Mick Foley
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{{Infobox Wrestler
|name=Mick Foley
|names=Cactus Jack<ref name="OWOW">{{cite web|url=http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/m/mick-foley.html|title=Mick Foley Profile|accessdate=2008-04-14|publisher=Online World Of Wrestling}}</ref><br/>Cactus Jack Foley<br/>Cactus Jack Manson<ref name="OWOW"/><br/>Dude Love<ref name="OWOW"/><br/>Jack Foley<br/>Mankind<ref name="OWOW"/><br />'''Mick Foley'''<ref name="OWOW"/><br/>Nick Foley<br/>Super Zodiac #2
|image=<!--Please don't replace this image with a fair use one. This image is free and free images are favored on Wikipedia. See "Wikipedia:Image use policy" for more information -->Mick-foley-at-signing.jpg
|height={{height|ft=6|in=2}}<ref name="OWOW"/><ref name=WWEProfileMickFoley>{{cite web|url= http://www.wwe.com/superstars/smackdown/mickfoley/bio/|title=Bio|accessdate=2008-05-20}}</ref>
|weight={{convert|287|lb|kg|lk=on|abbr=on}}<ref name=WWEProfileMickFoley/>
|birth_date={{birth date and age|1965|6|7}}<ref name="OWOW"/><ref name="IGN">{{cite web|url=http://stars.ign.com/objects/142/14208780_biography.html|title=IGN: Mick Foley Biography|accessdate=2008-05-20|publisher=[[IGN]]}}</ref>
|death_date=
|birth_place=[[Bloomington, Indiana]]<ref name="IGN"/>
|death_place=
|resides=[[Setauket-East Setauket, New York|East Setauket, New York]]<ref name="OWOW"/>
|billed=[[Truth or Consequences, New Mexico]] - as Cactus Jack<br/>[[Mechanical room|The Boiler Room]]- as Mankind<br/>'''[[Long Island]], [[New York]]'''<ref name=WWEProfileMickFoley/> - as Mick Foley/Dude Love
|trainer=[[Dominic DeNucci]]<ref name="OWOW"/><ref name=WWEProfileMickFoley/>
|debut=June 1986<ref>Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.78)</ref>
|retired=
}}
'''Michael Francis "Mick" Foley, Sr.'''<ref name="OWOW"/><ref name="IGN"/> (born [[June 7]] [[1965]])<ref name="OWOW"/><ref name="IGN"/> is an [[United States|American]] [[author]], [[actor]] and [[professional wrestling|professional wrestler]]. He is currently signed to [[World Wrestling Entertainment]] (WWE), as a [[color commentator]] on its [[WWE Friday Night SmackDown|SmackDown]] [[WWE Brand Extension|brand]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wwe.com/shows/backlash/exclusives/foleybacklash
|title=Foley joins Smackdown! broadcast team|accessdate=2008-04-27|date=2008-04-27}}</ref>
Throughout his wrestling career, Foley has wrestled for many different promotions, both under his real name and under various [[persona]]s (most notably Cactus Jack, Mankind and Dude Love). He is the first ever [[WWE Hardcore Championship|WWF Hardcore Champion]] and became a three-time [[WWE Championship|WWF Champion]] as Mankind. He is also one of the most successful [[tag team]] wrestlers in history, being an eight-time [[World Tag Team Championship (WWE)|WWF Tag Team Champion]], a two-time [[ECW Tag Team Championship|ECW World Tag Team Champion]], a one-time [[WCW World Tag Team Championship|WCW World Tag Team Champion]] and a one-time [[WCWA Tag Team Championship|WCWA Tag Team Champion]]. He is also a one-time [[WCWA Light Heavyweight Championship|WCWA Light Heavyweight Champion]].
Foley is a multiple-time New York Times bestselling author.<ref name="IGN"/> He was also a subject of the documentary ''[[Beyond the Mat]]'', which followed him at the peak of his career. More recently, he was signed up to ''[[Bloodstained Memoirs]]'', another wrestling documentary. <ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.prowrestling.com/article/news/8474 | title = prowrestling.com | author = pw }}</ref> <ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.myspace.com/sexandviolencemovie | title = Bloodstained Memoirs Official Source| author = BM }}</ref>
==Early life==
Foley was born in [[Bloomington, Indiana]].<ref name="IGN"/> Shortly after he was born, Foley's family moved to [[Setauket-East Setauket, New York]], where Foley attended [[Ward Melville High School]], played [[lacrosse]], and [[scholastic wrestling|wrestled]].<ref name="IGN"/><ref>Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.11-12, 19)</ref> Mick Foley was also a high school classmate of [[Kevin James]] of ''[[King of Queens]]'', and the two were on the wrestling team together.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.hobotrashcan.com/interviews/mickfoley3.php|title=One on One with Mick Foley (2007)|author=Joel Murphy|publisher= HoboTrashcan|accessdate=2007-03-30|date=March 2007}}</ref> While a student at [[State University of New York at Cortland]], he hitchhiked to [[Madison Square Garden]] to see his favorite wrestler, [[Jimmy Snuka|Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka]], in a [[professional wrestling match types#Cages|steel cage match]] against [[Don Muraco]].<ref name=WWEProfileMickFoley/><ref>Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.33-34)</ref> Foley has said that Snuka's flying body splash from the top of the cage inspired him to pursue a career in pro wrestling.<ref name=WWEProfileMickFoley/><ref name=mf34>Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.34)</ref> Foley is visible on the WWE video of the event.<ref name=mf34/>
==Career==
===Early career===
Foley formally trained at [[Dominic DeNucci]]'s wrestling school in [[Freedom, Pennsylvania]], driving several hours weekly from his college campus in [[Cortland, New York]], and debuted in June 1986.<ref name="IGN"/><ref>Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.66-67, 78)</ref> In addition to appearing on DeNucci's cards, Foley and several other students also took part in some [[Squash (professional wrestling)|squash]] matches for [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWF]] TV tapings, wrestling under the name "Jack Foley," including a match where Foley and [[Les Thornton]] faced the [[British Bulldogs]], during which [[The Dynamite Kid]] clotheslined Foley with such force that he was unable to eat solid food for several days.<ref>Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.82-85)</ref>
After several years of wrestling in the [[independent circuit]], Foley began receiving offers from various regional promotions, including the [[Universal Wrestling Federation (Bill Watts)|UWF]].<ref>Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.91-93)</ref> He joined Memphis-based CWA as Cactus Jack, where he teamed with Gary Young as part of the [[Stud Stable]].<ref>Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.117)</ref> Cactus and Young briefly held the CWA tag titles in late 1988.<ref name=SlamFoleyBio>{{cite web|last=Milner|first=John|url= http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/Bios/foley.html|title=Mick Foley Profile|publisher=SLAM! Wrestling|accessdate=2006-03-20| date=November 18, 2004}}</ref> On [[November 20]], Foley left CWA for Texas-based [[World Class Championship Wrestling]].
In [[World Class Championship Wrestling]] (WCCW), Cactus Jack, billed as Cactus Jack Manson, was a major part of [[Skandor Akbar]]'s stable.<ref>Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.131, 146)</ref> Foley also won several titles, including the company's light heavyweight and tag team titles before leaving the company, losing his last match to [[Eric Embry]] in nine seconds. He then briefly competed in Alabama's Continental Wrestling Federation before completing a brief stint with [[World Championship Wrestling]], including a match against [[Mil Mascaras]] at [[Clash of the Champions#Clash of the Champions X: Texas Shootout|Clash of the Champions X: Texas Shootout]].<ref>Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.169)</ref> It was during this period that Foley was involved in a car accident that resulted in the loss of his two front teeth, adding to the distinctive look for which he is famous.<ref>Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.164-166)</ref> Following the short stint with WCW, Foley then signed with [[Herb Abrams]]'s [[Universal Wrestling Federation (Herb Abrams)|Universal Wrestling Federation]].<ref name=SlamFoleyBio/><ref>Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.183)</ref> In UWF, Foley teamed with [[Bob Orton]] to feud with [[Don Muraco]], Sunny Beach, and [[Brian Blair]]. Foley amassed a cult following because of his growing repertoire of high-risk moves. During a match in July 1991, Foley debuted the [[DDT (professional wrestling)#Double underhook DDT|Double-arm DDT]], which he used as a finisher for years to follow.
