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Mick Foley is a man who will never
be forgotten in the wrestling world. In his masochistic heyday it seemed
like destroying himself was
on the top of Things To Do Today.
Mick have calmed down since then, but he still can put up excellent matches,
where he shows that he
is willing to do anything, his
microphone skills are also extraordinary.
The beginning
Mick Foley wanted to become a pro
wrestler even as a teenager, one of his idols was Jimmy Snuka. Mick even
hitch-hiked all the way
to Madison Square Garden, where
Snuka performed a splash from the top of a cage, this inspired him to start
the career of the mad
man. Foley even created a character
that he wanted to be, namely Dude Love, who was a ladies man. He also made
videotapes of
himself where he performed some
suicidal stunts like jumping from the top of a roof onto one of his friends.
This tape later found its
way to the tape trader market,
where it became an hot item.
Dominic Deucci also got a copy of
the tape, and he offered Mick to train him. Foley made his debut on June
24, 1985 in the
independent circuit under the name
Cactus Jack Manson he defeated Kurt Kaufman. Mick wrestled in the independent
circuit for some
years without gaining much success,
but one of Mick's wishes came through, when he started working for the
WWF in 1986, where he
wrestled shortly under the guise
of Jack Foley, he only worked as a jobber, but he learned a lot from this
experience.
After competing for Titan Mick started
working for the CWA, where he joined Robert Fuller's Stud Stable in 1988.
Together with
Gary Young, Cactus defeated Bill
Dundee and Todd Morton in a tournament final to win the CWA Tag Team Title,
October 23rd, 1988.
Fuller was mad because he didn't
win the title, so the rest of his stable turned on Jack and Young, who
lost their title to Robert Fuller
and Jimmy Golden in November. Later
that month they lost a loser leaves town match on November 20th.
Cactus then joined the World Class
Wrestling Association, where he was quite successful. In one of his first
matches, December 30,
1988, Cactus defeated Eric Embry
to capture the WCWA Light Heavyweight Title, but lost it back to Embry,
January 4, 1989.
Cactus then joined the stable of
Gen. Skandor Akbar, where he hooked up with Super Zodiac, and they started
to team on a regularly
basis. They dethroned the WCWA
Tag Team Champions, Jeff Jarrett and Kerry Von Erich, May 19, 1989. June
9, 1989, Jeff Jarrett
and Mil Mascaras where able to
defeat Jack and Zodiac.
Cactus then found a new tag team
partner in the shape of Scott Braddock, and they defeated Jeff Jarrett
and Matt Borne to win the
WCWA Tag Team Title, August 4,
1989. Even though they were only able to hold on to the title for a week,
before being dethroned by
the former champions Jeff Jarrett
and Matt Borne, the title changed name to the USWA Tag Team Title. After
the defeat Jack moved
on to the NWA.
Jack's stint in the NWA isn't one
of the easiest to remember, like his jobber stint in the WWF, Jack didn't
have much success. Again
the promoters couldn't see the
qualities that Jack had, so he was jobbed to death. Jack did have an feud
with Norman, which also
included the Road Warriors. Jack
also jobbed to Mil Mascaras at Clash of the Champions X, during the course
of the bout Jack took a
sickening bump from the apron and
cracks his skull on the concrete floor - this got announcer Jim Cornette
to scream Cactus Jack is
Dead - and so was his first stint
in NWA.
Cactus then went back to the independents,
where he was respected. He first started working for the UWF, where he
appeared on the
UWF's only pay-per-view Beach Brawl,
where the team of Sunny Beach and Steve Ray defeated Jack and Bob Orton.
Cactus then
joined the Tri-State Wrestling
Alliance, where things started to heat up.
In Tri-State Jack started a violent
feud with the late Eddie Gilbert, this feud got Jack a "cult" following,
who followed Jack because
of his repertoire of high risk
moves. The feud with Eddie Gilbert have been by many called the feud of
1991 and involved a lot of
gimmick matches. Including a barbed
wire match, which was declared a no contest after Mick was hanging from
the upper strands of
cable and spikes, medics had to
cut him loose. One of the feuds highlights was when Jack and Gilbert fought
each other three times on
the same card, Summer Sizzler II,
August 3, 1991, in the first match Jack defeated Gilbert in a Falls Count
Anywhere Match, Jack
lost the following Stretcher Match,
and the final Steel Cage Match ended in a double disqualification.
After Tri-State couldn't handle
the money, Jack moved on to Global Wrestling Federation, where he was inducted
into the heel group
of the Boss, which included Rip
Rogers, Muckan Singh, and Scotty Anthony. Jack worked hard in the GWF but
was never rewarded
with a title regain.
Jack's hard work got WCW interested, and they signed Cactus.
WCW
In WCW Jack debuted as a gift to
Sting at Clash of the Champions XVI, September 5, 1991. Sting had just
defeated Johnny B. Badd,
when Cactus showed his "ugly" face,
but the Stinger was ready for Cactus, because he previously had a similar
incident with Abdullah
the Butcher. Jack teamed with Abdullah
the Butcher, Vader, and the Diamond Studd to take on Sting, El Gigante,
and the Steiner
Brothers In the Chamber of Horrors
Match, at Halloween Havoc 1991, but came out on the loosing end, when Jack
accidently fried
Abdullah..
Jack had a feud with Van Hammer,
before he took on his partner Abdullah the Butcher. After these feuds Sting
got a shot at the WCW
World Champion, Sting, and the
two put on an excellent match at Beach Blast 1992, where Cactus came out
with the short end of the
stick. But Jack was still one of
the top contenders and got another chance, when Ron Simmons won the WCW
World Title, but Jack
wasn't able to walk away with the
title.
A short feud with Johnny B. Badd
followed, which started at Starrcade 1992 in the Lethal Lottery, where
Jack and Badd became
partners, but Jack used most of
his time attacking Badd. Then came a turning point in Jack's career, for
the first time in many years,
Jack was turned face. The reason
for the turn was because Paul Orndorff attacked Jack during an interview.
Jack defeated Orndorff at SuperBrawl
III, in a Falls Count Anywhere Match, which ended the feud. Jack was then
named the
number one contender for Vader's
WCW World Title, they had their first clash at April 6, 1993, Jack defeated
Vader by
disqualification, but Jack suffered
a broken nose and needed 27 stitches to close several facial wounds. This
was the set-up for a
rematch 15 days later.
