- Courtesy of Chris Maffei, here are some highlights from Mick Foley’s recent appearance on the Live Audio Wrestling program. You can download the show in MP3 format at this link.
How he got involved with stand up comedy:
I had done a lot of speaking at colleges where a lot of my stories were humorous, but because I was never billed as a comic, they didn’t have to be funny, that was just kind of like the icing on the cake. When I did make the foray into comedy, I realized that you can’t just go out there with some ideas, even if the ideas do lead to good stories. I had essentially shrugged off comedy as something that’d be too difficult to get good at. The challenge I really had was trying to get the same people who would willingly wait two hours in line for me to sit down in a comfortable club and listen to me tell stories and do comedy for the same amount of time and for the same price. There was a disconnect, like “Comedy? No, no, we like you in a wrestling venue,” even if it’s a signing that has to do with wrestling. It was really frustrating to me, and I honestly didn’t think I would have the capacity to overcome that. I thought it would take too much time and effort.
If his stand up is aimed at a wrestling audience:
I try to make it inclusive for everybody, without alienating the people who do like me for wrestling, which is most of the people there. I want it to be entertaining for everybody. I use wrestling as my jumping off point to go to other topics, and I’m kinda using trial and error to figure out how to get back to wrestling, and how to weigh everything out. I like to think of wrestling like the best education ever, if you just travel around the world with your eyes and ears open. I share stories that I learned along the way, and things that I learned about people through wrestling. There are some really good stories that anybody could appreciate as long as they are willing to be open to seeing a wrestler tell them.
A potential return to the WWE and working in the ring:
First of all, I’d really have to start working out and conditioning. I should really do that now, in case some of these rumors turn out to be true. They’re all rumors that I started, by the way, so it’s nice to know that form of communication is still viable. I’m having fun, I think most people know I’m joking when I use the words, “I’ll show Hugh Jackman how it’s done when I show up as the SECRET special guest referee at Hell in a Cell,” and then about a minute later, “WHOOPS! Disregard that, I was trying to direct message Michael Cole. A lot of people took me seriously, and were disappointed when I wasn’t there, so I’m gonna try not to spread rumors. With that being said, I do think that I’ll be showing up in WWE sometime soon. Sometime.
How he got involved with stand up comedy:
I had done a lot of speaking at colleges where a lot of my stories were humorous, but because I was never billed as a comic, they didn’t have to be funny, that was just kind of like the icing on the cake. When I did make the foray into comedy, I realized that you can’t just go out there with some ideas, even if the ideas do lead to good stories. I had essentially shrugged off comedy as something that’d be too difficult to get good at. The challenge I really had was trying to get the same people who would willingly wait two hours in line for me to sit down in a comfortable club and listen to me tell stories and do comedy for the same amount of time and for the same price. There was a disconnect, like “Comedy? No, no, we like you in a wrestling venue,” even if it’s a signing that has to do with wrestling. It was really frustrating to me, and I honestly didn’t think I would have the capacity to overcome that. I thought it would take too much time and effort.
If his stand up is aimed at a wrestling audience:
I try to make it inclusive for everybody, without alienating the people who do like me for wrestling, which is most of the people there. I want it to be entertaining for everybody. I use wrestling as my jumping off point to go to other topics, and I’m kinda using trial and error to figure out how to get back to wrestling, and how to weigh everything out. I like to think of wrestling like the best education ever, if you just travel around the world with your eyes and ears open. I share stories that I learned along the way, and things that I learned about people through wrestling. There are some really good stories that anybody could appreciate as long as they are willing to be open to seeing a wrestler tell them.
A potential return to the WWE and working in the ring:
First of all, I’d really have to start working out and conditioning. I should really do that now, in case some of these rumors turn out to be true. They’re all rumors that I started, by the way, so it’s nice to know that form of communication is still viable. I’m having fun, I think most people know I’m joking when I use the words, “I’ll show Hugh Jackman how it’s done when I show up as the SECRET special guest referee at Hell in a Cell,” and then about a minute later, “WHOOPS! Disregard that, I was trying to direct message Michael Cole. A lot of people took me seriously, and were disappointed when I wasn’t there, so I’m gonna try not to spread rumors. With that being said, I do think that I’ll be showing up in WWE sometime soon. Sometime.