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Post by ASR (therockisback) on Sept 22, 2024 20:13:37 GMT -5
Sgt Slaughter is the man. Good stuff
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Post by TheChamp617 on Sept 27, 2024 20:04:04 GMT -5
Awesome read. I can't believe the prices some of them are charging! Thanks! Me as well. These are Canadian dollars but still too steep for me. Great stuff Alex! Thanks again for the help!! Thanks Arun! Happy to help! Sgt Slaughter is the man. Good stuff Thanks for reading!
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Post by ASR (therockisback) on Sept 27, 2024 20:05:24 GMT -5
Awesome read. I can't believe the prices some of them are charging! Thanks! Me as well. These are Canadian dollars but still too steep for me. Great stuff Alex! Thanks again for the help!! Thanks Arun! Happy to help! Sgt Slaughter is the man. Good stuff Thanks for reading! Keep up the good work đź‘Ź
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Post by TheChamp617 on Oct 1, 2024 16:26:11 GMT -5
Mick Foley was in Toronto for a storytelling show last night. Although the poster advertises 7:30, the start time was moved to 8:30 as per an email announcement sent out last week. For this show, there were a few ticket options being GA, VIP (which includes admission, an autograph, and a photo), and Super VIP (which includes admission, three autographs, and a photo). The meet and greet would take place after the show. The Super VIP was reasonably priced at $150 which is what I went with. Additional autographs would be available for sale on top of the VIP options. The venue recommends arriving early in order to check in, so I arrive at 7:30, give my name to the hostess, who then gives me a pink wristband indicating I am a Super VIP. There are signs posted around the venue stating that this event was being filmed for Dark Side of the Ring. The actual doors to the theater itself were not yet open so I was asked to wait in the bar area. Not too long after, Ryan arrives and we catch up. During our conversation, another friend of ours arrives and greets us. He tells me that if I want extra autographs, I would need to prepay at the front as they won’t be taking cash at the meet and greet table itself. After hearing this, I went and pre-paid three extra autographs which were $50 each. I needed autographs on the Three Faces of Foley set plus three other figures. At about 8:10, the doors to the theater opened and we find our seats. It was a small intimate venue with about 150 people in attendance which was a sold out crowd for this venue. At about 8:35, the show starts. Mick says that this really was a random show as they needed footage for a Vice Network program which he doesn’t say by name. As the TV production crew is based out of Toronto, they wanted him to do a show here. This part of the show is to address other parts of Mick’s life. Some notes from the show: - Mick starts off and says he doesn’t tell jokes. For example, he doesn’t come out and say “What’s the difference between Al Snow and the 100 Years War?”. He takes a pause, getting the audience asking “what?”. Mick says that’s the point, he doesn’t tell jokes, but now that we’ve asked, he delivers the punchline saying that the 100 Years War eventually gets over. By using this term, he is able to point out the non-wrestling fans in the room.
- In 1988/1989, he got his first full time break with Memphis Wrestling then WCCW. Beforehand, Dominic DeNucci was trying to set him up with AWA. There was emphasis on bodybuilder physiques at the time. After a long pause, all Dominic could tell Verne was “he’s tall”. It didn’t take long for promoters to realize he was fun to watch.
- He recalled his tryout match in WCW against The Steiners and contemplated quitting the wrestling business when he realized he would be wrestling them. Jim Cornette and Kevin Sullivan were there. The latter asked Mick as to what his finish would be, to his surprise. Mick’s answer was simply an elbow drop, which sounded weak or rather, “Hogan-esque”. Mick then did a Jim Cornette impression which was him defending Mick’s elbow. He made the audience laugh by saying that the non-wrestling fans will think he is doing a Mickey Mouse impression when it was a really good Jim Cornette impression. Mick was then told to drop the elbow on his tag partner. The issue was that during the match his tag team partner was way too far for Mick to drop the elbow. It ended up being a flying hand rather than a flying elbow. Mick was hired by WCW regardless.
- He wasn’t naturally drawn to barbed wire and that style of wrestling. As a prelude to this, he teased Japanese wrestling for being backwards where the wrestlers chop each other as hard as possible and pretend it doesn’t hurt whereas pro wrestling is traditionally the opposite where you try to make your moves look believable without actually hurting your opponent. He then talks about Terry Funk and him signing with IWA Japan. Mick headed out there too for his first ever Japanese deathmatch. The venue was very cold and Terry Funk was using the same dressing room as the Japanese people as he was so ingrained into the culture. Mick and Terry, despite not being able to talk beforehand, knew that this was a huge opportunity. This was the match he was most proud of.
