Mick Foley Reveals Advice He Gave To Braun Strowman About Throwing Things Backstage
WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley recently spoke with NBC News to promote the 25th Anniversary of RAW. The full interview is at this link and below are highlights:
The Raw 25th anniversary show is another chance for WWE to celebrate their past by bringing back some of the all-time greats, but when thinking ahead to the future, I don't know if something like this will be possible when say, the Raw 50th anniversary show happens, because none of the stars on today's roster, besides John Cena, seem to be able to break through the glass ceiling and reach that next level of super-stardom. What has to change in order for there to be more household names like there were during the Attitude Era?
"Well that's more of a societal change. I don't think we can go back there. I think WWE did what they had to do to become more successful than ever on a global basis. I would love to say, 'Hey, things were much better back in my day,' but the company just turned its biggest profit ever. They knew that we were in a wave, so you can either let the wave subside and complain about the way things used to be, or move forward in every area possible and that's what they did.
So I'd say that on a global basis, the superstars are just as big, if not bigger, with the exception of you know, a Rock or a Stone Cold. I think they're doing just fine."
As a huge advocate for women's wrestling, I'm sure you were thrilled to find out about the first-ever women's Royal Rumble. What are some challenges that the women will face in having to do that match for the first time?
"I guess it depends on the positioning of the match on the card. I'm guessing that it's going to be first. Just trying to live up to the lure of rumbles in the past will be a challenge. It is almost always the highlight of the show. The match really gains due to the anticipation during it.
"I'll be rooting for the women. I'll be glued to my TV set and just hoping that it goes as well as possible for everybody. I hope they have a couple of surprise entrees. Both from the past and a couple of new names. The women are so determined. Through sheer force of will, they're going to have a very good match, but the one thing you can't ever ? you can't book magic. I hope there's that element of magic in the air when they take to the ring."
Outside of working with Stephanie McMahon on screen during your time as the general manager of Raw, what were some of your favorite moments during your run last year?
"I loved doing work with The Bar (Sheamus and Cesaro), especially putting them together and then interacting with them after they teamed up. I loved interactions with guys like Sami [Zayn]. Anyone who I was able to kind of get in and try to make a difference with, I really enjoyed.
"I tried to bring a certain element of fear to the way I handled Braun Strowman. I had a major talk with him about the importance of throwing things backstage. [laughs] I told him about a legendary basketball game between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Portland Trail Blazers in 1977, when Darryl Dawkins was ejected. I never saw the dressing room after he was done with it, but I heard about it and it was legendary in my mind and I said to him that he had a chance to be Darryl Dawkins after that game.
"He had the physical presence to do it. He was the one guy who had the strength to throw things around in a way that would be meaningful and I think he really took that lesson to heart. Anytime I see Braun Strowman throwing items backstage, I smile."
Source: NBC Sports