All language subtitles for Biography WWE Legends S01 E07 (Biography.Wwe.Legends.S01e07.720P.Web.H264-Dirt.m4v) (ENGLISH)

When you begin to write the
story of your life, sometimes

it's best to forego a grand
plan... and just put pen to paper.

A lot of times I'll just
go back and think about

all the questions I was
asked over those 20 years.

Does it hurt?

Are you some sort of psychopath?

Some sort of masochist?

You seem like such a normal guy.

Why would you
do that to yourself?

I used to answer all those
questions the same way.

I'm Mick Fowler.

This is what I do.

But June 28, 1998, that was the first time
I came face-to-face with my own mortality.

And now I was the one asking
the question, is it worth it?

Our neighborhood
was a great place.

It was small, but we had
some close-knit families.

My parents had been
here for almost 60 years.

Really, it hasn't
changed that much.

Still looks like a
good place to grow up.

My mom and dad used to always use
the word sweet to describe my demeanor.

I wasn't like a tough
kid or a bad kid.

I was a sweet kid.

To me this was
an idyllic childhood.

I would leave at 9, 9 30 a.m.

We would swim.

Swimming, playing frisbee, playing wiffle
ball, basketball, football in the street.

And my mom would ring a bell for
us when it was time to eat dinner.

We just got into so much
trouble, but you know, good trouble.

When I was eight years old, we
were playing kill the guy with the ball.

That was an actual game.

In diving for someone
who had the ball, their heel

kicked me in the bottom of
the lip and it bled profusely.

And I remember seeing the reactions
of people when they saw my blood.

And not disliking it.

My dad worked long hours.

He was the director of
health, physical education

and recreation for the
entire school district.

I was pretty shy in high school.

I was playing football and
basketball and lacrosse.

And I was definitely living in the
shadow of my dad, trying to break out.

I was becoming a peculiar
young man, very imaginative.

He was very creative.

It's funny because he
wasn't a macho, tough guy.

He was just, he
was a gentle spirit.

I was a running back
on the football team,

and they said they needed
another heavyweight.

I would wrestle
with Mick every day.

You know, we were in
there training together

and just kind of
beating each other up.

And it was, it was a blast.

We had a lot of fun.

He was quirky.

Always a weird
look, weird haircut.

One of the parades, he was
on a prom float and all that.

He was just crazy.

You're gross.

Everybody thinks
you're disgusting.

You wear the same
clothes every day.

You never comb your hair.

You're fat.

You're an animal.

You're the body
of a bowling pin.

I guess I've always
been self-deprecating.

I was never really comfortable with
the way I looked, especially physically.

I was always heavy set.

And I got teased a lot about it.

So I was beating people
to the punchline before

they could make their
own punchline about me.

Was that a tough period
for you and your dad?

Yeah.

Yeah, it was... we both
struggled a little bit to

find ways to bond, and
it was really wrestling.

That was like the glue
that held that relationship

together through
that three-year period.

That was the one thing, you know,
maybe we didn't get along the rest of the

week, but when it came
time Saturday night, you

know, hey, Dad, you want
to watch wrestling with me?

And the answer was always yes.

Hello, everyone.

Welcome to Madison
Square Garden.

Vince McMahon here at ringside.

You know, we were kids
if you watched Ivan Putski

and, you know, Billy
Graham and Andre the Giant.

All these wrestlers
had something.

Mickey didn't have any of
those qualities, none of them.

Oh, my God!

Unbelievable!

We would go outside,
film little matches.

Fuck off!

And I think I gave you a backbreaker,
and someone snapped a twig.

Someone snapped a twig, exactly.

And then I did the convulsions.

Oh, I think he might have
broke his neck on that one.

Number one, man!

You remember that,
Vince McMahon!

You remember that!

I had it on my
mind all the time.

It's really all I wanted to do or
watch was professional wrestling.

You walk out these doors, and
you're in the heart of the Big Apple.

The whole world revolves.

And right now it's revolving
around us, snooker.

In a cage.

Jimmy Superfly snooker
and the Magnificent Morocco.

He had a great future.

And it culminated with
a steel cage match.

And I knew, like, I
absolutely had to be there.

I was going to college
in upstate New York.

But I hitchhiked to be there
and paid for a seat right up front.

And I just vividly remember the way I
felt when Superfly gets up to the top rope.

You could feel that buzz, right?

Which is good.

But we all felt like there
was something better.

Go, right!

Jimmy to the top
of the steel cage!

I don't believe it!

15...

And even though I'm all by myself,
I now feel like I'm in a community,

like there's a feeling
of togetherness.

I remember thinking to
myself that one day, I wanted

to make people feel the
way that I felt right then.

I went back to school, and when I told my
housemates that I wanted to be a wrestler,

they all called me a weirdo.

I told my parents, too, and they
actually supported the idea, but it wasn't

something they would allow
me to drop out of school for.

So even though I was
obsessed with this wrestling

dream, I still tried to
have a normal college life.

There was a young lady I was really
fond of, and you could see it in her smile,

like her face would light
up when she saw me.

And I walked this young lady home,
and I believe we held hands, and I think

there was a nice parting kiss, and I said
to her, I had such a good time, Joanne.

She looked at me and said,
listen, I had a good time, too, Frank.

And I just, I felt my
little heart break.

I had no way to deal with the pain
that I felt except to write this story.

And when I got home for
summer break, my friends

and I recorded the
legend of Frank Foley.

I had a good time tonight.

Thanks a lot, Frank.

My name is Mick.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Good night, Mick.

So I create this fictional
character of dude love

who is essentially
everything that I was not.

Let me tell you
something about me.

I am the molten lava of lust, the
object of so many women's desires.

Long ago, I refused
to count them all.

It was a fairy tale.

It was dude love, one of the greatest
performers in the history of wrestling.

I may have been kicked around as Fat
Mick Foley, Fat Ugly Mick Foley, Mick Foley

with no chicks, but let
me tell you something now.

I'm telling you people out
in the audience, out there

in TV Wonderland, dude love
is another name for respect.

And I will get that
respect, brother.

I need respect.

And I found that I
was more natural.

Like, I was portraying a
character, but I wasn't acting.

I was feeling it.

My brother says, Hey, Teddy, we're
doing a movie about Mickie as a wrestler,

and we need you for a scene in, you
know, for a scene for like 15 minutes.

You're going to wrestle
Mickie in the backyard.

I'm like, okay.

He tells me these different moves we're
going to do, and then it's going to finish

by Mickie puts you down on this mattress,
and he's going to jump off the roof.

I just remember thinking,
that's got to be 20 feet high.

I'm like, this is
not a good idea.

And this is where the
magic took place, right?

Yeah.

Time.

Love must be 50,
60, 70 feet in the air.

Put your arms up.

Put your arms up.

Dude, look!

I stay up there an inordinate amount
of time trying to gather the courage.

Like...

Instead of leaping, I
kind of just went like...

You know, you're so
lucky because when you

watch that video, the
mattresses, they separate.

They separate, yeah.

And you, you know,
the roof is here, buddy.

Want one more try?

Absolutely not.

There was a charity
wrestling event at the high

school, and Mick came
to work security on it.

I was really fortunate.

My dad told the promoter that
his son wanted to be a wrestler.

