Ranking Every Triple H Vs Mick Foley WWE Pay-Per-View Match - From Worst To Best

5. Hunter Hearst Helmsley Vs Mankind (SummerSlam '97)

Triple H Cactus Jack
WWE.com

The blue bar cage had something of a legacy in the early SummerSlams, serving as the main event playground of choice in 1990 and 1994, with the latter contest between Bret Hart and Owen Hart considered by many to be the finest match every contested in the structure.

Mankind and Triple H found themselves in very different circumstances as the August 1997 openers, but delivered a hugely memorable clash that played magnificently into Foley's recent schizophrenic switches between the Mankind and Dude Love personas.

To their credit, Triple H and Chyna put in measured displays trying yet again to deconstruct the 'Deranged One' after multiple failed efforts on television and pay-per-view, but it was Foley's time to shine in an evocative finished that dovetailed his childhood adoration of Jimmy 'Superfly' Snuka and recent transformation into his cartoonish youthful invention.

Outside of a 'The Ninth Wonder Of The World' missing a cue and interfering too early at one point (that barely derailed the action), it was at that point their finest conventional singles clash. Foley was game yet again to take a total shellacking for the cause, and Triple H duly obliged with wicked use of the notoriously unforgiving structure.

In a memorable finish, the unmasked Mankind ripped away his stoic brown gear atop the cage to reveal a miniature Dude Love heart, before dropping a mammoth elbow from the structure for the victory.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett