Mick Foley

The hardcore legend

Mick Foley grew up on Long Island in New York and trained with Dominic DeNucci near Pittsburgh. As Cactus Jack he wrestled across the US territories, WCW, Japan and ECW, earning a reputation for absorbing brutal punishment. In a 1994 match in Germany he lost part of his right ear when a rope trick went wrong.

Three faces of one man

WWF signed him in 1996 as Mankind, a masked, disturbed character who squealed and pulled out his own hair. Later he added Dude Love, a hippie with tie-dye clothes, and brought back Cactus Jack. For a while all three appeared in the same storyline, which fans loved.

King of the Ring 1998

At King of the Ring in June 1998 he faced The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match. Early on he was thrown from the roof of the cell through an announce table, and later he fell through the roof onto the ring. The match is one of the most replayed in WWE history, and also a reason the company later limited dangerous stunts.

On a January 1999 episode of Raw he won the WWF Championship for the first time, with a famous rapid crowd reaction. He won the title three times in all.

Author and commissioner

His first memoir, Have a Nice Day!, written by hand without a ghostwriter, reached number one on the New York Times bestseller list in 1999. He went on to write more books, including children's stories, served as an on-screen commissioner and general manager, and did stand-up storytelling tours. He entered the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013.

Foley has often said he regrets some of the risks he took, especially unprotected chair shots to the head, and he has supported efforts to make wrestling safer. His story is both a celebration of toughness and a warning about the long-term cost of concussions. That honesty, along with his humour and his storytelling, is a big reason he remains one of the most liked figures in the business, even among fans who never saw him wrestle live.

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