He pulled me aside and asked
me if I wanted to join his ring crew.

And that meant when I went back to
college, I would come down at about a

250-mile drive a couple weekends a month,
and if I got the ring set up before the

fans arrived, he would have a veteran
wrestler, Dominic DiNucci, work with me.

The first time I came in here,
you couldn't tie your shoes.

Right.

Okay?

You were flipping over
your own feet in the ring.

I did not like the pain.

I liked the fact that I
seemed to have a hold over it,

and I had an ability to make
my opponents look good.

And that was something that
every promoter was looking for.

I turned pro after a year of
training, and I was just awful.

It looked like a mating
ritual of two bull elk.

I knew there was so
much more I had to learn.

So on the weekends, I was
working the independents,

and I did that all the
way through graduation.

It didn't matter to me that I was
getting $10 for a 900-mile round trip.

And while other college students are
going on their spring break, I'm in Polka,

West Virginia, in front of
26 people because I could

feel myself getting better
every time I went out there.

This was my life now,
and anything was possible.

I don't make it a point
to practice my hygiene

while leaning on
somebody else's truck.

But it's not the first time.

Yeah, I mean, you...

I've changed clothes
many times in cars.

There was a place called
the Admiral Perry Motor

Lodge that was $15 a
night when I broke in.

I would stay there every Saturday night,
but every Friday night was car night.

And I would pull over,
no matter how cold it was.

I had two sleeping bags
in the back seat of my car.

It felt pretty good to me.

I wanted to be Dude
Love, but I wasn't realistic

enough to know
that I wasn't there yet.

So I thought, let
me just find the most

generic, vanilla,
homogenized name I could find.

From Truth or Consequences, New
Mexico, 260 pounds, Cactus Jack.

I remember being at my buddy Brian
Hildebrandt's at his house in Pittsburgh,

and he's got this insider
wrestling newsletter.

I'd only heard rumor of.

And he goes, you're in it.

I said, I'm in it.

On every wrestling show, there's
gonna be a dozen, two dozen wrestlers.

Ones who do something spectacular that
make when you go home, you remember them.

Those are the ones who stand out,
and the rest of them kind of just blend in.

And very quickly,
he didn't blend in.

He was a guy who you
started hearing things

about, like, hey, this
guy's having good matches.

I remember it to this day.

It's Cactus Jack is the best no-name
independent wrestler on the scene.

Like, that was some really, really high
praise coming from the Wrestling Observer.

The people in charge read it.

And I had three
offers within a week.

That's how I became part of
the Memphis wrestling territory.

Uh-oh.

What is this?

A new recruit for the... I
know who he's talking about!

Cactus Jack!

Welcome to the stable, Benny!

This man right here is in the stable,
not because his name's Cactus Jack,

but because he's tough!

He's tough, baby!

And because he wins matches!

All right, we got gorgeous
Gary Young and Cactus Jack.

Young out of Little Rock,
Arkansas, and Cactus

Jack out of Truth or
Consequences, New Mexico.

Mick, from the very
beginning, had a unique...

not just aura about him,
but he had a unique style.

And now whips
him, but it's reversed!

And... Jack was
right behind him.

You know, nobody
was making any money.

So there wasn't necessarily
a reason to really go all out.

I wanted to be the guy who delivered
moves that nobody else could do.

Even if it was as simple as
saying, all right, back body drop.

Cactus Jack with Dundee!

Whoo!

Look at that!

Yeah, that's an
impressive-looking move in the ring.

Let's do it outside the ring.

Cactus Jack far
bigger than Mondo.

And right in front of us.

And out comes Cactus Jack.

Right hand!

Right hand!

Big brother Chavo!

People were genuinely
concerned for Mick.

Like, Mick, don't take
this crazy bump tonight.

Mick would have a sly grin.

He's like, ah,
thanks, but no thanks.

He was a good-hearted guy that would just
give and give and give to the business.

A lot of times, guys that
are like that get run over.

It was a great
learning experience.

I didn't feel like I fit in, but I
learned something every day.

And it was a perfect stepping
stone for a bigger opportunity.

Listen to the fans cheer.

The superstars of pro wrestling.

The greatest name in professional
wrestling today, the Von Erics,

have been for years.

World class, always looking
for villains for the Von Eric boys.

You didn't look like a Von Eric.

No.

Robert Fuller says, you
know, you remind me of Jacko.

I said, who's that?

He goes, you remind
me of that Manson feller.

I was like, Rob, I do not want to
be... associated with Charles Manson.

He says, Jacko, there's not too
many good paying jobs in this business.

A man like you could ride
a good gimmick a long way.

I decided, I'm
going to be this guy.

I'm going to do the best job
at being this guy that I can be.

Jack is Jack Manson.

The unorthodox division.

Jack is Manson.

Jack is Manson.

Jack is Manson.

And now sounds, away we go.

He is just beating young
Doug Masters to death.

Your winner, ladies and
gentlemen, Cactus Jack Manson!

I remember seeing
Cactus Jack Manson.

I was going to college at North Texas
State University, and I would go down to

the sportatorium, and
I was thinking, man...

Nice!

This guy is out of his mind.

He was fun to watch.

I mean, here was a guy that would
take every kind of crazy bump imaginable.

I thought I was a big bump guy at the
time, and then when I saw Cactus Jack,

I went, wow, this guy's got to
be nuts or something, you know.

Back in the day, he used
to run down that apron

and do that elbow off
onto the guy on the floor.

That's it, I'll get
him back in the ring.

Or is he?

Look out!

Look out!

Oh, my goodness!

He drops an elbow
out on the floor!

And that floor doesn't give!

And he would just
splatter himself down

there, and you would
hear this horrific thud.

I would go to the cameraman, and I would
say, you know, when you shoot the elbow

drop over my shoulder, we're kind of
losing the impressive perception of depth.

And the guy, what do you mean?

I said, can we come in
with a low camera shot?

And within a week or
two, you know, it looks

like I'm flying into
people's living rooms.

The hip buster!

The only wrestling move made for the
damage it does to the man who delivers it!

And I thought, well, I know how
much it hurts to land in the ring.

How is he doing that?

I did think to myself, what if I created a
style that had no loopholes, where no one

looking at a VHS tape, no matter how
many times they fast forward, slow motion,

they could find a secret.

The secret is, I was
really getting hurt.

Like, ta-da, there's
my magician's secret.

Like, yeah, if it looked like
it hurt, it's because it did.

Gary Young pulls me aside, and he says,
they're putting us with Enro Skandor Akbar.

He was Devastation Incorporated.

That was his group.

Oh, man.

It was like having a rocket
attached to our backs.

Hey, what's going on out here?

Someone crawled out
from underneath the ring!

It's Cactus Jack Benson trying to hit
home runs with Eric for that ball bat.

He may lose...

I walked out to find that my tires had
been slashed on my Plymouth Arrow.

I came back inside, and I said, I
don't know how I'm gonna get home.

Eric Embry goes,
what did you say?

I said, I don't know
how I'm gonna get home.

He said, no, no,
not that, not that.

I don't really care about that.

What else did you say?

I said, all my tires
have been slashed.

He said, all of them?

And I said, yes.

He looked at me and said,
you've got good heat, brother.

We're always looking for the
next star and we're always looking

to beat the other promotions
to grabbing the next stars.

So when Nick was
generating that type of buzz

in Texas, everybody
in the industry noticed.

Yeah, I've lost
two sets of teeth.

I lost these top ones
in a car accident.

And I was really concerned because I just
started working for WCW and I was worried

that having no teeth was
not going to be a good look.

As soon as I got back to
work in WCW, Jim Ross

took a look at it and
goes, I love the look.

He was a big teddy bear.

Just this great big kid that had a great
attitude, was happy to come to work,

make no money, give
him a hot dog, he's cool.

WCW was a crucial period for me.

It was the number two
wrestling company in the

world and I was essentially
there on a trial basis.

We found out very quickly that Nick was
not a typical pro wrestler who shows up

for work waiting for you
to tell him what to do.

He had ideas.

I started building an audience by
losing and attacking partner after partner.

Well, he's insulting
his partner.

No, he's not!

And... what's this?

Typical!

He's gonna run out of partners
soon if he keeps doing this.

Kevin Sullivan is
my tag team partner.

He looks for the tag
and I'm reading a book.

Yeah, there it is.

Wait a minute, what's the tag?

I was throwing so
many things at the wall

and not all of it
stuck, but a lot of it did.

I would have gladly
stayed in WCW, but the top

level and creative
didn't care for my style.

So that meant moving
back to Long Island, living

with my parents and doing
the independent circuit.

And the first show that I do is
for Tommy D, my first promoter.

So he has me handing out flyers at
the Raceway in Riverhead, Long Island.

While I'm handing out flyers, I see
the most beautiful woman in my life.

Like, I can't take
my eyes off her.

I had never been to car racing.

I was dreading it.

I mean, it was
not my cup of tea.

And then I saw this
very unusual creature.

Big, strong, hairy guy
signing some autographs.

And I said, hello,
I'm Cactus Jack.

She said, who's Captain Jack?

She was not a fan.

The first thing that I
saw were his eyes.

Then he had all this moppy
hair, which was adorable.

I could see he
was very innocent.

My friends saw us together.

They said, either he's a
drug dealer or he's rich.

That was the woman I
would go on to marry.

When I started seeing his videos,
some of the actions and behavior,

I really didn't like, like
being slapped in the face.

She just thought I was
capable of doing more.

That I could be that guy.

At the top of the card.

And from that point
on, every time I did an

independent show, I was
going to steal the show.

Battling in the gymnasium, Cactus
throws Eddie onto the bleachers.

I would tear apart these
high school gyms and

leave it looking like a
tornado had gone by.

Word started getting around to the point
now where WCW is looking for credible

heels to work with
their top guy, Sting.

And I get the phone call.

People say, Sting, have you
ever seen anything like that?

Have you ever seen anybody
who acts like they kind of like pain?

And I say, guess what?

Yes!

It came back as Cactus Jack, but
it was a much different character.

And it was mostly a
question of confidence.

Hello, Mommy!

World Championship Wrestling
has just given birth to a monster!

That's got to be the
most bizarre individual I've

ever been around in World
Championship Wrestling.

He's a sociopath.

He's a psychopath.

Now you're tapping
into Mick as an artist.

And now Mick had an
opportunity to show everyone

just how ahead of
the game he truly was.

One of you little Stingers,
you watch your step.

Because I'll go up in those stands and I'll
beat your parents up right in front of you.

It was a shot in the arm to him.

It was a career maker for me.

I'd given people so
much as a bad guy.

It was almost like they
could all simultaneously

understand this guy's
doing a lot to entertain us.

And there was a
connection there.

Mick threw himself
around, took crazy bumps,

would do anything
to get a match over.

Even to this day, I
don't like stuff like that.

I said, you know, you're not going to
be able to walk when you're 30 years old.

You know what I mean?

Don't do any of that.

You don't need to.

It's not wrestling.

Is it hard?

Do I respect it?

Yeah.

But that doesn't
make you, you know...

How many tables, everybody's
got Bruno San Martino.

How many tables did
he ever go through?

None.

Did he ever fall off a ladder?

None.

But he's so sensitive.

I went to him one time and I said,
you don't need to do that every night.

Sure, I was sensitive
to that type of criticism.

Because I felt like I knew
what I was capable of doing.

And I didn't feel like I'd
even scratched the surface.

I wanted to prove people wrong.

I wanted to prove that I could succeed,
that I could be something special.

There's a cycle
of life in wrestling.

The younger guys throw themselves
around and do crazy things.

And then the older guys who are 35 and
over, who've been through that and feel

it, they kind of like warn the younger
guys, you really, you know, don't do this.

And the young guys never listen.

When I wrote my book, I said,
you're a 300-pound stuntman.

I wanted him to
take it personally.

You know, his wife is beautiful.

The kids are
young and beautiful.

You know, we get hurt enough.

I felt like in Germany, it
was not a sold-out building.

And I had seen him take this bump
that he learned from Dory Funk Jr.

, where Dory would get his
foot caught in the ropes, right?

It was a really
good-looking bump.

And Mick now would get his head cut,
you know, as crazy as Mick was, right?

And I told him, I
said, don't do that.

We're in Germany.

Nobody gives a.

You know, we're trying to create
the illusion of hanging by my neck.

And the way we create that illusion is
I'm actually going to hang by my neck.

But on this night, I
couldn't get the ropes up.

They were too tight.

And I felt like I
was a fox in a trap.

You know, like, I've got
to get out of this thing.

And when I did, my right
ear did not come with me.

Where were you, backstage?

I was watching it, yeah.

I was looking
through the curtain.

What was going
through your head?

Stupid mother.

You got nothing to prove.

When I'm on my way to the hospital,
instead of being down about it,

I'm thinking to myself,
imagine the promos I can cut.

Those were the words I
said April 16th, 1994, as the

ambulance pulled into the
hospital in Munich, Germany.

It means, don't forget to
bring my ear in the plastic bag!

Mick's like, okay, it's horrible I lost
my ear, but, you know, me and Vader,

we could have this rivalry that goes for
years and years and years based on this.

And, you know, Eric
Bischoff didn't see that.

Bang, bang!

Stay with us.

We'll be back.

I'm Eric Bischoff
for WCW This Week.

His style was a real issue
in WCW because Mick really

wanted to do things that
were just too dangerous.

You know, flying off the balcony
out onto a table next to the ring.

Eh, it's not worth it.

He was a liability.

I'd worked too hard to leave my
future in someone else's hands.

And so, without consulting my
wife, and with two small children and a

mortgage, I left a six-figure
job to find a place where

my talents would be a
little bit more appreciated.

Yeah!

When I left WCW, I knew there
was wild organizations in Japan.

Some people called them garbage wrestling,
but I didn't think that was appropriate.

But blood and guts, yeah,
that was an appropriate moniker.

Ah, man, there were
some small crowds.

While those ropes are being taken down,
barbed wire is being put up in its place.

And for anybody wondering,
like, real barbed wire?

Like, this was Japan.

There's stuff.

Sticklers for details.

Cactus Jack, I think I saw, I guess
it was Japan, like a death match.

The IWA King of the Death
match is the one tape I had to have.

I wanted to see this
tournament, and I sought it out,

and I got it, and I watched
it, and it was pretty crazy.

