Mick Foley "Cheap Pops" Report
April 24, 2015
Full Sail University
Report by Josh Parry, PWTorch correspondent
Special Aired 4/29 on WWE Network

Right off the bat, this was one of the best times I've ever had a WWE-related event.

The doors opened promptly at 6:00 p.m., and we were welcomed into a transformed version of the NXT arena. They kept the standard stage set-up, but removed the bleachers and ramp, so there were about 500 general admission seats flat on the floor.

We managed to get aisle seats on the second row, front and center, which was great, since both Jim Ross and Mick Foley were so good at making eye contact with individual members of the audience as they spoke. It felt very intimate and honest throughout.

Greg Hamilton, MC of the NXT live events, introduced the show and reminded the crowd to silence their phones and keep it respectful. He then introduced Jim Ross to kick off the show.

JR did a really nice 30-minute segment concluded by a short Q&A session.




Ross started by talking about his childhood, and how his reward for completing all of his chores during the week was a half-hour of wrestling on Saturday morning. With no action figures, and little access to the product, he constructed a toy ring and little wrestlers out of household objects, and would book them in matches, with no idea that he'd be doing this for a living some day.

There were a lot of funny stories, including Gorilla Monsoon's penchant for deliberately christening Vince McMahon's private bathroom before pretty much every show. When asked about the role that territories played back in the day, Ross said that their absence today is devastating to the current product, but "I thank God for NXT."

Ross closed that if a Southern boy with three Bell's palsy attacks under his belt can make it in the pro wrestling world, that we can do anything that we want to do if we're proactive and work hard for it. He took off his jacket and showed off his new figure, looking as trim as he ever has. His wake-up call came when he recently found out he had sleep apnea, and would have had only 30 days to live if he didn't seek help change his habits. He said he quit smoking last year, is eating clean, and hasn't had a drink since the Royal Rumble (big laughs from the males for that one).




Before leaving, Ross welcomed Mrs. Foley's baby boy's baby girl, Noelle, to the stage. Noelle thanked us all for coming, and welcomed out her "Cheap Pop."

Mick started out by letting us know that he was only here to tell one joke: the difference between The Miz and the 100 Years War is that the war was eventually over... Okay, one more - the difference between The Miz and the anal sphincter is that one's a ring in your bum, and the other is a bum in the ring. Ouch!

Mick thanked his family for coming to support him. He told little Hugh to keep him on track and only allow him one F-bomb.

Mick went right into a discussion on the The Streak. He said that Brock Lesnar was not only the right person to end The Streak, but the only person who could have. Wrestlers like Mick take very personally what they hear from the fans, whereas Brock Lesnar does "doesn't give a shit about you!" Which is why he's not so bitter that himself or any other "nice guy" didn't end The Streak.

He then recalled Stacy Keibler asking him to email her a suggestion for his favorite match to show George Clooney. He ended up choosing his match with Randy Orton as being his very best performance, and said Randy Orton to this day proclaims it as his, too.

He also talked about Steve Austin telling him backstage at WrestleMania 20 that he dropped the ball in his match, which motivated him to up his game for the match with Orton at Backlash.

Foley said his favorite prank was when he and Owen Hart had a series of street fights on house shows with an injured Austin as ringside enforcer. Each night they would continue to bring ridiculous gimmicks into the match with the end goal being Steve Austin breaking character. He said he got Austin in the end by pouring a giant Santa sack of popcorn all over Hart, who sold it like a bag of thumbtacks.




Overall, Mick's speech was a humble, self-deprecating, yet hilarious retrospective on his career and family life. Of course, we also got a "...right here at Full Sail!" He apologized at the end that the venue canceled the meet and greet due to needing the hall, but said that he'd comp an 8x10 and an autograph to anybody who shows up to one of his other shows with tonight's ticket stub.

I really cannot wait for them to do something like this again. Ross hinted that something else was in the works, and I really hope that's true. Definitely check this out when it pops up on WWE Network!

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