True dedication and the epitome of going from the bottom up signifies the career of Mick
Foley.  From Cactus Jack Manson to Dude Love, Foley has competed throughout the world,
putting in the time and eventually achieving the pinnacle of wrestling, a claim to the World
Heavyweight Championship.  It took him 15-years to accomplish the feat, but it proved that
there were no handouts.  Foley gained nothing for free.  He went from small towner to main
eventer in each of the top three promotions in America.  His autobiographies set the standard
and proved that wrestlers were not all mindless thugs.

   Foley made his professional wrestling debut in June 1983 and he was trained by Dominic
DeNucci.

   Being a large wrestler, standing 6’2’’ and weighing over 275 pounds, Foley stood out in a
crowd and his wrestling future seemed wide open.  He competed throughout the world on the
independent circuit.  From Texas to Japan, Foley underwent many changes and fought many
different wrestlers.  He donated pints of blood to the mat.  Almost like a blood bank.  The
following that has taken to Foley has come in droves.  After over 15 years in the business, it
has eclipsed that of just being a cult.  He has become one of the most popular wrestling
athletes ever to compete.  Foley has also become an accomplished author.

   He began as Cactus Jack Foley, a tribute to his father.  Foley landed himself in Dallas,
wrestling in the World Class promotion in 1988.  There, he captured the World Tag Team
Title of that region on August 4, 1989 with “Sheik” Scott Braddock.  Their victory came over
Jeff Jarrett and Matt Borne.  A week later, they lost the belts back to the former champions.  
Cactus Jack signed with the NWA in late 1989  He appeared as Cactus Jack Manson on
Tuesday, February 6, 1990 at the Coliseum in Corpus Christi for Clash of the Champions X.  
He fought legendary Mil Mascaras and lost.  Afterwards, surprising many watching, he
brawled with the drummer of a live band who was performing at the show.

   In the weeks that followed, he entered a feud with Norman the Lunatic, which just became
“Norman” after the fans began to cheer him.  He lost by pinfall to Norman at WrestleWar in
Greensboro on February 25th.  Jack sided with Sullivan’s Slaughter House, which was led by
Kevin Sullivan.  Bam Bam Bigelow was also a member.  The trio wrestled and lost to the Road
Warriors and Norman at Capital Combat on May 19th in Washington DC.  Sullivan was
pinned by Hawk.  Cactus left the NWA and hopped back on the independent circuit.  He
teamed with Terry Funk on November 9, 1990 in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania on a benefit card
against Eddie Gilbert and Stan Lane.

   Cactus returned to Atlanta and World Championship Wrestling in 1991.  His primary enemy
upon his arrival seemed to be the most popular man in the organization, Sting.  Cactus
aligned himself with Abdullah the Butcher, Big Van Vader and the Diamond Studd against
Sting, the Steiners and El Gigante on October 27th at Halloween Havoc.  It wasn’t a normal
eight-man tag or even a tag team elimination contest.  The match was a special “Chamber of
Horrors” match.  The Butcher was tossed into the electric chair and their team was defeated.  
A war with Van Hammer ensued.  Cactus beat him on November 19th in Savannah.  At the
Lethal Lottery event at Starrcade on December 29th, he teamed with Buddy Lee Parker in a
loss to Rick Steamboat and Todd Champion.

   In Topeka on January 21, 1992, he wrestled Hammer in a special falls-count-anywhere
match, somewhat of a prelude of the hardcore divisions to come in the future.  After a wild
match, Jack got the pin in a dirt pile outside the Expocentre.  Abdullah the Butcher also got
involved in the final moments of the match when he attempted to hit Cactus with a shovel.  He
missed and hit Hammer.  A further brawl continued after the scheduled bout.  Cactus wrestled
Ron Simmons before 5,000 fans in Milwaukee at SuperBrawl II.  He was pinned by the former
Florida State Linebacker.  On May 17th at WrestleWar, Jack teamed with Mr. Hughes against
Junkyard Dog and Simmons.  The bout was a wild no-contest.  Cactus received a World Title
match against Sting on June 20th in Mobile.  The falls-count-anywhere match ended with
Sting getting the three-count.  By the time Clash of the Champions XX rolled around on
September 2nd, Ron Simmons was the WCW World Champion.  Cactus challenged Ron in
Atlanta and was defeated.

