Post by Head Booker on Oct 1, 2010 9:45:14 GMT -6
Mick Foley interview on WWE.com: To promote a book about TNA
Read full interview here
Of Suits and Headsets
WWE.com: You mention The Hardcore Diaries and other details relating to it in a chapter called “Repackaging Mick.”
FOLEY: That chapter – which starts on page five of Countdown to Lockdown – sets the tone regarding my decision to leave WWE. It was a difficult time for me, where I was trying my best to come back from a really bad back injury. I had been really excited about The Hardcore Diaries and its potential to do well, and about the potential to work a post-WrestleMania match with John Morrison. Unfortunately, I had the misfortune of giving the wrong wrestling promo in the wrong place at the wrong time – that would have been Washington, D.C., after the crowd had sat through SmackDown and waited a long time for the then-live ECW show to air.
At first, I just shrugged it off as one of those things that happened; you find that when you go out there and take your swing, sometimes you make solid contact, and sometimes you miss completely. However, it was my educated guess that Vince may have seen that particular promo as a sign that I had lost my ability to connect with the fans. So, in rapid succession following a short conversation, I lost my “dress code exemption” [laughs], meaning I would have to start dressing in slacks and a sports coat. I was also told that I would need to be sent home and be “repackaged.”
I remember how bizarre it felt when I mentioned this to my editor on The Hardcore Diaries, and she said, “’Don’t connect with the fans’? You’re No. 6 on the New York Times bestseller list!” Still, one of the great traits of Vince McMahon is that he firmly believes in going with his gut. I don’t think there would be a WWE if Vince was not a gut-player. In that instance, though, I think his gut decision was not the best for me or my book. [Laughs.]
WWE.com: You mention losing your dress code privileges. I remember the corduroy sports coats; I don’t remember the dress slacks and dress shoes.
FOLEY: I thought I’d meet Vince halfway and that he would appreciate the effort. The corduroy jacket became the mainstay for every single post-repackaging appearance, but if viewers look closely, they’ll see the warm-up pants and possibly a pair of sneakers. Vince never said anything. I think he realized that I was doing the best I could, and that some bodies weren’t meant to wear slacks. [Laughs.]
WWE.com: “A Whole New Career” may be the most interesting – and most brutally honest – chapter in your book, where you recall transitioning from being an in-ring competitor to a WWE commentator.
FOLEY: Vince had asked how I’d feel about announcing at the premiere party for Anamorph, a movie that his daughter-in-law Marissa had produced. To this day, I don’t really know if that was something he thought about and speculated on, or if he just decided to ask me at that very moment. Like I said, Vince tends to go with his gut feeling.
My immediate comment was, “I don’t know, Vince. I’ve heard about you on those headsets.” He laughed it off and said, “Actually, I’m getting better at that.” All I can say is, if what I heard represented “getting better,” then I truly feel for the announcers who had Vince produce them before he got better. [Laughs.]
WWE.com: You really go into detail as to how things degenerated from there, but you don’t do it in a nasty way; you’re just very honest and offer a lot of insight as to what it’s like to be at that announce table. Which leads us to the chapter called “The Magic Headsets” …
FOLEY: Yes, the headsets were magic because the moment you put them on, all the respect you thought you had earned seemed to disappear. [Laughs.] I like that chapter, and I think anyone who reads it will find themselves laughing. My wife enjoyed it because she thought I was getting my feelings out without being bitter.
WWE.com: You wrote the chapter in a fictionalized, imaginary setting and give Vince a special name.
FOLEY: Yes, Mr. McMahon may or may not be the inspiration behind “Mr. McMagical” [laughs], and I was “McFoley.” Writing the chapter in a fantasy world of dragon slayers, princes and sires was my way of dealing with the most difficult time of my WWE stay without really becoming bitter or angry about it. Readers sometimes equate honesty with anger, so if they’re looking for anger about my WWE years in Countdown to Lockdown, they’re probably going to be disappointed. If they’re looking for honesty, I think they’ll really enjoy it.
