WWE legend Mick Foley asked WWE to “Please, please, please please have a great show” at Elimination Chamber .. Does Foley think WWE delivered?
https://twitter.com/realmickfoley/status/437801745289609216
WWE legend Mick Foley asked WWE to “Please, please, please please have a great show” at Elimination Chamber .. Does Foley think WWE delivered?
https://twitter.com/realmickfoley/status/437801745289609216
WWE legend Mick Foley has been very outspoken about WWE’s booking in recent months, specifically the unsatisfying finishes to pay-per-views. Ahead of tonight’s Elimination Chamber, Foley posted the following letter to WWE on Facebook:
“DEAR WWE,
Please, please, please, please, have a great show tonight.
As a fan of pro-wrestling – have a great show.
As a father of four who has ordered every PPV for the past year – have a great show.
As the guy whose big Christmas present to his family was a family trip to New Orleans for Wrestlemania, even though he knew he wasn’t likely to appear on the event – have a great show.
On behalf of all those other dads or moms who have done the same thing; spent considerable money on an event that thus far is not capturing our imaginations – have a great show.
As a Disney fan who wouldn’t want to arrive at the Magic Kingdom just to find out all his favorite attractions were closed – have a great show.
As someone who still remembers how it felt to be 18 years old and see Jimmy Snuka dive off the top of the cage – to see the magic pro-wrestling was capable of creating – and knows you have the ability and personnel to make people feel that same magic – have a great show .
As the estranged son who still loves his WWE family, and, no matter what, in some strange way, always will – have a great show.
Sincerely,
Mick Foley”
WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley posted the following on his Facebook page about the passing of Nelson Frazier Jr. (Big Daddy V):
GOODBYE BIG VIS
I was saddened to hear of the passing of Nelson Frazier Jr, better known to most of us as Viscera or Big Daddy V – a nice man, with a big heart and a great look – who left not only a unique legacy in the world of sports entertainment, but a unique mark on my own career, and an indelible memory in the minds of my children.
Although we faced each other only sparingly, I actually sought images of him my home every day for over a year when my children took turns drawing pictures of the fearsome figure, which found homes on the Foley family refrigerator. They Warint scared of him, so much as they were enamored of him – drawn to the contrast of the huge figure they watched on the television set, with the gentle man they saw backstage. My youngest son was terrified of mascots and characters for several years, a fear that actually left him hiding underneath a table at the Magic Kingdom, when Cinderella and her three mouse friends arrived at a character dinner. I tried to talk my little guy out of this illogical fear by reasoning with him.
“You’re not scared of Big Daddy V, are you”, I asked.
My son shook his head, no.
“How about The Great Khali”, I said.
Once again, he shook his head no.
“But 3 guys dressed in mouse costumes?”
Absolutely terrified!
Good bye Big Vis – you will be missed.
The following are highlights of a recent Bellevue Reporter interview with WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley:
On getting heckled by fans at his comedy events: “I tend not to get hecklers. I tend to get over-exuberant wrestling fans. Fans who don’t always understand that they shouldn’t shout out the endings to my stories. Because, if they’re fans, they already know how the stories end. Those people enjoy it, but it’s frustrating they don’t let me finish the stories. Fortunately, I’m experienced entertaining on Friday and Saturday nights, when some people are drunker than usual. But if that happens, I just stand back and let the club handle it. I don’t fear a heckler. I don’t take pride in shredding them apart, but I’m not afraid either. We’re supposed to be having laughs… I take honor in the act of entertaining people who laid down their money.”
On whether or not fans can expect a Mick Foley comedy special: “Yeah, yeah. I believe this is the year WWE is rolling out their TV network. WWE gets this option on a special from me and, if they decide they don’t want it, then I can take it elsewhere. But fans can expect a special with an hour of my material relatively soon. And I’ll be happy about that too, because then I can stop going on the air and saying, “Trust me.””
Check out the complete Mick Foley interview at BellevueReporter.com.
