Mick Foley appeared on Busted Open with Dave Lagreca and Doug Mortman. The program airs Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays on Sirius 92 and XM 208 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., visit www.facebook.com/bustedopen for more information. Highlights from the interview are as follows:
Brad Armstrong: “I got to be honest, I just found out from you guys. I did not know that Brad Armstrong had passed away. (Mick was in Korea last week) He was one of the most respected guys. I remember Vader wrestling Brad in ’92 and him coming back and saying ‘What an honor it was to be to share the same ring with that guy.’ Brad was appreciated by people backstage, but I don’t think fans had an idea of how great he was. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Armstrong family. We were really tight with the Armstrongs, especially when I lived in Florida, Scotty, Brian, and Bullet would come by our gym and we really got to know the Armstrongs well. Scotty Armstrong is one of my favorite guys to see, now when I go back, man, I cant believe at 51 years old Brad is gone.”
Possibly entering the Hall of Fame next year: “There is so much to do from my perspective at Wrestlemania. There is a rumor that I may have something additional to do this year. I’m alluding to the Hall of Fame rumor that I started several months ago. (Laughs) If there is going to be a time and place, it seems like a good time and place. I don’t even know where Wrestlemania is next year, but wherever it is, it wouldn’t be as cool as being inducted say at the Garden or nearby, especially with my family there. Let’s face it, I would save a ton of money on airfare. (Laughs)”
What would be his dream match be at Wrestlemania 29: “I would love to see Rock and Punk. I really would. I don’t know if there are talking about any guest returns, but say Rock wins the championship and Punk as a contender I think would be really compelling. I love the way he has done everything not to be the cool heel. That he has managed to get people to hate him when he was among one of the most beloved, maybe Cena was the most popular, and maybe the most beloved, but outside that prime Cena age, people loved Punk. He has managed to be really effective with it and do some of his most captivating stuff. When you’re in the ring with him, and standing face to face you realize you’re dealing with greatness there.”
Is the WWE in a dangerous position relying on part time wrestlers?: “No, I think it’s great as long as you don’t over play that hand. Other than Rock as a special occasion, he’s an A-list actor that brings an incredible amount of outside interest to anything he does. Why not go all the way with the guy and see what happens? Why not give it a try, you never know unless you try. At first people thought this was a one dimensional Goldberg thing, he still gives the Goldberg chants. But I can’t remember the last time somebody has gotten over, Umaga to some extent, by just crushing people. He is such an impressive guy and he uses his strength functionally to put two or three people up on his shoulders, it’s really impressive.”
Can a guy like Ryback be the face of WWE?: “I don’t know, but you don’t know until you do it. And as far as being able to pick up the stick and that ability to talk adds to our characters. But who’s to say Ryback’s character should be a guy who talks a lot. You might want to keep it surrounded by mystery, like the way of Undertaker, sometimes the less he said the more effective he was. I went to give Ryback a little encouragement before his cell match and he just disappears into his character like great performers do. If you got a guy that can disappear into a character and it’s that impressive then I think, A, he might develop into a great talker, or B, he might not need to be one, or C, it might not make a difference.”
Are wrestling fans hard to please?: “I think it’s the nature of the business; people are going to complain about everything. Daniel Bryan for example, is a much bigger star and who could have seen that happen? He broke down the next barrier with humor. Most people love the team ‘Hell No’ even though that wasn’t my choice. I think you can’t keep wrestling fans happy all the time. I realized when I was stupid enough to go out there on the Internet and see what people were saying about me, a lot of people don’t like me either. You can’t please all the people all the time.”
His book: “Man, I would love to recruit him (Miz). I shed many figurative tears when Punk went bad, realizing the book would have a much less chance. My goal for the book, I wrote a blog called ‘I love this book,’ my goal is for it to do well enough that I can do another one. I love the idea of being able to do something positive and work hand in hand with WWE’s Be A Star Campaign. To the point where I met with Triple H over a year ago and we were talking about ways I would be able to work with the company, and the last thing I said when I was leaving the office is, I would really like to do a children’s book. I said it’s not about the money; it’s the perfect opportunity to work with Be A Star.I really want the book to do well enough so I can do another one.”
Team Ziggler: “I like the direction that the pay-per- view is headed. I don’t know if a Survivor Series classic matchup is enough of a draw on top as a pay-per-view. I think as a semi main event it’s really good and anything that gives Ziggler spotlight I think is a positive. And if I can recruit the Miz, which I would really love because it would be good for the book.”
His WrestleMania moment: “It’s got to be the one with Edge, I’ve told that story when I do my shows about realizing being surrounded by charred flesh and blood, even as the referee was counting to three, I was like, ‘I got my moment, I got my moment.’ When I made that phone call home, which I had to do under direct orders after every single pay-per-view, my wife answers the phone and said, ‘IsEdge okay?’ That was my magic WrestleMania moment and then being dramatically brought down to earth.”
