LionDen
03-17-2007, 09:48 PM
My girlfriend surprised me last night and took me to the Mick Foley signing at "The Book Revue" in Huntington, NY. As you probably know, we're currently being buried by an ice storm, but we made it there okay. The place wasn't completely packed, but there was a nice sized crowd- especially considering the conditions. Maybe about 100 or so, give or take a few. Mick came out around 8:00 and asked if we were all crazy for coming there in this weather. He thanked us for our support and then spoke for about 20 minutes about "The Hardcore Diaries." Foley said that he had to thank Vince because without him this book would have never been written. He said that originally he wanted to write a book about the behind the scenes aspect of Wrestlemania from an outside observers point of view- going into the planning and preproduction right through to the night of the show. (That actually sounds like an awesome idea for a book.) He was unable to do that because he wound up working the match with Edge, so his whole point of view aspect would have been gone. He then told a funny story about a time they were doing Raw in Greensboro and Vince really wanted him on the show. There were a lot of travel problems, so McMahon flew him down on his private jet. While they were flying, Vince asked when he would begin working on his next book. Foley told him his idea and Vince said that he'd rather he wrote another autobiography. He was originally opposed to it, but Vince told him that he could be brutally honest and that he wanted him to "hammer" some people in the book. Over the next few weeks Foley began writing and then told Vince he had some good news and some bad news. The good news was that he "hammered" someone in the book. The bad news is that it was Vince. He said McMahon didn't mind and he actually encouraged him to write about how he truly felt and gave him the freedom to say whatever he wanted. Mick said that he also devotes a lot of time in the book to the planning of his One Night Stand match. (Kind of like he wanted to do with the Wrestlemania book, but focusing on that one match instead.) I can't wait to read that section. Sounds very interesting. He then said that the book doesn't necessarily have a happy ending, but he's happy with it and how it came out.
After that he had a Q and A session. I have to say that he's amazing in front of a crowd like that. Very witty and entertaining and he devotes equal amounts of time to the kids in the audience as well as the older fans he knows have been following wrestling and his career for a longer time. He has the patience of a saint and is great at answering horribly stupid questions that people throw at him (i.e. "What did Vince's Ass feel like when you kissed it?" Yes. Seriously. Another gem was "Who would you like to punch in the face?" and I can't forget "Where's Mr. Socko?" to which Mick's reply was "If I took off my boots I'm sure one of my socks would have a face drawn on it." LOL.) I asked him if there are any plans for him to be on ECW again in the future and he said not as of yet, but he'd be making a pretty big announcement on Raw the night after Wrestlemania. I thought that was pretty interesting. Wonder what that could be? Someone else asked him when his next PPV match was and he said (very slyly) that he wasn't sure. At one point he was selecting the next person to take a question from and he said "You. Yeah, you. Not the one in the Cena shirt. Not that I have anything against Cena, it's just that everyone wears his shirt. Whenever I meet people it's always laundry day. They tell me that they just wore my shirt and it's in the laundry." Funny stuff. Another funny note is that throughout the night he kept cracking jokes about how he wasn't going to be on the show this year. I agree with him, though. WWE really dropped the ball there. Him and Nitro have a ready made angle. They could easily put together a match with the two of them or involve him with the ECW angle, but I digress.......Towards the end Mick mentioned that while the book is a "wrestling" book there are also chapters about his family, a child he sponsors from another country and a meeting he had with a severely burned child from Afghanistan. He also spoke about some charities he works for and a possible upcoming fundraiser for one of them.