He soon left UWF for [[Professional wrestling promotion|Tri-State Wrestling]],<ref>Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.192)</ref> whose style of high impact and violent wrestling style fit Foley well. On one night, known as Tri-State's Summer Sizzler 1991, Cactus Jack and [[Eddie Gilbert (wrestler)|Eddie Gilbert]] had three matches in one night: Cactus won a [[Professional wrestling match types#Falls Count Anywhere match|Falls Count Anywhere match]], lost a [[Professional wrestling match types#Container-based variations|Stretcher match]], and then fought to a double [[Professional wrestling#Disqualification|disqualification]] in a [[Professional wrestling match types#Cages|Steel Cage match]].<ref name=mf194>Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.194-195)</ref> These matches caught the attention of [[World Championship Wrestling]] promoters, and after a brief stint working in the [[Global Wrestling Federation]], he joined WCW.<ref name=SlamFoleyBio/><ref name=mf194/>
===World Championship Wrestling (1991-1994)===
On [[September 5]] [[1991]], Cactus Jack debuted as a [[Heel (professional wrestling)|heel]] and attacked [[Sting (wrestler)|Sting]].<ref>Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.201)</ref> After feuds with [[Van Hammer]] and [[Abdullah the Butcher]], Cactus Jack faced Sting, then WCW champion, in a non-title [[professional wrestling match types#Falls Count Anywhere match|Falls Count Anywhere match]] at [[Beach Blast#1992|Beach Blast 1992]], which Sting won.<ref name=mf223>Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.223)</ref> For a long time, Foley considered this the best match he ever worked.<ref name=mf223/>
Cactus Jack first wrestled [[Big Van Vader|Vader]] on [[April 6]] [[1993]]. Foley and Leon White wanted an intense match, so they agreed that Vader would hit Cactus with a series of heavy blows to the face.<ref name=mf240>Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.239-241)</ref> WCW edited the match heavily because it was against their policies to show the heavy bleeding that resulted.<ref name=mf240/> Foley suffered a broken nose, a dislocated jaw and needed twenty-seven stitches, but won the match via countout.<ref name=mf240/> Because the title did not change hands on a countout, WCW booked a rematch. Foley, however, wanted some time off to be with his newborn daughter and get surgery to repair a knee injury. As a result, in the rematch with Vader on April 23, the two executed a dangerous spot to sell a storyline injury. Vader removed the protective mats at ringside and power-bombed Cactus onto the exposed concrete floor, causing a legitimate concussion and causing Foley to temporarily lose sensation in his left foot and hand.<ref>Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.243-244)</ref> While Foley was away, WCW ran an [[List of professional wrestling slang#A|angle]] where Cactus Jack's absence was explained with a [[farcical]] comedy storyline in which he went crazy, was institutionalized, escaped, and developed amnesia.<ref>Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.248-250)</ref> Foley had wanted the injury storyline to be very serious and generate genuine sympathy for him before his return. The comedy [[List of professional wrestling slang#V|vignettes]] that WCW produced instead were so bad that Foley jokes in ''Have a Nice Day'' that they were the brainchild of WCW executives who regarded a surefire moneymaking feud as a problem that needed to be solved.<ref>Foley, Mick. Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p. 249)</ref>
Foley returned in the fall of 1993 to save the [[Davey Boy Smith|British Bulldog]] from an attack by Vader. He then proceeded to feud with Vader and other wrestlers managed by [[Harley Race]], Jack's former manager. In one of WCW's most brutal matches of all time, Cactus faced Vader in a [[professional wrestling match types#Last Man Standing match|Texas Death match]] at [[Halloween Havoc#1993|Halloween Havoc]].<ref>Foley, Mick. Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p. 256)</ref> Race won the match for Vader by using a cattle prod on Cactus, knocking him out for over ten seconds. The level of violence involved in this feud caused WCW to refuse to ever again book Cactus Jack against Vader on a pay-per-view. On [[March 16]] [[1994]], during a WCW European tour, Foley and Vader had one of the most infamous matches in wrestling history in [[Munich, Germany]]. Foley began a hangman, a spot where a wrestler's head is tangled between the top two ring ropes, which is usually painful but safe (though more dangerous in WCW since the ring ropes were not ropes but steel cables in rubber casing).<ref name=mf4>Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.4)</ref> Unbeknownst to Foley, however, [[2 Cold Scorpio]] had earlier complained that the ropes were too loose, resulting in the ring staff tightening the ropes to the maximum.<ref>Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.5)</ref> As Foley struggled to pull himself out, he tore off two-thirds of his ear and underwent surgery later that day to reattach the cartilage from the ear to his head, so that a total reconstruction would be possible in the future.<ref>Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.6-9)</ref> Later that year, Cactus Jack and [[Kevin Sullivan (wrestler)|Kevin Sullivan]] were scheduled to win the tag team titles at [[Slamboree#1994|Slamboree 1994]].<ref>Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.272)</ref> Foley had to choose between reattaching his ear or wrestling in the pay-per-view and winning the titles. Foley chose to wrestle and won his only championship in WCW. Later on, Foley was frustrated by WCW's reluctance to work a storyline around losing his ear.
===Extreme Championship Wrestling, Smoky Mountain Wrestling and Japan (1994-1996)===
After leaving WCW, Foley decided to wrestle for promotions that would fully enable the violent, brutal matches that made him popular. He went to the newly formed Extreme Championship Wrestling and began a feud with a man as noted for "insanity" as he was: [[Sabu (wrestler)|Sabu]]. Jack then began working the ECW tag team division on teams with [[Terry Funk]], [[Mikey Whipwreck]], and [[Kevin Sullivan (wrestler)|Kevin Sullivan]]. He had two [[ECW Tag Team Championship]] reigns with Whipwreck while in ECW.<ref name=ECWtag>{{citeweb|url=http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/ecw/ecw-t.html|title=ECW World Tag Team Title history|publisher=Wrestling-titles.com}}</ref>
At the tail end of 1994, Foley joined [[Smoky Mountain Wrestling]] as Cactus Jack, causing [[Balls Mahoney|Boo Bradley]] to lose the TV Title. He often teamed with [[Brian Lee]] to feud with Bradley and [[Chris Candido]]. Cactus Jack then began a crusade to rid Bradley of his valet [[Tammy Lynn Sytch]]. He ignited a feud between Candido and Bradley when he accused Candido of having sexual relations with Sytch. Cactus Jack left SMW before the feud was resolved.
In 1995, Foley went to Japan and wrestled in [[International Wrestling Association of Japan|IWA]], where he engaged in feuds with Terry Funk and Shoji Nakamaki. Foley, however, soon returned to ECW to feud with [[Jim Fullington|The Sandman]]. Terry Funk returned to team up with Sandman, and during a particularly violent spot, the pair hit Cactus with a [[Shinai Weapon|Singapore cane]] forty-six times. Cactus Jack then defeated Terry Funk at Hostile City Showdown 1995. Later, he fought Sandman for the ECW championship. During the match, Cactus Jack knocked Sandman unconscious and was declared the winner. Referee [[Bill Alfonso]], however, reversed his decision on the grounds that the title cannot change hands by knockout.
Returning to the IWA, Cactus Jack began a feud with [[Michael Kirschner|Leatherface]], whom he had betrayed during a tag team match. Foley also continued to wrestle in independent circuits, winning championships on the Ozark Mountain and Steel City circuits. On [[August 20]] [[1995]], IWA organized a "[[IWA Death Match Tournament|King of the Death Match]]" tournament. Each level of the tournament featured a new and deadly gimmick: Cactus Jack's first round was a barbed-wire baseball bat, thumbtack death match, in which he defeated Terry Gordy; the second round was a barbed-wire board, bed of nails match where Cactus Jack defeated Shoji Nakamaki. The final, against Terry Funk, was a barbed-wire rope, barbed-wire and [[C-4 (explosive)|C4]] board, time-bomb death match, which Cactus Jack won with help from [[Tiger Jeet Singh]]. After the match, both men were ravaged by the wire, and burned by the C4 explosions. Foley later said that he only received $300 for the entire night.<ref>''Mick Foley's Greatest Hits and Misses: A Life in Wrestling'' DVD</ref> After the tournament, he teamed with [[Tracy Smothers]] for a quick run with the IWA tag team titles.
