WWE Executive Reveals Secrets Behind First Inferno Match

Bruce Prichard of WWE has revealed who played a big role in the first-ever Inferno Match between The Undertaker and Kane.

One of the most unique match types that WWE created in the Attitude Era was the Inferno match between The Undertaker and Kane. It took place at the In Your House Unforgiven PPV in April 1998, which was a month after WWE WrestleMania 14 when Undertaker beat Kane for the first time.

For the Inferno Match, the rules were that the ring would be surrounded by flames while The Undertaker and Kane fought in the ring. The first person to light their opponent on fire would win the match.

During the match, there would be moves done by Undertaker and Kane in the ring that would lead to the flames bursting so that there would be more fire present. It was a way to pop the crowd and get them emotionally invested in the match even more.

Bruce Prichard is the current WWE Executive Director who has worked for the company in many different roles over the last 40 years. While speaking on his Something to Wrestle podcast, Prichard revealed that WWE Hall of Famer Gerald Brisco, who was a key backstage employee at the time in terms of producing the shows, controlled the flames during the Undertaker-Kane match.

“Yeah, and that was just something that happened. Gerry was there because you want somebody that you can trust and sh*t. We found that when they would take bumps, he started hitting the thing. It was like, ‘Hey, that’s cool. Do that on every bump.’ So he did.”

“He controlled it. Every time they would take a bump, he would do it. He was just messing around at first.”

Who Won The First-Ever WWE Inferno Match?

The winner of the first WWE Inferno Match was The Undertaker, who kicked Kane so that his hand hit the fire and The Undertaker was declared the winner. The legendary Jim Ross was on commentary shouting: “Kane is on fire! Kane is on fire! He’s burning!”

There have been other Inferno Matches in WWE history, but for many fans the first one was the most memorable of them all.

H/t to Fightful