I remember seeing tapes
of those matches, too,

and I just couldn't
believe what I was seeing.

They were...

They were different.

Did Colette worry?

Did she tell you, just, please don't
go out there and get killed in the ring?

No.

Uh, you do toughen up to that, but I
was always comfortable in his judgment.

It was just like, this guy is
a psychopath, you know?

What is the human
body capable of?

I didn't really care
for all this crazy crap.

Look, there's an audience
for slasher movies.

There's an audience
for horror movies.

A lot of people
really love that genre.

It's the performance I'm proudest of
because it's where I suffered the most.

I mean, it was almost spiritual.

And the final is
with Terry Funk.

The ring is laced with
real barbed wire, and

then among there,
they've got C4 explosives.

When I landed on those
explosives, ah, it felt like a shotgun.

I felt like I'd been shot.

Like, we were both in the
hospital after that match.

I kind of convinced
myself that I did it because

I had a family and
because I had a mortgage.

But I took a look in my eye, and I
said, you can't fake that type of joy.

Like, there was part of
me that did not mind being

in that environment because
I knew I was good in it.

I was bleeding in so many places that I
don't even remember that I'd been burned.

It doesn't even occur to me
until I'm on the plane the next day.

He walks into the
house, sits down.

I said, Mick, I
think there's a fire.

Something's burning.

I took off my jacket.

I said, it's me, and I
wrestled two days later.

D.D.M., D.D.M.

D.D.M., D.D.M.

D .D .M., D.D.M.

D.D.M., D.D.M.

D .D .M., D .D .M.

D .D .M.

D .W .A.

Oh, my God!

ECW was my vision to
completely disrupt the industry.

ECW was like a different world
from nationally televised wrestling.

It's a cult thing.

If you were a certain age and you were a
guy mad at life, you're drunk on Saturday

night, and you watch TV
at 2 in the morning, and

ECW was on, it was the
greatest thing in the world.

ECW!

ECW!

They developed a very
loyal and niche following

who could not get
enough blood and guts.

He fit luckily well there.

He liked that stuff.

And the ECW
audience loved him for it.

One night, I asked the fans
in Philadelphia for a chair.

That audience, they'd run over you,
spit on you, and just jump back in the car.

Paul Heyman grabs me and
he goes, will you turn heel?

Yeah, sure I will.

All I knew is I needed a reason.

Mick Foley, who sacrifices more of his body
than any other performer at that level.

What if we went the other way?

I just thought back to a fan who
had a sign that said, Kane Dewey.

Kane is a verb.

To hit someone with a cane,
that's someone being my son Dewey,

because I had been talking about
Dewey in some of my promos.

One of the super fans makes
a sign with my permission.

He shows it to me.

Ah, I don't care.

It wasn't until I told my wife about the
sign and saw her visceral reaction to it.

Like, she literally got
sick to her stomach.

And so I used real-life anger
to fuel the best promo of my life.

Cactus, you ready?

Yeah.

I'm gonna take you back to a
very deciding point in my life.

When I looked out into the sky, I
looked to that audience, my adoring

crowd, and I saw two simple
words that changed my life.

Kane Dewey.

Somebody had taken the time and the effort
and the thought to make a sign that said,

Kane Dewey.

Dewey Foley is a
three-year-old boy.

Sons of bitches.

You ripped out my heart.

You took everything I believed in
and you flushed it down the damn toilet.

I gotta listen to my little boy.

Every day of my life,
say, Daddy, I miss Atlanta.

And I say, it's too bad, son,
because your dad traded

in the Victorian house for
a sweat box in Long Island.

Your dad traded in a hundred...

thousand dollar contract, guaranteed
money, insurance, respect, to work for a

scumbag who operates out of a
little pissant pawn shop in Philadelphia.

Great promo.

You okay?

I thought... That's
a piss in here, so...

Mick got into the psyche
of that ECW audience.

They knew this guy could come in
and deliver the violence and the gore that

they wanted, but he
wouldn't give it to them.

Tonight, we're not
gonna break any tables.

We're not gonna use any chairs.

And we're gonna have one hell of
an Olympic rules wrestling match.

The rules of the
NCAA are as followed.

There will be two points
awarded for each takedown.

That was a joke, right?

There will be one point
awarded for each escape.

I started pandering to them,
which they hate even more.

I'm hardcore.

I'm hardcore.

Look.

I can't even wear glasses
because my ear's missing.

I'm hardcore.

That sounds good.

Let me just put this
pen behind my ear.

Whoops.

That's when I shaved.

Like, how dare you?

Happy hardcore
holidays, everybody.

This is Cactus Jack
and the rest of the bullies

here to wish you a happy
holiday hardcore season.

Mommy.

Mommy.

Mommy.

We love you.

Mommy.

He did promos on
merry-go-rounds with his daughter.

This is extreme.

I did get a beautiful
wife by being hardcore.

Isn't that right?

Yes, it is.

What am I?

Hardcore.

His promo skills came out.

His storytelling
ability came out.

And that's what made us go, hmm,
now you can make money with that.

It was always clear to me that
WWE would never want me.

I would call one time every
year to see if there was any

interest, and I would be
dismissed within 30 seconds.

Vince McMahon was not a fan.

Vince, what do you think of the blood
and guts Cactus Jack character that did all

those crazy things in
Japan in the first place?

I thought it was kind of
degrading to our product.

It didn't have any talent.

And just a déclassé.

I had heard a rumor that the adjective
he used to describe me was sleazy.

Yeah, Vince was
not high on the look.

But I told Vince, I said, you've never
been in the locker room with him.

You don't know
what you're missing.

Jim Ross and myself
convinced Vince to just meet him.

If you don't like him, we
don't have to move forward.

When I finally got him to relent about
hiring Mick, he said to me, I want you to

know what it feels
like to get your heart

broken by a talent
that you truly believe in.

Because I'm just telling
you, this ain't gonna work.

I'm at the WWE offices
to meet with Mr. McMahon.

And they've got this
sketch, an artist's rendering

of a guy who looks to
be wearing an iron mask.

And I said, but
that's taking away.

Like, my facial expressions,
which are a strong point.

He's like, no, we're
not gonna hide them.

We're gonna accentuate them.

He said, what do you think, pal?

And I think it's the worst
thing I've ever heard.

I talk it over with
my wife for hours.

We both knew my body
had only so many years left.

And we agreed, get in,
make some money, save

some money, and try to
retire by the time I'm 35.

Oh, that's an original.

Oh, yeah.

Dismash.

The best thing that
ever happened to me.

Merry Christmas, Noel.

Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas, Dewey.

Merry Christmas.

Mickey, look what
Dewey has for you.

Oh!

I do have it on upside
down, but... I do?

Yeah.

I can get you two.

Ah!

Mitt had this mankind idea that
this is the representation of mankind.

And you get these
philosophical ideas.

These philosophical
thoughts of this crazy

man in a cell whose
only friend's a pet rat.

And it was kind of a horror story
presentation in the beginning.

Um, but in a fun way.

Not as violent as I think
what Mick was used to.

You understand me,
don't you, George?

You understand that
mankind is in agony!

Mommy!

Leave the light on!

I never heard of Cactus Jack
when I was a kid growing up.

I mean, I loved mankind.

It was sort of like a
lost soul in a sense.