Foley then returned to ECW to team with [[Tommy Dreamer]]. Cactus began a gimmick where he criticized hardcore wrestling and sought to renounce his status as a hardcore wrestling icon. He said that he was on a mission to save his partner from making the mistake of trying to please bloodthirsty fans. The mismatched partnership lasted until [[August 5]], [[1995]], when Cactus turned on Dreamer when they were teaming against [[The Pitbulls]]. Cactus Jack DDT'ed his partner and joined Raven's Nest, as he wished to serve [[Scott Levy|Raven]]'s "higher purpose." He remained one of Raven's top henchmen for the remainder of his time in ECW. On August 28, Cactus beat the previously undefeated [[Al Poling|911]]. As part of Foley's [[Heel (professional wrestling)|heel]] gimmick, he began praising WWF and WCW on ECW television. At first, ECW fans did not really boo Cactus' "anti-hardcore" heel character, but once they learned that he was leaving the organization for the WWF, they began hating him passionately.{{Fact|date=January 2008}} They did not even react positively when, as his departure grew nearer, Foley attempted to shift away from his character and give sincere good-bye interviews. Cactus was booked to face WWF hater [[Shane Douglas]], who won when he put Jack into a [[Professional wrestling holds#Figure four leglock|figure four leglock]] that allowed Mikey Whipwreck to hit him repeatedly with a steel chair. Foley's last ECW match was against Whipwreck in April 1996. The ECW fans, who knew that this was Foley's last match, finally returned his affection. They cheered him throughout the match and chanted, "Please don't go!" After the match, Foley told the audience that their reaction made everything worthwhile and made his exit by dancing with [[Stevie Richards]] and [[Brian Heffron|The Blue Meanie]]. Foley has said that this exit was his favorite moment in wrestling.<ref>Mick Foley, ''Mick Foley's Greatest Hits and Misses: A Life in Wrestling''</ref><ref name=SlamFoleyBio/>
===World Wrestling Federation===
====Multiple personalities (1996-1998)====
Foley arrived in the WWF in 1996 with a new gimmick: Mankind, a tortured soul who lived in a boiler room, spoke to a rat, pulled out his hair during matches, and wore a [[Hannibal Lecter]]-inspired mask in the ring.<ref name="IGN"/> Mankind debuted the day after [[WrestleMania XII]], quickly moving into a feud with [[The Undertaker]]. This feud continued through [[King of the Ring#1996|King of the Ring]], Mankind's WWF pay-per-view debut. During the match, Undertaker's manager [[Percy Pringle|Paul Bearer]] "accidentally" struck him with the urn, allowing Mankind to apply the [[Mandible claw]] for the win. The two then began interfering in each other's matches until they were booked in a [[professional wrestling match types#Boiler Room brawl|Boiler Room brawl]], in which the goal was to escape the arena's boiler room and reach the ring to take the urn from Paul Bearer. The Undertaker appeared to have won, but Paul Bearer refused to hand him the urn, allowing Mankind to win, thus (for the time being) ending the relationship between Paul and the Undertaker.
Mankind then earned #1 contendership to the WWF World Championship versus [[Shawn Michaels]] at [[In Your House#In Your House 10: Mind Games|In Your House: Mind Games]]. Michaels won by disqualification via interference by [[Big Van Vader|Vader]] and The Undertaker. For several years, Foley considered this match his best ever, saying "Sure, at 280 pounds I still looked like hell, but after a brutal cardiovascular training regimen, I was able to go full-tilt for twenty-seven minutes with a smaller, quicker, better athlete than me."
The Mankind-Undertaker feud continued with the first ever [[Buried Alive match]] at [[In Your House#In Your House 11: Buried Alive|In Your House: Buried Alive]]. Undertaker won the match, but Paul Bearer, [[Terry Gordy]] (as the Executioner), Mankind and other [[heel (professional wrestling)|heels]] attacked 'Taker and buried him alive. Afterward, he challenged Mankind to a match at [[Survivor Series (1996)|Survivor Series]], which he won. The feud ended after one more match at [[In Your House#In Your House 14: Revenge of the 'Taker|In Your House: Revenge of the Taker]] for the WWF Championship, which Undertaker had won at [[WrestleMania 13]]. Undertaker won the match and Bearer took a leave of absence, ending the feud.
[[Jim Ross]] then began conducting a series of interviews with Mankind. During the interviews, Ross brought up the topic of Foley's home videos and the character he played in them, Dude Love. Around this time, [[Stone Cold Steve Austin]] and Shawn Michaels won the WWF Tag Team Championships from [[Owen Hart]] and [[Davey Boy Smith|The British Bulldog]], but Michaels was injured and could no longer compete. Mankind tried to replace him, but Austin said he wanted "nothing to do with a freak" and resigned himself to facing Hart and the Bulldog alone the next week. Halfway into the match, however, Mick Foley debuted a new [[persona]] known as Dude Love who suddenly appeared and helped Austin take the victory, becoming the new Tag Team Champions.<ref name=Worldtag>{{citeweb|url=http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwf-t.html|title=WWWF/WWF/WWE World Tag Team Title history|publisher=Wrestling-titles.com}}</ref> Austin and Dude vacated their tag team titles when Austin suffered a serious neck injury at the hands of Owen Hart at [[SummerSlam (1997)|SummerSlam]]. Dude Love feuded with [[Triple H|Hunter Hearst Helmsley]], as the two competed in a [[professional wrestling match types#Falls Count Anywhere match|Falls Count Anywhere match]]. One of Foley's most memorable vignettes aired before the match began, in which Dude Love and Mankind discussed who should wrestle the upcoming match. Eventually, "they" decided that it should be Cactus Jack, and Foley's old character made his WWF debut. Jack won the match with a [[Piledriver (professional wrestling)|Piledriver]] through a table. Shortly thereafter, [[Extreme Championship Wrestling|ECW]]'s [[Terry Funk]] joined the WWF as "Chainsaw Charlie," and he and Jack defeated the [[New Age Outlaws]] at [[WrestleMania XIV]] in a [[Professional wrestling match types#Container-based variations|Dumpster match]] to win the tag team titles. The next night, however, [[Vince McMahon]] stripped them of the belts and scheduled a rematch in a steel cage, which the Outlaws won with help from their new allies, [[D-Generation X]].
On [[April 6]] [[1998]], Foley turned heel when Cactus Jack explained the fans would not see him anymore because they didn't appreciate him and only cared about Stone Cold Steve Austin. [[Vince McMahon]] explained to Austin the next week that he would face a "mystery" opponent at [[WWE Unforgiven#1998|Unforgiven]]. That opponent turned out to be Dude Love, who won the match by DQ, meaning that Austin retained the title. Vince, displeased with the outcome, required Foley to prove he deserved another shot at Austin's title with a #1 Contendership match against his former partner, [[Terry Funk]]. The match was both the WWF's first ever "[[Hardcore wrestling|Hardcore match]]" and the first time that Foley wrestled under his own name. Foley won, and after the match, a proud [[Mr. McMahon]] came out to Dude Love's music and presented Foley with the Dude Love costume. At [[Over the Edge: In Your House|Over the Edge]], Dude Love took on Austin for the title. McMahon designated his subordinates [[Gerald Brisco]] and [[Pat Patterson (wrestler)|Pat Patterson]] as the timekeeper and ring announcer, and made himself the special referee. However, [[The Undertaker]] came to ringside to ensure Vince called the match fairly, and with his presence, Dude Love lost the match and was "fired" by McMahon the next night.
