Mick Foley's Latest Blog Entry

Foley is Blog: Another Book?
By Mick Foley
March 8, 2006


Note: This week's blog entry was written Monday morning.

Welcome to this groundbreaking edition of “Foley is Blog.” Why is it groundbreaking? Simply because it is the first entry since my web log’s inception that hasn’t been written the night before deadline, and either express mailed, faxed, or even phoned to “Foley is Blog” headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. Yeah, on two occasions, in Afghanistan and in the Philippines, the entries have actually been phoned in, which probably come as a relief to the unfortunate person assigned to transcribing my entries, as I’m pretty sure my voice is easier to understand than my handwriting.

Speaking of writing, I will have a new book out in the spring of 2007, my first entry into the wrestling book genre since 2001. I had actually pitched Vince McMahon the idea of doing a behind-the-scenes look at WrestleMania, inspired in part by Buzz Bissinger’s “Three Nights in August,” which was an in-depth look at a three-game series between the Cubs and Cardinals, as seen through the eyes of Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa.

The book was fascinating for the avid baseball fan, and I thought capturing WWE’s biggest night, including the creative and physical buildup, as seen through the eyes of Vince McMahon, would be of great interest to diehard WWE fans, including those right here on “Foley is Blog!” Yes – cheap pop in writing.

The idea had been embraced by Pocket Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, and I was in the research phase when I realized that I might be part of WrestleMania. Obviously, an in-depth look at WrestleMania through the eyes of Vince McMahon becomes much more difficult from a writing perspective if I’m actually on the show. So, I asked Simon & Schuster if I could put the project on the shelf until a later time.

A few weeks ago, when a huge snowstorm pounded the Northeast, I was asked to fly to Greensboro, North Carolina, on the WWE corporate jet. Because I had been advertised as the special referee for the Cena – Edge match, and therefore really needed to be there, WWE was taking no chances, which in retrospect, is a good thing, as all New York flights were cancelled the next morning.

Aboard the flight, Mr. McMahon told me how much he enjoyed my autobiographies, and that he thought I should write another one. I made my obligatory Winston Churchill comparison (he wrote three volumes of memoirs) and then told Vince I would start writing down ideas. To tell you the truth, I though he was just making polite conversation. A week later, I received the call telling me the book idea had been approved and had a spring 2007 release date.

“Have a Nice Day” was an autobiography. “Foley is Good” was, among other things, an in-depth 15-month look behind the scenes of WWE. This will be a little different. It will be more of a collection of stories, observations and opinions, all revolving around the world of wrestling. Some of it may sound familiar, such as the story of the burn victim in Afghanistan previously been read on my web log. Much of it will be new. I will try to balance the serious and the humorous, and will do my very best to put out a book that will live up to the standards of my previous two.

In some ways the book will be inspired by all the books I signed that had obviously seen some bathroom duty, not to mention bathroom doody. An autobiography never truly seemed like the correct selection for such a task. A collection of stories, however, some of which will be specifically written to coincide with the length of the average dump, is perfectly appropriate.

The news of the book deal will probably spell the end of the five and six thousand word “Foley is Blog” entries. Those always seemed a little lengthy for the web log format, which I always felt was best suited to slightly less time-consuming entries. Even Bill Gates has admitted that some things are best read in books; that a computer screen can never really replace the intimacy of the book reading experience.

Or, in other words, if you want to read how Candice Michelle made my dreams come true, you’ll have to pay for it! Now, on to Mania!

Monday Night Challenge
Last Monday, Edge exposed my dirty little secret. I haven’t had that classic, career defining WrestleMania moment. Not only that, a couple of my Mania matches have been outright stinkers. So does anyone remember Mankind and Vader vs. Davey Boy and Owen? Me neither. OK, maybe stinker is a little too harsh a term, but I can’t even remember who won the match and I was in it.

I liked 1998’s Dumpster Match with Cactus Jack and the Funker against the New Age Outlaws. But, the buildup and the next night’s aftermath on RAW were more important than the match itself. Again, I can’t remember who won or lost that one. I know Terry Funk and I were declared the winners, but I didn’t know if the win was stricken from the record due to the controversy surrounding the “wrong” dumpster.

The less said about 1999’s Mania with the Big Show, the better. Maybe not a true stinker, but far, far from a classic. It did, however result in my refereeing the Austin – Rock main event, where I got to see a true Mania classic up close.

2000, was the year of the five-week retirement. I went out in a blaze of glory in the February 2000 “Hell in a Cell” and came back with a whimper in WrestleMania’s first four way main event. My most noteworthy achievement was nearly breaking my sternum on a flying elbow that fell far, far short of its mark. Sure, I showed great courage in getting up and going to Disneyland the next morning, but unfortunately my motivation at that years Mania was the park not the match.

I thought I would finally redeem myself at WrestleMania XX, in 2004. We had a great 12-week buildup. I had trained for five months and lost 50 pounds. I was more psychologically motivated for this match than I’d been for any of my career. I had the returning Rock as my partner. And then….a disappointing match. A good match, to be sure, but not the classic I needed. I’ve convinced myself that I peaked too soon, that I was just so wound up early that I couldn’t maintain the emotional intensity up until match time.

Or maybe, as Edge claimed, when it comes to WrestleMania, I choke. Maybe I am just a “Backlash” guy, a “No Way Out” guy, a “Royal Rumble” guy, a “King of the Ring” guy. Maybe, I don’t desire to be thought of as a legend until I can prove myself on the biggest stage of them all.

Just a few last thoughts. I watched the Oscars, last night, and couldn’t have been happier for Paul Haggis, whose film “Crash” won for best picture. I absolutely loved “Crash” even before I’d ever heard of Paul Haggis. I first heard of him about six months ago when my manager “Barny Bloom” told me that Haggis was interested in turning my novel “Tietam Brown” into a movie. Obviously, his winning would have been a huge deal to me if his next project was my book. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out. But, just knowing that guys of that caliber like my stuff is extremely gratifying.

I do expect a deal to be reached on “Tietam Brown” very soon, however. We have a producer and director in place, and I have just given my approval to a fourth draft of the screenplay. It’s not a huge money deal, so I felt an obligation to voice my opinions freely. If it had been a big money deal, I would have shut my mouth, counted the money and let them do whatever they wanted with the story.

I look at it as a chance at vindication, a chance to finally get it right. I really think I had a good story and some great characters, but I let it get away from me in the end. One critic, who really liked the book, referred to “the wheels falling off at the end.” So, hopefully, the wheels will stay on in the cinematic version, and we’ll finally get it right the second time around.

Too bad I won’t get a second chance at this year’s WrestleMania. I’ve only got one chance to get it right.

The 3/7 Raw begins in 10 hours. Bring it on.