Mick Foley on Between the Ropes Recap

by Richard Trionfo

This week on Between the Ropes, number one best seller and hardcore legend Mick Foley joined Fritz, Dickerman, and Vito DeNucci to talk about his new novel ‘Scooter’, his future with the WWE, his recent appearance at Wrestle Reunion 2, and other issues in the world of wrestling.

He said that it would be expected that someone who travels as much as him would have something to charge his cell phone to his car since his phone was not charged and he did not know if he would make it through the interview before the battery died.

Mick hoped to be a part of SummerSlam to shamelessly plug his new book, Scooter. When Hulk Hogan came back, he knew that his role was not going to be there. He is a few steps beyond Hulk Hogan in the legends rotation. There were WWE cameras at a recent book signing. He wants to be able to succeed or fail on his own. He is able to do things on his own outside of the WWE. Vince operates best when there is someone breathing down his neck. A good TNA product will make the WWE better. There is room for two products.

Regardless of how good he was as a guest referee, it might have run its course. If Vince wants him to work with the younger guys, that will be great. He has no problem working a ‘legends match’ as part of his deal. He thinks that Vader is one of the legends of wrestling, and it would be nice to have another match. However, since it was not really put over in their time in the WWE, it probably will not be brought up 9 years later. He would like to be the ‘knight in shining armor’ in an angle to save someone instead of starting any angle from scratch. He could work with Cena or Taker and adapt easily in a storyline sense. Mick did not expect to see Flair succumb to the Master Lock this week on Raw.

Mick said that he will be involved in a similar way. It will not be like it was before with a sporadic phone call from the WWE followed by him not liking their idea, and them not liking his ideas. It is a more formal agreement that should include some matches. When he talked to Vince about how competition will bring out the best in him, it did not go over that well with Vince. It was hard to leave the WWE because they made a better understanding of his role.

He was close to working with TNA, and he was not using TNA for a better bargaining position. He is happy with the deal. He hopes that TNA will find someone who will be a shot in the arm, since it is not going to be him. If he signed with TNA, it would have been a limited deal with some matches. It would have been more as the face of the product. He likes a lot of the guys and knows them from independent shows. Mick said in a recent television interview, which has not aired yet, that he would have liked to be in the ring with Samoa Joe. Obviously, he would not have said that if he was trying to work the companies.

He has some independent bookings through November, and after that, he will have to cut back on those appearances due to the WWE contract. He will still do some personal appearances. He does not want to be someone who is out there just for the money. Mick had fun doing those shows and he saw a few guys who will be the stars of tomorrow. Maybe some of his recommendations will pay off. He thinks that Bryan Danielson, Nigel McGuinness, Colt Cabana, Jay Lethal, Homicide are among a large group of wrestlers who can be stars.

He did not want the reviews for his book until the end of the tour. There will be some good as well as bad because of his writing style. There are some people who will not like the fact that he was a wrestler, or might just not like the book. He said that he got a very positive review from the Washington Post. He appreciates it when a critic ‘gets it’. Other writers have also enjoyed the book. It would be like the peers in the locker room liking his work despite the fan response. He has corresponded with John Irving. If someone like that likes your work a bad review isn’t that harmful.

There are many major leaguers who have received copies of the book. He thinks every team has a few wrestling fans, as well as a few readers. He wants to find the intersection of the two. They seem very enthusiastic about the book. He has been told that the baseball writing is very authentic.

You can check out www.aaknopf.com or www.wwe.com for information on his book tour. He actually asked a person at a book signing if they came to the signing because they liked his work because they were not a wrestling fan. He wondered if other people go to a book signing because of the work, not the person.

Mick has been a fan of MMA back to the days of Dan Severn. He was not following it as much, but he came back with The Ultimate Fighter show. He was moved to the front at a UFC pay per view. He was treated well there, and would love to go back soon.

Between the Ropes airs every Wednesday from 10:00 p.m. until Midnight on 740 The Team in Orlando, Florida with hosts Brian Fritz, Dickerman, and Vito DeNucci. Check out www.betweentheropes.com to listen to the live stream of the show every week. Archives of past interviews with Paul Heyman, Mike Tenay, Terry Funk, A.J. Styles, Rob Van Dam, Tully Blanchard, Mick Foley, Ric Flair, Bret Hart, Matt Hardy, Jerry Lawler, Bobby Heenan, Steve Corino, Shane Douglas, Elix Skipper, Harley Race, Bubba Ray Dudley, and many more people in the world of professional wrestling can also be found on www.betweentheropes.com.