As an 11-year-old, I was like,
man, this guy's freaking crazy.

You know, to see this guy in this crazy
mess actually pulling his own hair out.

I mean, didn't he really
pull his hair out, right?

To me, it always reminded
me of Hannibal Lecter.

You like some Freddy Krueger?

I like Freddy Krueger vibes.

I'm like, man, this is scary.

That is a...

Wait a minute, wait
a minute, look at that!

Look!

He's got his fingers jammed
down his... down his throat!

Down his esophagus!

Mankind!

Oh.

People visiting
backstage, like, you know,

poor Make-A-Wish
children and their families.

I'd go to say hello and
these children would run.

I was always high on Mick, and I
always thought, okay, that's a perfect type

character for the Undertaker.

Someone that kind of can
be on the same wavelength.

I don't hate you, Undertaker.

I love you.

Like a child loves a pet.

Roll over, Undertaker!

Heel boy!

Best of all, I did!

No one had ever really
pushed The Undertaker

to the limits in the
way that Mankind did.

Such an interesting dynamic and such cool
chemistry, and Undertaker was able to show

some vulnerability which
he'd never shown before.

I mean, we had very live
matches, boiler room brawls.

You know, while you're in
the middle of it, you're just

thinking, this is really good
stuff that no one else is doing.

Obviously, such a huge part of my
career and my history is tied to Mankind.

We shot vignettes on
this one night in the middle

of a cemetery and a
lightning storm starts.

And you will never...

rest...

in peace.

Oh, well,.

Jeez.

Man, a lot.

And Mick says,
God, it's raining.

This is great!

He was covered head
to toe in mud and muck.

Mick could adapt to anything.

Not everybody could
have pulled that off.

Once Mick got in the fold, and he had time
to interact with a lot of the producers,

the TV people, we started realizing
we got a diamond in the rough here.

A lot of people were surprised at the
fact of, again, how articulate he was and

thoughtful and how well-spoken he
was, because just from the sheer stuff that

they had seen, you thought
that this guy was masochistic.

I mean, he was, but, you know,
there was all another side of him.

Mick is charming.

Uh, and, um...

and, um...

gregarious.

He's just a different cat.

He's always up-spirited and
in a good mood, you know.

I don't know how he's done
all these years without drinking.

He doesn't drink, you know.

That's really upsetting.

Everybody in the locker room
knew that he wasn't a party guy.

He was not a go-out guy.

He was a family guy.

I think it was accepted that I was, uh,
a guy that, uh, missed data and did a

lot of reading, visited
museums, battlefields.

The guys would be going out
to strip bars, and he would be

running, trying to catch the last
flight and be home for the kids.

I felt pretty good about having
my priorities in the right order.

I was trying to be the best
dad I could possibly be.

And the Undertaker,
look at this!

Look at this!

I knew that Mick could
come in and hit in the

top of the line, uh,
against the Undertaker.

But what's gonna happen to Mick
after that Undertaker feud ends?

I thought at that time Mick would be still
contributing, still earning a good living,

but I never envisioned the Hall
of Fame and all this other success.

Mick was always
offended by people's

expectations, because
they were always too low.

Inside, as humble as Mick could
be, Mick knew how great he was.

So if you tell Mick Foley, we have
15 seconds of television time for you,

and his performance is so great, the
next week you're giving him a minute,

and the next week you're giving him three
minutes, and the next week you're going to

him and saying, how
much time would you like?

I think it was understood
and appreciated that

I could work with almost
anybody on that card.

One of my favorite opponents
was Shawn Michaels.

We'd never had a match until we
main-evented a pay-per-view in 1996.

I'd never worked with Mick, and you're
wondering how it's gonna go, because now

I'm sort of known as the real finesse
worker, and that wasn't Mick's style.

What I remember more
than anything was the different

kind of creativity that
Mick brought to the table.

There were things that
we did in this match that

a WWE crowd had not seen,
had not been exposed to.

The end of the night,
and Shawn's in the locker

room, Mick's in the locker
room, and they're talking.

Shawn says, is this always
how you pictured yourself?

This dark character?

I laughed.

I said, no, actually,
I wanted to be you.

And he looks at me quizzically,
and I said, no, no, no, not Shawn

Michaels, but I wanted to be the guy who
fans adored, who women flocked around,

who felt that degree of love.

I can remember him, you know, finishing
with him, but of course it didn't work out

that way, because, you
know, I ended up like this.

And then I told him I actually had this
character, Dude Love, that I'd created,

and it turns out that Bruce Prichard
was listening to the conversation.

And as he's doing it, I'm
laughing, I'm going to do this.

I said, oh, my
God, that's great.

I said, I'd love to see that.

He goes, I've got tape.

Bring me this tape.

We're here for only one reason.

One reason only.

Fame, honor, fortune.

Mr. McMahon came to me with the
idea of doing these in-depth interviews.

You see, when I was a kid, I
played cowboys and Indians.

Now, who were the good guys?

The cowboys coming over the hill to
rape, pillage innocent women and children.

I was always the Indian Jimmy.

I always stood for the underdog.

It was all there.

Mick jumping off the
roof, hitchhiking to see

Jimmy Snuka, the dream
of becoming Dude Love.

Mankind was the character in the
chair, but suddenly it wasn't just Mankind.

It was now Mick Foley.

I never wanted
to be Cactus Jack.

I figured, here is a horrible
name for a horrible wrestler.

By golly, as soon as
I get the ability, then

I'll get that heart-shaped
tattoo on my chest.

I'll put those earrings in,
and I'm going to get the girls.

And it never really worked
out the way it did it, Jimmy.

Not quite.

I was like, man, this guy is
incredible, and I want to learn more.

You know what you tell the
people week in and week out?

You say, look at Mankind.

I don't even know
if he feels pain.

Or maybe he likes pain.

But you see, I feel just
like every other person!

You see that?

It hurts!

Is it when I can't get up?

When my little boy says, Denny, I
want to play ball, and I can't do it?

Is that where the fun starts?

Is it where a doctor
injects a 12-inch needle into

the discs in my spine so I
can wrestle one more day?

One day!

Vince thought it was great.

Because it was real.

I'd been told when I came in that you
could never really get to the top of WWE

until Mr. McMahon
personally became a fan.

And in my opinion, he had not
personally become a fan until that night.

Mick always had that
connection with the audience.

And I really never saw
it before he came here.

I thought, we're never
gonna bring that guy in.

But he does.

He has a genuine connection.

And... not many
people have that.

Oh, this appears to be one of
the original Dude Love shirts.

Yes.

Oh, that would fetch about
$500 on eBay these days.

I'm not kidding.

This was when Vince
saw the potential to grant

this wish and allow
me to live out my dream.

Ow!

Steve-O!

Looks like you could
use a little help, my man.

Like maybe a tag-team partner?

What's the matter?

Don't you recognize me?

Now, I don't blame you for not teaming
up with that mutilated freak, Mankind.

But you never said nothing about teaming
up with the hippest cat in the land.

Steve-O!

Baby!

It's me, Dude Love!

And I am coming to save the day!

Oh, have mercy!

I remember him
practicing it backstage.

And I was just, like,
shaking my head.

As he was in his tie-dyed stuff.

And I was like, this is the
guy that I went to war with?

Dude Love was
my personal favorite.