Brad Armstrong: “I got to be honest, I just found out from you guys. I did not know that Brad Armstrong had passed away. (Mick was in Korea last week) He was one of the most respected guys. I remember Vader wrestling Brad in ’92 and him coming back and saying ‘What an honor it was to be to share the same ring with that guy.’ Brad was appreciated by people backstage, but I don’t think fans had an idea of how great he was. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Armstrong family. We were really tight with the Armstrongs, especially when I lived in Florida, Scotty, Brian, and Bullet would come by our gym and we really got to know the Armstrongs well. Scotty Armstrong is one of my favorite guys to see, now when I go back, man, I cant believe at 51 years old Brad is gone.”
Possibly entering the Hall of Fame next year: “There is so much to do from my perspective at Wrestlemania. There is a rumor that I may have something additional to do this year. I’m alluding to the Hall of Fame rumor that I started several months ago. (Laughs) If there is going to be a time and place, it seems like a good time and place. I don’t even know where Wrestlemania is next year, but wherever it is, it wouldn’t be as cool as being inducted say at the Garden or nearby, especially with my family there. Let’s face it, I would save a ton of money on airfare. (Laughs)”
What would be his dream match be at Wrestlemania 29: “I would love to see Rock and Punk. I really would. I don’t know if there are talking about any guest returns, but say Rock wins the championship and Punk as a contender I think would be really compelling. I love the way he has done everything not to be the cool heel. That he has managed to get people to hate him when he was among one of the most beloved, maybe Cena was the most popular, and maybe the most beloved, but outside that prime Cena age, people loved Punk. He has managed to be really effective with it and do some of his most captivating stuff. When you’re in the ring with him, and standing face to face you realize you’re dealing with greatness there.”
Is the WWE in a dangerous position relying on part time wrestlers?: “No, I think it’s great as long as you don’t over play that hand. Other than Rock as a special occasion, he’s an A-list actor that brings an incredible amount of outside interest to anything he does. Why not go all the way with the guy and see what happens? Why not give it a try, you never know unless you try. At first people thought this was a one dimensional Goldberg thing, he still gives the Goldberg chants. But I can’t remember the last time somebody has gotten over, Umaga to some extent, by just crushing people. He is such an impressive guy and he uses his strength functionally to put two or three people up on his shoulders, it’s really impressive.”
Can a guy like Ryback be the face of WWE?: “I don’t know, but you don’t know until you do it. And as far as being able to pick up the stick and that ability to talk adds to our characters. But who’s to say Ryback’s character should be a guy who talks a lot. You might want to keep it surrounded by mystery, like the way of Undertaker, sometimes the less he said the more effective he was. I went to give Ryback a little encouragement before his cell match and he just disappears into his character like great performers do. If you got a guy that can disappear into a character and it’s that impressive then I think, A, he might develop into a great talker, or B, he might not need to be one, or C, it might not make a difference.”
Are wrestling fans hard to please?: “I think it’s the nature of the business; people are going to complain about everything. Daniel Bryan for example, is a much bigger star and who could have seen that happen? He broke down the next barrier with humor. Most people love the team ‘Hell No’ even though that wasn’t my choice. I think you can’t keep wrestling fans happy all the time. I realized when I was stupid enough to go out there on the Internet and see what people were saying about me, a lot of people don’t like me either. You can’t please all the people all the time.”
His book: “Man, I would love to recruit him (Miz). I shed many figurative tears when Punk went bad, realizing the book would have a much less chance. My goal for the book, I wrote a blog called ‘I love this book,’ my goal is for it to do well enough that I can do another one. I love the idea of being able to do something positive and work hand in hand with WWE’s Be A Star Campaign. To the point where I met with Triple H over a year ago and we were talking about ways I would be able to work with the company, and the last thing I said when I was leaving the office is, I would really like to do a children’s book. I said it’s not about the money; it’s the perfect opportunity to work with Be A Star.I really want the book to do well enough so I can do another one.”
Team Ziggler: “I like the direction that the pay-per- view is headed. I don’t know if a Survivor Series classic matchup is enough of a draw on top as a pay-per-view. I think as a semi main event it’s really good and anything that gives Ziggler spotlight I think is a positive. And if I can recruit the Miz, which I would really love because it would be good for the book.”
His WrestleMania moment: “It’s got to be the one with Edge, I’ve told that story when I do my shows about realizing being surrounded by charred flesh and blood, even as the referee was counting to three, I was like, ‘I got my moment, I got my moment.’ When I made that phone call home, which I had to do under direct orders after every single pay-per-view, my wife answers the phone and said, ‘IsEdge okay?’ That was my magic WrestleMania moment and then being dramatically brought down to earth.”
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