April 21, 1993, at a WCW Saturday
Night taping, Jack and Vader went toe to toe, during the match Vader wanted
to power bomb Jack
outside the ring, Harley Race,
Vader's manager, removed the protective padding of the floor before Vader
pounded Jack onto the
floor. Cactus Jack was seriously
injured and nearly paralysed. Cactus then disappeared for a while, and
a series of interviews began,
which involved the search for Cactus.
They found him living with homeless people, and he had no recollection
of wrestling or his family.
But Cactus returned to wrestling,
when he saved the British Bulldog from an assault by Vader
Vader defeated Jack at Clash of
the Champions XXIV, with a helping hand from Race, but got a rematch when
he defeated Yoshi Kwan
at Fall Brawl 1993. These events
led to the infamous Texas Death Match at Halloween Havoc. Vader and Harley
Race knew that Cactus
Jack wasn't an easy man to beat,
so Race brought an electric prodder to the ring. It was a brutal match,
which lived up to ECW
standards using chairs and tables,
both men were bleeding all over the place. In the end Race used the prodder
on Cactus Jack and
this gave Vader the victory, because
Cactus Jack wasn't able to respond to the 10 count. Rumors say that because
of the brutality of
the match, WCW didn't want Vader
and Jack to clash at another pay-per-view.
Jack then decided that since WCW
wouldn't give him another shot at the WCW World Title, he would focus on
the Tag Team Title
instead. But Jack knew that finding
a partner, which had the right stuff, wasn't the easiest thing to do, but
eventually Jack found his
partner in Maxx Payne.
The team of Jack and Payne quickly
showed that they could match any other team in WCW and quickly got a shot
at the WCW Tag
Team Champions, the Nasty Boys,
unfortunately the Nasty Boys had Missy Hyatt as their manager, and twice
she saved the Nasty Boys
from losing. At Spring Stampede
1994, the Nasty Boys won the Chicago Street Fight and injured Payne. Jack
and Payne was awarded a
rematch at Slamboree, but Payne
wasn't able to make it, so Jack had to find a new partner, which turned
out to be Kevin Sullivan.
On March 16, 1994, WCW was touring
Germany, Cactus had a match against Vader in Munich. During the match Jack's
head was caught
in the ropes and while he was trying
to free himself, his ear got torn off. Jack then had to make a decision,
reattach the ear or go
back to the States for his title
shot at Slamboree, Jack chose the latter, and that is why Jack only have
1/3 of his right ear.
Jack and Sullivan won the WCW Tag
Team Title at Slamboree, and they were able to hold on to the title in
a rematch against the Nasty
Boys. But then disaster struck,
at Bash at the Beach Pretty Wonderful (Paul Orndorff and Paul Roma) won
the title, after the match
Sullivan blamed Jack for the loss
and attacked him. This incident lead to their Loser Leaves WCW Match at
Fall Brawl 1994, which
Jack lost.
ECW and Japan
Jack started working for ECW while
still under contract by WCW. Jack decided that he would concentrate on
insane matches, and in
ECW and IWA, and later FMW, he
found his home. Jack's first feud in the ECW was with a man, who might
is more insane than Jack,
Sabu, the two had some excellent
matches, after their first encounter Jack cut a classic interview where
he dissed WCW and spat on
the WCW Tag Team belt, Jack then
went back to WCW and lost the title and lost the feud with Kevin Sullivan.
Jack then returned to
ECW, where he lost to Sabu again
in a matchup, in which Sabu had to use 7 attempts to smash a bottle over
Jack's head.
Next in line was Terry Funk, but
this feud was short, because at Hardcore Heaven '94, the Public Enemy attacked
both men, Funk then
called for a chair, and the audience
threw one chair after another to ring, and Public Enemy was buried under
the chairs. Jack and
Funk then decided to team up and
take on PE two weeks later, but Funk's plane ticket failed to arrive and
he quit the promotion. Jack
then hooked up with Mikey Whipwreck,
and they relieved the Public Enemy for the ECW Tag Team Title.
Jack and Whipwreck were able to
hold onto the title until November to Remember 1994, when Public Enemy
regained the title. Kevin
Sullivan then joined the ECW and
Jack teamed with him until it erupted into a wild feud, but this time Jack
got the last laugh, as it was
Sullivan who left ECW.
In late 1994 Jack also started working
for Smokey Mountain wrestling here he showed up and Distracted Boo Bradley
(Balls Mahony),
who in the process lost his TV
Title. Cactus then stated that his sole purpose in SMW was to save Boo
from Tammy Sytch. Cactus tried
to convince Boo to leave Sytch,
but the first time ended in a brawl, which Boo later apologized for. Boo
also stated that Sytch and
Candido were his only friends,
Cactus then fired back by stating that Boo wasn't the first man, whose
obsession with pussy had lead
him astray. This lead to a feud
with Candido and Boo, eventually Boo left Tammy, but at that time Jack
had left SMW.
Jack then started 1995 with going
to Japan to the IWA, where he clashed with Terry Funk in one of many clashes
of no rope barbed
wire matches. In ECW, Jack went
after the Sandman, but the Sandman retaliated at the show called: Return
of the Funker. Jack had
just defeated D.C. Drake, when
Sandman and the returning Terry Funk attacked and brutalised Jack, who
got 56 consecutive cane
shots, before Jack's ally Shane
Douglas came to the rescue.
Jack pinned Funk at Hostile City
Showdown 1995 in a totally insane and violent match, and then went after
the Sandman, whom Jack
defeated in a no rope barbed wire
match for the ECW World Title, when Sandman didn't answer to knock out,
the fans thought Jack
had won the title, but then referee
Bill Alfonso came and declared that you can't win a title due to knock
out. In Japan Jack's left
arm was cut open by Leatherface,
who used a chain saw to do the dirty job.
While working for ECW and in Japan,
Jack also worked in the independent scene, here he was very successful,
he won the Ozark
Moutain Wrestling Title and the
Steel City Wrestling Title, respectively from Colorado Kid an T. Rantula.
August 20, 1995, IWA did the unbelievable,
they staged a one night tournament to determine the undisputed King of
Death Matches. In
the first round of the tournament
Jack clashed with Terry Gordy in a barbed wire baseball bat, thumb tack
death match. The match
showed that Jack is willing to
do anything with his body, during the match Gordy stomped on Jack's head,
which laid in the thumb
tacks, but Jack won the match after
a Double Arm DDT in the thumb tacks.
In the semi-final round waited Shoji
Nakamaki, and the two clashed in a barbed wire board, bed of nails death
match. This match was
sickening, Jack decked Nakamaki
with a bed of nails and the elbow dropped the bed, but Jack also got the
taste of the bed in the
match, but eventually Jack won,
when he used the Double Arm DDT onto a board with barb wire.