====Hell in a Cell====
{{main|Hell in a Cell}}
Foley then reverted to his Mankind character, who began wearing an untucked shirt with a loose necktie (a jab at Mr. McMahon for having Dude Love dress more professionally in order to fit into his idea of a "corporate champion") and feuding with [[The Undertaker]]. At [[King of the Ring (1998)|King of the Ring]], the two competed in the third-ever [[Hell in a Cell]] match. Foley received numerous injuries and took two extremely dangerous and highly influential [[bump (professional wrestling)|bumps]]. The first one came as both wrestlers were brawling on top of the cell, and Undertaker threw Mankind from a height of sixteen feet and sent him crashing through the Spanish announcers' table. This event also triggered [[Jim Ross]] famously shouting "Good God almighty! Good God almighty! They've killed him! As God as my witness, he is broken in half!" This fall was planned. According to Foley in ''[[Mick Foley's Greatest Hits and Misses]]'', the second was accidental. With both men back on the top of the cell, Undertaker [[chokeslam]]med Mankind, and a section of the cage gave way. Foley fell through and hit the ring hard. A chair that had been atop the cage also slammed Foley's head and knocked out a tooth as he hit the canvas. He was also knocked unconscious for a few moments from the impact, but he finished the match after waking up. Although Mankind lost, both wrestlers received a standing ovation for the match, and the event is often said to have jump-started Foley's main event career.
Many future matches attempted to replicate some of the [[spot (professional wrestling)|spots]] from this match. In his autobiography ''Have a Nice Day! A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks'', Foley wrote that he couldn't remember much of what happened, and he had to watch a tape of the match to write about it. The match was voted ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'''s Match of the Year for 1998. Although many fans regard the match as a classic, it has generated controversy as well. Critics charge that the falls in the match were so extreme and they set the bar for further bumps so high that the inevitable attempts to equal or surpass them would be unsafe for the wrestlers involved. Additionally, in his autobiography, [[Terry Funk]] wrote that both falls, including the second one through the cage, were planned. Some sources, including ''[[Power Slam]]'' magazine and ''[[Pro Wrestling Torch]]'', reported that Foley denied planning this bump to placate his wife, who was furious with him after the match. Foley said in his first book that his wife cried during a post match phone conversation between the two, and this made Foley strongly consider retiring from wrestling. He also said that after the match, Vince McMahon thanked him for all he had done for the company, but made Foley promise to "never do anything like that again."
====WWF Championship and retirement (1998-2000)====
[[Image:Mick Foley and Socko.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Foley with Mr. Socko, a [[sock puppet]] Foley used in particular with his Mankind character.]]
Although conventional wisdom holds that the Hell in a Cell match was responsible for Foley's rise to main event status, live television crowds did not initially get behind Mankind because of the match. Foley decided that crowds might respond better if Mankind were more of a comedy character, and so he became less of a tortured soul and more of a goofy, broken down oaf. While [[Vince McMahon]] was in a hospital nursing wounds suffered at the hands of [[The Undertaker]] and [[Glen Jacobs|Kane]], Mankind arrived to cheer him up. Having succeeded only in irritating McMahon, Mankind unveiled a sock puppet named Mr. Socko. Intended to be a one-time joke, Socko became an overnight sensation. Mankind began putting the sock on his hand before applying his finisher, the [[Mandible claw]].
McMahon manipulated Mankind, who saw the WWF owner as a father figure, into doing his bidding. McMahon created the [[WWF Hardcore Championship|Hardcore Championship]] and awarded it to Mankind, making him the first-ever champion of the hardcore division. Mankind was then pushed as the favorite to win the WWF Championship at [[Survivor Series (1998)|Survivor Series]], as McMahon appeared to be manipulating the tournament so that Mankind would win. He and [[Dwayne Johnson|The Rock]] both reached the finals, where McMahon turned on Mankind. As The Rock placed Mankind in the [[Professional wrestling holds#Sharpshooter|Sharpshooter]], McMahon ordered the timekeeper to ring the bell even though Mankind did not submit, a reference to the [[Montreal Screwjob]] from the year before. After McMahon's betrayal, Mankind became the #2 [[Face (professional wrestling)|babyface]] in the company behind Steve Austin.
After weeks of trying to get his hands on Mr. McMahon's new faction, the [[The Corporation (professional wrestling)|Corporation]], Mankind received a title shot with The Rock at [[In Your House#Rock Bottom|In Your House]]. Mankind knocked The Rock out with the Mandible Claw, but McMahon ruled that the title would not change hands because The Rock never gave up. After several weeks of going after the Corporation, Mankind had his big night on December 29, where Mankind defeated The Rock and won his first WWF championship. The taped show was broadcast on [[January 4]] [[1999]], so that is the date WWE recognizes as beginning the title run. Having title changes on broadcast television rather than pay-per-view was uncommon in professional wrestling, but because of the [[Monday Night Wars#1997-1998: McMahon strikes back|Monday Night Wars]], TV ratings became more important. The rival WCW, attempting to take advantage of the fact that their show ''Monday Nitro'' aired live while Mankind's title victory was taped the week before, had announcer [[Tony Schiavone]] reveal the ending of the Mankind-Rock match before it aired. He then added sarcastically, "That'll put a lot of butts in the seats." The move backfired for WCW, as [[Nielsen Ratings]] suggested that over half a million viewers switched from ''Nitro'' to ''Raw'' almost immediately despite the [[The Fingerpoke of Doom|Hogan vs. Nash main event]] which led to the reformation of the [[New World Order (professional wrestling)|nWo]]. Foley took great personal pride from this, and "Mick Foley put my ass in this seat" signs began showing up at WWF events.
Mankind first lost the WWF title to The Rock in a [["I Quit" match]] at [[Royal Rumble (1999)|Royal Rumble]]. During the match, Foley took several bumps, including eleven unprotected chairshots. This match is featured on Barry Blaustein's documentary ''[[Beyond the Mat]]'', which shows the impact the match had on Foley and his family at ringside. The match ended after Mankind lost consciousness and The Rock's allies played a recording of Mankind saying "I Quit" from an earlier interview. The match led to some legitimate tension between Foley and The Rock for a time, because in the planning for the match, far fewer chairshots were to have been used. The match was also voted 1999's Match of the Year by the readers of ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated''. Mankind won the title back at a rematch on Halftime Heat, which aired during halftime at [[Super Bowl XXXIII]], in the WWF's first ever [[professional wrestling match types#Empty Arena match|Empty Arena match]]. The two then competed in a [[Last Man Standing match]] at [[In Your House#St. Valentine's Day Massacre|St. Valentines Day Massacre]], which ended without a winner, meaning that Mankind retained the title. The next night, Mr. McMahon booked a ladder match for the championship, which The Rock won with help from [[Paul Wight|The Big Show]]. Later in the year, Foley and The Rock patched up their friendship and teamed up to form a comedy team called the [[Rock 'n' Sock Connection]], becoming one of the most popular teams during that time. The pair won the tag team titles on three occasions. Mick Foley helped WWF ''Raw'' achieve its highest [[Nielsen ratings|ratings]] ever with a segment featuring himself (as Mankind) and The Rock. The "This is Your Life" segment aired on [[September 27]] [[1999]] and received an 8.4 rating.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://slashwrestling.com/Raw/990927.html |title=Slashwrestling Raw report - with ratings|accessdate=2007-01-13|author=Christopher Robin Zimmerman}}</ref>
Foley returned from knee surgery as Mankind to win the WWF Championship for the third time at [[SummerSlam (1999)|SummerSlam]] in a triple threat match against Steve Austin and [[Triple H]]. It is believed that Mankind was booked to win the championship that night because Austin refused to lose it to Triple H.<ref>{{cite web|last=Powell|first=John|url= http://slam.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingArchive/aug23_fol.html|title=Mick Foley New Champion at SummerSlam!|publisher=SLAM! Wrestling|accessdate=2006-03-22|date=1999-08-23}}</ref> Triple H defeated Mankind and won the title the next night on ''Raw''. A major feud developed between Mankind and the McMahon-Helmsley regime, led by Triple H, which led to Mankind's reverting to his Cactus Jack persona and facing Triple H for the WWF Championship at [[Royal Rumble (2000)|Royal Rumble]] in a [[street fight]]. Cactus used barbed wire and thumbtacks, trademark weapons from his pre-WWF days, but Triple H won the match after delivering two pedigrees, the second onto a pile of tacks. This feud culminated with a rematch at [[WWE No Way Out#2000|No Way Out]] in a Hell in a Cell match, where stipulations held that if Cactus Jack did not win the title, Mick Foley would retire from wrestling. Triple H won, ostensibly ending Foley's career. Foley left for a few weeks but returned at the request of [[Linda McMahon]] to wrestle for the title at [[WrestleMania 2000]] against Triple H, The Rock, and The Big Show.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20000402/ai_n13856891|title=Foley's dream to come true at `WrestleMania'| author=Blackjack Brown|publisher=Chicago Sun Times|accessdate=2007-06-09|date=2000-04-02}}</ref> Triple H won, and Foley did not wrestle again for four years.