WWE.com: When you look back at those days now, would you say that the attitude that Vince relayed through the “magic headsets” had nothing to do with the people on the other end, and was reflective more on that position?
FOLEY: Yes, I have come to believe that. But I tell you, it’s tough to feel that way when you’re actually sitting at the table, wearing those magic headsets. If I had stayed in that position, I think I would feel extremely angry and bitter toward WWE. Instead, I believe I left at the right time, while I still had so many positive feelings. Looking back on those days makes me laugh now, because it was so surreal.
WWE.com: You also mention in your book, though, that when you finished with WWE and did your last call on commentary with Jim Ross, Vince complimented you.
FOLEY: That was my last pay-per-view – Triple H versus Edge at The Great American Bash 2008. I did another few weeks [on SmackDown], until Edge Speared me through a table. Vince did give me a lot of compliments and made it clear that he liked much of my announcing. During the most contentious conversation of our relationship – which is a part of Countdown to Lockdown that I think readers will find really fascinating – he said that my call on the match with J.R. at The Great American Bash was as good as any that he’d ever heard. I thanked him and said, “Vince, the problem is that I really don’t know the difference anymore.”
For me, announcing wasn’t the ideal working condition. However, if viewers were to go back and watch some of those big calls – Edge and Triple H, Edge and The Undertaker’s Tables, Ladders and Chairs Match [at One Night Stand 2008], Shawn Michaels against Batista [at Backlash 2008] – I hope those matches provide some kind of testament that I did a good job on occasion.
WWE.com: Just to get this out there – because it is so surreal – you no longer work for WWE. A professional conflict with Vince McMahon is the reason you’re no longer with WWE. And who was it that offered you the opportunity to promote Countdown to Lockdown on WWE.com?
FOLEY: From what I understand, it was Vince McMahon’s decision to mention the book on Raw, and it was his decision to offer me the opportunity to talk to WWE.com. It is literally among the craziest things I’ve ever heard of. [Laughs.] I think it’s unprecedented, and it has a lot of people talking. And I’m flattered to do this. I think it shows what kind of respect Vince has for me and, deep down, he genuinely likes me and appreciates what I did when I was with the company.
Read full interview here
Of Suits and Headsets
WWE.com: You mention The Hardcore Diaries and other details relating to it in a chapter called “Repackaging Mick.”
FOLEY: That chapter – which starts on page five of Countdown to Lockdown – sets the tone regarding my decision to leave WWE. It was a difficult time for me, where I was trying my best to come back from a really bad back injury. I had been really excited about The Hardcore Diaries and its potential to do well, and about the potential to work a post-WrestleMania match with John Morrison. Unfortunately, I had the misfortune of giving the wrong wrestling promo in the wrong place at the wrong time – that would have been Washington, D.C., after the crowd had sat through SmackDown and waited a long time for the then-live ECW show to air.
At first, I just shrugged it off as one of those things that happened; you find that when you go out there and take your swing, sometimes you make solid contact, and sometimes you miss completely. However, it was my educated guess that Vince may have seen that particular promo as a sign that I had lost my ability to connect with the fans. So, in rapid succession following a short conversation, I lost my “dress code exemption” [laughs], meaning I would have to start dressing in slacks and a sports coat. I was also told that I would need to be sent home and be “repackaged.”
I remember how bizarre it felt when I mentioned this to my editor on The Hardcore Diaries, and she said, “’Don’t connect with the fans’? You’re No. 6 on the New York Times bestseller list!” Still, one of the great traits of Vince McMahon is that he firmly believes in going with his gut. I don’t think there would be a WWE if Vince was not a gut-player. In that instance, though, I think his gut decision was not the best for me or my book. [Laughs.]
WWE.com: You mention losing your dress code privileges. I remember the corduroy sports coats; I don’t remember the dress slacks and dress shoes.
FOLEY: I thought I’d meet Vince halfway and that he would appreciate the effort. The corduroy jacket became the mainstay for every single post-repackaging appearance, but if viewers look closely, they’ll see the warm-up pants and possibly a pair of sneakers. Vince never said anything. I think he realized that I was doing the best I could, and that some bodies weren’t meant to wear slacks. [Laughs.]
