So a while back during my week suspension.. I typed up a thread idea to us upon my return. Now I swore I posted it.. But just went hunting for it and couldn't find it at all. So I'm thinking that I never got around to it. Well since I still have the file, I figure there's no better time than the present. So without further ado, Here she is:
Every wrestling fan knows the name of Mick Foley, and has seen him at least once in one of his many identities. Mick was one of those guys in WWE history (and anywhere else he went) who could switch from one gimmick one night, to another later that show and no one questioned it at all.
So I thought I would do a breakdown of each of the "Faces of Foley" and see which one people liked the best.
Cactus Jack:
One of the oldest Gimmicks around for an active wrestler, as well as one of the few to have been portrayed in all 3 of the (former) biggest companies (WWF, WCW, ECW) Known as one of the most Hardcore, sick, twisted gimmicks in wrestling history. Cactus won numerous championships, as well as had some of the most grueling, over the top matches ever. One example of this would be the "Texas Death match" against Vader, which had such a high level of violence, that WCW refused to book Cactus vs Vader on PPV ever again. During another match with Vader, Jack had 2/3 of his ear ripped off when a spot in the ropes went wrong, but being the Hardcore performer he is, Foley decided to go out and wrestle instead of having his ear re-attached.
After a stint in ECW (which I apologize, I didn't watch too much ECW at the time so I'm not as knowledgeable on it) the Gimmick of Cactus Jack reappeared in the WWF years later in a Feud with HHH. Again, Jack had some of the bloodiest matches of the time.
Mankind (original):
Upon entering the WWF, Foley took on the gimmick of "Mankind" a sick and twisted character who came out to a dim lighting, and piano theme. One of the noticeable things about Mankind in the beginning was the constant yelling, and squealing, added with the fact he was always tearing his own hair out (always creeped me the fuck out as a kid). Making an impact from the start, Mankind attacked the Undertaker on his first night, starting up a feud of some of the most memorable gimmick matches ever, including the first ever Boiler Room Brawl, and the first ever Buried Alive Match.
Dude Love:
Again debuting with a major impact, another "Face of Foley" in the name of Dude Love, on his first night won the WWF Tag Team Titles with Stone Cold Steve Austin. Due to the injury Austin received in a match with Owen Hart, they dropped the titles, but Dude took on a new feud with HHH. In what was one of the funniest promo's ever, Mankind and Dude Love tried to decide who would face HHH, they decided on Cactus Jack. Dude returned once more, but in a Heel role within the McMahon/Austin feud, being Austin's surprise opponent, with Foley losing by DQ. this was the last we would see Dude.. Until the 1998 Royal Rumble.
Mankind (Comical/ Mr. Socko)
Upon Foley's return, he reverted back to his Mankind name, but wore a more casual ring attire, complete with a untucked dress shirt, tie, and sweat pants. (so classy.. Loved it) Entering a feud with Undertaker once again, they had, what by some is considered the greatest, most famous matches in WWE history in the Hell in a Cell match. Who could forget Jim Ross yell out "Good God almighty! Good God almighty! They've killed him! As God as my witness, he is broken in half!" And I must admit, I truly believed that Mick Foley actually was dead, no lie. I watched that match on PPV, and jumped off the couch yelling "OH MY GOD! WHY DID THEY DO THAT!!" This match won the PWI award for match of the year in 1998.
Following this, Mankind turned into a more lovable character, joking around with Vince, and this is when Mr.Socko came into play. (Who didn't love Socko?) Mankind then started a run for the WWF title, held by The Rock, which they had numerous matches, like the "I Quit" match at Royal Rumble, where Mankind took 11 chair shots to the head with his hands cuffed behind his back, Winner of the 1999 Match of the Year. (OUCH! I saw the footage of after the match.. that was fucking sick!) Foley did win the Title a few times between here and 2000, both being short reigns, but still had many memorable moments, such as the formation of the "Rock 'n Sock Connection" as well as being one of the leading factors in the WWF getting the highest ratings EVER (8.4 rating!) on Sept. 27, 1999 with "This Is Your Life" (part 1) After starting the HHH Feud up, Mick returned once again to Cactus Jack, before taking a break from wrestling.
Commissioner Foley:
Finally going under his real name Foley returned in 2000 as the Commissioner, with this incarnation of Mick Foley came a new theme. The Cheap Pop.."right here in (whatever city he was performing in. eg:The WZF)!" punctuated with an intentionally cheesy thumbs-up gesture. Commissioner Foley even made himself the special Ref for the WM match between Vince and Shane, before once again, leaving for a while.
Mick Foley:
Returning once again to the WWE, Mick started a mini feud with Evolution, mainly Ric Flair and Randy Orton. which ended quickly when Mick walked on on the IC title match against Orton. But returned in time for Wrestlemania to once again team with The Rock, and take on Evolution (minus HHH)
For the rest of his time in the WWE, Foley was involved with real life rival Ric Flair, which both mentioned their shots at each other in their own books, and also Vince McMahon once again, before taking a commentator spot on Smackdown, followed by leaving the WWE once again.
So with each Character came new, and for the most part, exciting moments/matches. So who to you was the one that stole the show. Not just in the ring, but also promo wise as well.
