During his appearance on “Casual Conversations With The Classic,” Mick Foley reflected on pivotal moments in his career, identifying his feuds with The Undertaker and Sting as crucial in establishing him. He also named his top two favorite matches.
When asked about his early feud with The Undertaker in WWE, Foley stated, “It meant so much. I mean, it really not only put me on the map, but… made me… Undertaker elevated me very quickly to being one of the top heels in WWE.”
He recalled his first pay-per-view match against Taker in June 1996: “It never even entered my mind that I’d be leaving with a W… certainly I didn’t think that Paul Bearer was going to be abandoning the undertaker.” Foley emphasized the feud’s importance: “If that had happened [losing without the Paul Bearer turn], you know, we’re not having this conversation… So it was that that program in WWE and the sting program in 1991 were probably the most important as far as making turning me into somebody quickly?”
Regarding his favorite matches, Foley said, “That’s [Mind Games vs. Shawn Michaels] my second favorite match for my career. For the longest time, it had been number one, and then when I did the backlash match with Randy Orton, that replaced it.” He praised the Mind Games match for elevating both him and Michaels: “It kind of gave Sean an extra layer… And for me, you know, it showed that I could have top flight matches with the best guys in the business.”
He also detailed the “hangman into the mandible claw” spot with Michaels as “the best 10 seconds of my entire career.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit Casual Conversations with The Classic with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.