Hey Folks, we are back once again with a ‘What If’ scenario for the ages. So, hop in your DeLorean, jump in your hot-tub, find yourself a phone booth or break into Skynet’s HQ. Whatever you want to do to alter a timeline, and come with us on a journey through time and space.
If you got all five of those references, you should probably get out more.
This time we are asking the question: What If Mankind Never Dived off the Hell in a Cell in 1998?
No one can deny the impact Mick Foley has had on not only the WWE Universe but also many other wrestling companies over the years. Although he has been champion in many companies in his early career, Foley never won ‘the big one’ till he was in the WWE (then F), but it’s arguable that Foley as Champion was never fully considered until after his now-infamous Hell in a Cell match.
The year was 1998, Mankind and The Undertaker were locked in a heated rivalry throughout the month if June. There had even been a Tag Team Hell in a Cell match on Raw with The Undertaker and Steve Austin vs Mankind and Kane. This would be the catalyst that would create the double main event for King of the Ring 1998, as it would end on a no-contest. So, we would see Steve Austin vs Kane in a First Blood Match for the WWE Championship and of course The Undertaker vs Mankind in a Hell in a Cell.
But, what if that match never happened? Mankind never took that infamous dive off the top? So he was never considered for the WWE Championship? (and subsequently, the ‘big switchover’ from WCW never happened) Would Hell in a Cell still be around today, and have its own PPV?
We asked @ProjectDits, @FarrandOnFilm and @TyboTalks their thoughts on what the wrestling landscape could or would look like without what Journalist Michael Landsberg called “maybe the most famous match ever”
@ProjectDits
“WWE, and wrestling as a whole, is littered with “what if” scenarios. One moment can influence an entire era in some cases. If this moment never happened, where would we be now?
This match gave birth to the legend of Mick Foley. By no means a classic, you still can not watch a WWE highlight reel without seeing Foley’s body plummeting off the cell. Without that moment, and another fall from height later in the match, where would we be?
Hell in a Cell took years off Foley’s career and he only made it 2 years after this match before retiring (funnily enough in another HIAC match). Mankind would go on to be a 3-time WWE Champion after King of the Ring. Would he have held more if his body allowed him more time? His legacy is unrivalled but it wouldn’t be as huge without those falls.
There are other moments that we may not have witnessed in WWE history if Mick Foley didn’t have a moment of madness. The first fall was such a high spot with such an impact (figuratively AND physically) that many Superstars wanted to replicate it in some way. Would Jeff Hardy be the Jeff Hardy we know and love now if Foley never fell off the cell? Sure he’d still be leaping from ladders in TLC but jumping off titantrons and staging? Maybe not. The same goes for Shane McMahon, who himself took a huge bump off the cell (TWICE). Would those daredevil dives have occurred without Foley paving the way?
On a grander scale and something which could be argued from many angles, what if Foley not being thrown off the cell caused WWE to go out of business? Foley won Vince’s respect on this night and probably had a hand in influencing the boss to give Foley a chance as the company’s top champion. Seven months after King of the Ring, Mankind had such a chance in January 1999 on RAW. As WWE’s flagship show was taped at the time, WCW got wind of Mankind’s WWE Championship win and Tony Schiavone infamously exclaimed that “that’s gonna put some butts in the seats” whilst Nitro was airing live alongside RAW that night.
Turns out that made many fans watching Nitro switch over to watch a huge win for Mick Foley, something which was a catalyst for WCW’s slow demise from this point onwards. If Foley had not flown off the cell, Vince may have overlooked him and WCW would never have the need to “mock” a title win for Mick and would have maintained their ratings lead on the night, eventually putting WWE out of business.
Although Mick Foley genuinely could have ended his life that night, wrestling wouldn’t be the same without his sacrifice from falling off and through the cell. He’s a crazy bastard and we’re all grateful that we got to witness this legacy unfold before our eyes. I think we all share Vince’s thoughts: “You have no idea how much I appreciate what you have just done for this company, but I never want to see anything like that again”.“
@FarrandOnFilm
“When it came to approaching the question of “What if Mankind was never thrown off the top of Hell in a Cell,” I thought of going one of two ways – Do I discuss how the career of Mick Foley may have been affected by not doing the spot or something similar but relating to The Undertaker? In the end, I decided to ignore both and go down a different route – What would have been of the Hell In A Cell match if this hadn’t happened?
October 5th, 1997. The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels compete in the first-ever Hell In A Cell match at Badd Blood: In Your House. During the match, Shawn Michaels falls from halfway up one side of the cell and through the Spanish announcer’s table, a moment that has been repeated in highlight reels ever since. But what else is remembered from the match? Sure, the Deadman and HBK have always had great matches and the debut of Kane was memorable, but in terms of showcasing the company’s newest creation, it was a steel cage match with a roof.
Enter Mick Foley.
Foley has a penance for making the most of every situation, especially at the expense of his own wellbeing and this match was no different. It’s been said that the risks taken by Mankind were sustained at his own request.
As it’s now etched into history, Foley was thrown between sixteen and twenty-two feet from the top of the cell, through the Spanish announcer’s table (poor bastards) before being choke slammed by Undertaker on top of the cell only for the panel to give way, causing Mick to fall straight through and hit the ring.
Because of the horrific images produced by Foley being a victim of the cell, Hell In A Cell quickly became the defining endpoint for WWE’s fiercest rivalries. The words ‘Hell In A Cell’ became fear stricken in WWE’s canon because of the images it immediately recalled in the minds of the fans.“
@TyboTalks
“The impact of the Hell in a Cell on Mick Foley is undeniable. Not just on his career but I’m sure if nothing else the bumps he took that night altered his health. Its 20 years later and I still don’t think anyone has come close to doing anything as crazy as the dive off the top, an argument could be made for Shane McMahon but the situation was different with him being able to plan the landing better, and the gimmicked table to break his fall.
There is an elite group of wrestlers who have a ‘must-see’ moment in their career, but Mick Foley’s career is defined by the moment he came off the top of the Cell. If you were to take that moment away I honestly think it changes not only the career path of Foley but it would change the way the Hell in a Cell is looked at and potentially the whole attitude era.
First off the most obvious thing would be, every future Hell in a Cell match wouldn’t be expected to end up on the roof, and at least one participant wouldn’t be expected to take a huge bump. It’s almost as if the Cell match is disappointing if there is no action on top. Secondly, Foley was a huge component in a lot of fans switching from WCW to WWF when he won the Championship, I would hazard a guess that without that bump Foley would not be at the forefront of the fans’ minds when they thought of the WWE in the very late 90s.
I had friends who didn’t watch WWF but knew a handful of wrestlers, one of them was Mankind (the guy who was thrown off the cage). It’s crazy to say it but that match (in my eyes at least) set the tone for the whole Attitude Era. The footage of Mankind coming off the cell was used in everything they could possibly get away with, including the Raw opener and even a move on every WWF/E Game to this day. This introduced the ultra-violent, envelope-pushing, adult-themed production of everything WWF related.
The Attitude Era was built on sex and violence for the late-night teen audience that loved it. No one could argue that D-generation X was the comedy, satire and tapped into every ‘fart joke’ we all loved at 15 years old, but It was Mick Foley who quenched our appetite for violence and blood. Without both, there would be no Attitude Era.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say that we all be watching the WCW Network, but I think it undoubtedly made people take notice of the product and without a doubt pushed Foley to the point where he was over enough to win the WWE Championship.“
Let us know below or on Twitter @SLTDWrestling what you think would be different about Foley’s career, the WWE landscape and Hell in a Cell in general if this match and moment never happened.
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