General Features

With just eight days to go until one of the biggest matches of his life, Mick Foley is remarkably relaxed.

The 6’2”, 20 stone softly-spoken wrestler is worlds away from the crazed madman he has portrayed for ten years on World Wrestling Entertainment television.

That said, he's still clearly cautious about his impending match with WWE star Edge at Wrestlemania 22 this Sunday April 2nd as the BBC Birmingham website found out in an exclusive interview.

"It's not as easy for me to turn it on and off as it used to be," he said. "It's gonna require a lot of visualisation and motivation to give the people the type of match that I really want to. We didn't have too long to get people interested, but I think we've made the most out of the last few weeks, and I think when people look up and down the Wrestlemania card, they definitely look at our's as one of the top matches."

'Top matches' are what Mick has been synonymous with for years. A three-time WWE champion, Mick's gigantic fan-base has followed his mat-exploits with an almost religious devotion.

Devoid of the clichéd movie star looks and chiselled physique – normally considered pre-requisites for a successful career in professional wrestling - the story of the young boy from Long Island, New York who hitchhiked to Madison Square Garden to catch a glimpse of the wrestlers he was besotted with has become part of wrestling folklore.

What followed was a long, arduous journey to the top of the wrestling business, a pathway filled with hazardous road trips, weeks of living from a suitcase and terrible pay-offs. 

(c) 2006 World Wrestling Entertainment

"You have to believe in yourself," he smiles. "But you know what? There's a fine line between believing in yourself and being delusional. And I'm sure there were a lot of people who thought I was being delusional when they saw me attempting to become a big shot in the world of pro wrestling. Luckily it worked out: it doesn't work out for that many people."

The Hardcore Legend

Luck wasn't the main thing that lead to Mick becoming a household name. He has earned the nickname 'The Hardcore Legend' due the infamous levels of brutality in his matches. Enflamed tables, baseballs bats wrapped in barbed-wire, near-suicidal falls; Mick became a pioneer in bringing the wrestling business out of the cartoon-character era of the 80s to the more gritty, believable style of the late 90s.

"I can look back now and say 'Aw, that was a little dumb taking huge bumps onto concrete before a couple of hundred fans,' but if it wasn't for that attitude and that type of work ethic, I never would have gotten to WWE. Maybe I should have taken it easy on the smaller shows especially, but all in all I have no regrets."

In recent years, Mick has slowed down his career, opting to only perform on certain shows, but still remains loyal to the company that made him a mega-star; his name value alone lends immediate credibility to younger opponents attempting to climb the ladder of success.

Best selling author

Mick has become a true cultural icon, an inspiration for anyone who believes that hard work and dedication can make dreams come true. In 1999, his first autobiography - 'Have a Nice Day' – rocketed to number 1 on the New York Times Bestseller lists, paving the way for wrestling-related books on the market, and shattering the stereotype that wrestlers can't write and wrestling fans can't read.

"It was so nice. It's also kind of low pressure in that the bar is not set very high for (wrestlers) to exceed expectations. It's kind of the same strategy that's worked so well for President Bush over in the States (laughs). If we come across as anything but idiots we're surprising a lot of people.

Mick Foley - preparing for Wrestlemania

"But I think the market's over-saturated now for wrestling autobiographies. You're going to blame me for that, right? (laughs) I don't think it’s necessarily over-saturated for good wrestling books though. For example – not that I'm going to gratuitously plug my project – but I have a book coming out next spring that will not be so much an autobiography as a series of stories and observations that I hope wrestling fans find interesting enough to purchase."

Mick has also penned several best selling children’s books and his first proper novel, 2003’s 'Tietam Brown' – a fictional tale of a young man growing up in the the Bronx in the 1960s- has attracted attention from Hollywood.

"I've had quite a lot of interest from Paul Haggis – who directed Crash – but unfortunately he passed on it as I'm sure he's got a decade's worth of projects lined up in his draw. But I have a great director and producer who really want to do this thing. They had me involved in the screenplay and after four drafts I think they really came up with something that will touch people. It may not be as twisted and dark as the novel but I think it keeps the spirit of the characters and will be a really good movie."

Foley is Birmingham

Mick's true passion though is still wrestling, as Birmingham fans can comfirm; they have been treated to many of Mick's performances over the last decade.

"I've been to the UK many times but I tell you what my favourite is right here in Birmingham!" he declares. "I remember Vader punching me in the nose several times here at the NEC Arena, and I remember coming out and wrestling as Dude Love against Triple H (in 1997 at 'One Night Only')."

(c) 2006 World Wrestling Entertainment

Birmingham holds true historical significance though. Only die-hard fans may know that it was right here in Brum – in November 1996 – that Mick had his first ever match with another wrestling legend, Bret 'Hitman' Hart.

"Yeah! You know what it was here!" Mick exclaims. "I've only had a couple of matches with Bret in my entire career and I remember! I hit Bret with (Paul Bearer's) urn very quickly into the match and we went on to have a really good, fairly lengthy match, if I remember correctly."

Speaking of Bret, after over 8 years of being estranged from WWE following a very bitter and public fallout, the 'Hitman' returns the night before Wrestlemania to be inducted into the 'Hall of Fame' now that both sides have seemingly reconciled.

"I think it’s awesome," says Mick. "I'm so glad that he finally made the decision. I just hope that with there being bad blood between Bret and a few of the WWE guys that nobody ruins the night for him."

Wrestlemania

One thing is for sure though: nobody will ruin Wrestlemania night for Mick Foley. He was disappointed with his last Wrestlemania performance – 2 years ago, teaming with wrestler-turned-movie star The Rock against Evolution – and doesn't plan on coming up short again.

(c) 2006 World Wrestling Entertainment

"The problem with the Evolution match was that I may have peaked too soon, in that I was emotionally spent by the time the match came about, and so came up a little short from a performance standpoint.

"But then I was able to redeem myself a month later at (the next WWE pay-per view show) Backlash in one of the top matches of my career. The challenge here is that I don't have a chance to redeem myself; there is no rematch so I really have a lot of pressure to have a Backlash type of match at Wrestlemania. But like every good wrestler, my intent is to steal the show!"

WWE returns to Birmingham on April 20th 2006 as part of the 'Wrestlemania Revenge Tour.' Please visit www.wwe.com for all information.