Just because it
showed Mick's range.

Now I just gotta try to explain
this stuff to my wife, right?

No, it just felt
so good in there.

I didn't, you know... It would have
been nicer if they were your kisses.

Yeah, Dude got Steve
to break character.

We were on a
couple of occasions.

I don't think Mick ever
broke me on on-air stuff.

I think the one time when
him and Vince were dancing

on the stage, I kind of
let a little bit of smile out.

It made people feel good.

That's what Mr. McMahon
really liked about it.

He said, Dude Love
makes people feel good.

Now, Mick Foley is appearing sometimes on
the same show as Mankind and as Dude Love.

You know, I remember the
movie Sybil way back in the day.

It was almost like
split personalities.

Now, Dude Love, you are not me.

You're not even you, you idiot.

You thought you'd seen the three faces
of Foley, but there was that one guy left.

As much as I've dreamed about destroying
Hunter Hearst Helmsley, I know you have.

as very horrible things as I'd
like to do to him, I know you can.

I know someone who
dreams about him even more.

Captain's Jack is back.

And Mrs. Foley's little boy.

Bye-bye.

Bye-bye.

Bye-bye.

The garden just came unglued.

In my mind, I'm thinking about Mr. McMahon
and I'm thinking, I told you so.

See how smart Mick is.

That means he had three
different action figures.

Mrs. Foley's baby boy, no dummy.

Undertaker versus Mankind.

Hell in a Cell.

It's one of the most
surreal and real professional

wrestling matches
that you've ever seen.

Mick would have
his pay-per-views.

My mother would say, hey,
just give me the videotape.

And right after Hell in a Cell was
over, I called her up and I was like,

trust me when I tell you, you
don't want to see this match.

I've been involved in so many Hell in
a Cell matches, but I think most people,

when they think of
Hell in a Cell, they think

of Mick Foley and the
bumps that he took there.

I've had kids come up to me and talk
about it that weren't even born in 1998.

It's taken on a life of its own.

Mick had kind of, I don't
want to say hit the wall.

That might be a little strong.

But he wasn't setting
the world on fire.

And the company wasn't going
out of its way to feature him.

Honestly, I felt like my
character had plateaued.

We had asked an awful lot from the
audience to accept that I could go from

being mankind to dude love, to
Cactus Jack, to all three simultaneously,

to heel Cactus Jack,
to corporate dude love,

and now he's back to
being corporate mankind.

Talent can get inside
their own head a lot.

You're not hearing the same
volume of reaction, and it's

not exactly what you think
it should be every night.

That'll mess with your head.

You know, Mick
was very concerned.

Because Shawn Michaels and
I had had the first hell in the cell.

It was a really good match.

And Mick's like, well, you got
to do something bigger than that.

He says, what do you think about
throwing me off the top of the cell?

I was like, no, you're crazy.

Didn't want any part of it.

For two weeks, I asked him.

Every night for two weeks,
he would shoot that down.

And he was adamant.

Like, no, I think
it'll be great.

I think I can do it.

Well, I think.

He just looked at me
and said, I'll think about it.

What do you
remember from that day?

It's really weird, because I don't
remember my childhood at all.

Like, I remember little pieces here
and there, like hanging out with my dad.

But I don't remember
anything wrestling.

Part of me thinks I
blocked that out of my life.

I remember the day pretty well.

It's kind of crazy.

I'm six years old, and
Noelle's four years old.

And we get a call from
my dad saying, just so

you know, tonight it's
going to be pretty bad.

I'm just standing there.

I'm sitting there at
the top of the cell.

In my head, it's
just, it's an eternity.

Like, Mick, move.

It's over.

That cage is 16 feet from here.

Everyone was freaked
out, including me.

This was too far.

It was like, wait a
minute, you've set

yourself on fire in Japan
or whatever you did.

But this was more
over on my watch.

Look at the raise of the cage,
and the Undertaker's still on top.

Well, I think they've
raised the cage somewhat.

Oh, OK.

So that we can get the
EMTs there with a stretcher.

We kind of thought,
like, all right, that's good.

The worst part is over.

As quickly and as unusually as
this match started, it has ended.

I remember being in the back going,
oh, my God, I'm going down there.

You OK?

Yeah, I'm fine.

I'm good.

You don't look good.

That was a pretty ugly bump.

No, no, no, no.

I'm fine.

I got it.

Continued on in the match.

I was walking around backstage
and trying to get ready for

my match, and I'm hearing
this crowd go absolutely crazy.

And then I wander by the monitor to
see what everybody's watching, and I'm

thinking, I don't think
we can follow this.

The cage is attached just like
a chain-link fence in your yard.

They had, like, metal twisteds
that secured the actual mesh.

To the pole.

If you took a step or
you pushed off to throw

a punch, you could
hear these twists flying.

You know, they were... And I

really believed that.

I mean, that was not the
commentator in me coming out.

That was just Jerry Lawler talking to
Jim Ross, you know, saying, he's dead.

Well, somebody
stop the damn match!

And that's enough!

I thought he had
planned this whole thing.

I was cursed.

I was cursing
and yelling at him.

I remember her
screaming and just...

I don't think she knew that
that part was gonna happen.

The idea was that Undertaker
would chokeslam Mick.

And the cage
would start to give.

And it would start to sag.

But Mick went through that
damn cage like it was nothing.

That wasn't the
worst part of it.

The worst part of it was
on the cage was a chair.

That came down after Mick.

And hit Mick right in the face.

Oh my.

He looks up and all of a sudden I realized
his tooth is coming out of his nose.

It looks like a
booger's in his nose.

But it's his tooth that
is stuck out of his nose.

And he's laughing.

Falling through the
cage backwards.

Knocking his teeth
through his lip.

I mean, knowing our history
and what I've said to him.

I thought, he
loves the business.

And that was my resolve.

He just loves the business.

You know, Mick, man.

I mean, he's the
king of punishment.

It seemed like he's okay to me.

I mean, he was up.

You know.

But Mick's Mick.

I mean, that guy's
tough as nails.

You know, he's
obviously not all there.

Because I'm hitting him.

And I'm saying,
Mick, just stay down.

But he had to get
to those thumbtacks.

Some sort of bag or something.

He's got a man.

Oh, gosh.

What is that?

Thumbtacks.

Uh-uh.

It's funny now.

But I'm thinking at the time.

I'm like, I've thrown you
off the top of this thing.

I've thrown you
through this thing.

And, I mean, there's nothing
else that you need to give, Mick.

No!

Oh, God!

And there's the pinstripe!

I went into the match.

I had a broken ankle.

And I remember him asking me.

How I was.

And I was...

Are you kidding me?

Seriously.

Yeah, I got a broken ankle.

It's not a big deal, dude.

You've just about broke
your neck and your back.

And you've got about 150
tacks stuck in you at the moment.

I wasn't done for the night
when I finished with the match.

I came hobbling out to
interfere in the main event.

And almost the entire crowd, instead
of being mad at me, was just, like,

collectively saying, Son, don't
you think you've had enough?

I was banged up, for sure.

My shoulder was dislocated.

My jaw was dislocated.

I had 14 stitches
underneath my lip.

Vince walked in, and he said,
Mick, you have no idea how

much I appreciate what you've
just done for this company.

