friend, who has seen it all and done most of it alongside him.
Watching it live from the basement of my favorite Pop Break writer of all-time in 1998, I can tell you that the match was immediately and obviously transformative for Mick Foley, The Undertaker, WWF, and the mainstream wrestling product. But do I want to ask the question that everyone in this episode puts forth: “Was it worth it?” Mick Foley now might not feel as strongly as he did 25 years ago. His friends and family and the fans might, too. Some aspects of the match have been imitated but never duplicated. It wouldn’t be possible. But, if it could, those involved have to ask themselves if they should.
