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Renaissance man tag fits Foley to a TNA

Posted: Jul 27th 2009 By: mikeiles

Looks can be deceiving, and no one knows that better than Mick Foley.

You'd never know it to look at him, but Foley is a renaissance man.

What he has done far outweighs what he hasn't.

Foley is a pro wrestler/sports entertainer, mastering various styles throughout his career, whether it's hardcore (Cactus Jack), diabolical (Mankind) and comedic (Dude Love). He is great on mic -- delivering a promo or commentating a match. He's won several titles, but more importantly, he's won over millions of fans with many memorable moments.

He's advised and refereed as well as run shows as the scripted general manager.

Away from the ring, this flannel shirt and sneaker wearing, scraggly bearded, long haired, one-eared, semi-tooth deficient man is also a big success.

Foley is a New York Times bestselling author (Have A Nice Day, Foley Is Good, Hardcore Diaries). That in itself is remarkable. This is someone who has been literally described by a few in the media who don't know him as homeless looking.

He's comfortable, and his very casual attire, style has not impeded his career.

Foley is also a former TV show host (Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors), voice-over personality (MTV's Celebrity Deathmatch, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Squidbillies), game show contestant (Who Wants To Be A Millionaire), movie (Anamorph) and TV guest star (Boy Meets World, G vs. E, Super Dave Spiketacular) and stuntman and radio guest host (Air America Radio's Morning Sedition).

Along with his wife and kids, Foley almost became a reality TV star.

So what more can he do?

Foley will try stand-up comedy on Aug. 22 at the Improv in Hollywood. No word whether former wrestler Al Snow will attend or be the butt of one of Foley's jokes.

``It's the first official stand-up comedy engagement for me,'' he said. ``I have spoken at many colleges, and I've made people laugh.''

Well, did Foley call former wrestler/manager Johnny Valiant for any advice from his stand-up comedic experiences?

``I don't want to try to emulate anybody out there,'' Foley chuckled. ``I've got some ideas. I've tried for so long to keep what I say and do in the roughly PG-13 area.

``It will be a real big relief, just for one night, to have a 21-and-older crowd to talk about things of a more risqu? nature.''

? After a successful run or two or three in WWE, Foley joined TNA.

``It has been a great experience in TNA,'' Foley said. ``It's been the best possible move I could have made. Really, just over the last few nights, I got my confidence back as far as being a singles wrestler.''

Foley, 44, wrestled the best going today Kurt Angle in the main event of TNA's Victory Road pay-per-view on Sunday, July 19 and followed up the following day at the TV tapings, both at Universal Studios Orlando.

``I don't feel like every match coming up is a chance to destroy my legacy,'' he said. ``I look at it as a way to possibly try out some new things. I used to really dread the possibility of having that bad singles match that people would look at and say, `I really wish he would have stayed retired for good.'

``I don't want to do the things in the ring too often, no matter how good they turn out, but it is nice to feel inside like every match is an opportunity to impress people and entertain them, instead of depress them.''

In a solid match, Angle defeated Foley at Victory Road, making the hardcore legend tap, a first. Angle, the TNA champ, worked hurt with a groin injury, but you could not tell, and Foley held his own.

Tags: Mick Foley, TNA, Cactus Jack, Mankind, Dude Love, WWE