Earlier this week, WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley held a ‘Tales Of Wrestling Past’ comedy event from Nanaimo on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada.
During a Q&A session, Foley explained why his 2012 online feud wtih Dean Ambrose was abruptly dropped. Here’s a recap, courtesy of Reddit user /u/TheBronynSchulze:
“Last night I went to Tales from Wrestling Past with Mick Foley in Nanaimo, BC. If you ever have the chance to go, you absolutely must go. He’s a really funny guy with a lot of interesting stories. He did about an hour and a bit of telling stories and talking about his career and for the last hour of the show he took questions from the audience. I was lucky enough to be able to ask a few questions.
‘Who is your favorite current wrestler and why is it Antonio Cesaro?’ Followed by ‘What was the reason the potential Ambrose/Foley feud never happened?’
If you aren’t familiar with the potential feud, Foley and Dean had a viral video of them having a confrontation in an airport, followed by a number of tweets back and forth between them.
Ambrose’s tweets contained threats to him and his family, saying he wanted to make his kids become homeless and orphans. The belief among dirt sheets at the time is that Foley wasn’t okay with these comments and told Ambrose to stop, and he didn’t and that’s why Foley called off the feud.
Mick explained that he did actually have a problem with the tweets directed towards his family and he texted Dean asking him to stop. Ambrose continued after the text and had several tweets mentioning his family. Little to Mick’s knowledge, Ambrose was working a UK tour and his cellphone couldn’t receive texts. So Dean continued tweeting and working the feud on Twitter.
When Dean came back from the UK he pulled the tweets and apologized to Foley. The feud was still supposed to happen until Mick failed the impact test. The doctors told Foley he should never wrestle again. Foley would then go on to his own doctors who told him the exact same thing.
Foley said he was upset that he couldn’t have the feud with Ambrose, but he believes it was best in the end because Ambrose ended up debuting with the Shield.”
As previously reported, WWE has launched their first PodcastOne.com podcast with host Renee Young interviewing Shawn Michaels about WrestleMania. Company officials are apparently looking at expanding into more podcasts following the success of Steve Austin and Chris Jericho’s podcasts.
Additionally, following the success of Mick Foley’s live comedy touring act, WWE is looking at possibly doing some touring talk shows in comedy clubs.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
The following are highlights froma recent interview with Mick Foley:
On people who say wrestling is fake: “There is nothing worse than sitting on a plane for six hours next to someone whose first question to you was, ‘Is wrestling fake?’ You know you are not going to have a pleasant experience. I would never think of sitting down next to somebody and insulting what they do for a living. My general answer is, I say, ‘Every bit of it is fake,’ and then they say, ‘Every bit of it?’ Then I get people starting to come on my side and saying they know that some of that was real. That’s something I learned from Owen Hart. Just say ‘yes, every bit of it is fake.’”
On wrestling vs. writing: “Both of them are about commitment. You go back to Mr. Miyagi’s theory on life: If you stand on one side of the road you are fine, and if you stand on the other side of the road you are fine, but if you stand in the middle you get squashed like a grape. With wrestling, writing or performing on stage you either go all out or you don’t go at all. You don’t sit down to kind of write a book. You have to have your heart in it. I think in most everything I do the evidence is there — my heart has been in it when I am doing it.”
Check out the complete interview at TheProvince.com.
– Mick Foley has announced some details for the WrestleMania XXX rafle that we reported about on Monday. You can check out all of the information, including the prize packages, at RAINN.org.
– The song “Doomsday” by the band “Nero” will serve as the official theme song for the upcoming WWE Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.
– Former Tough Enough trainer Bill DeMott recently responded to a fan who asked him about the possibility of another season of the WWE reality show. DeMott tweeted the following response:
Fingers crossedRT @JTSisCENATION: @BillDeMott any chance of another Tough Enough competiton in the near future
— Bill DeMott (@BillDeMott) February 11, 2014
The following are highlights from a new Live Audio Wrestling interview with WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley:
On CM Punk’s WWE departure: “The last time I touched base with him was after the Rumble and I don’t want to discuss what he said exactly. I’ll just say I wasn’t shocked when he decided to leave because he and I – there is a deep, mutual respect there and we like each other. I would say to him after I watched him at a house show and I would say “geez, you don’t have to work that hard every night” and he would say “if I didn’t I wouldn’t be here” and I respect the work ethic and I understand if you’re hurt and you’re not enjoying yourself that it’s not the place to be.”