   On November 18th, he teamed with Tony Atlas and the Barbarian in a handicap advantage
against Simmons and 2 Cold Scorpio.  Their three were unable to win before a Macon,
Georgia crowd.  He beat Paul Orndorff at Super Brawl in February.  As the months by,
Cactus’ popularity grew despite his lack of playing to the crowd.  There were attempts to be
the good guy or the fan favorite and maybe that was why so many people took to him.  
During an edition of WCW Saturday Night in early 1993, Cactus gained a popular countout
victory over WCW World Champion, Big Van Vader.  A rematch was quickly scheduled and
on April 21, 1993, the two locked up for a second time.  It was going to be a historic night for
both men.  During the encounter, Vader powerbombed Cactus twice onto the Center Stage
Theater floor and knocked him out.

   Jack was carried from the ring area as fans watched on in horror.  Cactus suffered
amnesia in the attack and was away from wrestling for months.  Footage of Cactus wandering
around Cleveland, lost, was shown on WCW Television.  Reporter Catherine White found him
on the streets with a shaved face and an almost unrecognizable look.  An individual known as
“Swampy” had given up the news.  White brought Cactus’ family to Cleveland to revive his
memory to no avail.  He was living among the homeless and carrying unknown packages
around.  Harley Race, Vader’s manager, began receiving some of those questionable
packages as he spoke about having Jack’s “Bag.”

   Finally, Cactus returned and attacked Vader during a title defense against Davey Boy
Smith.  Race and Vader put a bounty on his head, which was taken by martial arts expert,
Yoshi Kwan.  Promoters scheduled Cactus to wrestle Kwan at Fall Brawl in Houston on
September 19th.  It was his first match back and Cactus was not prepared to go out lightly.  
Race attempted to help Kwan, but it backfired and Jack landed a double-arm DDT for the
pinfall victory.  He immediately beckoned for a World Title Match with Vader.  Cactus wanted
revenge.  Officials signed it for the main event of Halloween Havoc on October 24th.  Jack
made the challenge in a special “Wheel of Death” match in which a spinning circular object
would decide the type of stipulation the two would fight each other with.  The one picked
turned out to be a Texas Death Match, a perfect set of rules to end their heated war.  Vader
beat Cactus to retain his championship.

   In a somewhat humorous turn of events, Cactus was forced to team with Vader on
November 20th in Pensacola during the Lethal Lottery.  Neither man were laughing.  The two
advanced, but not on the same page.  Within the next couple of weeks, he formed a tag team
with Maxx Payne.  The two beat Tex Slazenger and Shanghai Pierce in Charlotte on
December 27th.  Instead of breaking up after their Starrcade win, Cactus and Payne decided
that they would stay together and go after the WCW World Tag Title, which was held by the
Nasty Boys.  Being the babyfaces in the tag war, Jack and Payne often went into their
matches with Jerry Saggs and Brian Knobbs as the favorites but many didn’t expect them to
win the belts.  At the Clash in January 1994, they beat the Nastys and won a non-title match.  
They immediately became the top contenders to the tag belts and hushed those who didn’t
support them.  On February 20th at SuperBrawl, Cactus and Payne won a disqualification
over the champs in a rematch.  It was a tough match and a tough ending to accept.

   In March, the duo went to Europe as part of a WCW Tour.  Cactus suffered a serious injury
during a match on March 16, 1994 in Munich.  He had gotten tied up in the ropes, but
mistakenly slipped out on his own and tore a part of his right ear off.  His left ear also
suffered damage, needing more than 10 stitches to repair.  Proving just how tough he was,
Cactus continued the match for several additional minutes before being pinned by his
opponent, Vader.  Cactus Jack was a well-respected athlete in the business, but the legend
added to his story that night in Germany tripled after the news got out.  Another wrestler may
have freaked out and ran for help after sustaining the same injury.  He finished the match,
proving to be a true warrior and one dedicated to the mat.  The injury reminded some of
Yukon Eric’s ear being torn off during a match with Killer Kowalski during the 1950s in
Montreal.