When the Q and A was over he headed upstairs to get settled and the signing began. From what I heard tonight, they have these there all the time with other authors and celebrities. "The Book Revue" had it down to a science. There were three groups of customers (A, B, or C- which you got depending on how early you had arrived and purchased the book). We were the "A" group so we got to go up first. It moved very smoothly and just like downstairs, he was gracious to each person in line. Just as has always been written about him, he's the most down to earth, laid back guy. He genuinely listens to you and takes the time to talk to everyone a little bit. No arrogance or ego at all. When we got up there he signed our books and also my "Three Faces of Foley" action figure set. (I've had it for years. It's always been a hope of mine that I could get it signed one day.) He also took pictures with both of us. I told him that I was a huge fan, that we had 6th row at last year's One Night Stand and that it was great to see him and Terry Funk mix it up again. He said "Yeah. That was a good show." I said "Yeah. It was pretty good. We had a great time." to which he replied (with the line of the night) "It was better than 'December to Dismember,' anyway." LMAO!!! That was great. How true it is. He was hysterical and had me cracking up the whole night. Foley's a great storyteller. I could listen to him talk for hours. He can be a very captivating speaker and I'd love to see him again in some kind of lecture setting or something like that. All in all a great experience and well worth braving the elements to get there. Have to throw a thank you out to my girlfriend Kira for the surprise and for getting me there back and forth in this "Winter Wonderland." Good time and a great way to kick off the weekend.
GREGG LARIOSA
East Meadow, NY
PWInsider.com
After that he had a Q and A session. I have to say that he's amazing in front of a crowd like that. Very witty and entertaining and he devotes equal amounts of time to the kids in the audience as well as the older fans he knows have been following wrestling and his career for a longer time. He has the patience of a saint and is great at answering horribly stupid questions that people throw at him (i.e. "What did Vince's Ass feel like when you kissed it?" Yes. Seriously. Another gem was "Who would you like to punch in the face?" and I can't forget "Where's Mr. Socko?" to which Mick's reply was "If I took off my boots I'm sure one of my socks would have a face drawn on it." LOL.) I asked him if there are any plans for him to be on ECW again in the future and he said not as of yet, but he'd be making a pretty big announcement on Raw the night after Wrestlemania. I thought that was pretty interesting. Wonder what that could be? Someone else asked him when his next PPV match was and he said (very slyly) that he wasn't sure. At one point he was selecting the next person to take a question from and he said "You. Yeah, you. Not the one in the Cena shirt. Not that I have anything against Cena, it's just that everyone wears his shirt. Whenever I meet people it's always laundry day. They tell me that they just wore my shirt and it's in the laundry." Funny stuff. Another funny note is that throughout the night he kept cracking jokes about how he wasn't going to be on the show this year. I agree with him, though. WWE really dropped the ball there. Him and Nitro have a ready made angle. They could easily put together a match with the two of them or involve him with the ECW angle, but I digress.......Towards the end Mick mentioned that while the book is a "wrestling" book there are also chapters about his family, a child he sponsors from another country and a meeting he had with a severely burned child from Afghanistan. He also spoke about some charities he works for and a possible upcoming fundraiser for one of them.
When the Q and A was over he headed upstairs to get settled and the signing began. From what I heard tonight, they have these there all the time with other authors and celebrities. "The Book Revue" had it down to a science. There were three groups of customers (A, B, or C- which you got depending on how early you had arrived and purchased the book). We were the "A" group so we got to go up first. It moved very smoothly and just like downstairs, he was gracious to each person in line. Just as has always been written about him, he's the most down to earth, laid back guy. He genuinely listens to you and takes the time to talk to everyone a little bit. No arrogance or ego at all. When we got up there he signed our books and also my "Three Faces of Foley" action figure set. (I've had it for years. It's always been a hope of mine that I could get it signed one day.) He also took pictures with both of us. I told him that I was a huge fan, that we had 6th row at last year's One Night Stand and that it was great to see him and Terry Funk mix it up again. He said "Yeah. That was a good show." I said "Yeah. It was pretty good. We had a great time." to which he replied (with the line of the night) "It was better than 'December to Dismember,' anyway." LMAO!!! That was great. How true it is. He was hysterical and had me cracking up the whole night. Foley's a great storyteller. I could listen to him talk for hours. He can be a very captivating speaker and I'd love to see him again in some kind of lecture setting or something like that. All in all a great experience and well worth braving the elements to get there. Have to throw a thank you out to my girlfriend Kira for the surprise and for getting me there back and forth in this "Winter Wonderland." Good time and a great way to kick off the weekend.
GREGG LARIOSA
East Meadow, NY
PWInsider.com