10 Greatest WWE Underdogs Of The 21st Century

Whether it’s his most recent run as a somewhat tragic General Manager/doormat/Sami Zayn-sympathiser, his initial tenure as commissioner, or his sporadic in-ring appearances through the 2000s, Mick Foley kept up his status as Vince McMahon’s least likely underdog well into the 21st century.

In his two major stints as an authority figure (one overwhelmingly successful, the other slightly less so) Foley always made a point of standing up for the little guy, refusing to bow down to corporate pressure whether it was good for his wellbeing or not. Mick was never seen to be a main event-worthy talent during his in-ring career either, and his big break only came about during a time when the WWF needed to try ever-more experimental tactics to get ahead in the Monday Night Wars.

As an extremely hairy, physically doughy character, with an on-screen temperament that veered between kindly and sadistic, Foley broke a mould that has yet to be properly fixed today, and proved that your body meant nothing, so long as you had passion, charisma, and the heart of an underdog. Without Foley’s continued work in and around professional wrestling throughout this century, most of the names on the list would probably still be wrestling bingo halls.