10 Wrestling Matches With Backstories You’ll NEVER Believe

4. Mankind Vs. The Undertaker

Brock Lesnar Kurt Angle Overdose
WWE.com

When: WWF King Of The Ring 1998

What Happened: OK, so pretty much everybody knows something about this iconic stunt show. It's one of the most infamous matches in wrestling history, and helped turn Mick Foley into a legend. However, the bout is still worthy of inclusion here simply due to the eye-watering amount of lore behind it.

Some newer fans might not know that WWF officials didn’t want Mick Foley and ‘Taker to start their match on top of Hell In A Cell. The team setting up HIAC were totally unprepared for that, which is presumably why the panels on top were held together by cable ties! Also, ‘Taker worked the bout with a broken foot, and Mankind went in worrying that he wouldn't be able to match the heroics of Shawn Michaels in the first Cell clash.

Vince McMahon was legitimately fuming with Mick afterwards (more out of concern for his wellbeing than anything else), but still sent Foley out to do a run-in on the main event anyway. As if that wasn't enough, the second big bump wasn’t even supposed to happen; Foley was meant to take a chokeslam on top of the cage, but not go through it.

Unreal.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.