10 Inanimate Objects In Wrestling That Somehow Got Over
1. Mr. Socko - Mankind's Sock Puppet Finisher
Steve Austin has described the origin of Mr. Socko fondly on his podcast. He remembers sitting in an on-set bathroom with Mick Foley, waiting for Vince McMahon to finish filming his portion of the iconic hospital skit that first featured the sock puppet.
"He was telling me about the sock and he was going to start using it as a finish, and we were laughing our asses off in that little bitty bathroom".
That doesn't sound like a serious conversation about a serious gimmick. That's two guys having a laugh about the utterly ridiculous notion of putting a sweat sock on your hand, stuffing that in someone's mouth, and calling it a finishing move. Because...what the hell.
While Austin and Foley may not have had much confidence in the lark of a gimmick, WWE fans were exceptionally quick to embrace Mr. Socko. You can practically pinpoint the debut of Mr. Socko as the moment audiences started to fully embrace Mankind. It shifted his character away from a dark, tormented soul and turned him into a loveable eccentric.
If Foley hadn't carried that sock around in the crotch of his pants from week-to-week, his career may not have taken off the way it did.