Mick Foley is widely regarded as a pro wrestling legend. He had a long and successful career filled with iconic moments and great accomplishments. But his early career was filled with struggles, both in front of the camera and backstage.
It was one of these backstage issues that Foley brought up on a recent episode of his Foley is Pod podcast. In this case, Foley discussed how his family was mistreated by WWE’s backstage staff when he was still a fresh signee.
Mick Foley Told “No Wives Backstage”
Mick Foley recalled hearing about a new edict was announced forbidden wrestlers’ wives from the backstage area. Foley was particularly upset at this for three reasons. First, it was sudden and he was caught off guard. Second, he brought his wife with him to celebrate her birthday and now she had to spend the whole day by herself.
And third, Foley recalled looking around and seeing many wives, girlfriends, and as he put it, “companions who’d known the wrestler for 24 hours or less” all walking about.
“And now I see it, right or wrong, as a pattern. And I’m pissed. You can say, “you’re a professional, you have to put that to the side.” I’m more sensitive than most, I think that’s safe to say. And when you get that knot in your stomach? It’s a pretty good gauge that something’s wrong.”
But this wasn’t the first time Mick Foley’s family was maltreated by WWE’s staff. In the same episode, Foley also recalled an earlier event in which his children were left in a room with poor sanitary conditions:
“The agent — and I don’t need to name the agent — may have been overplaying his hand by not allowing my family backstage. And ushered them into a bathroom with what appeared to be an open sewage line.
And why I didn’t stand up right then and say “this doesn’t fly,” I don’t know. I was probably thinking, “I’ve only got a few months in this company, I’m getting a push, I don’t want to rock the boat.””
h/t 411mania for the transcription