“I would hate to see CM Punk turn into what I did where my philosophy became “good enough is going to have to be good enough” and it wasn’t that philosophy that helped me succeed, to get me into the WWE Hall of Fame and I kind of regret going through a few years where things had to be that way. I don’t think Punk wants anyone to see him at anything less than his best and I know he’d been frustrated for a while. He’s a pretty outspoken guy and in the end he’ll make the decision that’s best for him. What I said and I’ll repeat for you guys, if he can reconsider one thing it’s not to let whether or not he’s officially the main event dictate how good his match is. If he had a big match coming up at WrestleMania I would encourage him to at least think about taking advantage of that. In 2006, in no way, shape or form were Edge and I the main event of WrestleMania but we had a great match…I didn’t walk away from that WrestleMania thinking it was any less special because we weren’t the feature so that’s the only piece of advice I’d give him, not to let those words “main event” dictate how important the match is but if your heart’s not in it, it’s not in it.”
On not being in the WrestleMania 15 main event and comparisons to Punk and Daniel Bryan: “There’s a piece of video, I think it’s been lost now, on the WWE (website) where I actually was asked about the match after I had lost the title to The Rock in February where it was obvious I was out of the WrestleMania main event picture and I didn’t realize how much it meant to me, what a blow it was and I broke down, I just started crying for real, on the interview. I didn’t realize it until that moment that “man, my one chance is gone”. I’ll be honest Daniel Bryan is more over than I ever was.”
“You have to seize these moments in time, I had confidence that even if that wasn’t my moment I was going to be okay and I had the ability, my character blended with a lot of guys in the ring. But I think this is a special moment and the WWE risks losing it if they don’t capitalize on it. I’ll be watching as a fan, I still love the company and by and large I still love the product, but I will be watching eagerly and hoping for the best possible outcome. I did receive confirmation that I will be involved in three or four events during WrestleMania week so I will be there, I will be part of the company that week and I want what’s best for the company and in my opinion that involves Daniel being a big part of that show.”
Check out the complete Mick Foley interview at LiveAudioWrestling.com.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley will be launching his WrestleMania Dream Vacation raffle tonight during WWE RAW at 9pm ET. The raffle will send some lucky fans to WrestleMania XXX in New Orleans and benefit RAINN, an anti-sexual assault organization that Foley has done some work with in the past.
– Brandi Rhodes, who as noted is again working under the name Eden Stiles, has been teasing something to happen on February 12th. She noted that she’s an “open book” and said it will be an adventure.
– Following his lengthy interview with Chavo Guerrero on the death of Chris Benoit on his “Talk Is Jericho” podcast last week, Chris Jericho noted recently that he will be having Christopher Nowinski on his show soon. Nowinski is the former WWE Superstar who examined the brain of Benoit after his passing.
– The WWE Battleground 2014 pay-per-view event was recently confirmed to take place on July 20th at the Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa, Florida.
– As previously reported, WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley is scheduled to host the Gotham Comedy Live special on AXS TV on Thursday night. The show begins at 10pm E.T. You can check out a preview for the show below:
http://youtu.be/xPOlDJtZj3c
The following is an excerpt from a new Mick Foley Facebook blog:
“Thanks, everyone for the great feedback on my CM Punk video. This is the first video of this type that I have done in a long time, and from what I’ve read, you’s like to see them more often. I’ve been asked by WWE to do a weekly RAW wrap-up show for the WWE website, but it’s important to me that they understand that if I am going to do a show for them that it be my own perspective, and that it be honest. It’s not in my nature to just go around bashing everything I see – which is why that tweet after the Rumble resonated so deeply with so many of you. So, if I do a show for them, it will likely be a lrgely positive show, but I won’t hesitate to point out problems where I think they exist. If I end up doing the show on my own YouTube channel, you will know that we couldn’t agree on either content, philosophy or money.”
