Twenty-six years later, the legend of the infamous Hell In a Cell match between Mick Foley and The Undertaker from King of the Ring 1998 has only grown. But as terrifyingly memorable as that match was, former WCW President Eric Bischoff believes it may have ruined anything special about traditional cage matches forever.
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On"83 Weeks," Bischoff and co-host Conrad Thompson recapped the 1998 King of the Ring pay-per-view and in discussing the chaotic Foley vs. Undertaker match, Thompson said, "I don't like that it feels like we have to continue to [think 'Can you top this?'] It always happens with diminishing returns." To that, Bischoff wholeheartedly agreed and segued the discussion toward standard cage matches. "I do think cage matches have become irrelevant for the most part," he said. "Now, maybe Hell In a Cell's gonna be different, continually, but cage matches have just become a meaningless prop. No reason to have them, no storyline leading into them."
One individual who was consistently known for raising the bar in terms of crazy aerial stunts was Shane McMahon. With McMahonpotentially interested in joining AEW, Bischoff said he hopes he steers clear of the overly risky, daredevil-type stunts."He's getting a little older now so maybe he'll talk himself out of it, if he gets to AEW now and he gets on top of an AEW [cage]."
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Bischoff's ultimate advice extends far beyond Shane McMahon when it comes to one-upping 1998's Hell In a Cell and cage matches in general. "Just let this one stand on its own, folks. No need to try to compete because it's not possible."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit 83 Weeks and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