But I never want to see
anything like that again.

Hi!

You two nut jobs!

What is your favorite match?

Favorite memory of
your dad as a wrestler?

Favorite memory is when
he was getting hurt the least.

We're two little kids
watching our dad get his...

just get beat up.

All I could think about was, I
hope he's gonna be all right.

I hope it's not
too bad this time.

I hope he makes it
back home in one piece.

He would tell us this was his job, to
outdo what the person before you just

did and to make sure
that when people go home,

they talk about what
you did with your match.

But he's paying for it now.

I found myself struggling in
the aftermath of Hell in a Cell.

That connection
wasn't there yet.

But if you'd said, this Mankind
character is missing something, what is it?

Not one person in a million
would have said, sock puppet.

Mr. Socko actually comes
from very humble origins.

I was heading out the door to
visit Mr. McMahon at the hospital.

He was hooked up to a heart monitor
and a respirator for a bruised ankle.

Because that's the
way we roll in WWE.

And all I knew is I
had a selection of gifts

that had to get me
thrown out of his room.

Vince, it's me.

I saw what happened and I felt really
bad, so I brought you some presents.

Take ahold of these.

Weren't they colorful?

I had a box of chocolates
that was largely eaten.

I had a birthday party
clown named Yerple.

They were filming the
stuff with the nurse, and me

and Mick were crammed
in a little bitty bathroom.

And he pulls out this sock
and he puts his hand through it.

And I said, you
gotta be kidding me.

Weren't two grown men
laughing our asses off?

What the hell are you doing?

Mr. Socko!

Say hello to Mr. Socko!

Mr. Socko knows you've
been feeling mighty bad,

so he's gonna give
your boo-boo a big kiss.

Hey, hey, ah!

No, Mick, please.

Please, just please.

Mr. Socko!

I wasn't a huge
fan until Mr. Socko.

Like, when Mr. Socko came, it
was like, oh, I'm totally into this guy.

This guy's great.

I love me some Mr. Socko.

I don't know!

Why?

Just because, like, the way
he was drawing on there.

Like...

Mr. Socko just
felt like, just...

just innocence.

Vince Russo, the writer, comes up
to me, he's, bro, you got the sock?

I said, I don't know.

Why?

He goes, they're
chanting for him.

They've got signs out there.

What you doing here?

I ain't kinda taking
that shoe off.

And luckily, I had a
finishing move that was

tailor-made for the
use of a sock puppet.

It may be!

No!

He would, like, pull it from
different areas in his body.

And there it is!

Mick is not the most coordinated guy,
so when he comes and puts that thing in,

man, it would, like, hit
you in the side of the

face and this way and
this way and up your nose.

It's disgusting.

What, you didn't like a
sock stuck in your mouth

that had been sitting in
someone's sweaty groin?

It was, uh...

You know, it was, um...

It's not the best thing that's
ever been put in my mouth.

The thing that Mr. Socko did was allow
Mick Foley to sort of cross over to the

other side and go over
into the mainstream.

There's Socko.

I have Mr. Socko.

Chef Goyardy, take two.

It's the perfect
ravioli for all mankind.

It also just exposed
that Mick Foley was

just an immensely
likable, entertaining guy.

Hello, Mr. Socko.

How are you, Carson?

You know what I don't understand is about
800 teenage girls chanting your name and

I've got about three sweaty
fat guys with mankind signs.

That sock puppet opened
up so many doors for me.

He started transcending
the business.

Now he's getting more
and more out there.

He's now an author.

I got the chance
to write my memoir.

I just started writing
in a yellow legal pad.

I didn't know how
to use a computer.

I went into the dressing
room and I asked the guys,

hey, anyone want to hear
this story I'm working on?

And all of a sudden, I had an
audience, and they were responding.

Uh...

He's very sweet.

Yeah, he's real sweet.

Hit number one,
and that was wild.

Like, wow, the New York Times has a pro
wrestling book at the top of its charts.

I think that the book forced those outside
of the business who read it and gave it a

chance to admit, oh, hey, man,
these just aren't a bunch of dumb oafs.

People like me don't
reach the peak, we don't

reach the summit, the
scale, the pinnacle...

until we do.

He had ascended so much and
he had so much of the audience.

Rooting for him.

That it was the right timing where
Mick Foley became the champion.

We're talking about a deafening
roar, unlike anything I've experienced.

It's so loud, you
can barely think.

Like, back at home
in Chicago, it felt like,

like, the Bulls won
the NBA championship.

You know, people identified with him
and felt like he was the everyday guy.

And he was.

He was that guy.

He's the sweetest
guy in the world.

He'll help anybody.

I'd like to dedicate this match to my
two little people at home and say...

that Gadeo did it!

Scripted doesn't resonate with
the sports entertainment crowd.

Because the sports entertainment
crowd is always aching for something real.

There were moments when I
absolutely, 100%, became so

invested in the character
that I was that character.

And for The Rock,
it was the same way.

But in one particular
case, becoming those

characters didn't work
out particularly well.

There was a documentary crew there
filming for a movie called Beyond the Mat.

You know Rock is
Daddy's friend, right?

He's not gonna do anything
to really hurt Daddy, right?

You're not gonna
be scared, right?

I wanted my family to
see Dad as the champion.

You know, I wanted
them to be so proud of me.

And I wanted to
go to Disneyland.

Really wanted to
go to Disneyland.

I wanted to go to Disneyland.

Nick Foley is barely moving.

And now The Rock has handcuffs.

What the hell is
he gonna do now?

Handcuffs?

You know, I'm an old school guy.

That night, even I was uncomfortable with
the amount of chair shots that Mick took.

Did you shoulder some of the blame
for when things turned out that way?

Well, uh-uh.

I think I shouldered most of the
blame because it was my idea.

The idea was the WWE camera would show the
children, which they did not end up doing.

But Beyond the Mat did show my family,
and that was really chilling footage.

Oh, my God!

Excuse me.

By Mom and Dad kind of without saying it,
their body language was like, we are gonna

have to discuss this,
and not in front of the kids.

It was horrible.

And they were stitching him up, and
Mick is talking like nothing happened.

I was taking a large risk
with my body, just hoping and

betting that it would set my
family up for a good future.

I knew from day one that
I was on borrowed time.

But I wouldn't
admit it to anybody.

I

could not have scripted a better
retirement match with Triple H.

I was going out on my own terms.

When it was over, I felt an
immediate sense of fulfillment.

I had set out to save my money and
retire by the time I was 35, and I did it.

My dad and my brother were in the crowd,
and they came back to congratulate me,

and then I went to my
hotel room and cried my eyes

out, because it was the
end of a fascinating journey.

I had been preparing my kids for
the day that I'd be leaving wrestling,

and my daughter said, well, daddy,
if you don't wrestle, we can't eat,

and we're going to die.

So I had a little talk about the effects
of compounding interest, and that the

Foley's were probably going
to be okay for a little while.

We wanted to have children
again, and I wanted to be home.

Our son, Mickey,
was born in 2001.

Whoa, Mickey!

And in 2003, we had Huey.

Here comes Huey!

Hiya!

That was when I portrayed
the most complicated

character of them all,
which was Super Dad.

Hi, Huey!

Now turn it off.

We'll go inside, okay?

Whoa!

