10 Wrestling Gimmicks More Disturbing Than You Think
4. Mankind Has Parental Neglect Issues
Ask a fellow wrestling fan what they recall most about Mick Foley's early run as Mankind and they won't answer, "Aw, his piano playing was sweet". However, the character was armed with an elaborate backstory that included musicianship and a burning desire to impress parents who didn't love him.
Wait, what?
It's true. Foley has even brought this up via his podcast and in his numerous books. Mankind was a child prodigy who was ridiculously great at piano but suffered painful parental neglect during his youth - the WWF just didn't explore that fully beyond some post-match music and the fact he yelled, "Mommy" out a lot.
His unhinged vibe and immediate feud with The Undertaker meant all of that fell by the wayside in favour of typical heel monster tropes. Then, the WWF tweaked Mankind's backstory to better-reflect Mick's actual upbringing. All hopes of him returning for a banger concert with Elias were lost.