10 Wrestlers Who Can HONESTLY Be Labelled A Genius

8. Mick Foley

Cody Kenny Omega
WWE.com

The strangest part of Mick Foley's 'Foley Is Good' isn't the stories of brutal, concussive head trauma, but the idea that he thought he was in decline in the year before his (non)retirement.

Foley, paranoid, felt he was an embarrassment, that his peers were secretly upset at the prospect of working a performer who had lost his ability to make them look halfway decent. The exact opposite was true: for a significant stretch of time, up to and including his hobbling twilight years, there is no other performer in the industry an aspiring main event act wished to step foot in the ring with.

Ironically, for a man with most of his right ear missing, Foley was a master of balance.

His unhinged, sadistic rapid-fire punches meshed perfectly with his demented, masochistic bumping and willingness to absorb brutal punishment, the effect of which saw several wrestling stars ascend to Super status. Mick Foley made talents look like stars (Randy Orton), comedians look like killers (The Rock), ring generals look like Gods of war (Triple H) and animals look like monsters (Vader).

Foley was so crucial to Triple H's headliner run that the Game is always a little too reluctant to acknowledge it, lest it form part of the narrative.

That says it all.

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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 surefire Undisputed WWE Universal 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!