====Commissioner (2000-2001)====
After retiring from active competition, Foley served as storyline [[WWF Commissioner]] under his real name rather than one of his [[personas]]. Foley has said that he intended for his Commissioner Foley character to be a "role model for nerds," cracking lame jokes and making no attempt to appear tough or scary. Foley turned getting [[cheap pop]]s into something of a catchphrase, as he shamelessly declared at each WWF show that he was thrilled to be "right here in (whatever city he was performing in)!" punctuated with a thumbs-up gesture. During this time, Commissioner Foley engaged in rivalries with [[Kurt Angle]], [[Edge and Christian]], and Vince McMahon without actually wrestling them. He left the position in December 2000 after being "fired" on screen by Vince McMahon.
Foley made a surprise return to the ''Monday Night Raw'' just prior to [[WrestleMania X-Seven]] and announced that he would be the special guest referee in the match between Mr. McMahon and his son Shane at WrestleMania. After WrestleMania, Foley made sporadic WWF TV appearances throughout the spring and summer, at one point introducing Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura during a taping of ''Raw'' in the state as a foil to Mr. McMahon, as well as serving as the guest referee for the Earl Hebner vs. Nick Patrick Referee match at the [[WWF Invasion]] pay-per-view.
Foley returned as commissioner in October 2001, near the end of the [[The Invasion (professional wrestling)|invasion]] angle. During this brief tenure, Foley had the opportunity to [[Shoot (professional wrestling)|shoot]] on the WWF's direction and how dissatisfied he was with it. Saying that there were far too many championships in the company, he booked unification matches prior to the final pay-per-view of the storyline, [[Survivor Series (2001)|Survivor Series]]. After Survivor Series, he ended his commissionership at Vince McMahon's request and left the company. Foley and McMahon had a real-life falling out with each other at the time, and Foley was absent from WWE for almost two years.{{Fact|date=January 2008}}
===World Wrestling Entertainment (2003-present)===
Foley returned in June 2003 to referee the [[Hell in a Cell]] match between Triple H and Kevin Nash at Bad Blood. On June 23, during a ''Raw'' broadcast in [[Madison Square Garden]], he was honored for his achievements in the ring and presented with the retired [[WWE Hardcore Championship]] belt. The evening ended with Foley taking a beating and kicked down stairs by [[Randy Orton]] and [[Ric Flair]]. In December 2003, Foley returned to replace Steve Austin as co-general manager of ''Raw''. He soon grew tired of the day-to-day travel and left his full-time duties to write and spend time with his family. In the storyline, Foley was afraid to wrestle a match with Intercontinental Champion Randy Orton and walked out of the arena rather than face him.
In 2004, Foley returned briefly to wrestling, competing in the Royal Rumble and eliminating both Randy Orton and himself with a clothesline. He and [[Dwayne Johnson|The Rock]] reunited as the Rock 'n' Sock Connection and lost a handicap match to [[Evolution (professional wrestling)|Evolution]] at [[WrestleMania XX]] when Randy Orton pinned Foley with an RKO as Mick pulled out Mr. Socko, this match turned out to be [[Dwayne Johnson|The Rock]]'s final match in the WWE. The two continued to feud, culminating in a [[Hardcore wrestling|hardcore match]] for the [[WWE Intercontinental Championship]] at [[Backlash (2004)|Backlash]], where Orton defeated Mick Foley as his Cactus Jack [[persona]] to retain the title with an RKO onto a barbed wire wrapped baseball bat, which Foley now regards as possibly the best match of his career.<ref>Foley, Mick. The Hardcore Diaries (p.260)</ref>
Foley appeared as a color commentator at WWE's [[One Night Stand (2005)|ECW One Night Stand]], which aired on [[June 12]] [[2005]], and subsequently renewed his contract with WWE. In an interview with "[[Between The Ropes]]" on August 31, Foley acknowledged that prior to signing with WWE he had been negotiating a deal with [[Total Nonstop Action Wrestling]] (TNA). Foley returned in 2005 in a match where fans were able to vote on which persona he would appear as—Mankind, Dude Love, or Cactus Jack—against [[Carly Colón|Carlito]] at [[Taboo Tuesday (2005)|Taboo Tuesday]]. Foley cut promos for each character and an online vote was held. The fans voted for Mankind, who went on to win the match with The Mandible Claw using Mr. Socko with an afro to make fun of Carlito's.
On the [[February 16]] [[2006]] ''Raw'', Foley returned to referee the WWE Championship match between [[Adam Copeland|Edge]] and [[John Cena]]. After Cena won, Edge attacked Foley, and the following week, Edge challenged Foley to a match at [[WrestleMania 22]]. Edge defeated Foley after Spearing him through a flaming table. In the weeks after the match, Foley turned heel and allied himself with Edge against the newly rejuvenated [[Extreme Championship Wrestling (WWE)|ECW]]. This would be the first WWE heel turn of Foley since his feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin as Dude Love back in 1998. At [[One Night Stand (2006)|ECW One Night Stand]], Foley, [[Adam Copeland|Edge]] & [[Amy Dumas|Lita]] defeated Terry Funk, [[Tommy Dreamer]] and [[Trisa Hayes|Beulah McGillicutty]] after Edge hit Beulah with The Spear for the win.
Foley then engaged in a storyline rivalry with [[Ric Flair]], inspired by real-life animosity between the two. In ''Have a Nice Day!'', Foley wrote that Flair was "every bit as bad on the booking side of things as he was great on the wrestling side of it." In response, Flair wrote in his autobiography that Foley was "a glorified stuntman" and that he was able to climb the ladder in the WWF only because he was friends with the bookers. The two had a backstage confrontation at a ''Raw'' event in 2003, but Foley has said that they have largely reconciled.<ref name=SlamFoleyRicFlair>{{cite web|last=Baines|first=Tim|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2004/06/27/516827.html|title= Ric Flair Critical of Mick Foley in New Book|publisher=SLAM! Wrestling|accessdate=2006-03-20|date=2004-06-27}}</ref> To spark the feud, Flair again called Foley a "glorified [[stuntman]]" and Foley called Flair a "washed up piece of crap" and challenged him to a match. The result was a Two out of Three Falls match at [[Vengeance (2006)|Vengeance]], where Flair beat Foley in two straight falls; with a rollup counter to the figure four in the first and by DQ in the second after a trashcan shot. After the match, Flair was split wide open by Foley with a barbed wire bat. The two then wrestled an [["I Quit" match]] at [[SummerSlam (2006)|SummerSlam]], which Flair won when he forced Foley to quit by threatening [[Melina Perez|Melina]] with a barbed wire bat.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20060827/ai_n16698659|title=Flair and Foley put on great show| publisher=Chicago Sun Times|accessdate=2007-06-11|date=2006-08-27}}</ref> On the August 21 edition of ''Raw'', Mick Foley literally kissed [[Vince McMahon]]'s [[buttocks]] as part of McMahon's "kiss my ass club" gimmick after he threatened to fire Melina. Shortly thereafter, she betrayed Foley and announced that he was fired.