The final was a no rope barbed wire,
explosive barbed wire board, time bomb death match. Jack went up against
his old nemesis Terry
Funk. This match was brutal with
the two bleeding all over the place, Tiger Jeet Singh interfered in the
match, which helped Jack to
the victory. Funk got third-degree
burns, and Jack the victory after an elbow drop from the top of a ladder.
Jack had more success in IWA, as
he together with Tracy Smothers dethroned the Head Hunters to win the IWA
Tag Team Title,
September 29, 1995. Tarzan Goto
and Mr. Gannosuke relieved them of the title, October 1, 1995.
In ECW Jack team with Tommy Dreamer,
but the team didn't last long because Jack turned on Tommy Dreamer during
a tag match
against the Pitbulls. He became
the first man to defeat 911 on August 28. Jack then decided that the hard-core
style of wrestling
wasn't him, and started to use
a more restrained style of wrestling, because the fans didn't show him
the respect he deserved by
putting his body on the line. Jack
then hooked up with the philosophising Raven, but Dreamer wanted to bring
back the violence and he
knew that the only one who could
do it was Terry Funk. But their first match was a disaster, Jack almost
burned the arena to the
ground, when he set a chair on
fire.
Raven and Jack lost a tag team match
to Funk and Dreamer at November to Remember '95, which witnessed a shopping
trolley as a
foreign object. Mikey Whipwreck
defeated Too Cold Scorpio for the TV Title, December 29, 1995, where also
the Tag Team Title was
on the line, Jack then announced
that he was Mikey's partner, but it didn't work, February 3, 1996, The
Eliminators won the title.
In Japan, Jack joined FMW, after
IWA went bankrupt. In FMW continued the antics from IWA, wild brawling
featuring barb wire,
bombs, glass and everything else
in the book. Jack had many great matches with Wing Kanemura.
Jack then signed a contract with
the WWF, and started praising the WWF on TV, this lead to a short feud
with his former ally Shane
Douglas, who despises the WWF.
The feud ended with a match, where Jack in his street clothes were handcuffed
and put in the
figure-four leglock, but Jack wouldn't
quit. Suddenly Whipwreck came to the ring and smashed Jack with a chair,
Jack was out and
lost the match.
Cactus wrestled his last match in
ECW in April 1996 against Mikey Whipwreck. Jack won the match and did the
fargo strut with Stevie
Richards and the Blue Meanie. Cactus
then cut an interview, where he declared Cactus Jack dead. Almost the same
thing happened in
FMW, but it was some months later
in May, under the guise of Cactus Jack, Mick defeated Wing Kanemura in
a barbed wire barricade
spider net, broken glass death
match, and then declared Cactus Jack dead.
WWF
Mick made his debut in the WWF,
with his new gimmick the quite unstable Mankind, the day after WrestleMania
12, where he defeated
Bob Holly with the Mandible Claw.
Later that night Mankind attacked the Undertaker to start the feud of 1996.
Mankind then aligned
himself with Goldust and together
the two played their mind games on the Undertaker.
The Undertaker was programmed to
have a Casket Match with Goldust, and had an interview where he laid in
the casket, when
suddenly Mankind attacked. When
the Casket Match took place, at In Your House 10 and the Undertaker was
about to open the casket,
so he could put Goldust in it,
who was in the casket? Mankind who put the Mandible Claw on the Undertaker
and put him in the casket.
At King of the Ring 1996 Mankind
and Undertaker met for the first time on TV in a match, the match ended
when Paul Bearer
"accidentally" hit the Undertaker
with the urn, but this was just the beginning of the feud. The two continued
to interfere in each
other business, so most of their
matches against other wrestlers ended with a disqualification, when the
other interfered.
Mankind and Undertaker clashed again
at Summer Slam in a special Boiler Room Match, where the match started
in the boiler room, the
objective of the match was to retrieve
the urn from Paul Bearer, who stood in the centre of the ring. The match
was violent, but when
the Undertaker reached the ring
and was about to get the urn, Paul Bearer turned on the Undertaker and
used the urn as a weapon.
Bearer had aligned himself with
Mankind.
1996-1998
After the Boiler Room brawl, Mankind
was named the number one contender for Shawn Michaels' World Title, the
two put on one of
the best matches the WWF have ever
made, with good moves and sick bumps, but the match was thrown out of the
window, when Vader
and the Undertaker interfered.
After the interference Mankind and the Undertaker settled for a new clash.
In their third encounter, which
was a special Buried Alive Match, where the objective of the match was
to get your opponent in the
grave and shovel some dirt on him.
The Undertaker won the match, but he was attacked by Bearer's new protégé,
the Executioner
(Terry Gordy), who put Undertaker
in the grave and together with Mankind and some other heels filled the
grave. The pay-per-view
was just about to end, when lightning
struck in one of the shovels and the Undertaker's hand came up from the
grave.
What happened at In Your House was
the set-up for the fourth encounter between Undertaker and Mankind, which
took place at
Survivor Series 1996, where the
Undertaker would get 5 minutes with Paul Bearer if he won the match. The
Undertaker won the match,
but didn't get the enjoyment of
have Bearer from himself, when the Executioner attacked.
At the Royal Rumble 1997, Mankind
ran in to his old friend Terry Funk. Paul Bearer, who also had acquired
the services of Vader, set
Mankind and Vader's eyes on the
Tag Team Titles, but to no avail Vader and Mankind used just as much time
on hitting each other as
hitting the Champions, Owen Hart
and the British Bulldog in their match at WrestleMania 13.
Mankind got another shot at the
Undertaker and his newly won WWF World Title, when Mankind at a Raw is
War taping from March
31 blasted the Undertaker with
a fireball, when the Undertaker and Paul Bearer started arguing. But the
Undertaker was simply to
much for Mankind, who lost the
match at In Your House 14 to end the feud once and for all, Undertaker
also blasted Bearer with a
fireball.
With Bearer gone for a while, the
WWF had to come up with something new, and they did. Jim Ross had a series
of interviews with
Mankind, where they discussed his
career, here they talked about Mick's own invention, Dude Love, the interview
ended, when
Mankind put on the Mandible Claw
on Ross.
Around the same time Steve Austin
needed a new partner to go up against the winners of a tag team tournament,
to determine the new
WWF Tag Team Champions. For weeks
Mankind tried to get Austin to pick him, he even had a sign around his
neck that said: Pick me
Steve", but Austin wouldn't have
anything to do with the deranged Mankind, who was the recipient of a Stunner.
