10 Fascinating WWE SummerSlam 1996 Facts
4. Foley Nearly Suffered A Career-Ending Injury On The Ladder Spot
There have been more famous instances of Mankind winding up badly hurt in matches against The Undertaker, but his SummerSlam 1996 injury almost had greater implications. During the course of brawl inside the actual boiler room, Foley landed painfully after one particular sick bump.
Mankind had climbed a basic wooden ladder leaned up against the wall of the room, ostensibly to drop the trademark Cactus elbow. Undertaker countered by pulling back on the ladder, causing Mankind to fall backwards when the apparatus was perfectly vertical. Foley aimed for some cardboard that was in place as a pseudo-crash pad, but the lower half of his body missed the mark.
Foley badly damaged his sciatic nerve on the landing. The residual pain, along with severe disc damage, would worsen through the next seven months, up to the weekend of WrestleMania 13. At that point, Foley began undergoing rigorous self-remedy sessions in order to avoid needing an epidural.