   Cactus did not miss any ring time.  At Spring Stampede on April 17th, he teamed with
Payne against the Nasty Boys in a special Chicago Street Fight.  Cactus was pinned by
Saggs.  In May, he reformed his alliance with Kevin Sullivan on May 22nd in Philadelphia.  
The duo beat Saggs and Knobbs for the WCW World Tag Title in a Broadstreet Bully Match.  
After several years in WCW, Cactus had finally captured his first championship.  In
Charleston on June 23rd, Jack and Sullivan gave the Nasty Boys a rematch and again beat
them.  New faces signed with the organization and many believed it was new WCW policy to
clean out the excessive violence of some of it’s wrestlers.  It also seemed that even though
Jack was a World Champion, he was on his way out, despite his newfound popularity in one
of the country’s top promotions.

   While ailing from numerous injuries, Cactus appeared on July 17th in Orlando to defend
the World Tag Team Title with Sullivan against Paul Orndorff and Paul Roma.  The title
changed hands, but it was his appearance that was respected.  After some time off, Cactus
appeared in Philadelphia to compete in Eastern Championship Wrestling while still under
contract with WCW.  He wrestled Terry Funk in Philadelphia on August 13, 1994 before 1,000
fans in the main event of the Hardcore Heaven Show.  The match was as brutal and as wild
as many expected it to be.  Rather than finishing it in the ring, the match ended in a no-
contest.  Topping the event off, rowdy fans tossed their metal folding chairs into the ring.  
The event would soon become synonymous with ECW wrestling and the style in which those
wrestlers competed under it’s banner.  

   Cactus appeared on August 27th for the NWA World Title Tournament show at the ECW
Arena, but did not participate in the eight-man bracketing.  Jack instead challenged the
Public Enemy for the tag team title with Mikey Whipwreck at his side.  His partner pinned
Rocco Rock that night and the duo had captured the Tag Title.  That show also marked the
end of NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling.  The promotion came Extreme Championship
Wrestling and the belts Cactus and Whipwreck were holding were elevated to World Title
status.

   He returned to WCW for the Fall Brawl pay-per-view on September 18th in Roanoke.  He
lost a loser-leaves-town match to his former partner, Kevin Sullivan.  Cactus and Whipwreck
beat Rock and Johnny Grunge in a return match on October 1st in Philadelphia.  On
November 5th, Public Enemy beat them to regain the belts in Philly.  Cactus teamed with
Sullivan on November 18th, again challenging Rock and Grunge.  The match ended in a no-
contest.  It was a wild affair.  Jack wrestled the Sandman in a special death match on
February 4, 1995 in Philadelphia.  He was victorious.  On March 18th, Jack teamed with
Shane Douglas in a loss to Terry Funk and the Sandman.  Cactus was pinned by Funk.  A
special barbed wire match was scheduled for June 17th in Philadelphia against the
Sandman.  Sandman beat Jack in a bloody contest.

   Overseas, Cactus beat Terry Funk in the finals of the IWA King of Death Matches
Tournament on August 20, 1995 in Kawasaki, Japan.  He was apart of yet another historic
ECW event on October 28th in Philadelphia. Cactus wrestled and lost a match to Tommy
Dreamer.  A wild brawl broke out with Terry Funk, whose clothes ended up catching fire.  The
house lights went out and the crowd was on the verge of rioting.  Neither Funk nor Cactus
were injured in the fight, but once again, the ECW stamp was put on a wrestling program.  
Fans expected something big to happen when Cactus Jack was in the arena.  On December
29th, Mikey Whipwreck beat 2 Cold Scoprio in Rego Park, New York.  With the singles match
victory, he captured the ECW World Tag Team Title and had the right to pick anyone to be
his new partner.  He picked Jack and the two began their second reign as champs.