Mankind then
promised that promised that things
would never be the same in the WWF.
The next Monday, when Austin had
to go up against Owen and Bulldog for the WWF Tag Team Title. Austin, without
a partner, went up
against Bulldog and Owen Hart,
when suddenly Mick showed up as Dude Love and cleaned house. After the
match Austin and Dude
Love, the new WWF Tag Team Champions,
in a matter of respect shook hands.
Mick continued to wrestle as both
Mankind and Dude Love, but as Mankind he qualified for the King of the
Ring tournament by
defeating Savio Vega. In the semi-final
waited Jerry Lawler, who gave Mankind quite a beating, but it wasn't enough
Mankind won and
advanced to the final. The final
was against Hunter Hearst Helmsly, the two had a very entertaining match,
where Mankind took one of
the most savage beatings in WWF
history. Hunter won with the Pedigree, but it wasn't enough as he continued
his beating of Mankind
to set-up their feud.
At In Your House 16, Mankind and
Hunter clashed again, this time the match was declared a double count-out,
since the two couldn't
stop their brawl, where Chyna interfered
as much as she could. Because of Chyna's interference, it was decided that
Mankind and
Hunter's match at Summer Slam would
be inside a Steel Cage.
The match was excellent, the two
showed what they are capable of, Hunter superplexed Mankind from the top
of the cage and other
crazy acts where performed. Mankind
had the match won, but then decided to go back to the top of the cage,
here he ripped of his
shirt to reveal that he was Dude
Love, and to honour his childhood hero, Jimmy Snuka, he elbow dropped Hunter
from the top of the
cage and won the match.
Dude and Austin had to vacate the
WWF Tag Team Title at In Your House, Ground Zero, due to Austin's injuries.
Now Dude had the
time to concentrate on his singles
career.
Mick then wrestled as Dude Love
in the months to follow, but at Raw is War, September 22, Dude was to have
a Fall Count Anywhere
Match against Hunter. Dude knew
that this wasn't his kind of match so he asked Mankind, who knew a better
person to get the job
done namely Cactus Jack. Jack made
short work of Hunter and ended the match with a pile-driver through a table.
Nothing much happened in Mick's
career, until a Dude Love was attacked by Kane, who totally annihilated
Dude. This brought out
Mankind to take care of business
at Survivor Series, but he wasn't up to the task as Kane also defeated
him.
After his confrontation wit Kane,
the New Age Outlaws (Billy Gunn and Jesse Jammes) wanted their part of
Mick. First they broke one
of Dude's ribs, then they locked
Mankind in a freezer. This brought back Cactus Jack to take care of action,
and at Raw is War,
December 29, 1997, he had a surprise
for the Outlaws. After defeating Jammes by disqualification, Jack brawled
with the outlaws
towards the stage, here Chainsaw
Charlie (Terry Funk) emerged from a huge wooden box with the aid of a chain
saw.
The team of Cactus and Funk went
after the Outlaws on every occasion, but the Outlaws also had some tricks
up their sleeve. During a
match with Cactus against Funk,
which was set merely because they enjoyed the pain, Cactus and Funk ended
up in a dumpster,
following a elbow drop from the
Titan Tron and into the dumpster. The Outlaws showed up and shut the dumpster
and then pushed it
off the edge of the rampway, which
was a fall on 10 feet. According to the story line Cactus and Funk were
injured, but came back
later that night and saved Austin
from an attack from Degeneration X and the New Age Outlaws.
The incident with the dumpster set-up
the match at WrestleMania 14, where you had to put the opposing team into
a dumpster and then
shut the lid. This was an entertaining
bout, where Jack and Gunn from the top of a ladder fell into the dumpster.
Jack and Funk won
the match and the WWF Tag Team
Title, when they went backstage with the Outlaws and put them in a dumpster.
The next day at Raw is War, the
WWF vacated the because they had used the wrong dumpster, so instead a
Steel Cage match between
Cactus and Funk against the Outlaws
was signed. During the match Funk was handcuffed to the cage and the Outlaws
and Degeneration
X started a brutal assault on Jack,
as the fans started chanting for Austin.
The next week on Raw, Jack came
out and stated that the fans, due to the chant of Austin, wouldn't see
Cactus for a long time
because they didn't support in
him. At Raw is War, April 13th, Austin challenged McMahon to a match, because
he wouldn't say who
Austin's opponent at Unforgiven
was going to be. Austin had one hand tied behind his back and was about
to collide with McMahon,
when Dude Love came to the ring
and asked if they could get along, Dude then attacked Austin, and was named
the number one
contender for Austin's WWF World
Title.
At Unforgiven, Dude and Austin had
a typical brawl, where Foley as always took some crazy bumps. The end came
when Austin
whacked McMahon with a chair, he
then put a Stunner on Dude, but since there where no referee to do the
three count, Austin did it
himself and then left, Dude was
declared the winner by disqualification due to Austin hitting McMahon.
At Raw is War, May 4, 1998, McMahon
told Foley that he could be the number one contender again if he could
defeat Terry Funk.
Foley and Funk put on a brutal
brawl, which Foley dominated and won after a pile-driver through a table,
then Dude Love's music
played and out came McMahon in
Dude's T-shirt and with some chicks, Foley and McMahon then embraced and
danced.
The next week on Raw is War, Dude
appeared in a suit and with false teeth, acting like the perfect corporate
model of a champion,
just like McMahon wanted. To make
things easier for Dude, McMahon had appointed Jerry Brisco as time keeper,
the guest ring
announcer was going to be Pat Patterson,
and finally McMahon wanted the honour of being referee.
Unfortunately the conspiracy wasn't
enough to secure Dude the victory, as he fell prey to the Stunner. McMahon
was mad and at Raw
is War the next day, he fired Dude
Love, later that night during a Undertaker against Kane match, Foley came
back as Mankind and
slapped the Mandible Claw on the
Undertaker, who had confronted McMahon earlier that night. McMahon then
decided that he wasn't
going to fire Foley.
Mankind have also aligned himself
with Paul Bearer again, and together with Kane, he attacked Steve Austin
and put him in a casket.
Mankind will face the Undertaker
at King of the Ring in a Hell in the Cell Match, and they had a premiere
in it, when Mankind and Kane
teamed up to take on Austin and
the Undertaker, but the duo of Austin and Undertaker got the last laugh
as Undertaker pummelled
Bearer, and Austin scored the victory
by pinning Mankind. The same night Kane and Mankind also won a tag team
battle royal to
declare the number one contenders
for the WWF Tag Team Title, this match happened before the Hell in the
Cell match.
