• Look Back In History
• Pmessages
• Quiz
• Stump The Staff
• Top Fifty
• Close

Mick Foley: From Beat-Up To Stand-Up

Posted: Oct 5th 2011 By: CMBurnham

Wrestling fans, who know Mick Foley as the former multi-time world champion, color commentator, TV show host and best-selling author, can now add stand-up comedian to his resume.

Those, who have seen the hardcore legend?s antics in WWE with Mr. Socko and Yurple the Clown or read one of his books, probably won?t find his foray into comedy much of a stretch. In fact, the idea was born from feedback off his first memoir.

?I believe it started with the stories in ?Have a Nice Day? and seeing the reactions that the humorous stories got from my fellow wrestlers,? Foley said.

?When I saw that the written word can make people laugh, wince or react in a number of ways, I realized it was kind of like being in the ring without getting hurt. Taking that same format of telling humorous stories onstage kind of seemed like a natural progression.

?It seemed like a tough sell to wrestling fans who are used to or comfortable seeing me in the wrestling business. Little by little word is getting out and people are giving my comedy a try. Once they try it, they seem to like it.?

Foley takes his one-man show to comedy clubs and other venues across the country. In November, his tour heads to the United Kingdom for a handful of dates. The veteran grappler tries to make every show unique, combining parts that have been successful in the past with new concepts. For Foley, it?s trial by fire.

?In many ways, working on comedy is a lot like wrestling moves, where you see what works and what doesn?t,? Foley said.

?You get rid of what doesn?t work and keep what does. You constantly kind of improve on it.?

Along the lines of a Dominic DeNucci helping the Long Island native hone his wrestling skills, many within the comedy game have helped Foley improve his comedic stylings.

?I?ve been really fortunate in the same way that so many wrestlers were helping me out because they saw that I sincerely wanted to improve,? Foley said.

?I?ve had so many comedians who have offered me some really good advice. Judith Friedlander has been like my guru in comedy. He has taken me to some of the top New York City clubs for unannounced, unpaid appearances, which is one surefire way to get better in a hurry. A guy like Adam Ferrara, who took me under his wing for about 30 minutes after a recent show to talk to me about a set I did that did not go particularly well.?

The budding comedian found what works with some audiences may not for others. It?s an experimental process.

?I figure you never know unless you try,? Foley said.

?For example, I just had this ridiculous take on the Barry Manilow song ?Mandy.? I was walking around the house singing my alternate lyrics, and my wife kept telling me what a loser I was. Then I tried it at a show in Plattsburgh, New York for the first time. It literally had people doubled over holding their stomachs as I?m singing. So I then thought ?Mandy? was a keeper.?

Foley?s aspirations of where he wants his stand-up shows to go are attainable.

?I want to be able to do it about four or five times a month in front of 150 people or more,? Foley said.

?So I?m not looking at selling out coliseums, as there are only one or two people able to do that. I just want to tell stories and get laughs from fairly decent sized audiences.?

Foley has focused more on his comedy shows and charitable projects since he left TNA Wrestling earlier this year. He spent over two years with the Nashville-based organization, including a run with the TNA championship. The time leading up to the title match with Sting served as a premise for Foley?s latest book, ?Countdown to Lockdown: A Hardcore Journal.?

?I really did enjoy most of my time in TNA, but they didn?t have the infrastructure to take advantage of outside projects like WWE does,? Foley said.

?Even just talking about their online base and number of Twitter followers. Getting a tweet from a guy like Chris Jericho or Joey Styles or one of the top guys in WWE can create awareness of a project. I think WWE understands that you can really make stars on your own show by promoting things they do outside of wrestling.

?I would watch Michael Cole talk about The Miz and all of the appearances he was making. Then see a clip of Miz on Jimmy Fallon. I would turn to my son and sarcastically say, ?Yeah. That was really difficult.? It helps the company a bunch more than the wrestler who is promoting. I think WWE really gets that.

?I think I was just there too long. I had a really good first year where I was really relevant. Unfortunately, there are only so many slots for the non-wresting talker. They had too many of them. After about a year, there really weren?t a lot of reasons for me to be there. I appreciated the pay and everybody there, but I feel I kind of wore out my welcome.?

Foley has appreciation for WWE, the machine.

?WWE has so many ways where a guy like me can make a contribution,? Foley said. ?I have to see myself there at some point in the future. It would be very natural for me to be part of their ?be a STAR? campaign because showing tolerance and respect is very similar to the message I try to get out there with RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network). So I think I can make a big contribution that way.

?I would really be open to doing more children?s books, especially if it helped out with the STAR campaign and regardless if it made me any money personally. So I?m really excited about working with WWE in the future.?

The former WWE superstar also could break out the red flannel one more time for a match.

?I love the match I had with Ric Flair as my TNA Wrestling swan song,? Foley said.

?If that was the last match I ever did, I would be more than happy. There are some natural match-ups that would be really interesting. I absolutely love what CM Punk is doing, but I actually see a match with him and Stone Cold [Steve Austin] down the road as a natural progression. There are some ready-made matches with me from classic rivalries I?ve had in the past. I?ll leave that up to everyone?s imagination.

?With that said, I also think of what I might be able to do with a guy like Miz or Wade Barrett. I find those possibilities to be really interesting, too. Miz is a great character and think he would have a field day with me, and I would with him.?

