WWE: Why Mick Foley Is One of the Great Talkers in History

Mick Foley is one of the greatest wrestling talkers in the business.

The casual fan may look at Foley and not see much. Let’s face it, Foley is not the most photogenic wrestler.

However, his hardcore matches are laden with excitement. Foley had one weapon greater than his 2x4 wrapped around in barbwire: his love for the business. That love for wrestling morphed into an overpowering charisma that cannot be mimicked or duplicated.

Foley is the type of wrestler who can sell almost anything to his fans. His promo work started gaining notoriety from the early days of ECW. Who could forget Foley as Cactus Jack spitting on the WCW Tag Team titles and throwing it to the ground?  Not only was it a passionate promo, but it also got him in trouble with the WCW brass.

That’s not all Foley’s done in ECW. His anti-hardcore promos were some of the best plugs in the '90s.  He became vilified as a heel. Foley was great at that time. After his last ECW match against Mikey Whipwreck in 1995, he got a standing ovation for his all of his hard work.

Foley is also good at comedy. This wasn’t more evident during The Rock’n’Sock Connection with The Rock. His “This Is Your Life” rendition for The Rock brought in many viewers and is the highest-rated segment in Raw’s history, bringing in 8.4 million viewers (via Cageside Seats).  Foley’s work as the WWE Commissioner for most of 2000 also showed Foley’s lighter side. Even his promos as Dude Love were equally hilarious.

Foley’s legacy as a great talker is the ability to get his point across, whether he’s funny or serious. But what makes him an excellent talker is his ability to get other wrestlers over with the crowd.

Take his recent encounter with CM Punk, for example. Both men deserve a standing ovation for their promo two weeks ago. During the promo, Foley asked Punk if he wanted to be a statistic or a legend.

It’s an important point, as Foley explained it’s the moments that make fans remember wrestlers, not statistics. Foley did his job and put Punk over as a heel. He’s done it numerous occasions with Triple H, Edge and Randy Orton during pivotal moments in each of their careers.

He constantly puts his opponents over with the fans, only making their names greater. The issues he brings up during his promos are what should be on wrestling fans’ minds. Foley is the type of talker that can make wrestlers greater than they are. His legacy as a talker should represent that.

Foley should be remembered for being one of the best talkers in the business, if not the best. That’s the legacy of Mick Foley: Bringing important issues and making his enemies better than ever, all from HIS words.