I think I did a pretty
good job as a father.

Yeah.

It's so funny.

My dad played all these crazy characters,
like ripping his hair out and rocking back

and forth and talking
to rats in a boiler

room, yet he is just
like this big teddy bear.

Oh, look how beautiful that is.

No, no!

What did you... Oh, no!

I had time on my hands, and I wanted to
really do my best to make a difference and

to be part of something
that was bigger than myself.

I said, Mick, you are on this
platform that you can do anything.

Whatever you want
to do, you can do it.

The fight against sexual
assault has an unlikely

new ally, former WWE
superstar Mick Foley.

I felt like, as odd as it seemed, that
it was exactly where I could make the

most difference, that it was an area
that needed attention, especially from men.

At that point, I had been
volunteering as a crisis counselor.

I'd log on and someone would
say, tell me why I should live.

My wife would wake up
eight hours later and I'd still

be with that same person
trying to get them to hold on.

And that was a big
part of who I was.

I've had a lot of time to think
about why I went back to wrestling.

At the end of the day,
it was a simple reason.

I just missed it.

It's almost like a religious
experience for him.

He's at home.

The ring is Mick
Foley's sanctuary.

It's a safe place.

Emotionally.

Maybe not so much physically.

I had four big matches when
I came back from retirement.

Teaming up with The Rock at WrestleMania,
Randy Orton, in Edmonton, Edge at

WrestleMania 2006,
and the feud with Ric Flair.

That should have been it for me.

I should have realized that
I can't wrestle ever again.

Everything after that was
at least partly a cash grab.

I was the guy who was used to being
able to take anything, and I got to a point

where almost every
single thing was hurting me.

I no longer looked
forward to matches.

I just wanted them
to be over with.

I returned to WWE and I was
given the WWE's impact test.

I had independent neurologists and
WWE's neurologists both confirming the same

diagnosis, which is I
should never wrestle again.

It's one thing for you
to make that decision.

It's another thing for a neurologist
to make that decision for you.

I was struggling physically.

I was struggling emotionally.

I generally would wake up
and I would just know this

doesn't even have the
potential of being a good day.

My eyes were so sensitive to light, I
didn't think I could write ever again.

I really took pride
in the job I did as a

crisis counselor, and
then that was taken away.

The road trips with
the kids and the roller

coasters seemed like
they'd be coming to an end.

I had so many things I
loved taken away from me.

It was just kind of, you know, sleeping
late, very lethargic, really out of it.

He was low energy.

He wasn't playing
with the kids too much.

He was just a guy who kind
of needed to be by himself.

I just was thinking to myself,
wow, I'm, you know, now

I'm 45 and I'm in the
basement of my house all alone.

This somehow wasn't
how I pictured things.

I felt like nothing I had
done made any difference.

Nothing I've done
has meant a thing.

How do you want to play horse?

All right, one-legged fadeaway.

Whoa.

That was nice.

I don't think I could do that.

How much height am I
getting on my jump shot?

None.

Oh, yes!

Yes!

Try

a regular version
of Happy Birthday.

I guess so.

I'll let you know when
I'm ready to go, okay?

Oh, okay.

Wait, for Happy Birthday?

Yeah.

Oh!

A dude at love with
a song like no other.

For you, my brother.

And it goes like this.

Birthday to you.

Happy birthday to you.

Happy birthday, dear Tyler.

Happy birthday to you.

Happy birthday to you.

Happy birthday to you.

In retrospect, my wife and I should
have realized so much sooner.

Mickey was slow to talk.

I mean even going back to when he was
a little boy at Hershey Park and there's

this great expansive
huge world-class rides and

he was just so content
to splash in a puddle.

So we realized that something
was different and so when

he had the autism diagnosis
it felt like this explains it.

It really was a shock to my
system and I knew I had to be

there for my family and to do
that I had to get my mind right.

I decided to do whatever I could to
kind of keep the mental fires burning.

I was trying to do traditional
stand-up comedy but I found

that I was running away from my
strengths which was my day job.

That was what people
wanted to hear about.

Going out there on the stage is the
best form of exercise for your mind.

You're memorizing routines.

You are creating new content
and you are playing off the audience.

This is like mental gymnastics.

No matter what I did, no matter
how many matches I had, I

could not figure out the
secret of the Terry Funk punch.

And then Terry Funk punched
me as hard as he could in the head.

I was like, that's it?

That's all you do?

I think it's very cathartic for
him to do these one-man shows.

He gets relief and therapy.

I found out I was
no longer irrelevant.

I was part of people's lives.

Come on up here.

I just wanted to tell you,
we named our dog after you.

What did you name him?

His name's Mick Foley.

Oh, that's awesome.

He had his ears taken
off by dog fighters.

And we went, his name is Mick.

It's a big commitment
when you're naming animals.

I wanted to ask a
second question of you.

Go ahead.

You are an ordained minister.

I guess so.

I took the course.

Would you marry us?

Oh, would I marry you?

Are you going to get
married in Florida?

Yeah.

We are.

Would you marry us?

I will marry you.

Like, that's so sweet.

Do you expect me to say no
with the A&E cameras on me?

You used to live on
Clearwater Beach.

Yeah, I could do that.

Why is it that he
makes people so happy?

Oh, Mick is a Santa
Claus all year round.

Anyone with that kind of mentality wants to
give, you know, wants to make people happy.

That's Mick Foley.

That's what Mick's all about.

It feels like I'm
bleaching like a goat.

Anything worth doing is
worth doing well, right?

Oh wow, that looks good.

When I was portraying
characters in wrestling, I

had to be tougher and
braver and more resilient.

In trying to portray Santa to the best
of my abilities, I had to be kinder and

gentler and more patient
than I was in real life.

And I love the idea of trying
to live up to that standard.

All right, this is
the big one here.

What?

He will write letters as Santa Claus to
my kids every year and in a fountain pen.

It will come over as Santa,
just to be caught sneaking out

of the house so that my
kids still believe they're Santa.

Oh my God.

Oh my God.

Oh my God.

Oh my God.

Oh my God.

Oh my God.

Oh my God.

Oh my God.

Oh my God.

Oh my God.

Oh my God.

Oh my God.

Oh my God.

I was a huge fan of the band, The
Kinks, when I was in high school.

At that time, The Kinks were
touring huge arenas all over the world.

The lead singer was
asked what that was like.

He said, it doesn't really
matter as long as I can see faces.

And his answer at the time disappointed
me, and then I realized how true that was.

Santa!

Hello there, Parker.

Yes, my friends.

How are you today?

Look at that.

Do you mind if Santa
pulls up a chair here?

Come on in.

Okay.

Santa and Mrs. Claus
and the elves went through

this entire book
page by page like this.

Reach in there, my friend.

Oh, I think that's it.

Do you have any idea?

I believe that's a ball.

I believe it's a
pair of sneakers.

I can honestly say I feel better
now than I did 15 years ago.

It's really amazing that
people have allowed

me to become part
of their traditions.

Yeah, there's always
something to look forward to.

I think Mick Foley's self-worth

is predicated on his ability
to be great at something.

And Mick found something
at which he can be great.

I can never drop an elbow again.

I've got a ball of steel
where my hip used to be.

But that's a relatively
small price to pay for

having had the chance
to live out my dreams.