Mick Foley had one of the most memorable matches of his WWE career against Shawn Michaels, but there’s one thing about their time together that still bothers him. Foley wishes they had gotten a bigger storyline, and he believes it could have led to a WrestleMania match.
During a recent fan Q&A in Germany, Foley was asked about his match against Michaels at WWE In Your House: Mind Games in 1996. The interviewer praised the match and wanted to know whether Foley realized they were doing something special while it was happening. Foley immediately praised Michaels and explained that their match remains one of his personal favorites, sitting just behind his 2004 encounter with Randy Orton.
“This is my Lieblingsmatch, das ist mit Randy Orton. 2004. Aber es ist Nummer zwei. Nummer zwei, Shawn was so great.”
Foley then explained that being WWE Champion during that period came with an enormous amount of pressure. Michaels was expected to carry the company, handle media appearances, headline shows, and consistently deliver great matches. According to Foley, the workload was taking its toll on Michaels by the time they worked together.
“But back when Shawn was a champion and Bret Hart before him, Hulk Hogan, you know, was a champion for a long time. Um, there was a lot of pressure on the champion. Like the company revolved around the champion. And they had to do a lot of media. They had to be in the main event. They had to be a lot of great matches every night. And Shawn was worn out.”
Foley recalled approaching Michaels with some ideas for their match. Michaels was receptive, and the two went on to deliver a performance that fans still talk about today.
“And so I said, ‘Hey, I have some ideas.’ He said, ‘Good.’ I laid out some ideas for him. And he liked them.”
Despite how well they worked together, Foley admitted that he still wishes WWE had given them a longer rivalry. In particular, he would have loved the opportunity to face Michaels on the biggest stage of them all.
“So my one regret is that we did not have a bigger program, like a bigger storyline that could have ended up like I would have loved to have wrestled Shawn at WrestleMania. Like I just I wish we could have had more time together in the ring and uh in the storyline.”
Foley and Michaels never got that WrestleMania match, despite proving how well they could work together at Mind Games. Their 1996 encounter remains one of the most celebrated matches of Foley’s WWE career.
It’s a missed opportunity that clearly hasn’t left Foley’s mind. Both men went on to have legendary careers, but a bigger rivalry between them could have given WWE fans another classic, especially if it had ended at WrestleMania.
Would you have wanted to see Mick Foley face Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania, and do you think their rivalry deserved more time? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