Seven months later, Foley made his return to ''Raw'' on [[March 5]] [[2007]], tricking Mr. McMahon into giving him his job back. On April 9, Foley contributed to the [[Make-A-Wish Foundation]] and helped a young child named Michael Peña to become honorary [[General Manager|GM]] of the night.<ref name=wrestlecast>{{cite video|author=Joel Ross and Simon Lilsboy| title=Interview with Mick Foley (May 3, 2007)|publisher=WrestleCast|accessdate=2007-05-28|medium=podcast}}</ref>
Foley appeared again on June 11 for Mr. McMahon Appreciation Night insulting Mr. McMahon. Foley also announced his place as a number 1 contender for the WWE Championship. During the ''Raw'' broadcast before [[Vengeance: Night of Champions|Vengeance]], Foley was scheduled to make his official in-ring return in a match against Umaga but he attacked Umaga before the match, and the match was never started. At Vengeance, Foley wrestled in a WWE Championship Challenge match involving WWE Champion [[John Cena]], [[Randy Orton]], [[Booker Huffman|King Booker]], and [[Bobby Lashley]]. Cena retained by pinning Foley.
A month later, Foley made an appearance on ''Raw'' as the special guest referee for a match between [[Jonathan Coachman]] and Mr McMahon's [[kayfabe]] illegitimate son [[Dylan Postl|Hornswoggle]]. Hornswoggle won the match, after Foley handed him a miniature Mr. Socko. Foley then made an appearance on ''[[WWE Friday Night SmackDown|SmackDown]]'' the same week, where he defeated Coachman with Hornswoggle as the special guest referee. On the [[January 7]] [[2008]] episode of ''Raw'', Foley and his tag team partner Hornswoggle qualified for the [[Royal Rumble (2008)|Royal Rumble]] by defeating [[The Highlanders (professional wrestling)|The Highlanders]], but Foley was eliminated by Triple H during the Rumble.
Foley debuted as a color commentator for SmackDown! alongside [[Michael Cole]] at [[Backlash (2008)|Backlash 2008]]. He replaced [[Jonathan Coachman]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wwe.com/shows/backlash/exclusives/foleybacklash
|title=Foley joins Smackdown! broadcast team|accessdate=2008-04-27|date=2008-04-27}}</ref>
===Freelance wrestler===
Outside of WWE during his time of sporadic appearances, Foley partially retired from in-ring competition, making more guest appearances and cutting promos rather than actually wrestling. Foley, however, still occasionally competed and made several notable appearances in independent promotions, including [[Ring of Honor]], where he feuded with the likes of [[Ricky Steamboat]], [[Samoa Joe]], [[CM Punk]], and [[The Embassy (professional wrestling)|The Embassy]]. During this time, Foley appeared at several supershows like [[International Showdown]], [[Hardcore Homecoming]], [[WrestleReunion]], Ballpark Brawl, [[A Night of Appreciation for Sabu]], as well as working a [[Hustle (professional wrestling)|HUSTLE]] show against [[Toshiaki Kawada]].
===Legacy===
Throughout his career, and under all of his aliases, Foley has proved extremely popular to his fans, even when he wrestled as a heel. Foley has always been accessible to his fans and will spend long periods of time with them signing autographs and posing for pictures. His hard work is often credited with helping to re-establish pro wrestling's popularity after the [[anabolic steroid|steroid]] and sex scandals of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Foley was leading the online poll for ''[[Time (magazine)|Time Magazine's]]'' [[Person of the Year|Man of the Year]] honor in 1998 before being removed as a candidate. Foley is also seen as a pioneer of hardcore wrestling. The hardcore match became a staple of WWF programming in the late 1990s after Foley had several memorable hardcore-style matches, and it can be seen that Foley set the bar for hardcore-styled wrestling and matches.
==Outside of wrestling==
===Writing career===
[[Image:foley-originals.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Foley promoting his book on ECW (WWE)]]
From May 7 to [[July 1]] [[1999]], Foley wrote his autobiography--without the aid of a [[ghostwriter]], as he proudly notes in the introduction--in almost 800 pages of longhand.<ref>Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (Introduction p.x)</ref> The book, ''[[Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks]]'', became hugely popular and topped the [[New York Times]] bestseller list for several weeks. The follow-up, ''[[Foley is Good: And The Real World is Faker Than Wrestling]]'', was published in 2001 and debuted at #1 on the Times list. Foley has also written three children's books, ''Mick Foley's Halloween Hijinx'', ''Mick Foley's Christmas Chaos'', and ''Tales from Wrescal Lane''. He has also authored ''[[Tietam Brown]]'', a coming-of-age story which was nominated for the WHSmith People's Choice Award in 2004. Foley's second novel, ''Scooter'', was published in August 2005. His writing has generally received favorable reviews.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=1-9781400044146-2|author= Powell's Books|title=Scooter: Synopses & Reviews|accessdate=2007-03-19}}</ref> Foley's most recent book is the third part of his autobiography called ''[[The Hardcore Diaries]]''. It highlights his 2004 feud with [[Randy Orton]], his match and later partnership with [[Adam Copeland|Edge]], and program with [[Ric Flair]] in 2006.<ref name=wrestlecast/> ''The Hardcore Diaries'' also spent time on the New York Times bestseller list.<ref name=wrestlecast/>
Foley authored a [[weblog]] titled ''Foley Is Blog'' on WWE's website. The entries focused on Foley's stories and travels in pro wrestling. The blog, however, was later removed from the site.
====Works====
'''[[Memoirs]]'''
*(1999) ''[[Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks]].'' ReganBooks. ISBN 0-06-039299-1. (credited as Mankind/Mick Foley)
*(2001) ''[[Foley is Good: And The Real World is Faker Than Wrestling]].'' ReganBooks. ISBN 0-06-103241-7.
*(2007) ''[[The Hardcore Diaries]].'' PocketBooks. ISBN 1-4165-3157-2
'''[[Children's fiction]]'''
*(2000) ''Mick Foley's Christmas Chaos.'' ReganBooks. ISBN 0-06-039414-5.
*(2001) ''Mick Foley's Halloween Hijinx.'' HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0-06-000251-4.
*(2004) ''Tales From Wrescal Lane.'' World Wrestling Entertainment. ISBN 0-7434-6634-9.
'''Adult fiction'''
*(2003) ''[[Tietam Brown]].'' Knopf. ISBN 0-375-41550-5.
*(2005) ''Scooter.'' Knopf. ISBN 1-4000-4414-6.
===Film, television and radio ===
[[Image:Mick Foley07.jpg|right|thumb|Mick Foley signing autographs]]
One of Foley's earliest acting roles was in 1996. Shortly before he left for [[Stamford, Connecticut|Stamford]], Foley appeared in [[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]] filmmakers Barry Norman and Michael Williams' [[short subject]] ''Deadbeats'' as "Bird," an [[armed robber]] turned [[debt collector]]. One of Foley's first TV guest appearances was as a wrestler on [[USA Network]]'s short-lived action-comedy ''G vs. E''. He also featured prominently in the [[Documentary film|documentary]] ''[[Beyond the Mat]]''. He also appeared in the [[Insane Clown Posse]] vehicle ''[[Big Money Hustlas]]'' as Cactus Sac, which was basically the same character as his Cactus Jack persona. In the late 1990s, Foley hosted a series of ''[[Robot Wars]]'' dubbed "Extreme Warriors." He also provided a guest voice for two episodes of the [[Nickelodeon (TV Channel)|Nickelodeon]] animated series ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'', in which he portrayed a satirical earthbending wrestler named The Boulder, and provided the voice for Gorrath in the pilot episode of ''[[Megas XLR]]''. Foley appeared in an episode of ''[[Boy Meets World]]'' as Mankind, giving advice to [[Eric Matthews]] before giving Eric the mandible claw and a helicopter spin. Mick Foley was also a voice in an episode of ''[[Celebrity Deathmatch]]'' where he was an animated version of Mankind doing a stunt from the ceiling, and later in the same episode he fought and defeated [[Ernest Hemingway]]. Foley will have a small role in the upcoming thriller movie ''[[Anamorph (film)|Anamorph]]'' starring [[Willem Dafoe]].
Foley has frequently appeared on [[Air America Radio]]'s ''Morning Sedition'', including several stints as a guest host and has appeared on ''[[The Rachel Maddow Show]]''. He also hosted WWE's radio show, which was held in WWF New York. Foley also occasionally appears on the ''[[Opie and Anthony Show]]''.