Check out the complete blog at Facebook.com/RealMickFoley.
Mick Foley talks about CM Punk’s decision to leave WWE, his personal experience working with Punk and how he thinks WWE should bring Punk back.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley recently spoke to Newsday about his smashing of a television set in protest of WWE’s usage of Daniel Bryan. When asked if it made him feel better, Foley replied:
“A little bit, but once the family forbid me to do it live, or in the house, the act lost most of its power. But technically, I did break a TV in protest — even if my swing lacked a follow-through, a habit developed through hitting thousands of fly balls to my son in our backyard — where a follow-through would have meant pulling the ball to left, into the neighbor’s yard.”
Check out the complete article at Newsday.com.
– Vince McMahon posted a new tweet on his official Twitter account congratulating Darren Young for his GLAAD Nomination for “Outstanding Talk Show Episode.” McMahon tweeted:
Congratulations @DarrenYoungWWE on your nomination for "Outstanding Talk Show Episode." http://t.co/aqGFUMB81Y
— Vince McMahon (@VinceMcMahon) February 1, 2014
Mick Foley, Kevin Nash and Dolph Ziggler each commented on CM Punk’s decision to leave WWE this week.
I know that @CMPunk has been frustrated for quite some time. To his great credit, he never let that prevent him from giving less than 100%
— Mick Foley (@realmickfoley) January 29, 2014
Yes @cesarcasiano1 – I agrre that a @WWE without @CMPunk in it, is definitely not #BestForBusiness. But I understand his frustration.
— Mick Foley (@realmickfoley) January 30, 2014
@jeremynoble24 Punks beat up and burned out,works his ass off.Phil is a very smart guy he may just need to decompress.
— Kevin Nash (@RealKevinNash) January 29, 2014
keep voicing your opinions @WWEUniverse
but please stop asking me if im going to quit, its annoying
i still have a year left
— Dolph Ziggler (@HEELZiggler) January 30, 2014
Foley also said he’ll be writing a Facebook blog about the subject this week, so stay tuned for that.
– The latest edition of Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast is now available. On this week’s show, Jericho interviews M. Shadows from Avenged Sevenfold. You can check that out at PodcastOne.com.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley claims he has regained some excitement for this year’s WrestleMania following the way WWE booked Monday’s RAW. Foley tweeted:
Following #RAW, a little of that #Wrestlemania excitement started returning. I think @WWE NEEDS a great #eliminationchamber PPV, though.
— Mick Foley (@realmickfoley) January 29, 2014
WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley announced via his Twitter account that he has secured a live television special for his comedy act. The special will air on AXS TV on February 6th at 10pm.
Foley tweeted the following:
I am thrilled to announce that I will be performing on LIVE national TV – Feb 6, 10pm, AXS TV from @GothamComedy in NYC. Ticket details soon
— Mick Foley (@realmickfoley) January 28, 2014
In protest of Daniel Bryan not being entered in the Royal Rimble, WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley smashes his television set.
On Monday’s RAW, it was announced that Jake “The Snake” Roberts is the second member of the WWE Hall of Fame’s Class of 2014. Here are some tweets from Jake Roberts, Steve Austin, Mick Foley and the Ultimate Warrior regarding Jake’s upcoming induction:
The prodigal son is welcomed home. Thank you WWE & all my supporters for sticking by me. I hope all are enjoying as much as I am.
— JakeSnakeDDT (@JakeSnakeDDT) January 28, 2014
Congrats to @JakeSnakeDDT. #WWE HOF. It's about damn time. One of my all time favorites.
— Steve Austin (@steveaustinBSR) January 28, 2014
https://twitter.com/realmickfoley/status/428007230248472576
We've all been a-holes. Now two are #HOF inductees; each great yet unique in talent, each deserving. Congratulations, Jake.
