10 Great Wrestling Matches That SUCKED Live
5. The Undertaker Vs. Mankind
Where: WWF SummerSlam 1996
The Match: New 'Taker foe Mick Foley grabbed the wrestling world by its balls by convincingly portraying the lunatic nature of his Mankind gimmick. The dusty 'Boiler Room' showing he had with The Undertaker at SummerSlam '96 went down in history as one of the most rugged brawls fans had ever witnessed.
Why It Sucked: Prep for another rant about ancient technology.
SummerSlam's 'Boiler Room' rammy was another match that had a so-so 90-10% split between pre-taped backstage work and live action. Much of Mankind and 'Taker's fight was shown on those creaking old screens the WWF were rocking in the mid-90s, and that didn't do much for the live crowd.
They couldn't really feel the same kind of visceral intensity that fans at home could, so much of the match was lost on them. Bruce Prichard also said (via his pod) that the company tried some new stuff by wheeling out more monitors to ringside, but that still didn't appease the near-17,000 in attendance.