WWE Legend The Undertaker Admits He Didn't Want To Do Infamous Hell In A Cell Spot

The Undertaker's legendary career in WWE featured many of the most memorable moments across the Attitude and Ruthless Aggression Eras, such as his Hell in a Cell match against Mick Foley as Mankind, back at King of the Ring 1998. 

Mark "Undertaker" Calaway recently appeared on Logan Paul's "Impaulsive" podcast, where he looked back at the match, Foley's iconic fall from the cell, and how everything was put together.

"Truth be told, I didn't want to do it," Calaway admitted. 

He claimed that he tried to talk Foley down, however, he was set on upstaging the first ever Hell in a Cell the previous year at Bad Blood 1997, where Calaway faced Shawn Michaels. In the following weeks, Foley began to lose confidence in having a better match, but Calaway gave his rival a pep talk that led to his rival finding inspiration. Foley then came up with the idea that he should be tossed off the top of the cage, and brought Vince McMahon in to convince Calaway. 

"So, he had in his mind like he needed to do something that would fool the people into thinking that they had seen something, right?" said the Hall of Famer. "They double team me. 'No, yeah, Mark he says he can do it.' And I'm like 'F**k, are you kidding? We don't need to do it.' I said, 'Fine! Alright, you want to get thrown off the top? Fine, I'll throw you off the top. There. Are you happy?'"

Mark Calaway claimed that Mick Foley's reasons for wanting the spot included claims that he'd been at the top of the cell before and was ready for the fall. However, the veteran had lied. Either way, when it came to the moment, Calaway did as they agreed and shockingly threw him off, leading to one of the most iconic moments of the era. 

Following this, he again recalled the out-of-body experience he's claimed he had that night. 

"'Cause I let him go, and I can see myself standing there, and I can also see him falling — which seemed like it took 20 seconds — to hit that table, right?" said The Undertaker.

The fall ended up being more brutal than Calaway anticipated, and as Foley slid under the railing, the veteran began to panic. "I'm like, 'That's what I'm going to go down for. I killed Mick Foley.'" Meanwhile, Calaway recalls he didn't even notice that the crew began lifting the cage with him still on it, since he was too distracted by his nerves, but luckily someone notified him that Foley was up. "And I'm thinking, Wow, okay, that's over with," he said. "That son of a b**ch, he's like ... he starts climbing back up!"

While Mick Foley being tossed from the top of the cage is the most memorable moment of the match, the veteran was chokeslammed through the cage not too long after. According to Mark Calaway, the fall from the top might have been the easiest part of the night, since the aforementioned chokeslam was not planned to go the way it did. 

Calaway recalled that the cage was less put together than when he faced Shawn Michaels and that when he and Foley walked on the surface, he could hear the brackets pop. He then realized that the cage wasn't going to hold, and at the last second after hitting the chokeslam, he stepped off the mesh and stood on the pole keeping the cage together. 

"We were gonna slide down one of the panels and then get back into the ring and finish the match," he said. "And man, when I chokeslammed him? He just never stopped," he said. 

The lengths Foley has pushed himself to across his career have always been praised by fans and veterans of the industry, and Calaway similarly holds his old rival and friend in high regard. "He's crazy. He is. He's a sweetheart of a man, but, man, he took some damage," declared The Undertaker.

The list of feuds and rivalries that The Undertaker went through across his lengthy career is filled with many of the biggest names in the industry. While Mark Calaway admits that he had already won gold by the time he faced Mick Foley, the match and his rival's fall from the cage might be the most memorable part of his career. 

"People will still stop me on the street like, 'Man, that time you chokeslammed, you know, Mick,'" said Undertaker.

Despite falling from the cell and going through it, Calaway claims that Foley was still up for more. "This is how he thinks, right? 'We gotta get to the tacks.' I'm like 'Mick, I have thrown you off of this thing, I have thrown you through it, I don't think they care about the tacks.'" 

Looking back at the legacy of that rivalry, Calaway praised Foley again and suggested that he went as hardcore as he did to prove his niche. "That was his ... what would separate him from everybody else, which it did."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Impaulsive" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.