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Yes, yes..... We all know about this match. And we can all agree that this was probably the most brutal display of his wrestling career. Then, probably closely following that, would be his 2000 Hell in a Cell Match with Triple H. Thus, I think we can all concur that Mick Foley's most brutal matches have occurred in the confines of the Hell in a Cell. But really, just including those matches doesn't do Mick justice, by any stretch of the means. He didn't need a cage to have a brutal match, he was pretty damn capable of providing some without the help of Satan's Structure. But quite frankly, when people talk about his most brutal match, they all point to.... Well, what you just saw. But let's take away those two cage matches for a second. Let's only include the matches that didn't include inside The Hell in a Cell, and show how creative Mick Foley can truly be. What of his Non-cage matches were the most brutal in the history of Mick Foley's career.
Your choices are as follows:
Mick Foley VS. Terry Funk, Japanese Death Match- This is the one that pretty much introduced Mick Foley as the hardcore icon. It was as brutal, if not more so, than any match you'll find in the US. In fact, the fact that it's in Japan is probably the only reason this match was allowed. However, that also may be a killing factor, not because the match took place in Japan, but because for everything Foley and Funk were doing, names like Onita, Mike Awesome, Gedo, Hayabusa, and the likes would not only duplicate, but perhaps exceed. That isn't to say this match isn't great, but fails to stand out to be compared to its peers. Still, it definitely deserves a spot on this lineup.
Cactus Jack VS. Vader, Saturday Night Live- This will be the only match on this list that didn't include weapons, and I'd still include it. In fact, not having weapons made it all the more brutal, really. It's said that idf you rewind the tape at the point Vader's throwing punches in the corner to Mick, you can hear his nose break. This was as punishing a match as I've ever seen, and quite frankly, broke the "no blood" rule in WCW. It wasn't like they tried to bleed, Vader was just that stiff with Mick. I think this one stands out for me so much because of the fact that no weapons were used, yet I'd never seen Mick ever beaten so badly before in his career.
Mankind VS. The Rock, I Quit Match- Except perhaps this match. This was the infamous one were The Rock kept hitting a handcuffed Mick, for a reason Mick never understood. This was the one Foley was said to be royally pissed off about for quite some time, and even I admit Rock took quite a few liberties with this match. Still, for sheer violence with weapons, this may be the best match in the WWE. The ending was original, and at the time shocking, and was as close to a Death Match as we'd likely get in the states.
Cactus Jack VS. Triple H, Royal Rumble 2000- Except this match may have had it beat, just one year later. Look, this match had it all. Barbed wire, thumbtacks, steel steps. These guys made what was potentially the most horribly awesome one on one match I've seen in my life. This was the match to make Triple H into a star, and admittedly, it got the job done here. I'd actually argue this was more brutal than the Hell in a Cell a month later, and that kind of ruins that match for me. Still, these two just beat the everlasting shit out of each other. This clearly has to be somewhere on the list.
Mankind VS. The Undertaker, Boiler Room Brawl- Yeah, this one was a bit of a clusterfuck, but that was all it was meant to be, really. I have to admit, this one is probably only on, because it was my first "hardcore" match, really. This was where I learned just how bad ass Mick Foley could be. Seeing him take it to The Undertaker with weapons was probably the most shocking thing in the world to me. But nothing compares to how shocking the ending was, in seeing Paul betray his Undertaker after so long. Again, perhaps this one doesn't fit, but I always enjoyed it, and some of the bumps were pretty revolutionary for the time.
So, besides the obligatory "other", where you'd have to make the case yourself, what was the most brutal of Mick Foley's Non-Steel Cage Matches?