   Mick Foley soon signed a contract with the World Wrestling Federation.  On January 27,
1996, he beat Tommy Dreamer and Shane Douglas in a three-way contest in Philadelphia
before an estimated 1,000 fans.  Two days later, he made his debut as “Mankind” on WWF
Television during Monday Night Raw.  Only video was shown of a mysterious masked man,
missing his ear.  Fans knew who they were talking about.  The point came across well early
on.  While his beginning in the WWF was being locked in, Cactus continued to fulfill his
obligations for ECW.

   Cactus and Whipwreck lost the World Tag Title on February 3rd in Rego Park to the
Eliminators, Perry Saturn and John Kronus.  Through the end of February, more videos were
shown of Mankind from basements and dungeons.  Cactus wrestled Whipwreck in a singles
match on March 9th in Philadelphia.  After seventeen-minutes of action, Jack pinned his
former partner.  His transformation into Mankind was nearly complete and his ECW stay was
over.  He did not step into a WWF ring until April 1, 1996 during the live edition of Raw after
WrestleMania.  Mankind forced Bob Holly to submit to his Mandible Claw Hold, the second
time he used the maneuver before an audience.  Fans were taken by Mankind’s appearance
and style.  He took many victories with the claw.

   Towards the end of April, Mankind began to speak about the Undertaker, drawing the lines
in the sand for an upcoming feud.  Mankind and the Undertaker wrestled a dark match on
April 28th at the pay-per-view in Omaha.  Mankind lost by pinfall.  He attacked the Undertaker
on May 13th, after the wrestler from the dead got involved in a mix with Goldust.  He locked in
his claw on the Undertaker and ran off after Goldust began getting a little too close.  Mankind
attacked the Undertaker on June 10th and prevented him from returning to the ring in a bout
against Davey Boy Smith.  Matchmakers signed the a grudge match between Mankind and
Undertaker for the 1996 King of the Ring on June 23rd in Milwaukee.  He won the contest
after Paul Bearer inadvertently hit his longtime protégé with the urn.  It was his biggest win of
his short WWF career.  Mankind attacked both Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker during
the July 29th edition of Raw.  He also cost the Undertaker his match with Steve Austin.

   At SummerSlam on August 18, 1996, Mankind wrestled the Undertaker in a match which
wasn’t just the normal mat contest with hip-tosses and tests of strength.  It was a “Boiler
Room” brawl.  It was a match beginning within the depths of the Gund Arena in Cleveland and
ending in the ring.  The contest was what it was planned to be, an all-out, heated brawl.  
Mankind secured a win that night with the turn of Paul Bearer to his side of the battle.  The
two beat the Undertaker down and walked off together.  Mankind has gotten himself an
established manager, and a man who had managed the Undertaker since 1991.  To many, it
was the best move he could have made.  The war with the Undertaker was far from over, but
a win over the former WWF World Champion put his name up in lights.  A World Title shot of
his own was in the near future.  Sooner than one might think.

   Promoters were working fast behind the scenes signing the rights of a match between the
WWF Champion, Shawn Michaels and Mankind for the next pay-per-view, In Your House X on
September 22, 1996 in Philadelphia.  Michaels successfully defended his belt against
Mankind.  On October 20th, the Undertaker beat him in a “buried alive” match.  A rematch
with the Undertaker was signed for the Survivor Series.  Mankind was pinned in their Madison
Square Garden bout while Bearer was locked inside of a steel cage above the ring.  In
January 1997, Mankind participated in the Royal Rumble event and entered the ring at
position 26.  Steve Austin won overall.

   He teamed with a former enemy in Vader on March 23rd at WrestleMania in Chicago.  The
two faced Owen Hart and Davey Boy Smith, the WWF World Tag Champions.  The four
battled to a double-countout.  On the April pay-per-view, Mankind was defeated by the
Undertaker once again.  He forced Rocky Maivia Jr. to submit on May 11th, using his claw.  
On June 8th in Providence, he wrestled Jerry Lawler in the semifinals of the King of the Ring
Tournament.  With a victory by submission, he advanced to the finals and wrestled Hunter
Hearst Helmsley.  Helmsley ended up winning the tournament.