- He later jumps a few years later to when they were both with WWE, where Mick was preparing for the Hell in a Cell match. Terry and Mick watched the first Hell in a Cell match together and Mick asked Terry for ideas, which he initially had none. During this story, Mick would do his best Terry Funk impression when recalling what Terry was saying. Terry eventually recommended Mick to start at the top of the cell and started laughing. Mick agreed it was a good idea and had to talk to Undertaker about this in the weeks leading up to it. Undertaker would always shoot down this idea. Undertaker eventually gave in and asked “Jack, why are you so intent on killing yourself?”. Mick argued that it was to keep their legacy alive and pleaded. Undertaker said he would think about it. On the day of the event, Undertaker asked Mick if he had been on top of that before. Mick lied and said he has and that he was comfortable with it. At the match itself, Mick said that it was a struggle to climb up. It was only when he was at the top was when he realized how high it was. When the Undertaker’s music hit and no one was watching Mick, he was trying to find a way to gracefully scale down the structure, but he couldn’t. He recalls hearing twist ties breaking off the structure which was keeping the cell together. No one knew he was going to fall off the cell other than Vince and Undertaker, so when the medics were needed, they couldn’t properly fit the gurney into the ring area. As such, they raised the cell with Undertaker still on top. When he climbed the cell a second time, he had the mentality that the worst was behind him, but he was wrong. He thought it would take 5 or 6 chokeslams, but the mesh broke through and he lost consciousness when he fell. To buy time, Terry Funk came out and Undertaker asked him to check if Mick was still alive. Terry checks for Mick's pulse and after confirming he is still alive, Undertaker chokeslams Terry and he loses his shoes. Mick’s first conscious thought is that he is missing teeth. His second thought was “where did those shoes come from?”. Undertaker wanted the match to stop from there.
- At some point in the middle of all this, Mick spoke about Dusty, doing a few lines of the Hard Times promo using his best Dusty Rhodes impression. Mick sang Happy Birthday with revised lyrics to the tune of Nat King Cole’s Christmas Song. Jason Sensation made a surprise appearance doing a Stone Cold impression.
The show was about an hour and 45 minutes long and was very enjoyable. After the show ended the VIP ticketholders are then asked to line up by the bar area which led up to a table/booth with Foley. It wasn't until about 15 minutes after the show had ended that Mick Foley came out and started signing. It took about half an hour for me to get to Mick. Before entering the booth, the handler checks my wristband and I show the receipt for the additional autographs. To my surprise, the Three Faces of Foley set counted as one, despite the three signatures that would be going on the set. This meant that, in their eyes, I had four items despite having paid for six, which meant that I was able to get two 8x10s in addition. Once my tickets were verified and the fan in front of me was done, I entered the booth. We start off with a fistbump and exchange pleasantries. He starts signing my figures, personalized and in the colours I wanted. I tell him that it is nice to meet him in this kind of setting. I tell him that I’ve met him at indy shows and conventions many times but it is my first time meeting him in a setting like this. He thanks me and says he enjoys doing these. I tell him that these kind of shows don’t happen too often in Toronto but when they do come around, I always like attending these. I mention that I think the last show like this I attended was years ago with Ted DiBiase. Mick asked if it was at the same venue to which I told him no but it was at a similar venue in Toronto. I also tell him that I remember meeting him literally just down the street at Greektown Wrestling. He laughed and said “oh yeah! I had a face off with RJ City!”. I smile and say “yeah, and I think they booked you again but then---”. Mick joins me mid-sentence and we simultaneously say, “the pandemic happened”. He also says that they have been trying to book him again but he didn’t say why it hasn’t happened yet. At this point, all my figures are signed and I choose the two 8x10s for him to sign. Once he signed those, we pose for a picture and thank each other. Ryan then meets Foley after me to end the event. Mick was very great to meet once again. A very successful night! Thanks for reading!
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Post by The Brain on Oct 1, 2024 16:30:38 GMT -5
Got the 3 Faces set signed during a virtual few months back. Awesome piece
Another great report!
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Post by Grumpyoldman on Oct 2, 2024 11:39:48 GMT -5
Great read! Looks like you got your money's worth as well. Glad you had an enjoyable time.
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Post by ASR (therockisback) on Oct 2, 2024 19:23:02 GMT -5
Foley is the man!! A legit story teller
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