This year marks the 20th anniversary of the infamous Mankind/Undertaker Hell In A Cell match. In a recent video, The Undertaker, Mick Foley, Tim White (referee), Sgt. Slaughter, and others recall moments before, during, and after the classic one-on-one encounter.
In the video, Foley remembers wanting to pass the bar that Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker set in their first Hell In A Cell match; however, complications did arise when Taker fractured his ankle:
"Yeah, I did happen to have a fracture in my ankle," Undertaker admitted
. "It was such an important time in the business, you knew you had to do it, so you just grit your teeth, go in there, and do what you do."
Of course, ‘The Deadman’ was concerned with the nature of the match that he wouldn’t be able to perform, especially since the two started on top of the cell structure:
"To be completely honest, it's like "Crap, am I going to be able to get up there?' Undertaker wondered
. "The answer was 'yes,' because I mean, I would have gotten up there, I don't care how, but I would have gotten up there."
Both Taker and Foley speak about when ‘The Deadman’ sent Foley crashing down from the top of the cell to the mat. Both men discussed the dangers of performing the move from such a high place, with Foley saying he would take a chokeslam higher up on the shoulders for a softer landing in the ring. Had he done that same thing, that high up, he would have over-rotated and landed on his neck/head.
"I totally agree with that," Undertaker stated.
"I mean, we're talking a couple of inches with even the way he landed. That could have been catastrophic. I mean it really could have, but I stepped off the panel and onto the support bars, if I hadn't of done that we would have both gone through that together. So if you can imagine, if I had stayed on that panel, my weight would have probably been on him too. Then what happens? It's a scary thought."