10 Huge Bust-Ups Between Wrestlers And Bookers

2. Mick Foley Vs. Ric Flair

Do The Job Austin McMahon
WWE.com

Mick Foley savaged Ric Flair's stint as WCW booker in his first autobiography because he felt he was typecast in his role as hardcore masochist - but he played that role perfectly.

Cactus Jack somehow conspired to enhance even Vader's aura in their awesome video nasty of a series, and gave his body to Sting in 1992 in a white-hot squelcher at Beach Blast. Foley was the perfect opponent for so many wrestling superstars, and was so proficient in such a valuable role that he was never himself considered top-level material. Worse still, Foley's painstaking efforts were undermined with a disastrous late-seasons character arc in which WCW refused to adapt the loss of his ear into a storyline and sold another gruesome injury with a comedic plot.

Flair fired back in his own book by referring to Foley as a "glorified stuntman" and compared his fundamental in-ring ability to that of Brutus Beefcake. That must have hurt more than losing the ear, and it did; Foley took it so personally that, eventually, the men came to blows at a RAW taping years later. It was separated, and wrestling being wrestling, they worked a worked shoot out of it in 2006.

Who was in the right?

Given what Foley put himself through in his time - especially in contrast to what the "real" stars would not years later - it would be too fair to Flair to not put Foley over, particularly since he put the butts in the seats by 1999.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!