The Contentious Ten 08.30.10: Mick Foley Matches

Posted by Aaron Hubbard on 08.30.2010

From his WrestleMania 22 hardcore match with Edge and his 1998 HIAC match with the Undertaker to his 1998 Royal Rumble I Quit match with the Rock and even his Backlash 2004 battle with Randy Orton, 411's Aaron Hubbard counts down Mick Foley's best matches in the latest edition of the Contentious 10!



Today's list showcases a wrestler who, by all rights, I shouldn't even like. Hardcore wrestling has never really been my thing, but Mick Foley was so good at it that he forced it to become my thing. Whether he was Cactus Jack, Mankind, Dude Love or simply going by his real name, Foley was one of the greatest characters to ever grace a wrestling ring. He was able to create emotions in people, from his amazing "Anti-Hardcore" promos in ECW to his awesome first World Title win. He was able to shock people with dangerous stunts, or to pull them in with a great in-ring story. While I haven't been supportive of his last few years in TNA or even WWE for that matter, I still have great respect for what Mick Foley was. The good will always outweigh the bad.

X
Cactus Jack vs. Sting
Falls Count Anywhere Match, Beach Blast 1992


Yes, I know the commentary is in Japanese. And YES, I know the sound file is off. The match is good enough that this shouldn't bother you all that match, but if it does, buy Mick Foley's Greatest Hits & Misses and watch it on that. Actually, buy it anyway because it is awesome. This is one of Foley's early great matches, and one that he wouldn't surpass until coming to the WWE in 1996. I think what is often lost when talking about Cactus Jack is that he was a great brawler without the barbwire and fire. So before I get into all the exciting violent stuff with all the blood and toys, here's what Foley can do by himself.

Wow, that sounded entirely too sexual. I'm going back to the arcade with the other nerds. Maybe we'll have slushies after I beat my score on Galaga.

IX
Mick Foley, Edge & Lita vs.
Terry Funk, Tommy Dreamer & Beulah
ECW One Night Stand 2006


There's your crazy death match-style weapons and violence for you. You sick freaks. Anyway, it would pretty much be sacrilege not to include a Terry Funk match here. Funk was the inspiration for Mick Foley's career, and they had several memorable battles in Japan, ECW and WWE. While their King of the Death Matches final is probably the most respected among tape collectors, I happen to have a fairly weak stomach for that sort of violence. Indeed, I didn't even watch most of these matches again for this list like I usually do. Once again, Edge and Foley stole the show at a major 2006 PPV, this time as teammates. This is way, WAY too violent for today's current PG push, but it still has fantastic storytelling, and Terry Funk. If you've wondered what people mean when they talk about the "it" factor, watch Terry Funk. No amount of recap can do Funk's body language justice.

VIII
Cactus Jack vs. Triple H
WWF Championship vs. Career Hell in a Cell Match, No Way Out 2000



Foley and Triple H had several great matches over the years, including a cage match at Summer Slam '97 and a street fight on RAW at Madison Square Garden that failed to make the list. However, this was their last singles match, and it was a great way to end it on. In many ways this is superior to Mick's more famous Hell in a Cell, as they actually had a match before the big spot where Foley went through the roof of the cell (this time on purpose). This was billed as having Mick Foley's career on the line, but that retirement wouldn't last a month and he's been competing on a semi-regular basis for the last six or seven years, so the match is kind of meaningless. Doesn't keep it from being fun to watch though.

VII
Mankind vs. The Rock
WWF Championship I Quit Match, Royal Rumble 1999



The match made infamous by "Beyond The Mat". I was tempted to put the RAW match where Mick won the WWF Title from The Rock on here simply because it is such a great moment (with a run-in by Austin that delivers an earsplitting, thunderous pop from the crowd), but this match is better. As I said, Mick practically worshiped Terry Funk, and since his favorite match ever is Terry Funk vs. Ric Flair in an I Quit Match, it should come as no surprise that he wanted to do an I Quit match of his own. The future partners had another great brawl that was typical of the Attitude Era, capped off by a brutal and memorable series of chair shots. Combined with Foley's defiant refuasl to give in and the screwjob finish, the match stands out as one of the best of 1999. I know that's not really saying much, but still, this was a great match.

VI
Mick Foley vs. Edge
Hardcore Match, Wrestlemania 22

Edge had won the WWE Championship from John Cena and given RAW a ratings boost in early 2006, but he wasn't penned in for Wrestlemania main events just yet. Instead, he ended up feuding with a returning Mick Foley and stealing the show at Wrestlemania 22. Foley had never really had an outstanding Wrestlemania performance, but this was his chance to rectify it, and give his friend Edge a career boost in the process. Edge and Foley used every trick in the book, from steel chairs to barbwire to thumbtacks, and capped it off with a flaming table. It was a great match that Foley can be proud of. If nothing else, it will be a long while before any Wrestlemania match comes close to being as violent and bloody as this one. That makes it stand out in a long list of excellent matches to take place at the big show.

