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WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley Talks '20 Years Of Hell

Posted: May 12th 2018 By: Kevin Eck

On June 28, 1998, Mick Foley gave new meaning to the phrase "one giant leap for mankind."

In one of the scariest and most iconic moments in pro wrestling history, Foley -- who was performing under the moniker of Mankind -- was thrown off the top of a 16-foot-high steel cage and sent crashing through the announce table during his Hell in a Cell Match against The Undertaker.

"Good God Almighty, they've killed him!" WWE announcer Jim Ross screamed. "As God as my witness he is broken in half!"

Later in the match, Foley was choke-slammed through the cage roof onto the mat and knocked unconscious. A metal chair had fallen through the cage with him and landed on his face, knocking out a tooth and lodging it under his nose.

"That's it. He's dead," WWE color commentator Jerry Lawler said.

"Somebody stop the damn match!" Ross implored.

The hell that Foley put his body through that night undoubtedly took years off his career, but it cemented his status as a "hardcore legend" and helped propel him to wrestling superstardom.

Now 20 years later, Foley revisits the infamous match in his one-man show titled "20 Years of Hell." Foley will bring the show to Joppa, Md., on May 12 at Joppa Market Place. It will be the only time on the 20-city tour in which Foley will do the show inside a ring surrounded by three sides of a steel cage.

I caught up with the WWE Hall of Famer this week to discuss the event.

Kevin Eck: What sparked the idea to do a show focusing on the Hell in a Cell Match?

Mick Foley: I had been doing [one-man] shows since about 2008. I finally took a break after about six years of touring because after six years I still couldn't get people to understand what my shows were like. I think people still expected me to show up with a bow tie and start slinging one-liners. And so when I saw Bruce Springsteen did his "River" tour, a light bulb went off, and I was like, "That's what I need to do. Something that allows fans to know what they can expect." I thought with the 20th anniversary of the infamous Hell in a Cell Match coming up that it would be a great opportunity to work an entire show around one night.

KE: So what can fans expect from the show?

MF: They can expect to have their expectations leveled (laughs). It's a very good show. I'm flattered that people spend money, sometimes considerable money … and I think it's safe to say it exceeds everyone's expectations. The show is funny, but it's not a comedy show. I don't care about the number of laughs any more than I used to care about the number of pops in a match. It's all about sending people home happy they made the decision to attend, and I think I accomplish that. … It's territory I've covered in the past in bits and pieces, but taken as a whole, I think even a longtime cynic like Kevin Eck will be suitably impressed.

KE: How much did Vince McMahon know about what you planned to do in the match?

MF: I do talk about this in the show. He knew bits and pieces. I did a remarkable sell job on convincing him that I knew exactly what I was doing -- that I had been on top of the cell and I was completely comfortable up there -- all three of which were lies of monumental proportions (laughs).

KE: What were your initial thoughts about the match after it was over and you could reflect on it?

MF: Everything as far as conversations after the match had to be pieced together. One of the challenges of this show is finding humor in the unlikeliest of places, and there is humor to be found; that's what makes it so rewarding. But in the aftermath of the match there was kind of a juxtaposition because it was clear that something special had happened, especially with Jim Ross giving voice to a couple of the big moments, but it didn't seem like anyone even knew about it. Shawn Michaels was a guest on "Raw" the following night, and he walked up to me after he went out in the ring and said, "Well if those guys weren't going to talk about it I figured I would." It wasn't in the cold open. It wasn't talked about. The storyline was done and I don't think anybody realized what we had until there was a grassroots uprising that took place, and by uprising I just mean that people started rising up and saying, "Hey, let's talk about that match. What exactly did we see?" I speculate that if this had been in the age of social media it probably would have trended for three or four days and then been largely forgotten. Because it was instead allowed to grow in a grass roots way, the legend grew over the weeks, months and years and now even decades.

KE: What was your wife's reaction to the match?

MF: She had zero idea what I was going to attempt that night and she was very angry with me. When our road agent Dave Hebner informed me that I needed to call home because my wife was very upset, I was expecting some sympathy and I got an earful about scaring the children (laughs). She definitely wasn't happy about the lengths I went to to entertain the fans.

KE: I've heard a number of wrestlers say that when they take an especially big bump or get hurt during a match that they don't really feel it until afterwards because their adrenaline is so high. How much pain were you in during the match after being thrown off the top of the cage and being choke-slammed through the cage?

MF: Adrenaline definitely kicked in and helped me get through the first bump and helped me climb the cell that second time, but then I was knocked unconscious and adrenaline did not seem to play a factor. It was just a respect for the business that's instilled when you break in and just a real quest to get over the finish line.

KE: When you came out of the fog after you were unconscious, what was your first thought?

MF: I can't give it away. It's took good of a line (laughs). I already used it at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, but when I heard the applause I was like, "Oh, I think I can build on this." So I did make a rather unique observation. With everything going on around me, I honed in on something rather odd. Again, that's where some of the humor in the unlikeliest of places comes in.

KE: Before we wrap up, do you have any other projects you'd like to discuss or final thoughts?

MF: I had the Christmas memoir ( "Saint Mick: My Journey From Hardcore Legend To Santa's Jolly Elf" ) that came out last fall, and I'm looking forward to doing some more volunteer work this December in the red suit. This tour has been one of the most difficult road trips of the past 10 years for me -- about 24 days in April and May-- so I'm looking forward to relaxing a little bit, but I love these shows. I don't brag about much, but these are really good shows and they started taking form rather quickly. I do love the idea of outperforming expectations. My show in Pasadena, California in front of 180 fans gave me the type of rush I used to get at WrestleManias. I'm not exaggerating. … I hope people will take a chance on it. If they're up in the air, just take a chance. There are only 20 of these shows, and you'll be entertained and surprised.