Mick Foley addresses what he believes to be his greatest contribution to the wrestling industry.
Mick Foley, inside and outside of the squared circle, has helped many individuals. From his charity work outside the ropes to his revolutionary style in his matches, Mick Foley can be attributed to changing the way that wrestling is performed on a grand stage and the way that wrestlers are perceived. Mick, on the latest episode of Foley is Pod, spoke about what he believed to be his biggest contributions to the industry. One major impact Foley believes he had is changing the way main event wrestlers are perceived and helping establish that top stars come in all shapes and sizes.
“Probably expanding people’s ideas of what a big star could look like. That was probably the biggest,” said Mick. “I think I expanded — opened the door for guys to follow, like Kevin Owens, like Bray Wyatt, who might not have gotten a look as a star. I’d like to think my lasting contribution is that I think I treated people well when I was on top, and that goes back to remembering how I was treated in Memphis.”
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Mick Foley would go on to recall an interaction with Ivan Koloff in 1990 which helped him understand that major Superstars don’t have to look down on those they share a locker room with.
“By and large, Robert Fuller was great. You know, there were a couple of people who made life a little more difficult than it needed to be on me. It was already tough. You know, you’re, you’re making no money. You’re getting beaten up and I took the big bumps there for very little money, and I do remember in 1990, sharing a room with Ivan Koloff, who was a former WWF Champion, ended Bruno Sammartino’s seven-year run as champion, and he was such a nice guy. I remember laying down in my bed and thinking, ‘If I ever get to be a big star, I’m going to treat the people when I want to treat people the way Ivan Koloff is treating me because I like how this feels. That’s what I tried to do. So, hopefully, that’s my lasting impression/contribution among the men and women in the ring.”
Mick Foley entered the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013 after being forced to retire in 2012 because he could no longer physically be cleared to compete. Today, Foley continues his charity work including an upcoming One Man Show from which all of the proceeds will be donated to Joe Doering’s Battle with cancer. Learn more here.
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