Recap of Mick Foley on NHB
Submitted by Calvin Martin on Monday, June 30, 2003 at 3:47 PM EST



NHB sent in the following:

This past week Mick Foley joined the No Holds Barred radio show to talk about a bunch of different issues in addition to promoting his brand new book "Tietam Brown". NHB aims to bring you the biggest names in the wrestling business week in week out and if you'd like to hear the show in your area, log on to http://www.noholdsbarredwrestling.com and fill out the petition on the main page and then e-mail it to nhbfeedback@yahoo.com. Now on to the highlights from our interview with the great Mick Foley.

Mick opened up the interview by talking about the great reception he received last Monday night at MSG on RAW. He said he really appreciates that the WWE decided to hold the tribute for him and he added that it's always a plus when you can entertain an audience with a segment which is heart warming and very emotional.

He joked about not plugging his book enough during his recent WWE stint. He said the WWE promised they would promote the book but there was no set way for them to do so. Mick said he didn't want to come right out and plug the book because he felt that fans would look at him and think it was the only reason he was there and while that was the original plan, he said he got caught up in the storyline and really enjoyed being a part of the mix for the short time he was on the program.

He said the WWE have an idea of what they want to do with Evolution and while he's heard different names mentioned as a 4th member, he feels it would be better to keep the group with 3 members as he feels Triple H, Ric Flair and Randy Orton have great chemistry.

Mick said he chose the name "Tietam Brown" for his book because he liked the title and felt it summarized everything he was talking about in his new book. He joked that he probably should have called it "Bob Brown" since it's an easier title for people to say and remember.

He said the verbage on the plane when Vince fired him was pretty much a shoot from both sides. He said that while wrestling was a huge part of is life, he reached a point where he thought his career was over and had no plans to return when he parted ways with the company.

He notes that the wrestling audience can help prevent "Tietam Brown" from being a failure yet he's not sure if they alone can help make it a huge hit. He said his editor thought it would be a good idea for him to return to the business during conversations over 1 year ago but at that time he wasn't ready to do so. He said as the book came out and he started getting criticized by mainstream press for being a wrestler who was now trying to write a serious piece of material, the rebellious side in him came out and he felt that it was an unfair criticism and if he was going to be looked down upon for being part of something he truly loved and still does, then he would return to the business and prove them wrong.

Mick said he doesn't believe he was outspoken about his criticisms of the WWE product last year. He admits to being negative about the necrophilia angle and he feels it became a big issue because he cancelled his appearance on Livewire. He said that had he not been scheduled for the Livewire show then nobody would have known how he felt about the segment at all. He added that he was very outspoken about certain things with the company even when he was active in the ring.

Mick talked about different ideas that were tossed his way that he didn't feel comfortable with and he brought up a point from last year during the Invasion angle where he was to do a tongue in cheek segment with Trish Stratus. He said he didn't feel it was going to do much for the character or program and he approached the McMahons about doing something that would get people talking which ultimately led to him ripping the company's saturation of championship belts on RAW. He said his promo got people talking and it was followed up the following week by Paul Heyman's incredible in ring promo with Vince McMahon and he feels that segments like his and Heyman's are needed because fans relate well to real situations. He closed the statement by saying that he feels the company sometimes go a little too lesbian heavy and he questions some of the decisions but it doesn't mean that the whole product is bad and it doesn't mean that he can't take part in the show and add something different to it.

He mentioned that he was recently criticized by various top websites about being a hypocrite of the highest order since he returned to the business after criticizing the product. Mick said that he compares it to a politican who practices politics but doesn't always agree with the government and he feels he was simply offering constructive criticism to the WWE with the hopes that they would improvde certain parts of the product which he feels they have been doing.