At King of the Ring, Mankind and
the Undertaker put on a great show in the Hell in the Cell match. Mankind
took some amazing bumps,
which made the Undertaker look
good, though he had injured his ankle. Some of the best spots in the match
was when Undertaker
threw Mankind from the top of the
cage and through a table. Mankind was also choke slammed THROUGH the cage
and landed in the
middle of the ring. The end came,
when Undertaker choke slammed Mankind on some thumbtacks and then Tombstoned
him for the
victory. After the match Foley
got a standing ovation for his performance. Foley lost three teeth during
the match and will now take
some time of to heal.
At Raw is War, July 6, Mankind was
thanked on TV by Vince McMahon on his efforts at King of the Ring, I believe
that is first time
that have happened. Kane and Mankind
will battle the New Age Outlaws on the July 13 episode of Raw is War. Mankind
and Kane
defeated the NAO and won the WWF
Tag Team Title with a little help from the Nation's D-Lo Brown. Later that
night they had a
rematch due to the controversy,
but it ended in a draw. Mankind and Kane also had their little confrontration
when Kane stopped
Mankind from hitting the Undertaker
with a chair. Then problems started in the ranks of the tag team champions,
during a handicap
match against Austin, Kane hit
Mankind with an elbow drop.
Mankind and Kane wasn't able to
hold on to the WWF Tag Team Title for long, because they lost the title
to Steve Austin and the
Undertaker at Fully Loaded, July
26. Why is it that none of Foley's regains in the WWF are very long? Mankind
and Kane will have to
patch up their differnces during
a run-in on Austin and the Undertaker, Kane hit Mankind with a chair instead
of the Undertaker.
At Sunday Night Heat, August 9,
Mankind trashed the fans for their failure to show him due respect after
his performance at King of
the Ring, Mankind also stated that
he will not ever wrestle again for the acceptance of the fans. Later that
night he was tombstoned on
the concrete floor by the Undertaker,
who was disguised as Kane.
The next day at Raw is War, Mankind
wanted an explanation and wanted help from Vince McMahon. Mankind was told
that he was a
weakling, but McMahon again said
that Undertaker and Kane was working together, he even stated that they
were the same person.
When it was time for the Four Corners
Tag Team Match, it was clearly that Mankind didn't trust Kane, but in the
end Mankind and
Kane won the match and became WWF
Tag Team Champions for a second time.
Kane has aligned himself with the
Undertaker which spells trouble for Mankind, who tried to rescue Paul Bearer
from a beating, but
ended on the receiving end of a
spiked Tombstone. Mankind then challenged Kane to a match in the Hell in
the Cell, which Mankind
promised would contain thumb tacks.
The match was OK, but Mankind was clearly on the receiving end and got
Tombstoned on a chair,
when suddenly Austin showed up
and beat the snot out of Kane. It will be interesting to see Mankind and
Kane go up against the New
Age Outlaws at Summer Slam for
the Tag Team Title.
At Summer Slam, Mankind lost his
hearse, his sledge hammer, his tag team partner, and the WWF Tag Team Title.
Austin smashed the
hearse with the sledge hammer,
and when Mankind couldn't find Kane, McMahon suggested that Mankind faced
the New Age Outlaws
by himself, this would give Mankind
a spot in the Hall of Fame. The match was a No Holds Barred/Pinfalls count
anywhere Match,
where many weapons were used, Mankind
was on the receiving end of a spiked piledriver on the Tag Team belts,
and was then dumped
in a dumpster. Kane suddenly appeared
from the dumpster and bashed Mankind with the sledge hammer.
Mankind got his first taste of revenge
against Kane as he hit Kane with a sledge hammer during a match between
Rocky Maivia and
Kane. This got the Undertaker to
challenge Mankind to a match. The match with Undertaker took place later
that night and it was a
brutal encounter where the sledge
hammer was used together with chairs and tables, also Kane stuck his ugly
head in the match. When
the Undertaker wanted to use the
sledge hammer on Mankind, Rocky Maivia emerged from the dumpster, which
Foley brought to the
ring, Maivia saved Mankind from
further damage. Mankind and Maivia have apparently formed a pact since
they came to the ring, when
Undertaker and Kane attacked Steve
Austin and Ken Shamrock during their match.
Mankind has obviously struck a deal
with Rocky Maivia and Ken Shamrock and they protect each other to keep
Undertaker and Kane at
bay. During an interview with Kane
and teh Undertaker, Mankind attacked Kane, and when Undertaker protected
his brother, Maivia
and Shamrock came to the rescue.
But Vince McMahon tried to split the team, when he ordered them to face
each other in a triple
threat match to name the number
one contender for the World Title, the match was thrown out the window,
when Kane and Undertaker
attacked.
A new Triple Threat match with Shamrock,
Maivia and Mankind was announced during Sunday Night Heat, but this time
the match
would also be a cage match, so
no one could interfere. The match was great and ended with Mankind brained
Ken with a chair,
Mankind then started to climb out,
but Maivia went for the easy way as he pinned Shamrock. During the match
Mankind again emulated
his hero Jimmy Snuka and attempted
to throw an elbow drop off the top of the cage, but all he saw was canvas.
The three teamed up at Raw is War
the next day to take on the Undertaker and Kane in a handicap match, but
Mankind's team also
started fighting among themselves.
I can only ask, when will Foley get the World Title that he has deserved?
Mankind and Ken
Shamrock are set up for a feud,
it happened at Sunday Night Heat, October 4, where the two teamed up to
take on the DOA, but
during the match Shamrock turned
on Mankind and waffled him with a chair.
At Raw is War, October 5, Mankind
visited Vince McMahon at the hospital, McMahon was sent to hospital due
to an attack of the
Undertaker and Kane. Mankind also
brought a clown and a sock puppet (Mr. Socko) and started making babytalk
noises. McMahon then
told him to leave.
The next week at Raw is War, we
witnessed the return of Mr. Socko, who helped Mankind defeat Mark Henry
in the tournament for
vacant Intercontinental Title,
but the second round was the end station for Mankind as he was attacked
by Ken Shamrock, who used a
chair on Mankind's ankle. Mankind
and Ken Shamrock clashed at Judgement Day in a strong encounter, Shamrock
got Mankind in the
Ankle Lock but Mankind refused
to submit, so he slapped on the Mandible Claw on himself, this got him
to pass out. Shamrock was
declared the winner but due to
the Mandible Claw, this got Shamrock to attack Mankind, but Mankind got
up and applied the Mandible
claw to Shamrock, looks like these
two will clash again.