   Things were once again about to change.  In San Antonio, Steve Austin was in need of a
new partner on July 14th to compete in the WWF World Tag Tournament Final against Owen
Hart and Davey Boy Smith.  A new face, but yet familiar, appeared from the shadows.  The
name was Dude Love, a hippie revert from the 1960s.  It was Foley under another guise.  
Love and Austin captured the belts.  Love pinned Smith after Austin landed a stunner.  On
September 7th, both members of the championship duo gave up their belts.  He matched up
against Helmsley at the One Night Only pay-per-view on September 20, 1997 and was
pinned.  Mankind returned to the WWF on November 9th at the Survivor Series.  Kane
pinned him.  After the controversial ending to Bret Hart’s match with Shawn Michaels in the
main event, Foley went home and missed Monday’s Raw in Ottawa.

   The legendary Terry Funk entered the organization and the two formed a tag team.  Foley
made another big switch back to Cactus Jack, the first time in the WWF.

   At the 1998 Royal Rumble, he made appearances as Cactus, Dude Love and Mankind.  
Neither of the three won the event.  In the headliner of the February PPV, Cactus teamed
with Funk as Chainsaw Charlie, Steve Austin and Owen Hart in a huge eight-man match
against Jesse James Armstrong, Billy Gunn, Savio Vega and Helmsley.  They were
victorious.  The Funk-Cactus tag team became one of the most popular and were obviously
outrageous.  Their antics were extremely different from the norm and reminded some of the
older fans of the Graham Brothers from the 1960s.  At WrestleMania on March 29, 1998,
Jack and Funk defeated the New Age Outlaws to capture the WWF World Tag Team
Championship.  The match was a special “dumpster” bout.  Some controversy surrounded
the evening’s victory and the title was held-up by officials.  A rematch was held the next night
in Albany on Monday Night Raw.  Gunn and Armstrong were able to regain the disputed
belts.  Cactus and Chainsaw Charlie had nearly gotten the World Title, but the success of
their tag team was seemingly over.

   Foley returned to Dude Love for a April 26th World Title Match against Steve Austin.  He
won by disqualification.  Promoters arranged a rematch for May 31st at Over the Edge.  
Austin pinned him in his attempt to capture the belt with Vince McMahon as the special
referee.

   After many defining moments in a great career, Mick Foley did the unthinkable on the night
of June 28, 1998 in Pittsburgh.  The estimated 16,000 fans who were in attendance watched
a great show and a legend at work.  Mankind wrestled the Undertaker in a special “Hell in a
Cell” cage match.  During the bout, he climbed to the top of the cage and asked for his
opponent to join him.  The Undertaker did.  After a brawl ensued, Foley fell more than fifteen
feet from the top of the cage onto the Spanish Announcer’s table on the arena floor.  He was
not done there.  Mankind returned to the top of the cage, only to be chokeslammed through it
and down to the mat.  Mankind was pinned, needless to say, and suffered multiple injuries.  
Nothing that would end his career.  He wrestled later that week at a television taping.  The
bumps were spectacular.  Fans continue to applaud his performance.  It can still be heard.

   On Raw is War, July 13th, at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New
Jersey, Mankind teamed with Kane to take the WWF World Tag Title from the Outlaws.  Both
men were accompanied by Paul Bearer.  They had an assist from D-Lo Brown.  At the July
pay-per-view on the 26th in Fresno, Austin and Undertaker beat Mankind and his partner for
the WWF Tag Title.  They regained the WWF Tag Belts for the 3rd time in Omaha on August
10th.  Twenty days later at SummerSlam, Mankind wrestled two competitors in defense of the
WWF World Tag Title.  The New Age Outlaws overcame their single foe and won the
championship.  Kane did not appear for the match.  Mankind became one of Vince McMahon’
s Corporation later in the year.  

   Retracing some of WWF History…back In 1989, Mr. Perfect and the Genius combined to
break Hulk Hogan’s WWF World Heavyweight Title Belt during an edition of Saturday Night’s
Main Event.  The belt was repackaged and taped, everyone learned, and on November 2,
1998, McMahon awarded Mankind with the initial WWF World Hardcore Championship.  
“Hardcore” was stamped across the front.  It was an emotional moment.  The Hardcore Title
would become symbolic to the type of brawling and the willingness to put the body in extreme
risk.  Mankind was the perfect person to hold that belt.