In the summer of 2007, Mick Foley was filmed for the upcoming film ''[[Bloodstained Memoirs]]'', a wrestling documentary.<ref>[http://www.myspace.com/sexandviolencemovie Bloodstained Memoirs Official Site]</ref>
===Personal life===
Mick Foley has participated in numerous [[Make-A-Wish Foundation]] events, made surprise visits to children in hospitals and worked with the [[Christian Children's Fund]]. Foley has also visited schools and libraries, talking to students about the value of education and the importance of reading and traveled to various military bases and military hospitals to visit U.S. troops.<ref name=WWEProfileMickFoley/>
In the summer of 2004, Mick Foley spoke at the College Democrats of America Convention in Boston. He also opposed conservative [[John Layfield|John Bradshaw Layfield]] in a special debate on ''Raw'' prior to the [[2004 presidential election]].
Mick Foley is married to Collette Foley, [[née]] Christie. The couple have three sons and a daughter: Dewey Francis (born on [[February 20]] [[1992]]),<ref>Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.217)</ref> Michael Francis, Jr. (born in January 2001), Huey (born in 2003), and Noelle Margaret (born on [[December 15]] [[1993]]).<ref>Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.260)</ref> Foley and his family will be starring in a [[reality television]] show for [[A&E Network]]. The show is still being produced and no air time has been announced.
Mick Foley led the [[Saudi Arabia]]n team out of the tunnel at the 2007 Special Olympic World Games in [[Shanghai, China]].<ref>[http://corporate.wwe.com/news/2007/2007_10_02.jsp WWE Corporate<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
He has recently opened up his own [[eBay]] store, selling items from throughout his career.
==In wrestling==
*'''Finishing and signature moves'''
<!--Do NOT change the order of the moves, as they comply with Wikipedia's Manual of Style-->
**'''''Cactus Elbow''''' ([[Professional wrestling aerial techniques#Diving elbow drop|Diving elbow drop]] to the outside from the ring apron or from an elevated surface)
**'''[[DDT (professional wrestling)#Double underhook DDT|Double arm DDT]]'''<ref name=WWEProfileMickFoley/><ref name=mf199>Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood & Sweatsocks (p.199)</ref>
**'''''[[Mandible claw|Mandible Claw]]'''''<ref name=WWEProfileMickFoley/> / '''''Love Handle''''' / '''''Mr. Socko'''''
<!--Do NOT change the order of the moves, as they comply with Wikipedia's Manual of Style-->
**[[Professional wrestling attacks#Biting|Bite]] to the [[forehead]]
**[[Professional wrestling attacks#Cactus clothesline|Cactus clothesline]]<ref name=mf4/>
**''Cactus Jack Crack Smash''<ref name=mf199/> ([[Professional wrestling aerial techniques#Senton|Diving senton splash]] to the outside from the ring apron)
**''Cactus Knee Lift'' ([[Professional wrestling attacks#Knee lift|Running knee lift]] to a seated opponent in the corner)
**[[Professional wrestling attacks#Double axe handle|Double axe handle]] to the opponent's face, while they are hung in the [[Professional wrestling holds#Tree of Woe|Tree of Woe]]
**Lots of fast [[Punch]]es followed by Bang! Bang!
**[[Professional wrestling throws#One-handed bulldog|Two-handed bulldog]]
**''Stump-Puller Piledriver'' ([[Piledriver (professional wrestling)#Texas piledriver|Pulling Texas piledriver]])
**[[Professional wrestling holds#Sunset flip|Sunset flip]]
**[[Neckbreaker#Swinging neckbreaker|Swinging neckbreaker]], sometimes on the outside of the ring
**''Sweet Shin Music'' ([[Superkick]] to the [[Tibia|shin]], parodying [[Shawn Michaels]]' [[Superkick|'''''Sweet Chin Music''''']])
*'''Signature [[Foreign object (professional wrestling)|foreign objects]]'''
**'''''Mr. Socko''''' (a [[sock puppet]] worn by Foley while performing the ''Mandible Claw'') - not considered an illegal object, though it has been known to be wrapped in barbed wire
**'''''Barbie''''' (a wooden [[baseball bat]] or [[Timber|two by four]] wrapped in [[barbed wire]])
**[[Thumbtack]]s
**[[Fire]] [[folding chair|chair]] (a steel chair wrapped with a towel covered in [[lighter fluid]] and then set ablaze)
**[[Lumber#Dimensional lumber|2x4]]
**[[Barbed wire]]
**[[Lumber|Wooden]] board covered with barbed wire (on one occasion, also rigged with explosives)
*'''[[Nickname]]s'''
**'''''The Hardcore Legend'''''
**Mrs. Foley's Baby Boy
*'''[[Manager (professional wrestling)|Managers]]'''
**Grand Lizard<ref name=mf81>Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.81)</ref>
**[[Brian Hildebrand]]<ref name=mf81/>
**[[Percy Pringle|Paul Bearer]]<ref name=wrestlecast/>
**[[Kevin Sullivan (wrestler)|Kevin Sullivan]]<ref>Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.167-168)</ref>
**[[Linda McMahon]]
**[[Amy Dumas|Lita]]
**[[Melina Perez|Melina]]
*'''Signature Taunts'''
**Bang! Bang! (Mick puts his hands into gun position and shakes them) - As Cactus Jack & Mick Foley
**Pulling his hair as [[Mankind]]
**[[The Charleston|Putting his arms into a cross position, putting them on his knees,and shaking them]] - As Dude Love
**Socko (showing his belt that Mr. Socko is in)
**As a Taunt to mandible claw, Mick rotates his arm two times
*'''[[Music in professional wrestling|Theme music]]'''
**"[[Welcome to the Jungle]]" by [[Guns N' Roses]]: Cactus Jack ([[Universal Wrestling Federation (Herb Abrams)|UWF]])<ref>Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.184)</ref>
**"[[Born to Be Wild]]" by [[Steppenwolf (band)|Steppenwolf]]: Cactus Jack ([[Extreme Championship Wrestling|ECW]])
**In the WWF, Cactus Jack used a [[Stock sound effects|stock]] rock song with a [[Western music|Western]]/[[blues rock|blues]] feel. Foley has said that the music has also been used in pornographic movies.
**Dude Love's theme music was a [[disco]] song. Foley wrote in ''Have a Nice Day'' that he was confused about why a 1960s hippie would use 1970s disco music.
**A song by [[thrash metal]] band [[Megadeth]]: Cactus Jack ([[International Wrestling Association of Japan|IWA Japan]])
**The Mankind gimmick started with two different pieces of theme music. His entrance music was a dark, [[classical music|classical]] string piece in a [[minor key]], and after winning a match, he would exit to a soft piano concerto named "Ode to Freud." After the Mankind character began to take off in 1998, he began using a faster version of the strings entrance music, with a drumbeat added.
**After his first WWF title win, Mankind entered and exited to a Federation-produced hard rock song called "Wreck," which begins with the sound of screeching brakes and a collision. Foley has used this upbeat theme during his post-retirement appearances and his return to wrestling.
