Foley autobiography an ear-ful
By VINNIE BARTILUCCI -- For SLAM! Wrestling
When it was announced earlier this year that Harper Collins was releasing a
series of biographies on the top WWF stars, I expected the usual-100 or so
page trade paperbacks, mostly pictures, the kind of one-print wonders that
come packaged in their own cardboard display ready to be placed right by the
register next to the TV guide and the new edition of Dianetics.
Nope.
Mick Foley's autobigraphy, Have a Nice Day, is a 500-page monster that could
easily be used as a weapon in a hardcore match. Even more impressive is the
fact that Foley wrote the book himself. More specifically, he wrote it by
hand on yellow legal pads, and it was transcribed by the editors. (I for
one would love to see that original manuscript -- maybe a special edition?)
So how good is Mick at being a writer? He's as funny as he is during his
best interviews, as frightening as that drop from the Cell, and as riveting
as a Double-Arm DDT. His life is so up and down it's hard to believe this
is a non-fiction book. And he tells the stories expertly, with a heart and
a wit that keep you reading, and makes you laugh even while he's laying on
the ground coughing up blood. Because no matter how much it hurts, the show
must go on.
He starts off with losing an ear in Germany, where the nurse, while throwing
away the remains of the auditory extremity, asks him "Isn't wrestling fake?"
This is what's know in the writing biz as a good opener. But considering
that Mick is such a good storyteller in the ring, it's not too surprising
he's a good one outside the ring.
We rewind to his childhood, his early wrestling days, and the infamous Dude
Love home movie. (Along the way he takes the opportunity to clear up a few
legends that have sprung up around him. He didn't actually mess himself
when he did that drop off the garage roof -- that was stage blood that spilled
on his pants after the first take got botched up.) He takes us along his
whole journey; the peanut butter sandwiches in the back of his Fairmont as
he waits for Dominic DiNucci's training school to open, the first matches in
Memphis and Texas, and more up the road to his eventual fame and infamy as
the Hardcore Icon.
Every injury is related in bone-jarring detail. Every happy
moment as well. He's made a lot of friends in the industry, and lost a
few; The book is dedicated to Owen Hart and WCW ref Brian Hildebrand,
longtime friend and partner of Foley's who died of cancer earlier this year.
He pulls no punches in the book. He speaks his mind on the people he's met
in the industry, the good and the bad. People like Troy Martin (AKA "The
Franchise" Shane Douglas, who trained with Mick at DiNucci's school) are
spoken of with affection, though he admits his career choices and habit of
burning bridges has been "questionable". Ric Flair is praised as a great
wrestler but pummeled as a terrible booker. And poor Al Snow is savaged
countless times (Mick once refers to going to the restroom as "Taking a
Snow") though he starts the book making it clear that it's all in fun.
Plenty of photos too. not just the nice modern posed stuff, we see shots of
his family, including his dad, the original Cactus Jack. Seeing Douglas and
Hildebrand from the 80's is worth a laugh too. And yes, there's blood; a colour
section in the centre features some gory stuff, including the famous ear
shot that Mick used to sell autographed copies of at
conventions.
If you're a longtime Mick Foley fan who thinks he's heard every story, buy
the book-you couldn't be more wrong. If you're a non-wrestling fan who
thinks these guys are all steroid-crazed clowns who know how to fall, buy the
book -- you couldn't be more wrong. If you think Mick Foley is a testament to
how a person can succeed over all the odds and dictates of common sense and
limitations of the human body, buy the book -- you couldn't be more right.
