Mick Foley knows a thing or two about creating unforgettable wrestling moments, but he doesn’t believe they have to happen in front of 70,000 people at WrestleMania. In fact, the WWE Hall of Famer says some of the biggest matches of his life happened in front of just 150 fans.
Speaking during an interview with STR Wrestling, Foley was asked what advice he would give young fans hoping to become professional wrestlers. Naturally, the Hardcore Legend started with a warning—not to immediately start copying the crazy stuff he became famous for.
“My advice is, first of all, don’t do any of the stuff I did—at least not until you learn all your basics. You know, I would say definitely go to high school. If it’s possible to go on to, like, further learning or learn a trade, you can do that while you’re learning to wrestle, you know, because it doesn’t work out for everybody. It doesn’t work out for most people.”
Foley’s advice wasn’t meant to discourage anyone from chasing the dream. Instead, he wanted aspiring wrestlers to understand that making it to WWE—or even getting anywhere near the main event of WrestleMania—isn’t the only way to have a wrestling career that means something.
That’s where Foley brought up the idea of creating your own “WrestleMania moments.” He pointed to one of his matches with Terry Funk from more than three decades ago as proof that the size of the crowd doesn’t determine how important a match becomes to the people involved.
“But, you know, Saber, you never—like I tell people, we create our own WrestleMania moments. We define them for ourselves. You don’t need to be in the main event of WrestleMania to have a meaningful match. Some of the biggest matches I’ve had have been in front of 150 people. The one I talked about today with Terry Funk—150 people, 31 years ago—and I remember it like it was yesterday.”
For Foley, that’s something younger wrestlers shouldn’t lose sight of while trying to climb the ladder. It’s easy to become obsessed with contracts, bigger shows and eventually making it to the top, but Foley believes that can also take away the reason someone wanted to wrestle in the first place.
“And then don’t forget this stuff’s supposed to be fun, okay? Don’t get so caught up in trying to make it that you forget it’s supposed to be fun.”
Foley reached wrestling’s biggest stages during his own career, but his advice makes it clear those aren’t necessarily the memories he values most. Sometimes a match in front of 150 people can stick with someone for 31 years, and that’s enough for Foley to consider it a WrestleMania moment of its own.
Do you agree with Mick Foley that wrestlers can create their own “WrestleMania moments” without ever reaching WWE’s biggest stage? Let us know in the comments below.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
