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| Mick Foley: The Three Faces |
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| Site Address - http://www.mickfoley.vze.com - Add it to your favourites now |
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| Site Last updated: 19-01-2003 |
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| During his 19 years as a professional wrestler in a number of Federations, Mick Foley proved that he was the greatest wrestler of all time - and he was an idol to me and many other young kids who have grown up loving wrestling. Here is Mick Foley's fascinating life story. Mick Foley was born Michael Francis Foley on the 7th of June, 1965 to two doting parents in Long Island, New York. Growing up idolising Jimmy 'Superfly' Snuka, young Foley was a bit strange and was known for doing some wierd things to get attention, although he was a fairly popular child with his clever comedy. Mick grew up and graduated from Ward Melville High School before heading to Stat University in New York. While attending Stat University, he would often skip school and hitchhike to Madison Square Garden to watch his idol Jimmy Snuka wrestle. After seeing one of Snuka's matches, a cage match with Don Maruco, Foley decided he wanted to become a proffessional wrestler. Young Mick certainly had some good wrestling skills and was crazy enough to be a true champion. This was evidenced by the fact that, as a child, he had jumped off the roof of his mates' house to impress his friends. He joined a wrestling school where he was trained by Domonic DeNucci, a former WWE wrestler. He saw that tape of Foely's death-defying leap and decided to show Foley the ropes. Mick loved his time at DeNucci's school and was willing to travel over 700 kilometres to train and practicly lived in his car for several months as he learned the basics from DeNucci. Domonic DeNucci wasn't ecstatic about young Mick's wrestling skills but realised that he was a big man that could take absolutely brilliant bumps. In 1985, Foley made his debut in the independent wrestling circuit under the alias of Cactus Jack . After several months of top matches as Cactus Jack, Vince MacMahon contacted Foley and offered him a job in the WWE. Mick accepted and was a jobber during 1986 as Jack Foley - but learnt a great deal about wrestling to a crowd in that time. After joining the CWA, Mick Foley - now known as Cactus Jack - won his first ever title. Partnering Gary Young, Cactus won the tag-team title in 1988 but was later kicked out of the CWA after losing a loser-leaves-town match in November of that year. Cactus joined the American Championship Wrestling in Virginia where he won his first singles title after defeating Deathwish, taking the ACW Universal TV Title in December of 1988 which he held until September of 1992, a huge stint with a title in anyone's language. Cactus Jack joined the World Class Wrestling Association where he was quite successful. After winning the Light Heavyweight title in his first fight - Foley joined the stable of Gen where he won a tag-team title before losing it again soon after. Jack had a really successful time in the WCWA but realised he needed more of a challenge and headed for better times - or worse - in the NWA. In the NWA, Foley was a jobber, much like in the WWE in 1986 as the owners couldn't see his considerable talent. Foley was hammered nightly in the NWA, where he lost his two front teeth in a house match and had little air time. Foley had many tough feuds in this time - including ones with Eddie Gilbert and Norman before he ended his time at the NWA after suffering one of the most sickening bumps ever seen. After such little success in the NWA, Cactus headed to Japan to compete in the All Japan Pro Wrestling competition, where he had little success but a great deal of popularity because the crowds loved his ability to take massive bumps - much as Domonic DeNucci had been impressed years earlier. After his time in the AJPW, Mick headed back to the Independent circuit so he could get some decent fueds and air time. After joining the UWF, Jack was involved in their only ever pay-per-view before re-sparking his fued with Eddie Gelbert from the NWA. The fued continued in the Tri-State Wrestling Alliance - where Jack developed a huge fan base thanks to his ability to perform unbelievable moves and take such harsh punishment. The fued was known as the best of 1991 and involved some great matches - including a barbed wire match, a wicked falls-count-anywhere match and many other top battles, before