WWE legend The Undertaker reflects on bizarre 24-hour wait to fix injury
The Undertaker battled through pain hundreds of times to entertain fans during his legendary WWE career. In a recent documentary, the 2022 Hall of Famer opened up about the time he avoided getting stitches for the sake of storyline continuity.
At SummerSlam 1996, The Deadman lost a Boiler Room Brawl against Mick Foley's Mankind character. The first half of the contest was filmed the night before SummerSlam in a backstage boiler room. The next day, the fight continued in front of fans in the arena.
In the latest episode of A&E's WWE Rivals, The Undertaker recalled how he suffered an elbow injury during a boiler room scene. He could not get the issue fixed because fans would have realized that the first half of the match was pre-recorded.
"I remember getting a cut on my elbow," The Undertaker said. "They have a doctor there, and they say, 'Hey, you want me to sew that up?' I was like, 'No, I can't sew it up. It's gotta be open tomorrow or it's not gonna match up.' How in the world did I get stitches between this and this?"
On the day of SummerSlam, former WWE valet Terri Runnels noticed that her co-worker's elbow would not stop bleeding.
"I remember walking backstage on the actual day of the event," The Undertaker continued. "Terri Runnels was walking behind me, and she goes, 'Did you know that every time that your arm bends, there's blood shooting out of your elbow?' So I'm walking down the hall and every time my arm would come down it's just shooting out of my arm."
According to @undertaker on the Undertaker vs. Mankind episode of #WWEonAE Rivals, @TheTerriRunnels asked him backstage on the day of SummerSlam 1996 if he knew that his elbow was bleeding. He was cut while taping the Boiler Room Brawl the night before and had refused stitches. https://t.co/tqPvblMOkT
The Boiler Room Brawl lasted 26 minutes. The unique spectacle was one of the first major cinematic matches in WWE history.
How Mick Foley felt about his match against The Undertaker
A superstar could only win the match once they retrieved an urn from The Undertaker's manager Paul Bearer in the arena. The Phenom looked set to secure the victory before Bearer betrayed him. Mick Foley's Mankind persona then claimed the urn to win the match.
August 18th 1996, SummerSlam. Mankind beat the Undertaker in the first ever Boiler Room Brawl. @RealMickFoley #WWE http://t.co/EgRUx2Oouo
Foley also appeared in the documentary. He thought the stipulation bout suited his character's love of chaos and use of weapons:
"The Boiler Room Brawl allows me to utilize everything around me, so I thought here's something that can highlight the things that I can do," Foley said. "Everything that happened in that match was real."
The iconic rivals also spoke about fans' reactions to their Buried Alive match at In Your House 11.
Do you have any memories of the Boiler Room Brawl? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit A&E's WWE Rivals and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.