CALGARY – To anyone who has followed the career of Mick Foley, it should come as no surprise that the man can talk. From his legendary promos to his multiple books, Foley is known for being able to entertain with words as much as he did in the ring. At 49 with multiple injuries and his in-ring career effectively over, Foley has found a new gig in touring his “Hardcore Legend: An Evening With Mick Foley” concept to theatres and comedy clubs around the world.
In the midst of a Western Canadian tour that takes him to both large and small cities in Alberta and BC, including some that never had WWE cards, Foley appeared at the Laugh Stop in Calgary on September 25th. The audience of fans also included Lance Storm, Bret Hart, Harry Smith, Bronwyne Billington (daughter of The Dynamite Kid) and other members of the Hart Family. One of the things about Foley’s tour is that each night can be different, and being in the home of Stampede Wrestling (mentioned quite a few times. Foley repeatedly quipped “Not that I would ever pander to an audience”) much of the evening focused on Foley’s ties to the Harts.
Foley had guests — two comics warmed up the crowd and shared wrestling jokes — and Jason Sensation appeared at Steve Austin to introduce Mick. It was when teaming with Sensation that some of the most surreal and emotional moments took place. Mick talked about Montreal and recreated the aftermath and a phone call he made to Owen Hart. Sensation’s dead on impersonations of Owen and Davey Boy Smith along with Bret was surreal as it was like hearing their voices again in the room. There were some artistic liberties taken in recreating the phone call which were hysterically funny and balanced the emotion of the segment. Later Foley brought up Ross Hart to play the role of Bret, Diana Hart-Smith to play the role of Helen Hart and Foley played Bob Backlund, recreating the final moments of Survivor Series 1994 with Sensation portraying Owen. Foley commented that it was one of his favourite moments of Owen’s, and was an amazing tribute.
Seeing Mick Foley is about that, the memories and moments that he spoke about are things that the audience all shared. There was laughter, there was goosebumps, and of course there were Al Snow jokes.
“I remember watching the monitor backstage and saying repeatedly ‘you don’t do that to Bret Hart!’ Which implies if they did it to someone else that would be ok. ‘hey… they just screwed Al Snow. Cool!'”
The last half of Mick Foley’s career was filled with a lot of comedy. While not a traditional stand up comic Foley’s shows are hilarious. While some of the stories are covered in his books, seeing them delivered in person is an entirely different experience. His WCW debut against the Steiner brothers and subsequently missing an elbow on his partner, terrible impressions of Jim Cornette, and self-deprecating humor all had the near sold-out audience in stitches. Some of the biggest pops were reserved for when he would slip back into his Mankind and Cactus Jack characters, recreating famous promos in their distinctive voices.
“Most of you are between the ages of 21 and 40. Which means at some point I scared the crap out of you.”
A Q&A portion was included where Foley was asked about his time in TNA, his favourite memories wrestling in Alberta (Facing Randy Orton at Backlash and being at the Canadian Stampede Pay Per View) and commiserating with a fan who spent the night crying when he lost his career match against HHH. He also took a moment to talk about how much Dynamite Kid influenced him.
“It’s not often you go to a city and meet someone and say ‘Oh yeah. Your dad broke my jaw.'” he joked early in the show but later commented on how Dynamite being someone who shouldn’t have made it, and did so because of what he put his body through. That inspired me.” he said.
Foley has many accolades, which of course were mentioned: Three time WWF World Champion. #1 Bestselling New York Times Author. Hardcore Legend. Yet he lacks the ego that others of similar accomplishment at times have. Foley has long been a favourite interview of wrestling journalists and good to fans. At the end of the show Foley took photos for free with everyone who wanted one, and the line was long. He remained the Mick Foley that fans have loved for three decades. Seeing An Evening With Mick Foley is worth the price of admission. Humble. Hilarious. And a great representative of Mankind.
Mick Foley’s Western Canadian Tour continues through October 4th before heading back to the U.S. and some Eastern Canadian dates.
Hardcore Legend: An Evening With Mick Foley Canadian Dates
September 26th – Red Deer, AB
September 27th – Medicine Hat, AB
September 28th – Lethbridge, AB
September 30th – Cranbrook, BC
October 1st – Castlegar, BC
October 2nd – Kelowna, BC
October 3rd – Salmon Arm, BC
October 4th – Abbotsford, BC
October 22nd – Cornwall ON
October 23 – Ottawa, ON
October 24 – Ottawa, ON
October 25 – Quebec City, QC (Signing at Quebec City Comic Con