God is Foley – The Mick Foley story

When I was growing up, I was a wrestling addict. Not that I knew it was scripted, but it was sure fun to see all of these colourful characters going up against each other, beating the heck out of one another and entertaining all the fans. I remember being just over 6, watching WWF during the beginning of the Attitude Era, watching the monster Kane coming out and decimating the opponents. But one guy always stuck out for me, and till today, is undoubtedly the biggest name in wrestling history. If you thought I’d say ‘It’s Mankind’, you are wrong. It is the Undertaker. He was the biggest reason I started following WWF, and I’m glad I did.

One particular match of his made me jump up and down my chair, and I refused to believe what was happening. It was in ’98 at King of the Ring, in one of the most dangerous matches of all time. It was against a character called ‘Mankind’, a deranged lunatic who would take hellacious bumps. It was the Hell In A Cell match, and when the two guys climbed on top of the cage, time stood still. I can still see shades of Mick slowly falling down from the cage on to the announcer’s table, and as the doctors and Vince himself rushed in, I thought the guy was dead. But as it turned out, he climbed the cage back up, and took one of the most horrific bumps of all time, all over again, when he fell right through the cage on to a chair. Most of the guys would just lay there, riding in pain, hoping they’d end the match right there, but not this person. As he crawled towards the turnbuckles, he had a sick, twisted smile on his face with his tooth attached to his nose. It was as if he was enjoying it, almost feeding off of the people’s reaction. I had to know who this person was. He called himself by various names – Mick Foley, Dude Love, and last but not least, the most sadistic of them all, Mankind.

So I had to follow this guy, watch more of his matches, more of his promos, and boy, he was one of the greatest performers in the history of the industry. It is very rare for someone to be loved, adulated and worshipped by all the fans, and Mick Foley achieved it. He deserved all the love and respect from the fans, because he genuinely cared about them. The amount of punishment Mick had taken over the years is something that can scare a stuntman or a daredevil. Mick started off by jumping off the roof tops, just to feel like a WWF Wrestler, which in every sense, shows how much Mick loved the industry, and how badly he wanted it. Mick Foley is arguably the wrestler with the biggest heart. Many guys who’ve met Mick have told how even though they see the violent psychopath on TV, Mick radiates love off screen.

Before coming to the WWF, Foley worked with Ted Turner’s company, WCW. While he was in WCW, one of the most infamous matches of the promotion took place, when Foley faced Vader in what is known to be the most violent match of WCW history. Later, when they toured Germany, Vader faced Foley once again, and at the beginning of the match, during a spot, Foley lost two thirds of his ear! What did Foley do? Finish the match and leave the attachment to be done later. When the time came, he was booked to win the tag team belt. Foley chose wrestling over getting his ear repaired surgically! It is one of the most famous stories that goes around in the industry even today! Afterwards, Foley was upset over the lack of interest from the creative heads, and left WCW for ECW.

In ECW, Foley was right at home. ECW was known for its extreme rules during the matches, and that was where Foley excelled. There was one particular match that became infamous, which happened in ’95 when Foley was touring Japan. Foley’s biggest rival in his career was a guy called Terry Funk. Terry is one of the biggest legends in the business, something like a Ric Flair or a Hulk Hogan, but the Funker was also known as the ‘Hardcore legend’, due to his involvement in hardcore matches all over the world. Foley and Funk were involved in matches to decide who the hardcore legend really was. This particular match took place at the ‘King of the Death match’ tournament in Japan, and in the finals, both these guys were involved in what is considered to be the most vicious, gory, violent match of all time!

You cannot realize how life threatening such a match really is, unless you see it. The match shortened both the guys’ careers, but going forward, Mick mentions in his book that he was proudest about this match than any other in his career. It is also relatively less known that Mick is a genius on the mic, and this was proved when he received some air time in ECW. Paul Heyman is one of the smartest guys in the business, and he gave Mick the time to speak on air, and his promos were nothing short of brilliant. There was one promo which especially sticks out in my mind, a promo infamously known as ‘Cane Dewey’ promo.

Foley soon left ECW for the biggest promotion in the world, the WWF. Foley debuted with the deranged character of Mankind, and was immediately involved in a feud with the biggest superstar, the Undertaker. They both had a long rivalry, and were involved in some brutal matches like the Broiler room Brawl, and as I mentioned before, the Hell In A Cell match. Foley later changed his character from a psychopath to a goofy guy, making fun of people and enjoying himself. It was at this time that Foley went on to achieve his childhood dream of becoming the WWF Champion by beating the Rock. It was one of the most memorable moments in the history of Monday Night RAW.

It was after this that Mick started teaming up with Rock, who became a good guy, and their team was known as the ‘Rock n’ Sock Connection’. Mick went on to win the WWF title on a couple of occasions, but soon had to end his career because of all the abuse he put his body through over the years. Although Foley made some sporadic appearances later, including working for TNA and winning their World title, Mick was always a WWE guy. Mick is not only one of the greatest names in the history of professional wrestling, but he is one of the nicest, most humble people you could ever meet. Being loved by all and adulated by many, Mick Foley will be remembered fondly by his fans, and as the fans always say ‘Foley is no God. God is Foley’.