The next night at Raw is War, Mankind
distracted Ken Shamrock in his match against X-Pac, giving X-Pac the win.
Mankind then paid
McMahon a visit together with Mr.
Socko, who got to wear a security badge. Later that night Mankind fought
Val Venis, but Shamrock
was looking for revenge, so he
blasted Mankind with a chair, the two then started a brawl which brought
them into the crowd. The next
week at Raw is War, Mankind teamed
up with Al Snow to take on the New Age Outlaws, unfortunately the odd team
lost, but they held
their respective companions (Head
and Mr. Socko) hostage until they agreed to trade. Later Mankind put more
fire on the feud with
Shamrock as he put the Mandible
Claw on Shamrock.
The next week on Raw is War, Mankind
again tagged up with Al Snow. Mankind was just about to get Mr. Socko to
secure the win, but
he wasn't on his foot, so he started
looking for Mr. Socko. Mankind then ran into Vince McMahon, who got Mankind
to promise that he
wouldn't interfere in the match
with Ken Shamrock later, after this McMahon presented the WWF Hardcore
Title to Mankind for his
efforts. The belt wasn't worth
a thing, but Mankind gladly accepted it. McMahon then said that he might
had gained a new son, which
to Mankind replied "Thaks dad".
Guess McMahon got something to think on.
The next week on Raw is War, McMahon
said that Mankind would defend the WWF Hardcore title against Ken Shamrock,
before the
match took place Mankind got a
makeover, when Mankind got his toe nails he stated that he missed Mr. Socko.
It looks like McMahon
has found his new corporate champion
as Mankind came to the ring in a tuxedo and his beard was shaved, and a
clean hair cut. During
the match, which was a Falls Count
Anywhere No Holds Barred match, the Big Boss Man (another of McMahon's
associates) nailed
Shamrock to secure Mankind the
victory.
At Survivor Series, Mankind's mystery
turned out to be a jobber named Duane Gill, whom Mankind squashed. In his
next match
Mankind took on Al Snow (Head was
wearing Mr. Socko as a headband). During the match Vince revealed that
he had made the
headband for head. When Mankind
discovered the whereabouts of Mr. Socko, he ripped the headband off and
took out his
frustrations on Head, this gave
Snow a chance, but reunited with Mr. Socko, Mankind took the win. In the
semi final, Mankind tangled
with Steve Austin, Vince encouraged
Mankind during the match, but still Mankind wanted to get out of the match,
but was lead back by
McMahon's stooges. Austin had the
match under control, but as he went for the pin, Shane McMahon turned on
Austin, Patterson then
brained Austin with a chair so
Mankind got the win.
In the final Mankind squared off
against Rocky Maivia, it was a hard fought battle, but Maivia got Mankind
in the Sharpshooter and
immediately Vince McMahon called
for the bell, though it was obvious that Mankind hadn't tapped. Vince had
double crossed Mankind,
who said that he hadn't tapped,
for this Mankind received a Rock Bottom from Maivia. Later when Austin
had scared of the McMahon's
and Maivia, Austin delivered a
Stunner to poor Foley.
Mankind was on a path of rage the
next night at Raw is War, where Mankind went to the boiler room. McMahon
then sent his stooges of
Patterson, Brisco, and Slaughter
after Mankind, who totally destroyed them. Later Mankind tried to attack
Vince, but was stopped by
Ken Shamrock and the Big Boss Man.
At Sunday Night Heat, Mankind came to the ring for an interview with a
leaf blower, he then
promised that he would use Mr.
Socko on Vince McMahon. Vince responded with a three way dance between
Mankind, Ken Shamrock
and the Big Boss Man at Raw is
War.
At Raw is War, November 24, Mankind
went up against Ken Shamrock and the Big Boss Man, it was a typical brawl,
where Mankind
suddenly got help from Al Snow
and the J.O.B. Squad, Snow used Head on Shamrock, which secured Mankind
the win. Later Mankind
helped Too Cold Scorpio and Bob
Holly defeat the New Age Outlaws, when Mankind whacked Billy Gunn with
the leaf blower, this
brought out Ken Shamrock and the
Big Boss Man. Looks like Mankind is a member of the J.O.B. Squad.
Mankind will face Rocky Maivia at
the Rock Bottom Pay-Per-View, and the two has been attacking each other
on various occasions. The
worst case of these attacks happened
at Raw is War, November 30, as Mankind took on the Big Boss Man in a Ladder
Match. Mankind
dominated the match until Maivia
showed up and delivered the Rock Bottom, the Big Boss Man then retrieved
the Hardcore belt and was
declared champion, afterwards Mavia,
Boss Man, and Shawn Michaels started beating Mankind.
At Sunday Night Heat, Mankind fought
the Undertaker, but the match was thrown out the window, when Steve Austin
and the Rock
interfered. This resulted in a
tag team match at Raw is War, where Mankind teamed up with Austin, during
the match Mankind was
handcuffed to the ropes by the
Big Boss Man and received a beating from the corporation.
Mankind got his revenge on the Rock
at Sunday Night Heat before Rock Bottom, as Mankind pasted Maivia with
various foreign objects
injuring Maivia's ribs in the process.
Before the match Mankind had a meeting with Vince McMahon, but he wouldn't
admit that
Mankind hadn't said I Quit at Survivor
Series. The match was hard fought, but in the end Mankind with a help from
Mr. Socko got the
Mandible Claw on Maivia, who passed
out. Mankind won the match, but McMahon grabbed the microphone, and stated
that the Rock was
still the champ, as he didnt get
pinned or submit. Mankind then took out his frustrations on Vince McMahon
with the Mandible Claw -
then Shane, before Mankind was
overwhelmed by Shamrock and the Big Boss Man. Again the WWF screws Foley,
either he loses the
main event or he doesn't get the
belt.
The next night at Raw is War, Vince
ordered a No Holds Barred Match between Mankind and Kane. But Mankind wanted
Vince, so he
challenged him to a match. During
the match with Kane, Vince appeared and stated that he would fight Mankind
in the parking lot,
Mankind then went after him and
completely destroyed McMahon until the Rock showed his faced and hit the
Rock Bottom on a car
hood.
The Corporation also got revenge
on poor Mankind at Sunday Night Heat, when Maivia, Shamrock and the Big
Boss Man took on
Mankind in a in a Fatal Four-Way
Match. Vince also had a surprise, since he had his version of Mr. Socko
(black sock with white eyes)
and applied the Mandible Claw until
Degeneration X made the save. The next day at Raw is War, Mankind helped
Road Dog win the
Hardcore Title. Mankind also took
on Shane McMahon in a match, which Mankind totally dominated until the
Corporation made a run-in,
but again DX came to the save.