   He was one of the wrestlers in the hunt for the vacant WWF World Heavyweight Title at the
Survivor Series on November 15th.  Mankind wrestled a special “mystery opponent” selected
by McMahon in the first round.  The competitor turned out to be Duane Gill, who he
demolished in 29-seconds.  In the second round, he wrestled and beat Al Snow by
submission with his clawhold.  Despite the two victories, his third match would be the one to
draw the ire of fans.  Mankind wrestled “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.  During the bout, the
assigned referee was pulled out of the ring by Shane McMahon, another WWF referee.

   When Austin was ready to pin his foe and advance, McMahon stopped his count at two
and then gave Austin two of his own patented fingers.  Members of the Corporation
proceeded to attack Austin, allowing a Mankind victory.  He had advanced, but in peculiar
fashion.  The Rock was also in the finals and the two battled harshly.  Their bout was wild and
memorable at the same time.  In the end, Rock put Mankind in a sharpshooter and the bell
was rung seconds later.  A conspiracy reminiscent to November 1997 in Montreal.  
Afterwards, Mankind questioned his Corporate leader, but the Rock answered with the WWF
Belt and a Rock Bottom.  The new champion celebrated with the McMahons in the ring until
Austin broke things up.  He received a stunner for being there.

   Mankind lost the WWF Hardcore Title to the Big Bossman, another Corporate Member, on
November 30th in Baltimore during Raw.  It seemed that he was the prime target of the
group.  During the December 6th pay-per-view in London, Mankind faced Austin, Undertaker
and Kane in a four-way match.  Austin won.  Mankind beat Maivia, the WWF World
Champion, during the December 13th pay-per-view in Vancouver but was unable to lay a
claim to the belt.  He used his mandible clawhold to score the win, but officials cited the fact
that Maivia had not given up and Mankind said he would force the champion to do so.  After
the match, he was attacked by Maivia, Big Bossman and Ken Shamrock.  Mankind was one
step closer to winning the belt.

   On December 29th in Worcester during a television taping, he beat Maivia and captured
his first WWF World Heavyweight Title.  Watching the timeline of Mick Foley’s wrestling career
would show an individual going from the bottom of the pile to the top of the ladder.  He was
on top of the World Wrestling Federation and the national wrestling scene.

   Mankind went into the 1999 Royal Rumble on January 24th as the defending World
Champion.  An estimated 14,000 fans watched him wrestle Maivia in a return match at the
Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim.  Maivia regained the belt in the special “I Quit” match with
plenty of controversy.  A microphone was held to the champ’s mouth as “I Quit” was played
over the house speakers.  It was Mankind’s voice saying the needed words…but it was from a
previous interview.  The match was stopped and the title changed hands.

   The war with Maivia was not over.  Mankind battled him in a special empty arena match,
taped on January 26, 1999 in the Convention Center in Tucson.  The tape of Mankind
winning the WWF World Title for the second time was broadcast during the WWF’s special
SuperBowl Halftime Show the following Sunday and drew impressive ratings.  He wrestled
Maivia for the 3rd time on consecutive pay-per-views on February 14th in Memphis.  The two
drew in a “Last Man Standing” match.  The following night in Birmingham, Maivia captured the
World Title before a live audience on Raw.

   At WrestleMania on March 28th, Mankind wrestled and defeated the Big Show before an
estimated 18,000 fans.  The two were scheduled again at Backlash on April 25th in a Boiler
Room Brawl, a match Mankind was familiar with.  He took the match with his experience.  He
teamed with several others to get an eight-man tag team win at Over the Edge in Kansas City
on May 23rd.  The night turned out to be a disaster for professional wrestling.

   History was made again on August 22, 1999 in Minneapolis when Minnesota Governor
Jesse Ventura refereed Mankind’s match with Steve Austin and Hunter Hearst Helmsley for
“Stone Cold’s” WWF World Title.  The three-way match went 16:22 before Ventura counted
Mankind’s pin on Austin.  He won the belt for the third time before a large crowd.  The next
night in Ames, Iowa, Helmsley beat Mankind for the championship during Raw.

