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Interview With Mick Foley

Posted: Oct 23rd 2008 By: CMBurnham

Total Nonstop Action?s flagship program, Impact, goes live this Thursday night from the Hard Rock Caf? in Las Vegas in what will also be the company?s first foray into the world of high definition television. Joining the cast will be TNA?s newest ? and one of its biggest ? acquisitions, East Setauket?s own Mick Foley.

I had an opportunity earlier this week to chat with the most famous pro wrestler ever to come out of Long Island. In this interview, Mick talks about what it?s like to perform in front of houses a small fraction the size of those he did when he was in WWE, his feelings on jeopardizing his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame, criticisms of Vince Russo and TNA?s booking, and the nasty chair shot he took at Bound for Glory.

Also worth noting, as TNA hypes a big announcement tomorrow night, is the many times in this interview that Foley brought up the advantages of taking Impact on the road regularly.

AC: Last time we spoke, "Teitam Brown" had just been released and you were getting to work on your second novel, "Scooter." Is that it for you as far as fiction writing, or do you feel you have another novel in you?

MF: Yeah, I've got a handful of stories I really could work on, but I'm going to wait until inspiration really takes hold. The novel writing process requires hundreds of hours of solitude, followed up by an editing process, followed up by having people you don't know critiquing your work. And I found the only thing I actually enjoyed about it was the actual writing. So I don't think I'm going to subjecting myself to the rest of it unless I have a really good story. If I was alone and wasn't married with four kids and a lot of other things, I'd probably be out there hammering away. But I'm pretty content that if I never do another novel again that I had a pretty good experience. Especially the second book, "Scooter," is something I'm really proud of.


AC: When you started this whole genre of pro wrestler biographies, there were a ton of spin offs that followed, and they ranged from OK to quite bad. But in the last couple years there have been a few really good ones, including Chris Jericho's and Bret Hart's. And I believe both have talked about you kind of being the inspiration of what you could do and the stories you could tell about wrestling. What does that mean to you, to have kind of inspired this whole genre of writing?

MF: Oh, man, it's very gratifying to be acknowledged as the guy who raised the bar. And I think it showed that if guys really want a quality book, they have to work at it and do a lot of it themselves. There's really no ghost writer that can emulate the passion that a wrestler feels for their product.

AC: As far as TNA goes, I was there the night you made your debut in Westbury. What was that like? You were back on Long Island, and I think you said it was only the second time you had your whole family with you at a wrestling show.

MF: I had just joined and I just thought it would be a shame to not come out and support the company. It wasn't planned as a public appearance, but the guys behind the scenes thought it would be a shame to waste the opportunity. And even though we made it a public appearance, it wasn't supposed to be a speaking appearance until I realized I was walking in circles.

AC: (Laughs) You got lost, right?

MF: Yeah, in the theater. And (I decided) that I better say a couple words to salvage what up until that point was the worst debut in modern wrestling history.

AC: What was it like for a guy who obviously has performed in front of some pretty huge crowds, making your debut in a place that was not huge (The Capital One Bank Theater in Westbury) and the place wasn't packed? And since then, in some appearances that you've made, these aren't WWE-sized houses yet. What's that transition like for you? I've thought about the same thing with guys like Kurt Angle, who headlined in stadiums and now plays before just a few hundred fans.

MF: Well, Kurt's probably a lot like me, and maybe even more so, because so much of what he did as an amateur wrestler was toiling in obscurity. Unless you're located in Iowa or Oklahoma, amateur wrestling isn't likely to draw huge crowds. So I think for guys like Kurt, it's always been about the content of the match itself. I was struck by something that Ray Davies of the Kinks said in 1981 when his band was finally given the chance to play big indoor arenas. He said, actually, that as long as he could see faces he didn't let the size of the crowd dictate the magnitude of the event. And that's always stuck with me. And therefore I think some of my favorite matches and some of my best matches have been in front of smaller crowds, whether it was the ECW Arena or some of the matches that I did with Terry Funk in Japan. I mean, huge crowds are great, but sometimes there's more passion in a smaller building.

AC: Is it any kind of blow to your ego, though, to not have the sort of A-list WWE machine behind you, 80,000 fans, the numbers they draw on pay per view? Working for what is a distant second place, does it drive you to help improve the company?

MF: It?s not a blow to my ego, but it does drive me to help the company. I remember the way Terry Funk and I felt back in 1995 wrestling in a 40 degree gymnasium ? that we were trying to build something. And there was a lot of pride taken in being part of that construction effort. I think the guys in TNA have worked really hard and built up a good company. And if I didn?t think it could get better and I didn?t think I could be a part of it, I would not have joined.

AC: What?s your take on all the criticisms of TNA?s creative direction? I?m sure you?ve heard them, and heard the people at the shows chanting, ?Fire Russo.? There?s this notion that a lot of it is outdated booking concepts that worked ten years ago and are very stale today.

