WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley has done a lot in his legendary pro wrestling career — he got a sock over as a sentient being AND a finishing move, he simultaneously performed three dramatically different characters and made them all work, and his WWF Championship win put enough “butts in seats” to turn the tide in the Monday Night Wars — but it hasn’t all been great.
Foley took to Facebook this week to apologize to former Tough Enough contestant and current Total Diva Amanda Saccomanno, also known as “Mandy Rose,” for comments he made on social media last year. He accused Saccomanno of slut-shaming her fellow Tough Enough finalist Sara Lee, and now realizes that Tough Enough isn’t real life and it was all part of a show. During that apology, Foley mentioned the three things he regrets most from his wrestling career, and they might take you by surprise.
1) I shouldn’t have allowed my last name to be “Manson” in World Class and during my first run in WCW. Sure, the name was a surprise when I walked down the aisle of the Sportatorium in Dallas for the first time, and heard my name announced as “Cactus Jack Manson”. It bothered me, but not enough to risk my job over it – and I eventually played into it…even though I knew in my heart that playing into the image of a notorious murderer like Charles Manson was dubious, at best.
2) I ABSOLUTELY knew that there was NO WAY, in my first appearance on WWE TV in three years, that I should have agreed to be part of “This is Your Life, John Cena” that was INTENTIONALLY bad. Every bone in my body told me that being part of it was a bad idea – but, after three years away, I didn’t want to rock the boat, so by golly, I went out there and intentionally stunk up the place to the best of my abilities!
3) This one may seem random, especially because it was edited out of Smackdown, and has never been seen, but I deeply regret calling Stephanie McMahon an inappropriate name in the buildup to my matches with Triple H in 2000. Some of you have seen that buildup – it was great, and in no way needed the name-calling thing. But I did it, because I knew it would get a reaction – essentially doing the same slut-shaming I accused Amanda of – just for the sake of a cheap pop. To this day, I’ll find myself thinking back to that promo – saying to myself over and over “what were you thinking?”
In Foley’s defense, I think we all regret “This Is Your Life, John Cena.”
