Mick Foley: Wrestling's Greatest "extreme" Wrestler of All-time

I decided to write this column after recently viewing a recording of this year's WWE-sponsored, "Wrestlemania," in which a multitude of professional wrestling's biggest and brightest stars - along with some familiar names from the past - took center stage for what is annually, wrestling's biggest event.

Without getting into the specifics of what happened at this year's Wrestlemania, viewing the tape gave me the idea to write a feature on one of my favorite wrestlers of all-time - and the man I consider professional wrestling's greatest "extreme" wrestler of all-time - Mick Foley.

During his inimitable - and lengthy - career, better known as either, Mankind, Cactus Jack or Dude Love, introduced an entire new genre of wrestling to the public and became one of the sport's most adored competitors in the process.

As a young wrestler, Foley formally trained at Dominic DeNucci's wrestling school in my home state of Pennsylvania and debuted in June of 1985. In addition to appearing on DeNucci's cards, Foley and several other students also took part in some matches for WWF TV tapings and made several tours of African countries.

Foley is reknowned for being one of the sport's greatest "hardcore" wrestlers ever. Whether Foley played, Cactus Jack, the maniacal serial killer, Mankind, the tortured soul hiding behind a leather mask, or Dude Love, the swinging "hip cat" who is cooler than an iceberg, Foley is known for his outlandish matches, many he dreamt up himself.

Foley has participated in some of wrestling's most brutal and memorable matches and has wrestled all over the world with numerous organizations, including the International Wrestling Association (IWA), Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling (FMW), Smokey Mountain Wrestling (SMW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), and in his later years World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

Although Foley managed to make a name for himself while wrestling for other wrestling organizations - and acquire a huge following in the process - it wasn't until his arrival in the World Wrestling Federation, that he became a household name.
Foley is best known for being one of the key players in the WWF during its "Attitude era" and "Monday Night Wars" of the company with competing WCW.

Foley arrived in the WWF in 1996 not as Cactus Jack but as Mankind, a tortured soul who lived in a "boiler room," spoke to a rat, pulled out his hair during matches and wore a Hannibal Lecter-like mask in the ring.

Foley eventually went on to become a WWF thre-time wolrd heavyweight champion, one-time "hardcore" champion and an amazing eight-time tag team champion.

Throughout his career - and under all of his aliases - Foley was extremely popular to his fans, even when he wrestled as the classic bad guy. Foley has always been accessible to his fans - unlike many of today's sports superstars - and would routinely spend long periods of time with them signing autographs and posing for pictures. His hard work is often credited with helping to re-establish pro wrestling's popularity after the steroid and sex scandals that plagued the sport in late 1980s and early 1990s.

Having experienced much during his long career, Foley developed a desire to tell his story both to wrestling fans and non-fans alike as he became more popular in the late-1990s and in1999, wrote his autobiography, by himself, in over 800 pages of longhand. The book, Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks, became a huge success, topping the New York Times' nonfiction bestseller list for several weeks. Many book reviews refused to review his book because it was written by a professional wrestler. The follow-up, Foley is Good: And The Real World is Faker Than Wrestling (2001), debuted at number one on the New York Times list. In addition, Foley has also written three children's books and has participated in numerous Make-A-Wish Foundation events as well as surprise visits to children in hospitals, and has publicly voiced his relationship with the Christian Children's Fund. Foley has also visited schools and libraries, talking to students about the value of education and the importance of reading. Foley has also traveled to various military bases and military hospitals to visit U.S. troops giving get-well wishes to soldiers.

Although Foley retired from active wrestling in 2000, he still occasionally wrestles and plays non-wrestling roles in the WWE, as well as other organizations. In short, Foley is the epitome of what a modern day superstar should be. Pleasant, accomodating and down-to-earth. It's a shame more athletes don't display the kindness and outward affection towards their fans than Foley does, but then again, that's what makes him who he is - a one-of-a-kind legend.
Here are a lits of the world championship titles Foley has held throughout his illustrious career.

1-time CWA Tag Team Champion (with Gary Young)

Extreme Championship Wrestling

2-time ECW World Tag Team Champion (with Mikey Whipwreck)

Great Lakes Championship Wrestling

1-time GLCW Heavyweight Champion

International Wrestling Association (Japan)

1995 King of the Death Match

1-time IWA Tag Team Champion (with Tracy Smothers)

Music City Wrestling

1-time MCW North American Heavyweight Champion

NAW

1-time NAW Heavyweight Champion

National Wrestling League

1-time NWL Heavyweight Champion

Osark Mountain Wrestling

1-time OMW North American Heavyweight Champion

World Championship Wrestling

1-time WCW World Tag Team Champion (with Kevin Sullivan)

World Class Wrestling Association

1-time WCWA Light Heavyweight Champion

2-time WCWA Tag Team Champion (1-time with Scott Braddock, 1-time with Gary Young)

World Wrestling Federation

3-time WWF World Heavyweight Champion

1-time WWE Hardcore Champion

8- time Tag Team Champion