MF: If you were traveling around the country, you probably wouldn?t have fans quite as interested in the backstage happenings. So you would be a lot less likely to hear, ?Fire Russo? chants. I was always a supporter of Russo?s. I even have that in writing in WWE books. And I think that now we have a cast of guys who could really make things happen. And I think that you will see a better focus on creative.

AC: Are you interested in having some kind of hand or influence on the creative direction?

MF: Yeah. I?m interested in having my ideas heard and taken seriously, and hopefully executed. And that?s something that I had not been offered in WWE the last couple of years.

AC: What do you think that Vince Russo brings to the table that is sometimes overlooked?

MF: You know, I think he?s a great idea guy. The challenge of coming up with something new every week is probably not fully appreciated by many people.

AC: How about working with Sting again? I know for many, many years until you were well into your career in WWE you talked about your match with him back in 1992 at the Beach Blast pay per view being one of your favorites ? or your very favorite ? of your career. So he?s one of the guys who was very influential in your first big national run. And now here you are, 16 or 17 years later, working together again. What?s that like?

MF: Yeah, I hadn?t seen Sting in 14 years. It had been a long time. And after about ten minutes he kind of said, ?This kind of surprises me, but it doesn?t.? And I said, ?What?s that?? And he said, ?You are exactly the same as you were 14 years ago.? He meant that as a compliment ? not that I hadn?t grown as an individual since he last saw me, but that I didn?t seem to have let whatever success I had go to my head. I would look forward to doing something with Sting. I think fans would have to realize that we?re both 17 years older than when we really produced some big matches in 91. But I think he could drag one last good match out of me.

AC: So, on that topic, does being in this new locker room with a bunch of new faces, some of whom you?ve worked with in the past and others with whom you haven?t ? does that drive you or motivate you to get back in the ring and try out all these combinations?

MF: Whew. Yeah, because I look at it like, man, there are so many possibilities. There are so many prospective opponents. And I can honestly say that this is the most fun I?ve had as part of a wrestling show since probably 2000 when I was the commissioner. And it?s the first time in quite a while where I feel like what I do or say is making a difference, or, I guess more accurately, that what I do or say will be given the chance to make a difference.

AC: I know you talked about your negotiations in TNA in your last book and how they didn?t fully realize and you ended up signing with WWE. Going back to Dixie Carter and TNA, did they welcome you with open arms? Was there any kind of squeamishness in negotiating with you?

MF: No. They called me up and had an idea and I met with the head of Spike. And it really felt like they had a long term vision and that I could be a big part of it. And one thing I told them was that I would not play an offer with one company off the other. I never even talked to WWE about the possibility of re-signing. The deal with TNA was very flexible and they were really easy to deal with. I?m really excited about working with Dixie Carter and Jeff Jarrett and everybody at TNA.

AC: Do you worry about how you left things with WWE? I know you?re a guy whose legacy has always been important to you. Looking ahead to the WWE Hall of Fame and that sort of thing, is that stuff that matters to you?

MF: I?ve had the advantage of having a lot of closure to my career. I had the book that kind of summed up all my experiences. And I?m recognized and seemingly appreciated on a daily basis by fans. So I?m not in need of healing, which is what the entry to the Hall of Fame seems to be for a lot of guys. So, although I would be flattered to one day be asked, in no way am I looking at inclusion in the WWE Hall of Fame as necessary to complete my career.

AC: I know the problems you had with your announcing stint, and you?ve been outspoken about how you didn?t appreciate Vince McMahon yelling in your ear. But putting that aside, even before you got to the announce table, did you feel like you were kind of being disrespected? I remember being there for the last Smackdown show at the Nassau Coliseum a year ago. I remember sitting there and they completely unannounced brought you out for a match with Hornswoggle. And I thought, ?Man, this is how you?re going to use a guy like Mick Foley ? throwing him in as a kind of mid-card guy without any kind of build up??

MF: You know, that was my own fault. I hadn?t been on Smackdown in quite a while and I mentioned to Vince the previous night in Philadelphia that I was bringing the whole family to Nassau and if he wanted me to be part of the show, I was willing. And I did momentarily think that I had ruined that last chance to make a good impression by switching the historic end of my wrestling career from my main event pay per view with Booker, Cena, Lashley and Randy Orton to a match with the Coach with the Leprechaun as a referee. And then I thought about it, and I realized that one of my great lasting memories was looking at the crowd and seeing my 7-year-old son booing me. So, fortunately, I get to decide what were pivotal moments of my career. And that was actually one of my favorite moments.

AC: One thing I?ve got to mention that I really enjoyed and was just watching yesterday was on WWE 24/7 your commentary with Michael Cole over the 1983 Shea Stadium show. That was just hilarious. You guys were clearly not being supervised. What was that like?

