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Mick's Blog: Countdown to Countdown: 18 days

Posted: Sep 13th 2010 By: mikeiles

As anyone who has been following me at @realmickfoley (1st plug) could tell you, there was a dramatic tweet sent out following the last taping of Impact five days ago, scheduled for a September 30th air date on Impact (2nd plug). The big tweet in question? Why it was my declaration that the in-ring promo I had just done with Ric Flair was one of the greatest moments of my career. A few minutes later, I released an equally dramatic announcement; that the Nature Boy and I were going to face off in a "Last Man Standing" match on "Impact", live from Orlando on October 7th, on Spike (3rd plug). Now I may not be beyond an occasional plug now and then, including one for my new book, "Countdown to Lockdown", which will be available October 1st wherever books are sold (4th plug). But hopefully, fans who have been around a little while know me well enough to know that I don't engage in bouts of mindless hyperbole; that I consider my word to be my bond, and that if I say something is good it's good, and if I term something to be among the "greatest ever", well, there's a good chance that it will be.

I know that September 30th is a long time to wait for an in-ring promo to occur. I also know that I am giving away the key outcome of the promo - that Flair and I will be engaging in battle a mere three days before the biggest PPV of the year, "Bound for Glory" (plug number 5). I don't want to give away the guts of the promo, either, though I will tell you that it's quite possibly the single most violent and bloody interview segment ever delivered. A few weeks ago, I wrote at considerable length about how I felt that some criticisms regarding my last couple years of microphone work had been a little unfair. I wonder what "The Wrestling Observer" will think of this one. It's quite possible the emotion, spontaneity and the straight, full barrel, balls to the wall joy of the promo will be overlooked due to the stumbling of a couple of words or some minor infraction that will somehow make my company look "minor league in their eyes. If that's the case, so be it; I refuse to let any writer take away the joy of that moment for me. Because really, the moment was great in my eyes - not for how it might make our audience feel, but for how it made ME feel; alive, enthused, looking forward to a wrestling match in a way I have not in a long time.

I will be talking about this promo, and this match quite a bit in the upcoming weeks. I asked all of you to bear with me last week, promising that I would get back to wrestling after my appeal for votes for RAINN (Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network). I received so many warm and positive comments following the piece, and I am glad to report that RAINN has moved up from 259th to 17th place - and I have to believe that wrestling fans have played a part in the big climb. There are still seventeen days left to vote, though, and I hope some of you will continue to vote daily at www.refresheverything.com/rainn (6th plug). I also want to thank everyone who read and commented on my last article at http://mickfoley.typepad.com (7th plug) , where I took a couple of writers to task for not doing their homework when it came to the Linda McMahon's campaign for US Senate. I will be writing, or contributing at least one piece to that site every week, in addition to the one I write for this website. Please check it out if you can. But, for the next several weeks, this site is going to be reserved mainly for wrestling talk.

Countdown to Flair Promo: 17 Days. Countdown to Countdown to Lockdown: 18 Days. Countdown to Live Impact:: 24 Days. Tick tock, tick tock.

After writing this piece, I was informed of the death of Mike Shaw, better known as Norman and Bastion Booger. I knew and liked Mike, both as a wrestler and a person. He was my opponent for my very first WCW PPV match, in Greensboro, NC in February, 1990, and I enjoyed out television storyline involving me, Mike, Mike Rotundo, Kevin Sullivan, Abdullah, Bam Bam , and the Road Warriors. It was really my first taste of a good angle on national television, and it was such a thrill to travel around the country and entertain the fans with wrestlers of that caliber. For a while, it really seemed that Norman was on the verge of breaking out as a major star, but through no fault of his own, that never quite came to fruition. He was just kind of the wrong guy in the wrong place at the wrong time when a new booker came in. I enjoyed seeing Mike on the occasional independent show or convention, as well as at the "Raw" 15th anniversery show. He was a good guy who loved his wife and children, and will be missed.

Tags: Mick Foley, Ric Flair, WCW, Abdullah the Butcher, Bam Bam Bigelow,