At Raw is War, December 28, Mankind
got a chance to regain the Hardcore Title from Road Dogg, but during the
match Maivia, who
did commentary, delivered the Rock
Bottom on Mankind.
1999-now
At Raw is War, January 4, 1999
(taped December 29, 1998) Mankind requested a match against Rocky Maivia
at the Royal Rumble. But
Vince declined the request and
stated the Mankind hadn't paid his dues, but Vince then stated that Mankind
could enter the Royal
Rumble if he defeated Hunter Hearst
Helmsley. During the match, which had Shane McMahon as the referee, Triple
H went for a
sunset flip off the apron, but
Mankind held the ropes. Shane kicked Mankind's hands and registeres a FAST
three count. Hunter then
delivered the Pedigree to Shane,
and left Shane to Mankind, who put him in a type of chicken wing hold.
When Vince and his associates
came down, Mankind wanted a no
DQ match against the Rock later. The Corporation had to agree.
When it was time for the match,
Degeneration X came down to the ring with Mankind. It was a hard fought
match, which saw the use of
the stairs and interference. Rocky
hit the Rock Bottom on Mankind through the announcers table and then hit
the Corporate Elbow, but
Mankind kicked out at two. Mankind
then took the advantage and took out Mr. Socko, but Shamrock creamed him
with a chair and DX
and the Corporation started brawling.
Suddenly Steve Austin's music was heard and he ran to the ring and blasted
Rocky with a chair,
Mankind then made the pin and was
declared the new WWF World Champion. The crowd was solely behind Foley
- DX and Mankind the
celebrated and Mankind held a speach,
where he declared that the belt was for his kids.
The next week on Raw is War, Mick
thanked Jim Ross, DX, and Austin, he then stated that he had a dream to
headline WrestleMania
XV against Austin. The Rock and
the rest of eam Corporate then made it out, Maivia then stated that he
wanted a rematch, but Mankind
wouldn't grant, because he felt
that he had beat the Rock enough, but when Maivia suggested an "I Quit
Match," with no Corporate
members at ringside, no countout,
no DQ's, no stopping the match for excessive blood loss, and no knockouts,
which Mankind accepted.
But Vince also had his to say as
he ordered a match between Mankind and Kane. The match was hard fought,
as we have become used
to, with both men using the steel
steps as weapons. Kane had the match won, when Maivia made it to ringside
and hit Kane, Rocky then
followed up with a couple of chair
shots to both participants. Austin then came to the ring and delivered
a couple of stunners to
Mankind and Kane.
At Raw is War, January 18, Mankind
started the night by brawling with the Big Boss Man backstage, eventually
the two got it to the
ring, where they brought on a violent
match. When Mankind went for the Mandible Claw the Rock smashed a chair
over Mankind's head
and followed it up with a Rock
Bottom onto the chair. But Mankind paid the Rock back later that night
with a chair shot and the rest of
Team Corporate also tasted the
chair.
January 24, the night of the Royal
Rumble, at Sunday Night Heat before the Rumble, the McMahons had ordered
Mankind to take on a
mystery opponent. This turned out
to be Mabel, Mankind had just put the Mandible Claw on him, when the Rock
attacked, who together
with Mabel and the McMahons stomped
Mankind. During an interview on Heat, Foley had said that the Rock would
say I Quit.
During the match Mankind had the
Mandible Claw on Maivia, but the result was that the Rock was too out of
it to say I Quit. Rumors
about Foley topping his fall at
King of the Ring proved to be right, during the I Quit Match with the Rock
both men used a ladder to
climb up on a balcony, the Rock
made it up and over the railing and then punched Foley, who fell off the
ladder and onto a circuit
board, taking the lights out with
him as he tumbled amid the sparks. Shane McMahon tried to stop the match,
but the Rock continued
and put handcuffs on Mankind. But
Mankind just wouldn't quit even though Maivia whacked him 11 times with
a chair, which knocked
out Mankind, eventually the Rock
thrusted a microphone into Mankind's mouth and a disembodied voice that
sounded like Foley said I
Quit, I Quit, I Quit. The Rock
was then awarded the title, yet again Foley is screwed out of a title regain.
The next night at Raw is War, Mankind
interrupted a Maivia dialoge and stated that he didn't say I Quit at the
Royal Rumble, Mankind
then wanted a rematch with the
Rock at Halftime Heat in an empty arena with no fans in it, which the Rock
accepted.
The match took place on January
26, but wasn't aired until January 31. Mankind got the early advantage
and blasted the Rock with a
double arm DDT and followed up
with the Madible Claw, but the Rock got out of the ring. Outside the ring
Mankind also retained his
superiority until Vince McMahon
who was doing commentary started talking to Mick. When the Rock had the
advantage the two
combatants took their battle up
some stairs, but the Rock kicked Mankind, who rolled down the entire flight
of stairs.
The fight continued to the kitchen
area, where the Rock threw both Mr. Socko and Mankind into an oven. The
two superstars were
completely covered with food, when
they reached the loading dock area, here Mankind again got the advantage
and put the Mandible
Claw on the Rock, who passed out,
Mankind then used a fork lift to place a crate with several kegs on it
on the Rock. Mankind then sat
on top of the kegs as the referee
counted three and Mankind thereby became WWF World Champion for a second
time.
The next night at Raw is War, Mankind
gave away the Rock's money to fellow wrestlers, this got the Rock upset,
who challenged
Mankind to a Last Man Standing
Match at St. Valentine's Day Massacre, February 14, which Mankind accepted.
On February 8, which aired in the
USA on February 13, Mankind and Steve Austin was supposed to get it on,
but the two stars weren't
going to fall for Vince McMahon's
tricks so Mankind slapped the Mandible Claw on Vince while Austin were
holding off the rest of
Team Corporate.
At Sunday Night Heat before St.
Valentine's Day Massacre, Mankind met up with Dominick Denuchi, Bob Backlund,
and the Iron Sheik,
who wanted to train Mankind before
the match, but this resulted in an attack from the Rock. When the match
took place it featured
some good spots, among many Mankind
used a DDT to put the Rock through a table, suplexes on the concrete floor
by Maivia, and the
Rock throwing the ring steps down
on Mankind's legs. The end of the match took place when Mankind went for
the Mandible Claw, the
Rock retaliated with a Rock Bottom,
both men then got up and knocked each other senseless with a chair, the
referee then counted to
ten and declared the bout a draw.
After the match both men were carted away.