Jack's hard work got him a go in WCW. Cactus Jack joined the WCW and had a fairly successful time. He had some tough matches but after a few months - he started a brilliant fued with Vader. In this violent fued, Vader had the upper-hand all the time and caused Foley serious damage. After one fight, Mick suffered a broken nose and 27 stitches before being almost paralysed after another. Even though this fued was huge - Foley didn't get much of a chance to grab the WCW World title, so he focused on the Tag-Team title instead. He went very close to winning it numerous times with Maxx Payne and finally did in mid-1993. Soon after, they lost the belt before Jack lost a loser-leaves-WCW match and was forced to quit. After leaving WCW, Cactus joined ECW where he had a series of great fueds. One was with Sabu, another was with Terry Funk before, once again, Foley teamed up with Mikey Shipwreck to reign supreme over the Tag-Team competition. The pair held the title for a long time before losing it to Public Enemy. During his time at the ECW, he was very successful and won a great deal of matches at ECW, Japan and he even won some competitions on the independent scence, including the Ozark Mountain and Steel City Wrestling competitions in 1994. Jack joined the IWA in 1995 and was the winner of an incredible one-night contest to discover who was the most hardcore wrestler of all. He won the contest after disposing of Terry Gordy, Shoji Nakamaki and Terry Funk in three horrendous hardcore stipulation matches in which wrestlers were thrown on tacks, nails and even burnt. Cactus Jack had more success in IWA, as he together with Tracy Smothers dethroned the Head Hunters to win the IWA Tag Team Title, September 29, 1995 but Tarzan Goto and Mr. Gannosuke relieved them of the title soon after - defeating them on October 1, 1995. Foley then joined the ECW as Cactus Jack but decided he no longer wanted to be a hardcore wrestler - as the ECW fans didn't show him the respect he deserved for putting his body on the line so often in battle. Jack's first partner was Tommy Dreamer but the pair split when Jack turned on Tommy in a tag-team match against the Pitbulls. Partnered with Raven, Jack took on Tommy Dreamer and old competitior Terry Funk but the match was a horror, with Jack almost burning down the building after setting a chair alight. Jack then became partners with Mickey Whipwreck but their tag-team didn't work and he eventually left the ECW. With his old association, the IWA, in bankruptcy, Mick joined the FWA in which he had a series of great hardcore matches with Wing Kanemura, in which beer bottles, fire, barb wire and every other foriegn object imaginable was used. Foley had gained quite a following in his time as a pro wrestler and was contacted by the WWE and given a contract. Still with the ECW and FWA, Foley praised the WWE on TV before a couple of minor fueds started before he finally joined the prestigious Federation. Foley wrestled his last match in the ECW in April of 1996, where he defeated Mikey Whipwreck. He strutted from the ring with Steven Richards and Blue Meanie before declaring Cactus Jack as dead in a cut interview. He did, however, continue as Cactus Jack in the WWE before declaring his death after winning a barbed wire barricade spider net, broken glass death match with Wing Kanemura. Mick Foley debuted in the WWE as Mankind a day after Wrestlemania 12, when he defeated Bob Holly with a mandible claw. Soon after, the freakish Mankind became allied with Goldust and the pair began to play mind games on the Undertaker. This fued was one of the highlights of the year and culminated in a Casket match between the Undertaker and Goldust in which the Undertaker appeared set to win when, as he opened the casket, Mankind shot out and gave him the mandible claw for the win to Goldust. After this match, Mankind and the Undertaker had a big fued which included a match at King of the Ring in 1996 that ended when Paul Bearer "accidentally" clobbered the Undertaker with his urn. The pair continued to get into each others business, always interferring with one-another's matches and causing disqualifications and such. A highlight of the fued was a boiler room clash in which the pair had to try and retrieve the urn from Paul Bearer, who stood in the centre of the ring. After a bloody clash, Bearer turned on the Undertaker and aligned himself with Mankind. |
| Life Story: Simply Amazing |
| The rest of this in-depth biography of Mick's life is still to come |
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