10 Most Influential Moments That Were Precursors To The WWE Attitude Era
7. Buried Alive
Mick Foley was the epitome of WWE's Attitude Era thanks to his extremely physical style and the stuntman-like bumps he often took during his matches. Whether portraying Cactus Jack, Dude Love, Mankind, or Mick Foley, his matches were always the same: very intense and very physical.
Mankind's arrival into the World Wrestling Federation in 1996 began with a long-term program against The Undertaker. After their first Pay-Per-View meeting at King Of The Ring and then the Boiler Room Brawl at SummerSlam, Mankind and Undertaker were put into a non-sanctioned match in which the bout could only end by burying your opponent alive.
It was a gruesome concept that left many fans wondering how the company could pull this off. Would it come off as the serious yet morbid contest that WWE had hoped for? Or would it be too hokey and kabuki-ish, preventing the crowd from accepting it, perhaps even laughing at it?
A huge grave was created in the Market Square Arena complete with graphical headstone displaying the In Your House logo and images of The Undertaker and Mankind.
Thanks to both competitors, the match came off quite well. So much so that WWE would return to the match concept several times over the next decade with the next one coming at the peak of the Attitude Era.