MF: It was just so stunning to see how backward the production values were on what?s gone down as being a legendary show. I think sometimes wrestlers suffer unfairly from comparisons with the past. I think there?s no question that things have come a long way production wise. For example, it?s going to be hard for TNA to compete with the production giant that is WWE. But compared to shows of the past, it is a wonderfully lit, produced and wrestled show. So I think TNA has to concentrate on being a successful show on their own terms, rather than worry about whether or not certain fans think it measures up to WWE.

AC: Yeah, and one thing it?s not is bush-league. You look at that show, and it?s first-rate production.

MF: Yeah, and the Impact Zone environment is a challenge because so many of the fans are going to be repeat customers and kind of jaded, combined with the tourists from the theme park. But at the same time, without the Impact Zone, you?ve got to believe that it would have been tough for TNA to have done as well as it has, because it kind of controls costs and keeps production values from being so high.

AC: You were criticized a lot earlier in your career for taking unnecessary risks and raising the bar real high to a kind of dangerous level. And your first real night involved TNA, you took a pretty wicked chair shot to the head by Kurt Angle, and inevitably, you were criticized by people who thought that shouldn?t be the first impression Mick Foley makes on TNA. How do you respond to that and what was the decision behind doing that?

MF: I didn?t know that Kurt was going to be quite that angry. That?s probably Jeff Jarrett?s statement that I was the greatest acquisition in TNA history showing itself. But, you know, I can take a shot here and there. I guess, from what my kids said, my wife was a little concerned. But you know, hey, people are going to be critical of anything. There?s a certain number of people who are critical of anything that anybody does in wrestling. So I?m pretty comfortable with that decision.

AC: I think you?ve said that you?re not terribly interested in doing announcing in TNA, is that right?

MF: Yeah, that?s true.

AC: Now, that?s a little disheartening to some people who felt you were really on track to being something special. Those few months that you were on Smackdown really lessened the blow of losing Jim Ross on Raw. You would have thought that would have been this terrible thing ? losing this institution ? but the notion of Jim Ross working with Mick Foley excited a lot of people. Do you feel that maybe somewhere down the line that?s a chapter that?s yet to be closed?

MF: You know, I did it. And I honestly feel that if people go back and watch the big matches that I called with Michael Cole and J. R. that they?ll stand up and they?ll stand the test of time. And I like knowing that when I was at my best that I did a very credible job. And, you know, I feel like I really could have been good. But it is Vince?s company and it?s not my position to tell him how to produce his announcers. And Vince is going to be right a lot more often than he?s going to be wrong. But I was not a fan of his producing.

AC: Yeah, and I think most people were on your side on that one in feeling that a guy with your tenure in the company does not need to be screamed at like a child. What do you think of the job Mike Tenay and Don West do?

MF: You know what, I think they do a good job. Don was actually kind of flattered when I said he was at times overbearing, but always passionate. You can?t tell Don West to dial it down. That?s exactly who he is and how he?s done his sports show. And Mike is one of the most knowledgeable guys out there. I think they?ll suffer from the same comparisons that Michael Cole does. It?s kind of unfair to hold everybody up to J. R.?s yard stick.

AC: I guess there?s a couple things going on with TNA this week. One if you?re going live from Las Vegas, and you?re going HD. You were there in WWE when they went HD. Can you talk a bit about the difference? For me as a spectator, it?s really amazing. Once you go HD, you can?t go back. What do you think it adds to a wrestling product?

MF: It probably adds a need to?

AC: To exfoliate?

MF: ?To work on my exfoliation. I refused to put make-up on as an announcer. I thought it was ridiculous to put make-up on for a ten second on-camera. But, man, I guess I?m glad I?m not out there in HD. I guess it?s one thing to be the pale, milky guy on regular TV, but it would be even more glaring in HD.

AC: Do you want to talk a bit about what you?re going to be doing in Africa?

MF: Yeah. About eight seen years ago, in 2001, I was all set to go to Angola, and my brother happened to mention at a family barbecue that that was one of two places in the world that UPS did not deliver. And my wife said, ?Mick, why don?t they deliver there?? And I said, ?Um, well, there?s been a civil war going on there for 25 years.? It was the only time she ever stopped me from pursuing my goals. So I always felt like I had failed Africa. And about three years ago I started sponsoring a little boy in Sierra Leone named Alimani.

AC: Didn?t you write about that in your last book?

MF: I talked a lot about the little girl in the Philippines. And I had a chance to contribute to the funding of a handful of community schools out there, where the dollar goes a lot farther than it does in the U.S. And this gives me the chance to go over there and see the good work that the group I fund these children through ? the Christian Children?s Fund ? does, and a chance to visit the little boy and create lasting memories for him and myself as well.

AC: That?s terrific. Are you doing that in affiliation with TNA?

MF: No, because I already had this plan worked out, but I?m going to see if I could maybe write about it and put it on their web site. I try not to force my interest on people, but my feeling is that enough people know how fulfilling it?s been for me, then they might choose to get involved and see how a relatively little amount of could make a difference in a child?s life and in a community.

Tags: TNA, Mick Foley, WWE, ECW, Sting, Jim Ross