Mick Foley Candid Interview On His Status in WWE

Mick Foley recentley sat down for a interview with the Sun. Below is a transcript of the full interview.

WHEN you look at the grapplers who revolutionised the wrestling business in the mid to late 1990s, they have taken very different paths since the end of the Attitude Era.

The Undertaker and Triple H are still at the very top and set to headline WrestleMania, Stone Cold Steve Austin comes back around once a year for a monster ovation and The Rock has left the WWE behind totally to become an A-list Hollywood star.

Of them all, only Mick Foley is happy to keep wrestling in a much more lowly role than he once enjoyed.

The three-time world champion is now happy to form a comedy tag team with Hornswoggle and get tossed out of the Royal Rumble by Triple H, the man he tore the house down with at the 2000 version of the event.

And in an exclusive Sun interview, Mick explained why he is very happy with his current role.

He told us: “Honestly the days when I really meant ratings or buy rates are over, so I am realistic in thinking that I can be an enjoyable asset to the show, but probably not a main event guy any more.

“I’m not so worried about making that major impact, as I am just being a welcome addition, and if that means showing up in a recurring role, several times a year I have no problem with that.

“Realistically Vengeance 2006 was my last time in a WWE main event.

“It was almost my last ever match too, which would have been great. Although I wasn’t great in it, it was a really good match.

“Then I got the deal with Coach and Hornswoggle and I went to thinking: “Oh no, my last match was against Coach with a leprechaun as referee.

“But the more I thought about it the more I realised how great it was to have all four of my kids in the audience for the first time and especially to have my seven-year-old booing me, which brings him a lot of happiness.

“There’s nothing quite like going out there and seeing my son giving me a big, hearty thumbs down.

“So I’ve kind of changed my idea of what makes for a great moment. It doesn’t necessarily have to involve a life or death situation.”

Mick added: “I’m convinced I have one more great moment left. Not necessarily a great match, but at least a great moment.

“One thing I have realised is that by coming back a couple of times a year is that I have remained relevant to kids who otherwise would have no idea who I was.

“I was really surprised when I did my book tour last year that so many of the fans were 10, 11, 12 years old.

“And I was especially touched by meeting a five-year-old boy in a hospital who specifically wanted a red flannel shirt.

“He’s a little boy who is deaf and in isolation for reasons I’m not privy to, and apparently when I gave this little mini red and black chequered flannel shirt it became his most prized possession.

“He knew me from the video game, so if I had retired when intended in 2000 and never set foot in the ring again a little guy like that would have no idea who I was.”

Mick was full of praise for the WWE’s new generation of stars – from John Cena to Hornswoggle – and even joked about the new way to make himself stand out in high definition.

He said: “I think characters like John Cena, especially, have done an awful lot to bring new fans in, and Hornswoggle, to me, is a great character and a great silent actor.

“During the 15th anniversary Raw I just studied him during that 20-minute segment and I think he brings a lot to what would seem to be a really limited character.

“Raw going HD doesn’t worry me. When I showed up and wrestled with Hornswoggle as my partner I was actually dressed from head to toe.


“That relieved any pressure to get any kind of tan. If everybody is tanned, then nobody really looks tanned, there’s got to be one pale guy out there to make the tans stand out and I see that as my role – the pale white guy.”

Mick’s realistic look at his current role in the WWE means he also knows his chances of a big WrestleMania pay-day are slim.

Ideas from him fighting Vince McMahon to retiring Ric Flair have been batted around, but none have come to fruition.

“I know everybody wants a shot at Mania so I always felt like Backlash was a better moment, kind of sweet being in a little more of the spotlight.

“Although, doing radio interviews, one guy in Orlando proposed a pretty good scenario for me and Umaga, maybe I’ll throw that out there, but I’m now looking more to summer 2008 to do something major.

“I heard that my name was thrown around for Flair’s final match, but I didn’t hear until after the fact. I guess it was voted down.

“I look at Flair’s career and I don’t see my name as being one of his major opponents. We had a nice little issue at SummerSlam a couple of years ago, but in Flair’s storied career I don’t think my name is thrown around.”

But who should the man Mick once blasted but then became friends with face at the Granddaddy Of Them All?

“Man, that’s a good question,” Mick replies. “Ric’s had so many opponents, but so many guys are not around any more. Maybe revisit the Triple H thing?

“It’s been said they had a chance to really make history in Greensboro, but didn’t really do it, so maybe they’ll have a chance to do it an Mania to do it the right way.



“Ten I found out the conclusion, I actually thought it made sense at the time because Regal had come out and redeemed himself in Vince’s eyes, but maybe I wasn’t looking at the bigger picture.

“But hindsight is always 20/20.

“It didn’t seem like a bad move at the time, but I think historically people would love to have seen a clean Flair victory in Greensboro.”

Mick – who is currently pitching the idea of a Christmas book to Vince – also admits that making friends in wrestling is hard, due to the hugely competitive nature of getting to the top.

“Although I’ve got my fair share of guys I keep in touch with, I’m actually good friends with a lot of the Divas, maybe because I didn’t actually wrestle with them.

“The competitive spirit does make close friendships a rarity, which is maybe why I was really good friends with Al Snow because there was no chance in the world he was ever going to take my spot.”

Foley was chatting to The Sun to promote the WWE’s latest CD WWE Raw Greatest Hits – The Music CD, and reminisced about his own tune, which features prominently.

He recalls: “I didn’t even know I was having one, until the day after I won the title from the Rock, I had this great new music.



CHART STAR ... Foley on new Raw CD

“Until then it was kind of a downer, because the Mankind character had turned into this fun guy and he had this morbid funeral dirge.

“They actually tried to brighten the funeral dirge at one point, so for a couple of months it was a little more up-tempo funeral dirge, but I was thrilled when I came out and had that ‘Wreck’ music.

“I guess it’s on the Greatest Hits CD for a reason, because people really respond to it. Great music is invaluable, because I’ll be the first to admit that no matter how little I like a few of the DX segments, the moment the music hits you know you are seeing something big.

“Randy Orton has been saddled with music that I don’t think is very good.

“But at the same time my four-year-old runs around singing “Hey, nothing I can say” so it is catchy in a weird way.

“That’s a big thing. If you have music that people can remember it can really add a couple of years to a career.”

With refreshing honesty like that we’d love to see a couple more years, and a couple more books, out of Mick.