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BOOK REVIEW: FOLEY IS GOOD BY MICK FOLEY

“Foley is Good- And the Real World is Faker Than Wrestling”
book review By Kurt Jensen

I’d like to say off the bat that I really like Mick Foley. I first saw him in World Class Championship Wrestling capturing the light heavyweight title, for some reason (he wasn’t a LH even then). I was entertained by his in-ring antics for years throughout his career. I was also a big fan of his work this past year, and he and Edge pretty much stole the show at WrestleMania, and then repeated that effort at One Night Stand. Flair vs. Foley I Quit at SummerSlam was also a highlight of that show, in my opinion. I was pretty excited when “Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks,” Foley’s first book, was released in 1999. And, once I finally read it, I was blown away with how thoroughly it covered his career. His memory of details was quite impressive, and I loved the road stories and digs at Al Snow. I think “Have A Nice Day” is hands-down the best wrestling book I’ve ever read, and it was the book that started it all.

So it’s no surprise I bought Foley is Good. The only surprise is that it took me this long to get it. I have no real reason for that, other than I recently saw a good deal on it and remembered I had wanted to read it. And, while it contains the same Foley humor and great storytelling, it unfortunately does not match “Have a Nice Day. ”

I don’t know really how it could have matched his first effort, though. The first book went through Foley’s life up until he won his first world title at the end of 1998. The new book covers his life from that point up until about 2001. You do the math. While Foley arguably won three world titles that year (the first win was aired in Jan. 1999, though taped Dec. 28, 1998) he also spent most of the summer on the shelf. What I haven’t liked about other WWE books like the Hardy Boys’ and Edge’s is that, with the relative shortness of their careers at that point, they go through each month of the pay-per-view cycle, and thus cover things that are pretty insignificant historically. “Have a Nice Day” did go through his whole career, but with so much to cover, only discussed the important events in depth and skimmed over or didn’t even mention other historically insignificant events. So “Foley is Good” going through the events of 1999 wasn’t the greatest thrill for me.

I did enjoy reading about the infamous “I Quit” match with the Rock at the 1999 Royal Rumble, and how things got carried away with the chairshots to Foley’s head. Foley also presented an interesting profile of the infamous Mean Street Posse, who I had forgotten all about. Though Joey Abs was a trained wrestler (I believe from the Hardys’ OMEGA league), Rodney and Pete Gas were high school friends of Shane McMahon who were original just brought in to do promos about how bad Shane was before his match with X-Pac. They caught on, and became regular roster members. The two were serious about their training, though they disappeared soon after.

Foley takes the reader through his last days in the WWF, and his final Hell in the Cell match vs. Triple H. It’s interesting to hear his thoughts as he prepares for that final match, only to return three weeks later for Wrestlemania 2000. Foley tried to convince Rock, Triple H and McMahon that he shouldn’t be brought back for the match, but couldn’t convince them. Foley also states that since he had yet to receive his profits from “Have a Nice Day” and payoffs from his Royal Rumble and No Way Out main events, part of him did not want to say no to the Wrestlemania match and be accused of breaching his contract.

Foley also takes on backyard wrestling in a chapter, giving the competitors advice like participating in amateur wrestling and going to college. He also discussed an interview on 20/20, where Foley claims they misleadingly edited video of his interview, to make him seem OK with excessive violence in backyard wrestling.

Foley also challenged an Indiana University study that counted sexual references and violence on Raw, and compared shows like General Hospital, Home Alone and Cheers. You can probably predict how Raw fared. He also defends the WWF at great length against the Parents Television Council, which you may remember as the inspiration for Right to Censor.

When a book features a few chapters discussing writing the previous book, and the promotional tours and legal issues of it, I think it’s obvious what the superior tome is. Foley is incredibly entertaining and I enjoy his writing. I’d recommend the book for anyone who has read “Have a Nice Day,” but if you’re only picking one, choose the first one.