https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNB2CuJw6po In the summer of 1997, fans and WWE management alike got their first glimpse at just how dynamic a performer Mick Foley was. As Mankind, he had left an indelible mark on Vince McMahon's company a year earlier, feuding with The Undertaker and almost instantly becoming a major player in the biggest sports-entertainment promotion in the world. For the most part, though, Mankind was a one-trick pony. He was deranged, had the poor upbringing and got as much enjoyment out of harming himself as he did others. But why? What went on in his upbringing that was really all that bad? What made Mankind tick? Fans got the answers to all of their questions, and more, when he sat down with the legendary Jim Ross for a series of revolutionary interviews that would forever change the direction the character, and the performer, were headed. Mankind detailed every bit of pain, torment, heartbreak and ridicule that he endured while advancing through his adolescence and, in the process, fans began feeling sympathetic toward the character. At the same time, they witnessed a mad man at his most demented, rambling on and on about the society that treated him as an outcast. Unlike others in the same predicament, he allowed it to eat away at him until he lost his mind. So inconsolable and enraged was he that he lashed out, attacking Ross and applying the dreaded Mandible Claw. While the interviews were integral in evolving the character, they were also a haunting reminder of just how dangerous and unstable he could be.
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.