{"id":106985,"date":"2026-01-06T00:40:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T00:40:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/106985\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T00:40:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T00:40:07","slug":"legendary-wrestler-mick-foley-on-nostalgia-and-why-kindness-is-cool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/106985\/","title":{"rendered":"Legendary wrestler Mick Foley on nostalgia and why \u2018kindness is cool\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Credit: courtesy image<\/p>\n

Whether he\u2019s taking an elbow to the face in the ring or telling stories about his professional wrestling career on stage at a local comedy club, Mick Foley always wants to give his fans what they want.<\/p>\n

There are thousands of anecdotes Foley could share about playing pro wrestlers like Cactus Jack, Mankind and Dude Love during his 40-year career, but he wants to make sure he mentions at least one core memory that fans are eager to hear. If he didn\u2019t, it would be like going to a Rolling Stones concert and not hearing \u201c(I Can\u2019t Get No) Satisfaction.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Foley fans, that memory is his brutal 1998 World Wrestling Entertainment Hell in a Cell match<\/a> against The Undertaker at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. During the match, Foley, who was portraying the tortured antihero Mankind at the time, was tossed off and choke-slammed through a 16-foot-high steel cage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll sometimes tell people up front that, yes, I will talk about the Hell in a Cell match,\u201d Foley, 60, told the Orlando Weekly during a recent interview. \u201cI don\u2019t want to be the man who refuses to play his biggest hit. I don\u2019t want to deprive them of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Jan. 6, Foley \u2014 who moved to the Orlando area about a year ago to be closer to his family (three of his four kids also live in Orlando) \u2014 will bring his 40 Years of Foley show to the Funny Bone Comedy Club<\/a>. The performance is a one-man storytelling show featuring Foley sharing humorous and insightful behind-the-scenes moments from his wrestling career.<\/p>\n

Foley has been touring across the world as a storyteller since 2009. Over time, he\u2019s grown more comfortable on stage and refined how he connects with audiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think with anything, you get better with practice,\u201d Foley said. \u201cThe more reps you get in, the more natural it feels. And the more natural it feels, the better the show is. The stories are always evolving and changing. I can honestly say I never get bored of doing these shows. I really enjoy them, and I enjoy seeing the smiles and hearing the laughs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many of the connections Foley has made since his days in the WWE and other wrestling organizations center on nostalgia. Along with shows like 40 Years of Foley, the former world champion keeps up with supporters on social media<\/a> while also making personalized videos for fans on Cameo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think nostalgia is a huge factor for fans,\u201d Foley said. \u201cSomewhere around 2010, I went from being washed up to being part of people\u2019s childhoods. I\u2019m the same guy. I\u2019ve only gotten older, but I\u2019m no longer old and irrelevant. I\u2019m part of people\u2019s collective memories.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adults who grew up watching Foley wrestle, however, aren\u2019t the only fans who find him online. He\u2019s been amazed at how many youngsters enjoy his content too. Some of the recent videos Foley has posted on Instagram include footage of him playing basketball dressed as Santa Claus and riding a tricycle across the floor of a comic convention.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things that\u2019s surprised me most is that so many of my fans are children \u2014 kids who weren\u2019t even born until 15 years after the Hell in a Cell match,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I [officially] retired from wrestling [in 2000], the internet was kind of in its infancy. I just assumed that my fan base was going to continue to get older.\u201d<\/p>\n

Besides keeping his fans entertained on social media, Foley uses his platform to share his progressive-leaning political viewpoints and to criticize the current presidential administration.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In October, Foley posted a pragmatic video message on YouTube<\/a> addressed to Donald Trump urging him to \u201cstop the madness that is going on in our country.\u201d Foley went on to give Trump credit for helping to broker a ceasefire in Gaza and to criticize him for \u201cinciting tension [and] terror\u201d with his ICE raids across the U.S.<\/p>\n

Last month on Instagram<\/a>, Foley wrote a message explaining why he had chosen to part ways with the WWE because of its ongoing support of Trump through his \u201cadministration\u2019s ongoing cruel and inhumane treatment of immigrants.\u201d He also said reading Trump\u2019s \u201cincredibly cruel comments in the wake of Rob Reiner\u2019s death\u201d was the final straw.<\/p>\n

\u201cI no longer wish to represent a company that coddles a man so seemingly void of compassion as he marches our country towards autocracy,\u201d Foley wrote.<\/p>\n

While Foley chose not to answer questions about the reasons behind his recent breakup with the WWE, he did acknowledge that the nation is \u201cat a divided time\u201d and that speaking out against Trump has lost him some fans.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople know that I\u2019m not on board with a lot of things the current administration is doing,\u201d he said. \u201cI have fans who feel different, and still like and support me. And I have [fans] who dropped out of the fandom, which is obviously their right.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also said that 40 Years of Foley is not a political show. His goal onstage isn\u2019t to divide audiences, but to bring them together.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople know I\u2019m outspoken,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the closest I get to making a political statement in the show is saying that kindness is cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 6, Funny Bone Comedy Club, 9101 International Drive, orlando.funnybone.com<\/a>, $50-$160.<\/p>\n

Orlando\u2019s daily dose of what matters. Subscribe to The Daily Weekly.<\/p>\n

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