Mick Foley became a star around the same time as great athletes like Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, The Rock and The Undertaker. He had charisma in spades, but it goes without saying that his physical appearance wasnt quite built like his colleagues. Instead of letting it hold him back, Foley made it work in his favour, and so he quickly became everyones favourite underdog. Add to that the fact that he played the Mankind role excellently, not forgetting Cactus Jack or Dude Love, and its easy to see how he became so successful. The two matches that spring to mind where Foley allowed his performance to completely change the way fans, and WWE executives, saw him, are the Hell in a Cell match against The Undertaker at King of the Ring 1998, and the January 4th 1999 episode of Monday Night Raw, where he captured the WWE Championship for the first time. If the Hell in a Cell match did anything, it showed beyond a shadow of a doubt that Mick Foley has balls. That first big bump from the cell is the most talked about moment that night, but the fact that this was just the beginning says a whole lot about Foleys commitment. His body was battered and broken, quite literally, yet he still scaled the cell a second time and took a second, more devastating, bump through the roof with a steel chair busting up his teeth. Then the match began! Foley proved that he was tough as nails that night, whether that was the goal or not. Hardcore legend is right! The night Foley won the WWE Championship was a pivotal moment in the Monday Night Wars, with this becoming the turning point where WWE would take the lead in the ratings and hold onto it until WCW went out of business entirely. But it was also a turning point for Foley himself. Hed been told for years that he could never make it, and on this night, he changed the landscape of WWE, and the whole concept of what makes a champion. Weve seen moments like this come years later, like with Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania XXX for example, but Foley hard work to change the perception that a man of his physique couldnt be top dog would be a huge moment in wrestling.
