Mick Foley shared many a titanic battle with Ric Flair over the years, but in 2004 they engaged in genuine fisticuffs.
Throughout his career, the popular Foley went by three different alter egos. You knew he’d bring the heat whether he entered the ring as ‘Cactus Jack’, ‘Mankind’ or ‘Dude Love’. But outside of the realms of theatre, he became renowned as one of the nicest men in the sport.
However, everyone has their bad days and people they dislike and one night, he let his disdain for Flair escalate way too far. Since their real-life rivalry began in 1991, Foley hated ‘The Nature Boy.’ Flair used to head the booking committee and failed to see his adversary’s potential.
In his book ‘Have a Nice Day’, which hit shelves in 1999, Foley wrote: “Ric Flair was every bit as bad on the booking side of things as he was great on the wrestling side of it.”
Five years later, the sixteen-time champion hit back in his autobiography, ‘To be the Man’: “Foley has a cult following because of his contribution to hardcore wrestling, but hardcore is such a small part of the history of this business. When I was training, falling off a ladder was not a prerequisite to making it as a professional wrestler.
“I don’t care how many thumbtacks Mick Foley has fallen on, how many ladders he’s fallen off of, how many continents he’s supposedly bled on. He’ll always be known as a glorified stuntman.”
And ironically, it was that book that led to them finally trading leather.
Read: Mick Foley rates his most painful moments in WWE.
Mick Foley and Ric Flair fight backstage
On a recent edition of Flair’s podcast ‘Wooooo Nation’, Foley addressed their infamous collision. According to Sportskeeda, Foley approached his nemesis and asked him to sign a copy of his book for charity. Flair reached out for a handshake, and when the Foley refused, it all kicked off.
Foley explained: “He [Flair] went to shake my hands, and I wouldn’t shake his hand, and I said, ‘You want to sign this book for me?’ I had envisioned a lot of scenarios, and never once did I envision Ric getting up and punching me.
”It never even entered my mind. When they were pulling me apart, Rhino was the main guy holding me back. He didn’t have to work very hard to hold me back because I wasn’t actually trying to make forward progress. Ric’s anger just caught me off guard, like I never saw it coming.”
However, fans will rejoice at the news that they’ve put their differences behind them. But we’ll never know whether any lingering rivalry still burns under the surface.
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