— The Ultimate Warrior (@UltimateWarrior) January 28, 2014
Now, who will be the next a-hole inducted? This a-hole theme for #WWEHOF Class of 2014 is becoming interesting. I like it…let's run w/ it.
— The Ultimate Warrior (@UltimateWarrior) January 28, 2014
– As noted earlier today, the Daniel Bryan/Royal Rumble story was covered by the BBC News website in the United Kingdom. According to web statistics, the story was actually the most viewed article on the entire website at one point. As of right now, the article is the fourth most viewed on the site.
– Mick Foley continues to make his feelings about Sunday’s Royal Rumble known. The WWE Hall Of Famer changed his official Twitter bio to read: “Not happy with the Royal Rumble.”
– TMZ picked up Mick Foley’s negative reaction to Sunday’s WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view show in Pittsburgh. You can check out their coverage at TMZ.com.
– The Cleveland Plain Dealer has a new interview up on their website with WWE Superstar The Miz to promote tonight’s WWE RAW show. You can check that out at Cleveland.com.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Gerald Brisco will be holding a wrestling talent evaluation at this year’s George Tragos/Lou Thesz Hall Of Fame weekend in Waterloo, Iowa on Friday, July 18th. For more information, contact Troy Peterson at WresShow@Yahoo.com.
Mick Foley will be bringing his comedy tour to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, the home of fellow former WWE Superstar Chris Jericho, on February 19th. In promoting the appearance to the Winnipeg Sun, Foley mentioned that he plans to crack a couple of jokes at Jericho’s expense during the show.
“He and I have a very friendly rivalry,” said Foley. “I never once defeated him during my career — a fact he made obvious dozens of times during the course of his last book, so I have to win moral victories on stage over him.”
Check out the complete interview at WinnipegSun.com.
WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley posted the following blog sharing his feelings on the WWE’s booking of the Royal Rumble pay-per-view on Sunday night.
HEY WWE….WHAT THE F?
Yes, I’m going to put a brick through my TV. It’s just going to have to wait until tomorrow. I had every intention of putting a brick through my TV tonight, after seeing that Daniel Bryan was not even entered in the Royal Rumble match, let alone going to win the thing. But, upon seeing their dad with a brick in his hand, my younger children got a little bit scared, thinking their dad had lost his mind. A rather spirited debate about the wisdom of following through on the promise to put a brick through my TV ensued with my wife – and, as is usually the case in marital debates, I, being the husband, did not emerge victorious. Honestly, the points she made about mercury and glass fragments everywhere were pretty good ones.
But I’m still going to put a brick through my TV. It’s just going to have to wait until tomorrow – when the kids are in school, and I can take the TV outside the house for the actual throwing of the brick. Granted, it’s not nearly as dramatic as doing it live, right after the Rumble, but at least I will be keeping my word.
As I mentioned on Twitter, I’ve never felt so disgusted at the conclusion of a WWE (or any) PPV. Like many of you out there, I just don’t get it. This Daniel Bryan thing is a phenomenon. You get it. I get it. The fans in Pittsburgh (yes, I was thinking of writing “RIGHT TH…but I’m just not in a cheap pop mood) got it. But tonight, for the first time, I had to admit to myself that the powers that be are just not going to get it. And that makes me sad. I’m just honestly sad, just flat out fucking sad (yes, I dropped an F-bomb there to emphasize how F’ing sad I am for the guys who bust their butts night in and night out – Ziggler, Punk, Bryan, etc – with no hope of getting their shot at this year’s Mania.
