The Undertaker has addressed the criticism he received after not mentioning Mick Foley in his WWE Hall of Fame induction speech.
The Hell in a Cell match between The Undertaker and Mick Foley is the stuff of legend. In only the second match of its kind, Foley was thrown from the top of the cell through the Spanish announce table before somehow resuming the match.
Not that his luck improved much, as he was quickly driven through the top of the cell to the unforgiving mat below. Despite these two huge falls, Foley finished the match covered in blood and thumbtacks. Foley’s heroism in finishing the bout, combined with his falls from the top of the cage, have made the match one of the most famous in not only WWE history, but all of professional wrestling.
The pair also engaged in a number of other memorable matches during this period, including the first-ever ‘Boiler room Brawl.’ In fact, Jim Ross has previously revealed that Foley was signed, at least in part, purely so The Undertaker would have a fresh opponent.
This meant that when The Deadman didn’t mention Mrs Foley’s Baby Boy in his Hall of Fame induction speech, many fans, including Foley’s daughter were left surprised.
Speaking in a new interview with Bleacher Report, ‘Taker reflected on the criticism, as well as his speech ending “never say never.”
Undertaker explained that his closing line was meant for Vince McMahon, reiterating that he has no desire to return to the ring.
“Just the fact you asked that question, mission accomplished,” he said. “You never say never. I don’t have aspirations of ever stepping into the ring again, but this is the WWE, man. You never say never. You just never say never.
“I thought it was a great button that I can put on that and for that very reason,” he added. “That was a little bit for Vince, too.”
Looking back on his omission of Foley, the former World Champion said that he has previously discussed the star till his is “blue in the gills” and has nothing but love for his fellow Hall of Famer.
“I delivered the speech and I got everything out there that I wanted to say,” Undertaker said. “I got a little bit of blowback for not mentioning a couple of people, but it wasn’t about…If I go through every angle, every opponent…It was more about those three pillars I referenced back when I’m talking about Shawn [Michaels], that had a direct meaning to never being content.
That’s why I talked so much about Shawn then, Triple H. I did get a little bit of, ‘I can’t believe you didn’t mention Mick Foley.’ I’ve talked about Mick Foley until I’m blue in the gills.
“I love Mick Foley,” he continued. “I think what we did will outlive the test of time as far as our angle. But then I can talk about Edge and so on. I haven’t talked to any of those guys. I hope they didn’t get their feelings hurt, but it wasn’t about all that. It was about my journey and the things I’ve learned through those 30-plus years that I was trying to share and help people in their lives and thank the WWE Universe. That’s what it was all about. If anyone was offended, I’m sorry.”
Mick Foley has previously given his own thoughts on the situation, commenting that he wasn’t upset at being left out. The WWE legend joked that he couldn’t really talk about omissions, after he famously failed to mention his wife during his own induction.