The Mid-Column Mini-Column:
A Few Words For Luna Vachon
A couple months ago when I did my list of female managers, Luna Vachon was one of the first names that came to mind. Gertrude "Luna" Vachon was a member of the respected Vachon family, and was a very tough wrestler and valuable presence outside of the ring for wrestlers such as Bam Bam Bigelow, Goldust, Shawn Michaels and her ex-husband Gangrel. Vachon was a true character who stood out from the pack, and contributed more to women's wrestling than most will give her credit for. Were it not for the success of Luna as a woman who could be physical in the male-dominated world of wrestling, would McMahon have taken the risk he took with Chyna? If Luna wasn't the in-ring antagonist for Sable, would she have become the draw that paved the way for Trish Stratus to become so important to the company that women's wrestling HAD to be a priority? Luna legitimately scared me as a child, but I've always looked back on her fondly when going through old tapes. She had the "it" factor that made her something special. Rest in peace Luna, and thank you for entertaining me and countless others over the years. You will be missed.

V
Mankind vs. The Undertaker
Hell in a Cell, King of the Ring 1998

Sadly, this is the match that Mick Foley will always be remembered for. That isn't a knock on the match; it is a violent spectacle that has two of the most mind-blowing, sickening bumps in the history of professional wrestling, as well as an underrated brawl inside of the ring that people tend to gloss over. Certainly, if I took those risks I'd want people to remember them. But Foley is more than a crazy, tough guy who gets thrown off of cages. He was one of the sickest, most violent wrestlers ever, one of the greatest to ever handle a microphone, and competed in matches far better than this one. However, perhaps nothing is more memorable than this match. It gets placed over a few better matches simply because it is one of those matches you just have to see once.

IV
Dude Love vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin




In my opinion, this is the quintessential Attitude Era Match. This features one of my favorite Foley angles where he sold out to the man, became the cartoony champion Vince McMahon wanted, and tried to get the belt off of Steve Austin, the rebel who McMahon hated. With McMahon's support and the title in his sights, Foley finally expected to find everything he'd been denied: money, women, admiration and respect. Most people don't look back fondly on Dude Love, but I thought it was a great bit of Mick Foley's complex and engaging character. This match has everything the Attitude Era was known for; wild brawling between two extremely over stars, tons of overbooking, and Austin overcoming the odds to stay the champion. Unlike 90% of other situations where this style of match is used, everything works perfectly and I love every second of it.

III
Mick Foley vs. Randy Orton
Intercontinental Championship Hardcore Match, Backlash 2004



As you go through this list, you will find only one match where Mick Foley won, and he didn't even score the pinfall in that. Mick didn't have the best win-loss record in the world, and that was fine; like the other half of The Rock & Sock Connection, Mick knew that he could lose to anyone and stay over, so he made it his goal to get other people over. He was a star-maker that was so good at what he did that he became a star himself. Here, we see perhaps the best example of Foley's ability to make a star. Randy Orton had been pegged for greatness ever since Ric Flair and Triple H took him in as their protege, but this was the match that made him a star. Orton had already pinned Mick at Wrestlemania XX, but this was no handicap match; this was a bloody, violent war. Orton would win again, and would talk about this victory for years to come. Foley considers this his favorite match, and I can understand why; he got into excellent shape, he reminded us of the hardcore, violent Foley of old, and he ate the pinfall and made another star.

II
Mankind vs. Shawn Michaels
WWF Championship Match, In Your House: Mind Games



I remember running through the comments two weeks ago on the Angle list and someone asked the IWC to point out a better match with a crappy ending than Angle-Austin from Summer Slam '02. I instantly thought of this match, which in my opinion is one of the absolute greatest of all time despite having an awful cop-out finish. This isn't just a match with great technical wrestling (which Shawn provides) or insane spots (which they both provided). The match is great because both men are creative in the way they wrestle each other. I've watched this match around two dozen times, and I always catch something new. Whatever your wrestling tastes, you'll find something to love about this match. I often use the phrase "not a perfect match". This match WAS perfect until the finish. I could have put this at #1 without a second thought, but I feel the next match better showcases everything Foley is about.

I
Cactus Jack vs. Triple H
WWF Championship Street Fight, Royal Rumble 2000




I was tempted to say that this match is the one Mick Foley should have retired on, but after compiling the list and realizing that 40% of it took place after this one, I decided not to. At any rate, this was an incredible match that served as a major turning point in the careers of both participants. Foley had spent much of the last year in a comical position, a human muppet that was more famous for Mr. Socko than barbwire, steel chairs and thumbtacks. However, as his career appeared to be coming to an end, he brought back the Cactus Jack that bled buckets in Japan and set Terry Funk on fire in ECW, so that our last memories of him could be of the Foley that was the best brawler of the 1990s. Triple H, on the other hand, was looking to become the top heel of the WWF in 2000, but hadn't a match that truly made him a bonafide main eventer who could wrestle anyone in the company and draw money. The result was, in my opinion, the best mix of classic old-school storytelling and brutal hardcore brawling ever shown in a wrestling ring. Since that exact mix is what I admired most about Foley, I feel this is the best showcase of Foley, and thus it tops the list.