WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley has never hidden away from his frugal lifestyle and has recently discussed how he would often sleep on fans’ couches rather than spend money on a hotel room during his life on the road.
But this didn’t just happen when Foley was a young up-and-comer trying to make a name for himself and struggling to make ends meet, he kept this money—saving method up while he was the reigning WWE Champion!
Foley won his first WWE Championship on the January 4th 1999 edition of Monday Night Raw, defeating The Rock with help from ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin in one of the most iconic moments in WWE history, and went on to win the championship three times in total.
But the WWE Hall of Famer’s in-ring success did not affect his thrifty way of living.
WWE Hall Of Famer Tells Hilarious Story Of Why He Stopped Crashing On Fans’ Couches
Speaking on his ‘Foley Is Pod’ podcast, the former Mankind recalled a story of when he was crashing on a fan’s couch and met a ‘ragged’ group of fans when they stopped by the house one morning:
“I was WWE Champion, I’m staying at the house. At about eight in the morning, people start coming by the house! And I don’t ever want to talk down about any of my fans, but this was… kind of a ragged group of people, coming by early in the morning.
I remember thinking to myself, “Hey. You’re the WWE champion. Who the heck are you to look down on anyone because of the way they dress or look. I had to really have that talk with myself. So I went out and I met some people. They didn’t seem that into me, like I thought they would be, given that they come by eight-thirty in the morning to meet the WWE champion.”
Foley continued:
“So that night, he calls up to apologise. I say hey, it’s understandable. This is probably the only opportunity they’ll have to meet the champ. He goes, they weren’t there to meet you. I draw a blank, right? He said, oh, my girlfriend’s a crack dealer. I went “ahhhhhhh I’m out of there.” And I never stayed with a fan again.
“My girlfriend’s a crack dealer” (laughs). That was when I had a long look in the mirror. I said to myself, you’re Mick f’n Foley, and you will become a two-star (hotel) man. And now? I’m a three-star man.”
Elsewhere, Foley recently name dropped Bray Wyatt as a current wrestling star he would have loved to work with.
H/t to 411mania for the transcription.