Vince McMahon's initial idea for Mick Foley in the WWF was to call him 'Mason The Mutilator'. Foley was not a fan, fearing that he could go the same way as the likes of Mantaur or Phantasio in the promotion and be hampered with a terrible gimmick. Agreeing to wear the mask McMahon proposed, Foley instead came up with the idea of calling the character 'Mankind', and nothing else. At first, officials were frosty on the premise, but allowed Foley to debut under the name. Due to his incredible passion for performing, Mankind became arguably the character the man is best known for, even topping Cactus Jack. One original trope for Mankind was that he was a childhood genius, yet had a terrible need to hurt people. The phrase, 'doesn't play well with others' summed up Foley's view for the guise. Mankind grew into one of the best-loved characters on WWF television, but it was genuinely freaky at first. Aligned with Paul Bearer and chasing The Undertaker, Mankind would tear at his own hair and scream loudly at both the fans and the camera. The character lived in a boiler room, only adding to the chill factor surrounding him. It's remarkable that Foley was able to take such a scary gimmick and turn it into a cherished babyface.
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.
