10 WWE PPVs That Changed EVERYTHING
8. King Of The Ring 1998
Though the stunts that sent Mick Foley tumbling to within a few inches of his death ruined Mankind vs. The Undertaker as a wrestling match, the impact they'd have on the business was as significant as that which they'd have on his own ravaged body.
Foley's first Hell In A Cell fall was horrifying. A near-unbelievable escalation of pro-wrestling drama, it looked like attempted murder, and that's why it was so effective. Wrestlers place their lives in the hands of their opponents all the time, but never like this, and it drew the appropriate response, creating a moment destined to be replayed in highlight packages for decades to come.
The second fall was just as gross, with Foley tumbling through the Cell roof then bouncing off the canvas on impact. This was supposedly unplanned, but regardless, that sight of Mick smiling through a bloodied mouth (tooth hanging from his nose) was as grisly as it gets. Never before had one man suffered so much for our entertainment, at least in WWE.
A new bar was set at KOTR '98. From then on, simple ladder dives and table bumps weren't so horrifying anymore. Now, WWE's wrestlers were forced to come up with new, more dangerous stunts to satiate the audience, and it started with this car crash.