Jimmy Snuka soars into immortality on this day in 1983

A bitter feud came to a spectacular end on Oct. 17, 1983, as Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka and Don Muraco settled their rivalry inside a steel cage at Madison Square Garden. At stake was Muraco’s Intercontinental Championship.

Snuka had the upper hand late in the match until one move changed everything. A thunderous headbutt sent Muraco flying through the open cage door and onto the arena floor — allowing Muraco to win by escaping the cage.

Enraged, he dragged Muraco back into the ring and hit a suplex. Then, after teasing his signature Superfly Splash from the top rope, Snuka climbed to the top of the cage instead. Pausing to flash an “I love you” sign to the crowd, he launched a 15-foot dive onto Muraco — a moment that brought the Garden to its feet.

In the crowd that night was a young Mick Foley, who would later cite the moment as his inspiration to become a wrestler. His own career, defined by brutal spots and fearless dives, would go on to inspire future generations — just as Snuka had inspired him.

“Seeing Snuka leap off the top of the cage was the coolest thing I’d ever seen,” Foley said in May on the No-Contest Wrestling Podcast. Touched by the moment and seeing the crowd’s reaction, he added, “I remember thinking, ‘Wow, one day I’d like to make people feel the way that I feel right now.’ And that became a career goal and a defining moment in my life.”

In 1996, Snuka was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. However, he was removed in 2015 after being charged with the 1983 death of his girlfriend, Nancy Argentino. The charges were dropped two years later when he was deemed unfit to stand trial. He died shortly after, at the age of 73.

Though his life ended in controversy, Snuka’s leap from the cage remains one of the most influential moments in wrestling history — setting the standard for future high-risk maneuvers.