Athletes - Mick Foley

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	Athletes - Mick Foley

Michael Francis "Mick" Foley, Sr. (born June 7, 1965) is an American professional wrestler and author. He has wrestled under a wide variety of pseudonyms, most famously Cactus Jack, Mankind, and Dude Love.

Foley, who became a professional wrestler in 1983, was noted for his thoughtful and intense promos, in-ring tenacity, and willingness to put his body on the line for many dangerous spots. He was also known for having three distinct gimmicks as a wrestler: Cactus Jack, a maniacal and bloodthirsty Western outlaw; Mankind, a tortured soul who hid behind a leather mask and inflicted pain on others to ease his memories of his dark past; and Dude Love, a swinging "hip cat" who loved to shimmy and shake.

Known as a "hardcore legend," he has participated in some of wrestling's most brutal and memorable matches. He has wrestled all over the world with numerous organizations, including IWA, FMW, SMW, WCW, ECW, and in his later years WWE. Foley is best known for being a key player in the WWF during its "Attitude"(see Attitude era) and "Monday Night Wars" of the company with competing WCW. His accumulated injuries forced him into retirement in 2000, though he still occasionally wrestles and plays non-wrestling roles in WWE, as well as other organizations. He is also a best-selling author, having written his autobiography Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks himself and other books. He is currently with WWE.

Early life

Foley was born in Bloomington, Indiana; his family moved to East Setauket, Long Island, New York soon after he was born. There he attended Ward Melville High School, where he took part in lacrosse and amateur wrestling. Foley's true passion was for professional wrestling, however; as a student at State University of New York at Cortland, he hitchhiked to Madison Square Garden to see his favorite wrestler, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, in a steel cage match against Don Muraco. Foley said later that Snuka's flying body splash from the top of the cage inspired him to pursue a career in wrestling.

Early Wrestling Career

Early Years

Foley formally trained at Dominic DeNucci's wrestling school in Pennsylvania, and made his debut in June 1985. In addition to appearing on DeNucci's cards, Foley and several other students also took part in some squash matches for WWF TV tapings. The group also made several tours of African countries.

CWA

Foley returned to the independent circuit for a couple of years, until he began wrestling for Memphis-based CWA. There he aligned himself with the Stud Stable where he would become known as "Cactus Jack" for the first time. In October 23 1988, Foley teamed with Gary Young and defeated Todd Morton and Bill Dundee in a tournament final to become the CWA tag team champions. Stud Stable members Robert Fuller and Jimmy Golden soon turned on Cactus Jack defeating him and Young for the tag team titles on November 7 1988. On November 20 Foley left CWA, as a Loser-Leaves-Town match he and Gary Young would lose. Foley would leave Memphis for Texas World Class Wrestling(later USWA).

WCCW

In WCCW Foley would win the WCCW Light Heavyweight Championship, defeating Eric Embry December 30 1988. In WCCW Foley would also become a part of the stable of Skandor Akbar, along with wrestlers Super Zodiak II and Scott Braddock. Foley would win the WCCW tag team championships twice: once with Super Zodiak II on May 30 1989, against Jeff Jarrett and Kerry Von Erich, though losing them 10 days later; and a second time with Corporal Braddock against Jeff Jarret and Matt Bourne on August 1989. After losing the belts the second time a week later, Foley left WCCW., Foley states in his first autobiography that he hated the amnesia vignettes.

Foley returned in the fall of 1993 to save the British Bulldog from an attack by Vader. He then proceeded to feud with Vader and other wrestlers managed by Harley Race. Cactus Jack then defeated Yoshi Kwan at Fall Brawl 1993 to gain #1 contendership for the WCW World Championship. Foley and Vader were then booked for a Texas Death Match at Halloween Havoc 1993. In one of WCW's most brutal matches of all-time, the two led a bloody, barbaric battle for the fans. In the end, Harley Race used a cattle prod on Jack, knocking him out for over 10 seconds and giving Vader the victory. After the match, WCW decided that, because of how violent their matches had been, Cactus Jack and Vader would never again be booked against each other on a PPV.

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Athletes - Mick Foley

Early life

Early Wrestling Career

Early Years

CWA

WCCW

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