You know who else I’m sad for? Me. In my two years as an official WWE Ambassador, I never once had to lie about my enthusiasm for the company or the product. Now, although I am no longer officially an Ambassador for WWE (believe it or not, my only official role in WWE is as GM for Saturday Morning Slam, a contract that ends in one month) I was till looking forward to being part of the biggest event of the year. I’ll probably end up going anyway. But I’m about 1/6th as excited about it as I was just a few hours ago. I wanted so badly to hear 75,000 WWE fans chanting “YES” – and seeing fans walk away absolutely ecstatic about the outcome of a PPV for the first time in a while…a long while. But when given the chance to make it happen (unless they’ve got something MAJOR up their sleeve) WWE’s answer tonight was a resounding “NO, NO, NO”
Read more from Mick Foley online at Facebook.com/RealMickFoley.
WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley has posted a new blog on Facebook and gave his thoughts on tonight’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view. Foley says he’s hoping for a surprise appearance from Jake Roberts and purchased a ‘nice, new, red brick’ that he plans to throw at his television if Daniel Bryan doesn’t win the Rumble. Here’s what he wrote:
WHO’S READY TO RUMBLE?
With the exception of Mania, this is the most wonderful day of the year for this wrestling fan. The Rumble match ALWAYS delivers – with plenty of drama, some humorous moments, and a couple of crowd-pleasing surprises each year. Like many of you, I’m hoping for an entry from Jake the Snake this year.
This year’s Rumble takes on an added dimension however. This year’s winner doesn’t get to choose his opponent, and become a participant in ONE of the main event matches at Wrestlemania; he becomes a participant in THE main event at Wrestlemania.
There is another added dimension to this year’s Rumble as well. In no other year that I can remember has there been such a groundswell of good-will towards one particular participant. I still have that brick – that nice, new, red brick – I purchased just for the Rumble (it’s right here beside me) and if DANIEL BRYAN doesn’t win this Rumble, I’m going to take that nice, new, red brick…and throw it through my television set.
I don’t expect you guys to take out your frustration on an innocent television set, but I do think there will be an AWFUL lot of AWFULLY disappointed WWE fans leaving the building tonight in Pittsburgh, and turning off their televisions around the world.
I like my TV. Here’s hoping that the nice, new, red brick I bought will never need to serve its purpose.
WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley recently posted the following blog on his official Facebook page:
A GOOD TALK IN CONNECTICUT
Yes, it looks like I will be sticking around a while. It’s probably foolish for me to even think about leaving WWE, especially knowing that whether I’m officially with them or not, they are always going to be part of me. I tried, really tried to distance myself from WWE a couple of times – at one point, I didn’t do anything at all with them gor over a year and a half (October 2001 – May 2003) and during all that time, in the hearts and minds of fans, I was still a WWE guy. Well, with the exception of one excited kid in New Hampshire who yelled out, “you’re the guy from Robot Wars” and a stunned UK memorabilia collector, who was overjoyed to meet his favorite novelist.
My official contract with WWE runs out soon, but we have mutually agreed to continue to work together on a case-by-case handshake deal – the same way I did some of my best work (remember the 2004 Randy Orton program) with WWE in the past. The only minor difference (other than not getting a weekly check…ouch) is that I will work prospective WWE dates and projects around my schedule, instead of working my schedule around prospective dates. With the success of my live shows (thanks everyone) I needed more flexability in my schedule. But WWE has shown some interest in partnering with me on these live shows in the future, and a WWE produced, first-class, multi-media one-man Mick Foley show has always been my long-term goal. As WWE showed with the roll-out of the new network, when they go into something, they go ALL in – and I’m crossing my fingers, hoping they’ll go ALL in on a fall 2014 15th anniversery “HAVE A NICE DAY” production – even if it’s just for a limited run.
Besides, the second issue of my WWE comic just came out, and Wrestlemania is just around the corner. My kids LOVE WWE, and the prospect of their being part of Mania, without Dad being part of WWE was a downer. They have great seats for the big show – Santa Dad sprung for the good seats (no more watching the show on a TV monitor in a crowded “Friends and Family” suite, 100 yards from the action, overlooking a parking lot for my gang) Besides, do you have any idea how expensive hotel rooms are in New Orleans on Mania weekend? Put my room on Uncle Vinnie’s tab, please.
Check out more from Mick Foley online at Facebook.com/RealMickFoley.