WWE.com: “A Whole New Career” may be the most interesting – and most brutally honest – chapter in your book, where you recall transitioning from being an in-ring competitor to a WWE commentator.
FOLEY: Vince had asked how I’d feel about announcing at the premiere party for Anamorph, a movie that his daughter-in-law Marissa had produced. To this day, I don’t really know if that was something he thought about and speculated on, or if he just decided to ask me at that very moment. Like I said, Vince tends to go with his gut feeling.
My immediate comment was, “I don’t know, Vince. I’ve heard about you on those headsets.” He laughed it off and said, “Actually, I’m getting better at that.” All I can say is, if what I heard represented “getting better,” then I truly feel for the announcers who had Vince produce them before he got better. [Laughs.]
WWE.com: You really go into detail as to how things degenerated from there, but you don’t do it in a nasty way; you’re just very honest and offer a lot of insight as to what it’s like to be at that announce table. Which leads us to the chapter called “The Magic Headsets” …
FOLEY: Yes, the headsets were magic because the moment you put them on, all the respect you thought you had earned seemed to disappear. [Laughs.] I like that chapter, and I think anyone who reads it will find themselves laughing. My wife enjoyed it because she thought I was getting my feelings out without being bitter.
WWE.com: You wrote the chapter in a fictionalized, imaginary setting and give Vince a special name.
FOLEY: Yes, Mr. McMahon may or may not be the inspiration behind “Mr. McMagical” [laughs], and I was “McFoley.” Writing the chapter in a fantasy world of dragon slayers, princes and sires was my way of dealing with the most difficult time of my WWE stay without really becoming bitter or angry about it. Readers sometimes equate honesty with anger, so if they’re looking for anger about my WWE years in Countdown to Lockdown, they’re probably going to be disappointed. If they’re looking for honesty, I think they’ll really enjoy it.
WWE.com: When you look back at those days now, would you say that the attitude that Vince relayed through the “magic headsets” had nothing to do with the people on the other end, and was reflective more on that position?
FOLEY: Yes, I have come to believe that. But I tell you, it’s tough to feel that way when you’re actually sitting at the table, wearing those magic headsets. If I had stayed in that position, I think I would feel extremely angry and bitter toward WWE. Instead, I believe I left at the right time, while I still had so many positive feelings. Looking back on those days makes me laugh now, because it was so surreal.
WWE.com: You also mention in your book, though, that when you finished with WWE and did your last call on commentary with Jim Ross, Vince complimented you.
FOLEY: That was my last pay-per-view – Triple H versus Edge at The Great American Bash 2008. I did another few weeks [on SmackDown], until Edge Speared me through a table. Vince did give me a lot of compliments and made it clear that he liked much of my announcing. During the most contentious conversation of our relationship – which is a part of Countdown to Lockdown that I think readers will find really fascinating – he said that my call on the match with J.R. at The Great American Bash was as good as any that he’d ever heard. I thanked him and said, “Vince, the problem is that I really don’t know the difference anymore.”
For me, announcing wasn’t the ideal working condition. However, if viewers were to go back and watch some of those big calls – Edge and Triple H, Edge and The Undertaker’s Tables, Ladders and Chairs Match [at One Night Stand 2008], Shawn Michaels against Batista [at Backlash 2008] – I hope those matches provide some kind of testament that I did a good job on occasion.
WWE.com: Just to get this out there – because it is so surreal – you no longer work for WWE. A professional conflict with Vince McMahon is the reason you’re no longer with WWE. And who was it that offered you the opportunity to promote Countdown to Lockdown on WWE.com?
FOLEY: From what I understand, it was Vince McMahon’s decision to mention the book on Raw, and it was his decision to offer me the opportunity to talk to WWE.com. It is literally among the craziest things I’ve ever heard of. [Laughs.] I think it’s unprecedented, and it has a lot of people talking. And I’m flattered to do this. I think it shows what kind of respect Vince has for me and, deep down, he genuinely likes me and appreciates what I did when I was with the company.
