10 Fascinating WWE SummerSlam 1996 Facts

5. The First Half Of The Boiler Room Brawl Was Taped

Stone Cold Yokozuna
WWE.com

The Undertaker and Mankind had to brawl from the boiler room inside the Gund Arena, all the way to the ring, where Undertaker's manager (not for long) Paul Bearer waited with the urn. Whoever physically claimed the object (the urn, not Paul Bearer) would be declared the winner.

As stated earlier, the Boiler Room Brawl was something of a polarizing spectacle. Before the days of Titan Trons, WWE actually had to wheel televisions to ringside for fans to watch the early stages of the fight. Pretty archaic, no?

Additionally, the first half of the match took place the night before, filmed for insertion into the pay-per-view broadcast. Mick Foley remembers that Undertaker did promotional appearances for most of that Saturday, and was physically drained by the time he arrived at the venue for his knock-down, drag-out fight with his mortal enemy.

Contributor
Contributor

Justin has been a wrestling fan since 1989, and has been writing about it since 2009. Since 2014, Justin has been a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine. Justin also writes for History of Wrestling, and is a contributing author to James Dixon's Titan series.