Where did that extra "o" come from? (Foley Is Good - Mick Foley)

Member Name: tommy7

Product:	Foley Is Good - Mick Foley
Date:	23/10/01 (174 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great Read

Disadvantages: Not for all

To those of you who don't know Mick Foley I will do a quick cover of his background. This is not from an official source just pieced together from my own memory so it may miss some details but you will get the picture. Foley has always wanted to be a WWF wrestler; this was a dream that made him travel the length of America to watch Wrestlemania, the WWF's showcase event. Of course he lied to his parents and was rumbled when he was caught on live TV! This didn't diminish his dreams and he was often attempting crazy moves in his back garden including a famous jump off his roof to land in the ring.

His antics were to lead to him being awarded a contract World Championship Wrestling (WCW) then Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). Between ECW and his tours to abroad Mick managed to get his ear torn off, break numerous bones, set himself on fire and land on explosives for the amount of money most people wouldn't get out of there bed for. His big break came when the WWF came calling and although they had a new persona for him - the deranged Mankind - Mick had arrived. His first book, "Have a Nice Day" is also an excellent read and covers a lot of his background right up until he won the WWF title for the first time in 1998. Although it was an excellent read I was a little disappointed as Mick was just starting to get onto the period I was really interested in 1998-2000 when the book stopped.

He reveals in "Foley is Good" the constraints he had placed on him in the first book the most obvious being the amount of words he had written. Anyway the second book picks up the story and explains how Mick celebrated his glorious 1 day title reign! The sequel is more of a collection of general thoughts and opinions on top of his life story. To be honest you would have to be a WWF to really appreciate a lot of the book. It helps greatly if you can recall the matches he is referring to and he explains expertly the facts that you normally cannot find out. For example how wrestlers approach a match, the things they discuss and the nerves they suffer before a match.

He is brutally honest in his assessment of his own performances over the years. His body has taken punishment that many people cannot believe. He has landed on C4 explosives, been driven into a pit of thumbtacks, been hit numerous times with steel chairs, fallen off steel cages through tables, etc, etc. As a result he is no longer able to do a lot of the things he could have years ago. He has come to terms with this and knows that he will pay for it later in life, as he says it doesn't take a genius to see that the guy who has just been slammed on concrete may not be walking on his own in a while. He says that his career has been based on high intensity rather than high risk and explains this very well. In many ways he does not try to play up his achievements. He points out that when a commentator screams he has been driven 30ft through a steel cage it is more likely to have been 18ft. This makes you believe him when he goes on to say that there is no easy way to receive a "chair shot" and that he wishes the fake chairs everyone knows about would make it to the WWF soon! He is also at pains to point out throughout the book that although wrestling is not as genuine as most sports (the wrestlers are told who wins) it is not as fake as a lot of things in "real life" again he does this with a lot of humour thrown in.

Another interesting thing was how the angles (stories) developed. Foley really puts it across strongly how important a fellow wrestlers reactions are to your every move. The one incident I can immediately recall was when Foley gave up as Mankind because he knew he couldn't beat Triple H but he had found a suitable replacement. He wanted to build the suspense but knew that if he waited too long the crowd would start chanting for The Rock. He then removed his tee-shirt to reveal his alter-ego Cactus jack. Triple H's reaction would have made you think that the replacement was Bruce Lee, Lennox Lewis and Vinnie Jones rolled into one when in actual fact it was the same man in a different tee-shirt. It is small things like this that really make you see who the great wrestlers are. Triple H comes over very well, The Rock doesn't.

The book is hilarious; it is full of similes that are absolute genius. It is the only time I have ever laughed out loud reading a book and it must have happened half a dozen times. He is a genuinely funny man, I knew this from the WWF programming but wondered if he had been fed his lines, definitely not!

Mick Foley also comes across as a genuinely caring man. This is evident from his quotes about his children and one touching incident with a child who had been badly burned. I think he struggles to come to terms with how much of a hero he is to certain people and probably doesn't even think that people will be following in his footsteps by travelling the length of the country to watch main events that he is in. I had a lot of respect for Foley the wrestler but I now have the utmost respect for him in every way. I am not alone here, the title of a book is a play on the numerous signs held in every arena that state "Foley is God".

He now holds the non-wrestling post of the commissioner of the WWF. He even jokes about how fans have started to forget about the hardcore legend which tells its own stories. In my mind Foley is unforgettable, he is unique, a kind caring compassionate man that thins nothing about knocking the living daylights out of someone else but more commonly himself. We shall never see his likes again.

The final 100 odd pages deal mainly with the PTC (Parental Television Council) and other groups who have targeted the WWF for the improper content of the programming. Foley goe
s about disproving these people by using their own arguments against them. He does not get abusive towards them; he merely states the facts in defence of the WWF and himself, although he is not afraid to say when the WWF have overstepped the mark. This shows how much he cares about the business.

The book is a great read for anyone and a must read for any WWF fan. Check it out.

Summary: Straight from the horse's mouth.