==Championships and accomplishments==
*'''[[Continental Wrestling Association|Championship Wrestling Association]]'''
**[[CWA Tag Team Championship]] ([[CWA Tag Team Championship#Title history|1 time]])<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/tn/cwa/cwa-t.html|title=CWA Tag Team Title history|publisher=Wrestling-titles.com}}</ref> - with Gary Young
*'''[[Extreme Championship Wrestling|Eastern Championship Wrestling / Extreme Championship Wrestling]]'''
**[[ECW Tag Team Championship|ECW World Tag Team Championship]] ([[List of ECW Tag Team Champions|2 times]])<ref name=ECWtag/> - with [[Mikey Whipwreck]]
*'''Great Lakes Championship Wrestling'''
**GLCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
*'''[[International Wrestling Association of Japan]]'''
**IWA World Tag Team Championship ''(IWA Japan version)'' (1 time)<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/iwaj/iwaj-t.html|title=IWA World Tag Team Title history|publisher=Wrestling-titles.com}}</ref> - with [[Tracy Smothers]]
**IWA King of the Death Match in [[1995]]
*'''National Wrestling League'''
**NWL Heavyweight Championship (1 time)<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.solie.org/titlehistories/hwtnwl.html|accessdate=2008-07-05|last=Tsakiries|first=Phil|title=NWL - NATIONAL WRESTLING LEAGUE NWL HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE HISTORY|publisher=Solie}}</ref>
*'''Ozark Mountain Wrestling'''
**OMW North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time)<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/tn/nwa-mainevent/musiccity-h.html|title=MCW North American Heavyweight Title history|publisher=Wrestling-titles.com}}</ref>
*'''[[Pro Wrestling Illustrated]]'''
**[[PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year]] ([[1993]])<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.100megsfree4.com/wiawrestling/pages/pwi/pwiinsp.htm|accessdate=2008-07-05|title=Pro Wrestling Illustrated Award Winners Inspirational Wrestler of the Year|publisher=Wrestling Information Archive}}</ref>
**[[PWI Match of the Year]] (1998) <small>vs. [[The Undertaker]] in a [[Hell in a Cell]] match at [[King of the Ring (1998)|King of the Ring]]<ref name=MOTY>{{citeweb|url=http://www.100megsfree4.com/wiawrestling/pages/pwi/pwimoty.htm|accessdate=2008-07-05|title=Pro Wrestling Illustrated Award Winners Match of the Year |publisher=Wrestling Information Archive}}</ref></small>
**PWI Match of the Year (1999)<ref name=MOTY/> <small>vs. [[Dwayne Johnson|The Rock]] in an [["I Quit" match]] at [[Royal Rumble (1999)|Royal Rumble]]</small>
**PWI ranked him # '''46''' of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the [[PWI Years]] in 2003.<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.100megsfree4.com/wiawrestling/pages/pwi/pwi500yr.htm|accessdate=2008-07-04|title=Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Top 500 Wrestlers of the PWI Years|publisher=Wrestling Information Archive}}</ref>
*'''Steel City Wrestling'''
**SCW Tag Team Championship (1 time)<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.solie.org/titlehistories/ttscw2.html|accessdate=2008-07-04|last=Westcott|first=Brian|title=SCW - STEEL CITY WRESTLING TAG TEAM TITLE HISTORY|publisher=Solie}}</ref> - with [[Brian Heffron|The Blue Meanie]]
*'''[[World Championship Wrestling]]'''
**[[WCW World Tag Team Championship]] ([[List of WCW World Tag Team Champions|1 time]])<ref>{{citeweb
|url=http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wcw/wcw-t.html|title=WCW World Tag Team Title history|publisher=Wrestling-titles.com}}</ref> - with [[Kevin Sullivan (wrestler)|Kevin Sullivan]]
*'''[[World Class Championship Wrestling|World Class Wrestling Association]]'''
**[[USWA World Tag Team Championship]] ([[USWA World Tag Team Championship#Title history|1 time]])<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/tn/uswa/uswa-t.html|title=USWA World Tag Team Title history|publisher=Wrestling-titles.com}}</ref> - with Scott Braddock< '''(First)'''
**[[WCWA World Light Heavyweight Championship]] ([[WCWA World Light Heavyweight Championship#Title history|1 time]])<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/tx/wcwa/wcwa-lh.html|title=WCWA World Light Heavyweight Title history|publisher=Wrestling-titles.com}}</ref>
**[[WCWA World Tag Team Championship]] ([[WCWA World Tag Team Championship#Title history|2 times]])<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/tx/wcwa/wcwa-t.html|title=WCWA World Tag Team Title history|publisher=Wrestling-titles.com}}</ref> - with [[Gary Young|Super Zodiak II]] (1) and Scott Braddock (1 '''Last''')
*'''[[World Wrestling Entertainment|World Wrestling Federation]]'''
**[[WWE Championship|WWF Championship]] ([[List of WWE Champions|3 times]])<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwf-h.html|title=WWWF/WWF/WWE World Heavyweight Title history|publisher=Wrestling-titles.com}}</ref>
**[[WWE Hardcore Championship|WWF Hardcore Championship]] ([[List of WWE Hardcore Champions|1 time]])<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwf-hc.html|title=WWF/WWE Hardcore Title history|publisher=Wrestling-titles.com}}</ref> '''(First)'''
**[[World Tag Team Championship (WWE)|WWF Tag Team Championship]] ([[List of World Tag Team Champions (WWE)|8 times]])<ref name=Worldtag/> - with [[Stone Cold Steve Austin]] (1), [[Terry Funk|Chainsaw Charlie]] (1), [[Glen Jacobs|Kane]] (2), [[Al Snow]] (1) and [[Dwayne Johnson|The Rock]] (3)
*'''[[Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards]]'''
**[[Wrestling Observer awards#Bruiser Brody Memorial Award (Best Brawler)|Best Brawler]] (1991-2000)
**[[Wrestling Observer awards#Best on Interviews|Best on Interviews]] (1995, 2004, 2006)
**[[Wrestling Observer awards#Feud of the Year|Feud of the Year]] (2000) <small>vs. [[Triple H]]</small>
**[[Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame]] ([[Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame#2000|Class of 2000]])
==See also==
*[[Mick Foley's Greatest Hits and Misses]]
*[[Rock 'n' Sock Connection]]
==Notes==
<!--See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Footnotes for an explanation of how to generate footnotes using the <ref(erences/)> tags-->
{{reflist|3}}
==References==
===Video===
<!--See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_video for an explanation on video citations and also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Template_messages/Sources_of_articles/Generic_citations-->
*{{cite video|people=Foley, Mick (Subject)|year=2000|title=[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387413/ WWE - Mick Foley - Hard Knocks & Cheap Pops]|medium=DVD|publisher=[[WWE Home Video]]}}
*{{cite video|people=Foley, Mick (Subject)|year=2003|title=[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416980/ WWE - Mick Foley's Greatest Hits and Misses: A Life in Wrestling]|medium=DVD|publisher=WWE Home Video}}
*{{cite video|people=McMahon, Vince (Subject); Bishcoff, Eric (Subject)|year=2004|title=[[Monday Night Wars#Aftermath|The Monday Night War - WWE ''Raw'' vs. WCW ''Nitro'']]|medium=DVD|publisher=WWE Home Video}}
===Articles and interviews===
*{{cite web|last=Clark|first=Ryan|url=http://www.wrestlezone.com/article.php?articleid=105047066|title=Wrestlezone Article Detailing Mick Foley-Ric Flair Backstage Altercation |accessdate = 2006-08-23|date=2004-12-14}}
*{{cite web|last=Powell|first=John|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingArchive/jan5_foleywin.html|title=Mick Foley Wins WWF World Title, Dedicates Match to his Children|publisher=SLAM! Wrestling|accessdate=2006-08-23|date=1999-01-05}}
*{{cite web|url=http://cgi.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0003/17/lkl.00.html |title=Has Professional Wrestling Gone Too Far?|author= Larry King Live|publisher=CNN|accessdate=2006-08-23|date=2000-03-17}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.hobotrashcan.com/interviews/mickfoley3.php|title=One on One with Mick Foley (2007)|author=Joel Murphy|publisher=HoboTrashcan|accessdate=2007-03-30|date=March 2007}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.hobotrashcan.com/interviews/mickfoley.php|title=One on One with Mick Foley (2005)|author=Joel Murphy|publisher=HoboTrashcan|accessdate=2007-06-06|date=October 2005}}
==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
{{Portal|Professional wrestling|break=yes}}
*[http://www.wwe.com/superstars/wwealumni/mickfoley/ WWE Alumni Profle]
*{{cite web|url=http://www.steveswrestling.com/info/foleyinjuries.html|title = List of Mick Foley's Career Injuries| accessdate=2006-08-23}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.solie.org/titlehistories/|title=Solie's Title Histories|accessdate=2006-08-23}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.accelerator3359.com/Wrestling/bios/foley.html|title=Title History and Match History of Mick Foley| accessdate=2006-08-23}}
*[http://www.kepplerspeakers.com/speakers/speakers.asp?1-YE7A Mick Foley Biography]
*[http://www.myspace.com/officialmickfoley Mick Foley's MySpace]
{{Current World Wrestling Entertainment employees}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foley, Mick}}
[[Category:American professional wrestlers]]
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[[Category:1965 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
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