3. Steve Austin Was Surprised By Mick Foley's 'Mr. Socko' Success
As soon as he started playing the role of Mankind in the then-WWF, Mick Foley excelled as the character. At first, he was supposed to be a creepy, nightmarish heel, but fans couldn't help but enjoy the endearing performances of Foley. Slowly but surely, Mankind morphed into a sympathetic babyface, which is when he introduced an infamous prop. Right from the beginning, Mankind had used the 'Mandible Claw' as his finishing move. The hold involved jamming his fingers into the mouths of rivals, apparently rendering them helpless and causing them to submit. Later, Foley would stick a sweat sock on his hand, draw a little face on it and dub the thing 'Mr. Socko'. To a watching Steve Austin, this was ingenious. Speaking on his own podcast, the Steve Austin Show, the guy said he couldn't believe that Foley was able to take such a ludicrous concept and make it work so brilliantly. The sock was a raging success, and is still a part of proceedings today whenever Mick appears on WWE television.
Jamie Kennedy
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.
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