Mick Foley is widely regarded as one of the greatest character performers in wrestling history. Whether performing under any of his three personas, Dude Love, Cactus Jack or Mankind, or simply under his real name, the Hardcore Legend never failed to captivate an audience.
Despite the sadistic characters he often played on screen and his numerous bloody bouts in the ring, Mick Foley is also known to be one of the nicest men in the sport away from the ring.
However, there have been occasions when Mrs Foley’s baby boy has clashed with his peers.
“Ric Flair’s Anger Just Caught Me Off Guard” – Mick Foley
Foley’s real-life animosity with Ric Flair dated back to 1991 when the Nature Boy was part of the booking committee in WCW. Writing in his book ‘Have A Nice Day’, released in 1999, Foley claimed that “Ric Flair was every bit as bad on the booking side of things as he was great on the wrestling side of it.”
Five years later, Flair released his own biography, ‘To Be The Man’, and took the opportunity to hit back at Foley:
“I don’t care how many thumbtacks Mick Foley has fallen on, how many ladders he’s fallen off of, how many continents he’s supposedly bled on, he’ll always be known as a glorified stuntman.”
Following the release of Flair’s book, the two legends clashed backstage at Raw when Foley approached Flair to get a copy of his book signed for charity.
Foley recalled the incident during an episode of Ric Flair’s ‘Wooooo! Nation’ podcast:
“He [Flair] went to shake my hands, and I wouldn’t shake his hand, and I said, ‘You want to sign this book for me?’ I had envisioned a lot of scenarios, and never once did I envision Ric getting up and punching me.”
Foley continued:
”It never even entered my mind. When they were pulling me apart, Rhino was the main guy holding me back. He didn’t have to work very hard to hold me back because I wasn’t actually trying to make forward progress. Ric’s anger just caught me off guard, like I never saw it coming”
H/t to Sportskeeda