   In Boston on August 30th, The Rock made a challenge to the Big Show and the
Undertaker for the WWF World Tag Team Title alone.  Mankind went to the ring and the
“Rock and Sock Connection” was born.  Rock and Mankind won the belts after the
Undertaker walked out on his partner.  A double “People’s Elbow” was used to score the
victory.  After the match, a brawl with Helmsley and the Undertaker ensued.  On September
7th, Show and Undertaker regained the belts at the Pepsi Arena in Albany at a television
taping.  At the Compaq Center in Houston on September 20th, the Connection regained the
belts in a match held under “Dark Side Rules.” The Undertaker actually did commentary while
Midian and Viscera wrestled in his place.  It was a  three-on-two handicap match.  Kane also
participated in the finish.  The next night in Dallas, they were beaten by the New Age Outlaws.

   After the WWF World Title was vacated by Vince McMahon, six-men were named to wrestle
in a special “Six-Pack” challenge match on September 26th in Charlotte.  Mankind was
named as were Big Show, Rock, Kane, Helmsley and Davey Boy Smith.  Helmsley pinned
Smith to regain the belt.  The Rock and Mankind continued to team and they regained the
straps on October 12th in Birmingham.  It was their third.  The Rock and Sock Connection
was tremendously popular and at times it seemed as if they would be impossible to defeat,
but they were beaten on October 18th in Ohio by Crash and Hardcore Holly.

   Two days later on October 20th, Foley’s first book entitled Have a Nice Day!  A Tale of
Blood & Sweatsocks. The 544 page autobiography was published by Regan Books and
received immediate accolades for it’s honesty.  Foley’s work also made it to number one on
the New York Times Bestsellers List.  Showing the true class of Mr. Foley, the book was
dedicated to the memory of Owen Hart and Brian Hildebrand.  No one questioned his writing
ability, nor did they question his wrestling.

   Mankind began teaming with Al Snow, who he was tutoring in the school of hardcore
wrestling.  The duo won the World Tag Title on November 2nd in Philadelphia with a victory
over the Hollys at a television taping.  They dropped the belts to the Outlaws on November
8th in State College.  Mankind was attacked by Val Venis during the bout.  The Outlaws also
used a chair to assist them in their fifth title win.  On November 14th in Detroit, he teamed
with Snow in a rematch against the Outlaws and were defeated when Billy Gunn pinned him.  
Mankind reformed the Rock and Sock Connection on December 12th in Sunrise, Florida and
beat the Outlaws by disqualification.  There was no title change.

   On January 3, 2000 in Miami, a tape was presented on Raw entitled “Have a Bad Day”
presented by the members of DeGeneration X.  In preparation for the Royal Rumble match-
up with Triple H, Cactus Jack brawled with Helmsley on January 17th in New Haven.  He was
saved by The Rock, who was, in turn, attacked by the Big Show.  Jack was pinned by
Helmsley, the reigning World Champion, at the Rumble later in the month.  The bout was a
special street-fight.  On February 27th, Cactus wrestled Helmsley again for the World Title.  
Win, lose or draw, it was Jack’s retirement match in a cage.  What other kind of match could it
be?  Helmsley pinned Cactus, and then he retired.

   Foley remained away from the ring for several months, only to return as the WWF
Commissioner.  Foley returned with a haircut and a clean-shaven face.  He made many
important decisions, which effected the organization on a nightly basis.  His office constantly
changed.  In October 2000, the paperback of “Have a Nice Day!” was released with a total of
748 pages.  Foley signed Kurt Angle to defend his WWF Championship against an unknown
opponent on November 12th on Sunday Night Heat.  Crash Holly was the man, and Angle
retained.  Foley was the special referee for the Vince McMahon-Shane McMahon contest at
WrestleMania in April 2001 in Houston.  The younger man was victorious.

