10 Secrets Behind WWE Magic Tricks

3. Big Boss Man Gets Hanged

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It’s unclear why the Undertaker “hanged” the Big Boss Man at WrestleMania XV. 

The character wasn’t written off, and Michael Cole, with the god-awful 1999 screech of his that made him sound like he was eight years old, insisted over and over again that the act was “symbolic” - i.e., not an actual murder. 

Boss Man was a great hoss in his day, but was thrashed by 1999; perhaps this was the WWF realising that his Hell In A Cell match stood no chance of meeting the standard of what was, at the time, the best stipulation in wrestling. The dumb schlock of the post-match angle was presumably a means of frightening an audience that expected to feel scared watching a match premised on danger - an effect ‘Taker and Boss Man were hardly going to achieve by punching one another for 10 minutes. 

They achieved the actual effect - which, daft as it was, Boss Man sold well enough by staying eerily motionless - by attaching the rope to a harness hidden, barely, by Boss Man’s tactical vest ring attire. Boss Man was suspended in the air, not hanged.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!