Rumors and speculation are constant with wrestling fans discussing Foley?s possible involvement with WWE. His former tag partner The Rock is proof anything can happen.

?I?m surprised [he returned], but very happy,? Foley said. ?It was a point of pride for me that his last match was with me as his partner in 2004 at WrestleMania. I should point out that it was a really good match, but I was disappointed that I didn?t do better. I thought I came up short in that match. I thought Ric [Flair] did great.?

It was Evolution (Batista, Randy Orton and Flair) against the Rock ?N? Sock Connection (The Rock and Mick Foley).

?I thought Rock did great,? Foley continued. ?I wasn?t particularly good in that match, which is why I came back a month or so later to wrestle Randy Orton in the singles match. Rock is a world-class A-list superstar. Any time he comes back to WWE, it is good for all of us. Any success any of the guys had in our world or the real world was good for everybody involved.

?Just seeing [Chris] Jericho on Dancing with the Stars ? especially after he was voted off ? come back three weeks later where he tore down the house, it was a great reflection on the business for anybody.?

Given his history with The Rock and the Rock ?N? Sock Connection, Foley says he wouldn?t be shocked if the phone rang with that in mind. The Rock has been advertised to make an in-ring return for a tag match with John Cena at Survivor Series on Nov. 21 from Madison Square Garden in New York City.

?It would be a really, really intriguing possibility,? Foley said. ?I think it would come off very natural to wrestling fans. I guess you will have to wait and see. Madison Square Garden is an 80-minute drive for me. My kids could go.?

Another scenario is for Foley to return on the road to The Rock versus Cena at WrestleMania 28 in Miami. The city elicits memories of one Raw in 1999.

?It?s one that Chris Jericho talked about in his book where I intentionally gave one of the worst interviews of all time just to make Jericho laugh and make Blackjack Lanza cringe,? Foley recalled.

?I think Chris was fairly new at this point, and he respected the fact that I would tank in front of 20,000 just to amuse one or two of the guys backstage. If you wanted to look it up, that was the ?Win one for the slipper.? interview (story is also told in ?Foley Is Good: And the Real World Is Faker Than Wrestling?). Chris wrote it out verbatim in his book, and it really made me proud that my intentional tanking had that affect on him.?

If Foley did make an appearance on April 1 for the big event at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, it would be hard to top his favorite WrestleMania moments. He recalls a match against Edge at WrestleMania 22.

?Nothing else even comes close to that Edge match as far as my WrestleMania memories go,? Foley said. ?I?ve had good matches but not one that jump out in people?s minds. It was also good enough to be on the cover of the OMG [OMG! The Top 50 Incidents in WWE History], which I had just watched with my kids last night. They were really surprised, and I think proud that dad did as well as he did on that WWE DVD.?

His children would never watch his infamous match with The Rock at the Royal Rumble 1999 again, but the family did revisit another brutal confrontation.

?They did watch Hell in the Cell with the Undertaker,? Foley said. ?They wanted to see it. They heard a lot about it and watched the clips. So my wife and I sat down with them about six months ago to watch the whole match. It is still a very emotional rollercoaster ride when seen in its entirety. People get so used to the clips that they forget it was an amazing story that unfolded live in Pittsburgh 13 years ago.

?I also have said that it was the greatest call by Jim Ross. It was bigger than ?The Giants won the pennant!? or even the ?Do you believe in miracles?? To me JR?s call was one of the classic moments in any form of entertainment.?

The month that caps off with Halloween also means the return of WWE?s Hell in the Cell pay-per-view.

?For me, personally, that weekend kind of becomes Christmas or Christmas Eve for Santa Claus,? Foley said. ?It?s the time of the year where everyone feels warm and nostalgic about me.?

? Outside the wrestling and stand-up comedy world, Foley keeps busy lending his hand to a number of charitable organizations and causes. He turns his attention to helping one of his own in Shane Helms [The Hurricane], who suffered a devastating motorcycle accident in May.

He will host the Hurricane Relief Benefit 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 5 at the Charlotte Comedy Zone (900 Seaboard St.). Former WWE superstar Edge, Reby Sky, TNA?s Gunner, Jayme Jameson and Lodi are among the stars participating in a meet-and-greet. Foley says Flair has been invited to attend.

?I knew for being off a year or more might put a considerable strain on a guy?s finances,? Foley said. ?So I asked him how he would feel about me doing some type of benefit. I think it was more of the gesture that meant so much to him than whatever money we might raise. Then Shane turned around and said that instead of taking the money to help him with his bills, he would like to use it to create a really good PSA (public service announcement) that could go on to help other people.

?There is some criticism of why I would help somebody who may or may not have been drinking. My answer is. That?s when friends step up, when somebody is down. I think wrestling worlds should help out one of its own guys, when they are feeling down.?

Foley has also launched a charity auction with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the Vermont flood victims of Hurricane Irene. Among the items is a Survivor Series vacation package.

? For information on the auction or any of Foley?s other endeavors, visit realmickfoley.com. Follow him on Twitter: RealMickFoley.

To keep posted on all things WWE WrestleMania 28 in Miami, visit http://www.facebook.com/pages/WrestleMania-28-Miami-FL/215163478497589#!/pages/WWE-WrestleMania-28-Miami/241160769255279.

The page is not only about the super bowl of sports entertainment and other activities during WrestleMania Week but also South Florida, airports, directions, eateries, hotels, roads and more