WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley celebrates the anniversary of an iconic match with The Undertaker
WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley celebrated the 26th anniversary of his iconic Buried Alive match against The Undertaker.
The match took place in the main event of In Your House: Buried Alive on October 20, 1996. It was one of the first high-profile matches between The Deadman and Foley's Mankind persona.
In what became a signature stipulation for The Phenom, wrestlers had to throw their opponent into a grave and cover them with dirt to win the match. As this was the first match of its kind, the audience was not ready for the unnerving stipulation and the brutal brawl that was this match.
Ms. Foley's Baby Boy took to Twitter to note the 26th anniversary of this historic match, posting a picture of the poster for the show.
"26 YEARS AGO TODAY" he wrote
26 YEARS AGO TODAY
#BuriedAlive https://t.co/fskQIXKCC5
The finish of the match exemplified the nature of mid-90s wrestling. As The Undertaker threw Mankind into the grave and started shoveling mud over him, the match ended and Taker was announced the winner. After the bell rang, a cascade of heels, including Triple H and Goldust, ran out and attacked the victor. They took Mick out of the grave and threw Big Evil in, burying him in dirt. Lightning then struck the covered grave and a hand stuck out of the mud. This was one of the most iconic images in The Undertaker's career.
The Undertaker and Mick Foley had several classic stipulation matches over the years
The Buried Alive match at In Your House in 1996 wasn't the only iconic match The Undertaker and Mankind will have against each other. In fact, this wasn't even the most popular match the duo had together. That honor will go to their Hell in a Cell match at King of the Ring 1998.
What can be said about this match which hasn't already been said? Mick Foley took the beating of his career, and that is saying a lot for him. Being thrown off the side of the cell, being chokeslammed through the cell, and being slammed into a pile of thumbtacks are only a few of the many gory bumps Mankind took that night.
@undertaker @90sWWE Undertaker - vs - Mankind
Hell In A Cell
https://t.co/6XnH9Pq0F9
Another iconic but lesser-known match between the two took place at SummerSlam 1996, the first-ever Boiler Room Brawl match that saw the two beating the pulp out of each other. The goal of the match was to escape the hazardous boiler room and retrieve the urn in the ring. It was a betrayal by Paul Bearer that granted Foley the victory.
With so many classic matches between the two, it is no wonder that Mick Foley is often called one of The Undertaker's greatest ever rivals.