Mick Foley has discussed what he believes to be the reason for talent allegedly faking injuries during the Monday Night Wars, putting it down to the rising quality of matches.
The Monday Night Wars changed everything for the then-WWF. While WCW Nitro was just getting off the ground, Monday Night Raw had been on-air for a few years at that point, but the New Generation Era was beginning to stagnate the product. Thus, it was an easy 83-week-long victory in the ratings for the superior WCW product.
It was during this time that fans began to expect more from the matches themselves. As the WWF progressed into the adult-oriented Attitude Era, no-one could get away with working the New Generation style, which is reportedly why so many performers faked injuries.
Speaking on the latest Foley Is Pod, Mick Foley addressed these injuries, putting it down to the rising quality of the average in-ring product:
“I think it had a lot to do with the Monday Night Wars because before the Monday Night Wars, you didn’t get competitive matches all that often. You know, I grew up in the era with the enhancement matches in WWF. And it was like, you know, here’s another mismatch and then an announcement would come on just over the match talking about the upcoming matches in your area, and that’s what we accepted that wrestling on TV was. So under that premise, you did not want to be on the losing end of any of those matches.
I think, though, when we started and I will say when I was growing up, you’d see like Paul Orndorff, and Brian Blair, and I was probably 15, 16 at this time, and they would tear it down. Every once in a while you’d see a really good match on television. But when you started out of necessity, having to add good matches, even main event matches.
I can’t argue whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing that after a pay-per-view, you’re going to see one or two [of] those matches that you paid to see on free TV the next week, so we’re giving away main events or strong cards. But at the same time, the brand itself was becoming so big, that you didn’t have to [give away matches].
This is one of the things I argued with JR over the money is that, you know, when I was unhappy with a payoff and I’d call, he’d say, ‘Well, you weren’t in the main event.’ I’d say, ‘Jim, the shows are selling out before we even list a card like this is, you know, I should be paid for being one of the cornerstones and one of the reasons people go out to buy tickets at a time.’ You know, other people might argue that wasn’t the case. But I was the guy, you know, arguing on my own behalf.”
As Mick Foley continued, the former WWE Champion explained why certain people shouldn’t lose too often, using the late ‘Ravishing’ Rick Rude as a shining light:
“But getting back to the competition, and the good matches regularly, you didn’t have to win to make an impression on people. And so there were some characters that lend themselves better to losing than others. You know, I didn’t feel like I got hurt from losing. Now, if Rick Rude, when he was in WCW, lost as often as I did, that would hurt a guy like Rick Rude.
So there were some guys who needed those wins all the time. I mean, those who would be hurt by losses, there were other guys who were not hurt by losses. I would argue that they would then lean too heavily on the guys who could lose and get away with it by having them lose so often that [it] no longer meant as much. But then, again, the short answer would be during the Attitude Era when the quality of the matches was more important than who won.”
Mick Foley joined the WWF in 1996, being a three-time World Champion during his tenure in the company. He’s heralded as one of the faces of the Attitude Era, with his 4 January 1999 victory of the championship over The Rock dramatically changing the landscape of professional wrestling.
His final match as a regular member of the roster saw Mick Foley, making a rare – at the time – in-ring appearance with no gimmick, challenge Triple H for the WWF Championship in the WrestleMania 2000 headliner, alongside The Rock and The Big Show.
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