   Continuing in his profession as an author, Foley released his second book Foley is Good:  
And the Real World is Faker than Wrestling on May 8, 2001 with 368 pages.  He returned to
the WWF to perform two acts as special referee during the WWF Invasion show in Cleveland
on July 22, 2001 at the Gund Arena.  First, he arrived with no prior warning during Sunday
Night Heat.  During a short interview, he acknowledged that he had been in both ECW and
WCW before joining the World Wrestling Federation and of all people that should be there,
he was one of the top.  Foley walked out to the ring before the Nick Patrick-Earl Hebner
match to a standing ovation.  He called the match evenly and even forced Patrick’s aids to
the back after some disheartening acts on their side.  Hebner pinned Patrick.  After the final
bell, Foley had words and had to resort to violence.  Socko made an appearance as did the
Mandible Claw.

   The night was not yet done.  His second official duty of the night was probably the hardest
of all.  He had to referee the Bra and Panty Match between Stacy Kiebler and Torrie Wilson
and Lita and Trish Stratus.  Foley wouldn’t even irritate his hand by slapping the mat
because there weren’t any pinfalls to record.  It was plain and simple, the first team to be
stripped lost.  The WCW/ ECW Faction was taken down and a victor was declared.

   His third book, a children’s book entitled Mick Foley’s Halloween Hijinx was released on
September 4, 2001 by Regan Books.  It had a total of 48 pages with Illustrations by Jill
Thompson.

   Foley appeared with Vince McMahon on the private WWF jet in Charlotte on November 19,
2001.  It was his final appearance for the organization…a send off of sorts.

   Let it be known that Mr. Foley encapsuled everything of which the nickname “Hardcore
Legend” intended.  Only two men in professional wrestling have been dubbed such.  The
original is Terry Funk, but his is more a title than a moniker.  If Cactus Jack is still performing
stunts at Funk’s age, maybe a 2nd Hardcore Legend Title will be awarded.  Nevertheless,
many fans await his next project, whether it is on paper or as a surprise guest on Raw.

Biography needs to be updated.


Championships and accomplishments from Wikipedia

 * Championship Wrestling Association
       o CWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Gary Young
 * Eastern Championship Wrestling / Extreme Championship Wrestling
       o ECW World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Mikey Whipwreck
 * Extreme Mid-South Wrestling
       o MSW North American Championship (1 time)
 * George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
       o Frank Gotch Award (2010)
 * Great Lakes Championship Wrestling
       o GLCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * International Wrestling Association of Japan
       o IWA World Tag Team Championship (IWA Japan version) (1 time) – with Tracy
             Smothers
       o King of the Deathmatch (1995)
 * North American Wrestling
       o NAW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * National Wrestling League
       o NWL Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * Ozark Mountain Wrestling
       o OMW North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * Pro Wrestling Illustrated
       o PWI Match of the Year (1998) vs. The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match at King of
             the Ring
       o PWI Match of the Year (1999) vs. The Rock in an "I Quit" match at Royal Rumble
       o PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (1993)
       o PWI ranked him #19 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the year in the PWI 500 in
             1999
       o PWI ranked him #46 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003
 * Steel City Wrestling
       o SCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with The Blue Meanie
 * Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
       o TNA Legends Championship (1 time)
       o TNA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * World Championship Wrestling
       o WCW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Kevin Sullivan
 * World Class Wrestling Association
       o USWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Scott Braddock
       o WCWA World Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
       o WCWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Super Zodiak II (1) and Scott
             Braddock (1)
 * World Wrestling Federation
       o WWF Championship (3 times)
       o WWF Hardcore Championship (1 time)
       o WWF Tag Team Championship (8 times)[35] – with Stone Cold Steve Austin (1),
             Chainsaw Charlie (1), Kane (2), Al Snow (1) and The Rock (3)
       o Slammy Award (1997) for Loose Screw
 * Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
       o Best Brawler (1991–2000)
       o Best on Interviews (1995, 2004, 2006)
       o Feud of the Year (2000) vs. Triple H
       o Best Pro Wrestling Book (2010) for "Countdown to Lockdown"
       o Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2000)



Research by Tim Hornbaker
Mick Foley Wrestling History
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