Mick Foley Talks About Hell in a Cell, Retirement, and More

In Thursday’s edition of The New Times, WWE Hall of Famer and “Hardcore Legend” Mick Foley will be featured in an “at the Improv” interview piece with author John Thomason. During the interview, Foley talks about Hell in a Cell, retirement, his wrestling style, and more.

On the classic Hell in a Cell match with the Undertaker: 

“One of the teeth I had knocked in half in ‘Hell in a Cell’ is still in half. It’s taken on a bluish tint because of the damage to the roots. So while some people may claim to use a Bluetooth, I’ve actually got one.”

On his “early” retirement at age 48: 

“There’s only so much punishment a human body can take. A lot of it wasn’t necessarily hard-core matches… It was just a very physically demanding style. My knees became arthritic very early because of that punishing style. It would be like likening a running back who takes the hit to the running back who plays it safe and goes out of bounds at almost every occasion. It’s not because of the type of matches I was in or the stipulations that surrounded them; it’s because I had a style that I chose at a young age that had consequences.

It’s funny, in my shows, I talk about the fact that I never felt like anything I was doing was particularly crazy — maybe a couple of times a year, I’d take a big risk. But I never thought I was reckless. I had a way of visualizing moves and staying away from the ones where I thought I had the best chance of getting hurt.”

On still having a name in entertainment even after wrestling: 

“I never expected to have such a long shelf life in my postwrestling years. The books were really a great blessing, because I realized I could tell stories on the page in addition to in the ring, and really, the stage show I do is just an extension of the written word. Once people give it a try, it makes absolute sense. It’s almost like seeing your favorite musical performer in an acoustic setting, as opposed to being in a full-band setting.”

You can read the entire article here.

 

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