Mick said hell in the cell is what he is and despite the topic being one that he has had to talk about time and time again, he has reached the point where he has accepted that people are always going to want to know about the match. He said that the match was real scary for him and had he went up to the top of the cage before the match to test it, he would have called it off. He said that he thought he was ok after taking the bumps during the match but weeks later he was still in pain especially in his kidneys. He said after falling thru the cage he had no recollection of what had taken place and the only thing he remembers was seeing Terry Funk's sneakers after Funk had come in the ring to by him some time by taking a chokeslam from the Undertaker. Mick added that he was conscious of his decision to go up to the top of the cage after taking the bump thru the ringside table and while he doesn't consider himself to be best of friends with the Undertaker, he feels they have a solid friendship and after the match he asked Undertaker if he used the thumbtacks and he was informed that he indeed did use them. He also asked referee Mike Cioda if he had been taken out on a stretcher and when he was told that he was, he remembers pleading with him to not have him removed on one again that night. Mick finished up his comments on the match by adding that Stephanie McMahon remembers him going out of ghis way to say hi to her that night following the match despite him not knowing where he was plus Pat Patterson had a friend die during the match and for the longest time Mick thought he had caused Pat's friends death but was relieved to find out last year during a conversation with Pat that he had nothing to do with it.

He said that of all the characters he's played, he most enjoyed playing the commissioner role the first time around. He talked about the pressure the PTC was placing on the WWF product at the time and while he could see certain points of theirs, he felt the product overall was very enjoyable and was not as bad as it was being made out to be. He gave an example of having access to a full NBA video library and making Michael Jordan out to be the worst basketball player of all time if all you did was show the shots he missed rather then the one's he made. Mick also said that he enjoyed the Cactus Jack character and while he was shocked and disappointed when the WWF came calling and said they wanted the character and not necessarily him, he was also glad to see it do well since it had never reached it's potential in other organizations. He felt that by playing a character like Cactus, it allowed for a character like Mankind to be able to do different things and showcase other sides of his personality.

When the subject of Mick's second commissioner role came up he said that while he felt that he and William Regal clicked, he didn't really enjoy the angle. He said he regrets the angle because he didn't feel it served a purpose since Vince McMahon returned a week later as a babyface owner and all it did was put Regal out of a commissioner job. He added that it was during that time when he began working on the "Tietam Brown" project.

Mick feels that "Tietam Brown" offers characters and storylines that wrestling fans can relate to yet it also gives those who simply enjoying reading books a piece of reading material they will find fascinating. He said it does offer some violence and a look into history and if readers enjoyed "Have A Nice Day" and "Foley Is Good" they will enjoy this book even though it's different then the other two.

Mick acknowledged that he did have conversations with Jerry Jarrett about being a part of NWA TNA and while he certainly respects him and Jeff, he wasn't confident that their business plan would be successful. He said that it's nice to see that it has lasted thru the year and while they did touch base several months ago, he always had it in the back of his mind that he would return to the WWE at some point and be able to make an impact plus he didn't feel NWA TNA offered a high enough impact role for him. He said he was fortunate that when he reached out to the WWE he didn't get his hand slapped away and that would have most likely had been very different had he taken part in a NWA TNA program. He finished by saying that he hopes that once his book tour is done that he can return to the WWE and play a small role in a future PPV or two.

Mick said he's heard about the Summerslam rumor of him returning to the ring but he says he hasn't been approached about it yet and he's not available to do TV nor travel and get in shape around his book tour. Mick said that one thing he needs to be comfortable with if he were to return to the ring is to know in his mind that he could be as good as he was before he left and that he would be able to commit to being a part of things like he was before. He said it was always assumed by fans, critics and himself after he left that he would return and do something with the WWE once a year and after being involved recently on RAW he hasn't ruled out a future return to the ring although he has been enduring some pain and discomfort lately following the RAW incident where he was thrown down the stairs.

Mick closed the interview by saying that his next project may be in conjunction with the WWE and it's a children's book which he put together several years ago. He also added that he's currently working on another serious novel at the time and he hopes to be able to make a living off of his writing and anything beyond that is appreciated.


For more information on "Tietam Brown" or to find out where Mick Foley will be appearing, visit www.mickfoley.com. To hear the interview with Mick Foley log on to http://www.noholdsbarredwrestling.com. We hope to have our audio section available later this week and NHB visitors should know that we do not believe in charging to hear our material and all information that states otherwise does not represent the views of the No Holds Barred radio show. The No Holds Barred radio show is hosted by Jason Barrett and George "The Animal" Farmer and airs every Sunday night on 101.5 WPDH in parts of NY, NJ, CT and PA.








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