The next night at Raw is War, Vince
McMahon and the Rock begged commissioner Shawn Michaels to make a match
between Mankind
and the Rock, since now winner
was declared at the pay-per-view. Shawn agreed to it and made it a Ladder
Match. The match took
place later that night and again
the Rock worked on Mankind's injured leg, but also got planted with the
Rock Bottom through the
Spanish announce table. Eventually
both men made it back to the ring and started climbing up, but Mankind
go the Mandible Claw on
the Rock, but then Paul Wight came
to the ring and he chokeslammed Mankind from the top of the ladder to the
mat. The Rock then
retrieved the belt to win the title
and end the feud.
At Sunday Night Heat, February 21,
Mankind stated that he felt naked without the title and that he wouldn't
wrestle anymore. He then
wanted Chattanooga, Tennessee to
sign a petition for Commissioner Shawn Michaels, to let him to be the Guest
Referee match between
The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin
at WrestleMania XV.
Raw is War, February 22, during
an arguement between the Rock and Paul Wight, Mankind appeared and offered
to officiate a match
between the two, which they agreed
to. When the match was about to take place the Rock and Wight attacked
Mankind, Vince
McMahon then entered the ring and
knocked Mankind down.
The next week on Raw is War, Mankind
again wanted to officiate a match, but Vince would only allow it if he
could beat the
Undertaker. The match was declared
a double countout, so again Mankind missed an opportunity to be a referee.
Raw is War, March 8, problems between
the Rock and Paul Wight again brought out Mankind, who wanted to officiate
the match, but
McMahon wouldn't allow it and neither
for him to referee the main event at WrestleMania. McMahon then promised
that he would go to
WrestleMania if he could defeat
Austin. Mankind tried to talk Austin into letting him win, but Steve Austin
would have none of it. When
the match took place, Paul Wight
was the special referee, during the match Austin was outside of the ring,
Wight then made a fast ten
count and declared Mankind the
winner, which Wight followed up with a chokeslam on Mankind.
At Sunday Night Heat, Vince McMahon
stated that Mankind and Paul Wight would take on each other to find out
who should referee
the main event at WrestleMania,
Mankind was sick and tired of McMahon's games so he shoved Mr. Socko in
Vince's throat, but Wight
attacked Mankind. Officials then
attended Mankind but he attacked them, and he continued to attack various
wrestlers just to get Paul
Wight in the ring. Later Mankind
used a chair on Wight, but ended up being chokeslammed.
The next night on Raw is War, Mankind
together with Steve Austin took on Paul Wight and the Rock, but Mankind
had to fight most of
the match himself as Austin showed
up way late. The match ended in a no contest when a brawl between all four
started.
Raw is War, March 22, McMahon appointed
the Rock to officiate the match between Steve Austin and Paul Wight, this
immediately
brought out Mankind, who wanted
a match against the Rock to decide who would officiate the match. At first
Team Corporate didn't
care, until Mankind showed them
a letter from commisssioner Shawn Michaels, which stated that the match
would take place. The two
delivered a brawl which we have
come to expect from them, during the match the referee was knocked out,
this brought down Wight,
who chokeslammed Mankind, but the
referee saw it and disqualified the Rock, which meant that Mankind would
be the referee in the
main event. During the match between
Austin and Wight, Mankind more than once took a shot at Wight, which helped
Austin gain the
win.
At Sunday Night Heat before WrestleMania,
Mankind ran into Paul Wight, the two started to insult each other which
lead to a brawl.
When the match took place Wight
used his size to gain the advantage, but eventually Mick got him out of
the ring - where Foley is
supreme. Mankind got the Mandible
Claw on Wight, but he escaped. Wight then sensed that he had to do more
extreme things to get the
win and started wielding a chair,
Wight then setup two chairs and chokeslammed Mankind on them, which got
the referee to disqualify
Wight. Mankind then won the honor
of officiating the main event, but it didn't look good as he was carted
away on a stretcher. But
during the main event Mankind returned
and counted the decisive three count to let Austin win the WWF World Title.
Raw is War, April 5, Mankind defeated
Val Venis. Foley completely dominated Venis and scored the win after a
double- arm DDT
followed up with Mr. Socko. At
Sunday Night Heat it was announced that Mankind would take on Paul Wight
at the Backlash
pay-per-view in a Boiler Room Brawl
and followed it up by celebration Mr. Socko's birth place with the crowd.
The following day at Raw is War,
Mankind immediately went for his old home - the Boiler Room. Shane McMahon
sent some of his
buddies to take out Foley, but
they didn't succeed, as Mankind got the better off them. Later Ken Shamrock
came looking for his sister
in the boiler room, and Mankind
helped him find her, but then they were attacked by the Undertaker's Ministry
of Darkness. The
Ministry hauled Shamrock away and
wanted to sacrifice him, but together with the Brood, Mankind and Shamrock
got the better of the
Ministry.
At Raw is War, April 19, Mankind
took on Triple H from Team Corporate, but Chyna's interference became to
much as she low blowed
Mankind as he went for Mr. Socko.
Mankind was then declared the winner by disqualification. Team Corporate
then ran down and
started beating on him, but Paul
Wight came to his rescue. Mankind then told the Big Show that he appreciated
the help, but that he
would beat him at Backlash. Later
that night Wight was attacked by the Ministry of Darkness, and this time
Mankind came to his rescue
to even the score.
At Backlash, Mankind was back at
home in the boiler room. Here he surprised Wight and used it to gain the
advantage. During the match
Mick took some good bumps, the
match ended when Wight destroyed a pipe which spewed something into his
face, Mankind then made
it to the fire exit and was declared
the winner, then he was attacked by the Big Boss Man and Test, but Mankind
took care of it
himself.
The next night at Raw is War, Mankind
teamed up with the Big Show to take on the Big Boss Man and Test, who were
easily beaten. At
WWF Smackdown, April 29, Mankind
defeated the Big Boss Man, who during the contest tried to escape, but
were stopped by Test
and the Big Show, Paul Wight. At
Sunday Night Heat, Mankind was challenged by the Big Boss Man in the boiler
room, but Mankind
took care of him, until the rest
of the Corporate Ministry took him out, until the Big Show Paul Wight came
to the rescue.
At Raw is War, May 3, Mankind, Test,
Ken Shamrock and Paul Wight formed the Union to take on the Corporate Ministry,
as they
interrupted an interview with the
Ministry with 2X4's. For his disturbance in the interview, Mankind had
to face the Acolytes in a
Hardcore Match. The Acolytes proved
to be too much for Mankind in a hard fought match.
