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'Slams and Laughs': WWE Legend Mick Foley to perform at Cine El Rey Saturday

Posted: Jan 10th 2015 By: Amanda A. Taylor - TheMonitor.com

Mick Foley, WWE Hardcore Legend, will be taking the stage at 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10, at Cine El Rey in McAllen as part of his national tour ?Hardcore Legend: An Evening with Mick Foley.? From three-time WWE Champion to two-time New York Times #1 best-selling author, Foley presents his wildness and warmth during his one-man show, which includes a Q&A session and a meet and greet.

The show will be hosted by Q94.5?s Rock n? Roll James and feature guest comedians Mario Salazar and Raymond Orta. Tickets start at $25 and can be reserved by calling (956) 616-1193.

Festiva was able to catch up with Foley to ask him about his experiences in wrestling school, his latest documentary I Am Santa Claus, and how he feels about his daughter following in his footsteps.

Festiva: Have you ever been to McAllen before?

Mick Foley: I?ve been to McAllen a few different times. I did a show there about a year and a half ago and I really enjoyed the energy and the town and the reception, which is why we decided to come back.

F: I was reading you took wrestling in high school in New York, is that when you realized you wanted to make a career out of it?

MF: Well, I wanted to make a career out of it before then, but it was the experiences I had in high school that made me believe that I could. It was a great instiller of confidence for me.

F: Can you tell me a little bit about your comedy tour?

MF: Sure, it?s not a traditional stand-up comedy show; it?s more like a one-man show, a spoken word show where I use stories from throughout my career to entertain people. It?s just me in a rental car. Most of them will make the audience laugh, but the stories don?t have to be funny ? I?m not going on any kind of ?laugh per minute? ratio like other comics may have.

F: How long have you been doing the show?

MF: I?ll do five days in Texas, have four days off, and then I?ll do two days in Michigan, so I?ve probably done about 150 shows this year. This particular tour will be winding down at the end of March. I was in McAllen for the Tales of Wrestling Past Tour; this is the hardcore legend tour, so they?re completely different shows.

F: How did you find out about wrestling school?

MF: You can find people throughout the country willing to take their time and energy and kind of pass on the trade, and I found a great old school wrestler named Dom (Dominic) DeNucci, who wanted to teach me in the mid-1980s. I was setting up rings in New York area shows and if I got the rings set up in time before the fans came in, he would work with me. When he saw that I was serious and when he felt like I had the right amount of dedication, he told me about a school he had in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and invited me to be one of the trainees. If I had known how far it was from my school in upstate New York to Pittsburgh, I probably would not be talking on the phone with you. It was a long trip every week.

F: So DeNucci kind of pushed you to attend his school?

MF: He was doing it kind of as a favor to the promoter to see how badly I wanted to do it, he said ?I got this guy who wants to be a wrestler, see how badly he wants to do it,? which was code word for ?Can you tie his body up into some knots and test his will?? So I had my will tested many times over the fall of 1985. Then I started attending the wrestling school in the winter of ?85.

F: What was that experience like?

MF: They were character building experiences. I learned how to last an entire weekend including 760 miles worth of driving on $25. I learned to stretch a dollar, I learned to dine on peanut butter and jelly for great lengths of time, and I learned wrestling and learned to respect the wrestling business as well. I learned over time that the worst shows make for the best stories. So, all the things that seem like a disaster at the time were actually becoming great material for a one-man show.

F: Did you ever think about getting out of wrestling completely?

MF: Oh, every week. (laughs) Every week. At a certain point I just wanted to have one match and lead it, just wanted to be able to say that I had a goal and accomplished it. Somewhere en route to reach that goal, I kind of really fell in love with wrestling, it started clicking, and it started becoming more fun and less abusive.

F: I know you?ve appeared many times in film and television. What are some of your favorite projects you?ve worked on?

MF: Well we just did a documentary on Santa Claus this year, which really did very well on Netflix. It received amazing critical acclaims. This past year, I went 365 days where I dressed in Santa Claus themed attire, so it?s only been 11 days since I?ve shaved my beard. I had grown it out for a year and a half, had it bleached completely white. So, I shaved it and started wearing wrestling shirts for the first time in a year. I tend to put everything I do into my projects so I don?t really dabble with them. That was probably my favorite project I lived with for a full year.

F: What was the message behind I am Santa Claus?

MF: The director had heard I was a year round Christmas fanatic and he knew I?d kind of put on the red suit to entertain our troops overseas, but he wanted to know if I wanted to really put my best effort into being that iconic figure. So I kind of dove head first into it and found out that I did enjoy being that iconic figure. Though I may have shaved Dec. 26, I am already starting the beard that will give me that look come December 2015. I do a lot of stuff with local homeless and displaced populations along Long Island, so it?s a great feeling to hear an adult turn to their spouse and go ?I think that?s the real guy,? because they?re used to seeing somebody in a cheap suit. The feedback I get after one of my appearances is the kids are saying to themselves, that?s the real guy. I put everything I have into everything I do ? whether it?s a sold out show at Madison Square Garden or a show in McAllen. I make sure these are different shows, with different stories and a good a show as I?m capable of putting on.

F: What was the largest takeaway for you from becoming Santa for the documentary?

MF: I think the underlying theme is that no matter how down or out somebody may be, and no matter what their problems might be in the real world, people find a way for the best of themselves to emerge when they put on the red suit. The takeaway for me as a performer is the same. You know, life may have beaten me down, literally, but when I get out there I?ll give people the best performance I?m capable of giving. So the same way that being Santa is suspending disbelief ? taking people back to a time when they were innocent and happy, my show is about taking people?s minds off their problems and giving them a memory they can hold on to for a while so I see a similarity.

F: How hard is it to be an independent wrestler verses being part of an association?

MF: Well, I?ll give you an example as far as how I do my shows. If you?re an independent wrestler, your 100 percent responsible. Eh, that?s not even true because at least you have a promoter for every show. But, you have to endear yourself to a new audience every night, an audience that by and large is not familiar with you. So being an independent wrestler is a tough road to travel. In doing these shows on my own, this is a much different experience than traveling with WWE because with WWE there?d be 30 wrestlers on a card and 30 people who ultimately are partially responsible for the feeling you have at the end of the night. When I do my shows, it?s me. If you have a great time it?s probably because I did a great job. If you didn?t have a great time it?s probably because I didn?t do my job well enough. I like the pressure, I do.

F: Speaking of being beaten down, what are some of the worst injuries you?ve endured while wrestling?

MF: The loss of an ear seems dramatic, but all these years later it hasn?t really altered my life much besides not being able to wear sunglasses or put a pencil behind my ear. But knee and back injuries are what make everyday life difficult.

F: How do you feel about your daughter taking interest in pursuing a wrestling career?

MF: Well, I?m a concerned dad, you know, and I don?t want her to go through some of the things I did because it?ll mark you physically and emotionally. But I want to be supportive ? I want to support anything she does and the best way to ensure having a falling out with your family is trying to force your will on other grown adults.

F: Any advice for aspiring wrestlers out there?

MF: Yeah, probably stay in school. To quote Apollo Creed, ?Be a thinker, not a stinker.? It?s really difficult so the chances and likelihood of actually making it are remote, so anyone really serious about training they should know the realities and be as safe as they can and try to appreciate everything they can while it?s taking place.

IF YOU GO:

WHEN 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10
WHERE Cine El Rey, 311 S. 17th St., McAllen
COST Tickets start at $25
GET TICKETS (956) 616-1193