Now I am aware that I left out his TNA run. This is due to not watching a lot of TNA really. Not going to sit here and talk on it, if I haven't seen it. If that is your choice though, then by all means, choose it! All I did here was just list a few of the well known ones.
Every wrestling fan knows the name of Mick Foley, and has seen him at least once in one of his many identities. Mick was one of those guys in WWE history (and anywhere else he went) who could switch from one gimmick one night, to another later that show and no one questioned it at all.
So I thought I would do a breakdown of each of the "Faces of Foley" and see which one people liked the best.
Cactus Jack:
One of the oldest Gimmicks around for an active wrestler, as well as one of the few to have been portrayed in all 3 of the (former) biggest companies (WWF, WCW, ECW) Known as one of the most Hardcore, sick, twisted gimmicks in wrestling history. Cactus won numerous championships, as well as had some of the most grueling, over the top matches ever. One example of this would be the "Texas Death match" against Vader, which had such a high level of violence, that WCW refused to book Cactus vs Vader on PPV ever again. During another match with Vader, Jack had 2/3 of his ear ripped off when a spot in the ropes went wrong, but being the Hardcore performer he is, Foley decided to go out and wrestle instead of having his ear re-attached.
After a stint in ECW (which I apologize, I didn't watch too much ECW at the time so I'm not as knowledgeable on it) the Gimmick of Cactus Jack reappeared in the WWF years later in a Feud with HHH. Again, Jack had some of the bloodiest matches of the time.
Mankind (original):
Upon entering the WWF, Foley took on the gimmick of "Mankind" a sick and twisted character who came out to a dim lighting, and piano theme. One of the noticeable things about Mankind in the beginning was the constant yelling, and squealing, added with the fact he was always tearing his own hair out (always creeped me the fuck out as a kid). Making an impact from the start, Mankind attacked the Undertaker on his first night, starting up a feud of some of the most memorable gimmick matches ever, including the first ever Boiler Room Brawl, and the first ever Buried Alive Match.
Dude Love:
Again debuting with a major impact, another "Face of Foley" in the name of Dude Love, on his first night won the WWF Tag Team Titles with Stone Cold Steve Austin. Due to the injury Austin received in a match with Owen Hart, they dropped the titles, but Dude took on a new feud with HHH. In what was one of the funniest promo's ever, Mankind and Dude Love tried to decide who would face HHH, they decided on Cactus Jack. Dude returned once more, but in a Heel role within the McMahon/Austin feud, being Austin's surprise opponent, with Foley losing by DQ. this was the last we would see Dude.. Until the 1998 Royal Rumble.
Mankind (Comical/ Mr. Socko)
Upon Foley's return, he reverted back to his Mankind name, but wore a more casual ring attire, complete with a untucked dress shirt, tie, and sweat pants. (so classy.. Loved it) Entering a feud with Undertaker once again, they had, what by some is considered the greatest, most famous matches in WWE history in the Hell in a Cell match. Who could forget Jim Ross yell out "Good God almighty! Good God almighty! They've killed him! As God as my witness, he is broken in half!" And I must admit, I truly believed that Mick Foley actually was dead, no lie. I watched that match on PPV, and jumped off the couch yelling "OH MY GOD! WHY DID THEY DO THAT!!" This match won the PWI award for match of the year in 1998.
Following this, Mankind turned into a more lovable character, joking around with Vince, and this is when Mr.Socko came into play. (Who didn't love Socko?) Mankind then started a run for the WWF title, held by The Rock, which they had numerous matches, like the "I Quit" match at Royal Rumble, where Mankind took 11 chair shots to the head with his hands cuffed behind his back, Winner of the 1999 Match of the Year. (OUCH! I saw the footage of after the match.. that was fucking sick!) Foley did win the Title a few times between here and 2000, both being short reigns, but still had many memorable moments, such as the formation of the "Rock 'n Sock Connection" as well as being one of the leading factors in the WWF getting the highest ratings EVER (8.4 rating!) on Sept. 27, 1999 with "This Is Your Life" (part 1) After starting the HHH Feud up, Mick returned once again to Cactus Jack, before taking a break from wrestling.
Commissioner Foley:
Finally going under his real name Foley returned in 2000 as the Commissioner, with this incarnation of Mick Foley came a new theme. The Cheap Pop.."right here in (whatever city he was performing in. eg:The WZF)!" punctuated with an intentionally cheesy thumbs-up gesture. Commissioner Foley even made himself the special Ref for the WM match between Vince and Shane, before once again, leaving for a while.
Mick Foley:
Returning once again to the WWE, Mick started a mini feud with Evolution, mainly Ric Flair and Randy Orton. which ended quickly when Mick walked on on the IC title match against Orton. But returned in time for Wrestlemania to once again team with The Rock, and take on Evolution (minus HHH)
For the rest of his time in the WWE, Foley was involved with real life rival Ric Flair, which both mentioned their shots at each other in their own books, and also Vince McMahon once again, before taking a commentator spot on Smackdown, followed by leaving the WWE once again.
So with each Character came new, and for the most part, exciting moments/matches. So who to you was the one that stole the show. Not just in the ring, but also promo wise as well.
Now I am aware that I left out his TNA run. This is due to not watching a lot of TNA really. Not going to sit here and talk on it, if I haven't seen it. If that is your choice though, then by all means, choose it! All I did here was just list a few of the well known ones.
