The Hardcore Diaries (Autobiography) (2007)

Written by Mick Foley
Grade: A-

This is Mick Foley’s third autobiography following 1999’s Have a Nice Day!: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks and 2001’s Foley Is Good: And the Real World Is Faker Than Wrestling.

Summary

Right away, Mick Foley sets the tone of the book by thanking Vince McMahon for all “The bumps in the road”, a line that represents the bumps he takes in the ring as well as the creative hurdles he’s forced to jump over throughout the course of this book.

In the “Introduction”, Foley talks about being inspired by Buzz Bissinger’s book Three Nights in August and how it gave the reader unprecedented access to St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa in a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs. For his next book, Foley wanted to do a similarly themed piece on Vince McMahon going into WrestleMania. McMahon was down and the tentative release date was planned for the spring of 2007. However, Mick later decided against this because he felt he couldn’t dedicate the time it would take to write something of this magnitude if he himself was playing a big role in the show, as he was setting up his angle with Edge for the pay-per-view when it started to get closer to the season. McMahon understood the decision and suggested Foley do another autobiography as its replacement. He wasn’t so sure but started to write down stories on the road as he thought of them after McMahon sang his “literary praises”. At first, he wasn’t entirely sure what he wanted the book to be about. At the time, he was writing a weekly blog for WWE for about two months, so he was considering just making the book a retread of his blogs. Though the lead liaison for WWE in their publishing deal with Pocket Books (a division of Simon & Schuster) in Dean Miller said this wouldn’t be a problem, Foley’s conscience wouldn’t allow for him to go through with it. It would be phoning it in. Around the second week of April, he found his inspiration in a great storyline idea he had for the upcoming WWE PPV One Night Stand. When asked by his editor if he could finish a manuscript by July 4th, he realized that this whole process would be the book. From pitching the storyline, to going back to TV, to getting in shape, traveling, and continuing to develop his ideas to try and make this new angle he’s cooked up worthwhile, his book is charting the “course of this idea from conception to completion-an intense six-week ride that would allow our fans unprecedented access into the meetings, phone calls, backstage antics, TV tapings, and ultimately the wrestling ring, where the idea would play itself out”.

In his first journal entry, we begin on the date of April 24th, 2006. Foley stresses the importance of the pitch to a creative team in wrestling. Terrible ideas can be pitched well, and great ideas can be pitched terribly. Less than four weeks prior, Foley had his legendary Hardcore Match with Edge at WrestleMania 22. Despite Foley’s age and injury woes, they put on a show for the ages. However, Foley admits that during his entire program with Edge, he never truly felt the story like he should have. His passion was missing, which is usually something he’s known for. Regardless, at this moment in time, Foley is happy about his current contract situation with the WWE. He only owes them two PPV matches a year, and he’s required to show up to however many television appearances it takes to properly build up each match. Essentially, this equates to 15 days a year. Moving backward and talking about how his match with Randy Orton at Backlash in 2004 is his new favorite and how passionate he was for the story, he goes back to his lack of passion now. Mick doubts he can pull through it once he’s called back in September. He questions if he has fallen out of love for wrestling, pointing to Ric Flair’s negative comments in his own autobiography To Be the Man about Foley and WWE’s negligence in warning him about Flair’s words ahead of time as something that only hurt him more.

In Flair’s defense, Foley started it in his first book by making light of Flair’s booking strategies, so it’s a bit hard to claim victim here as he should’ve expected a rebuttal.

Anyway, Foley also talks about his potential regrets of taking the easy way out instead of signing with TNA on the advice of his good friend Raven, as his signing could have made the difference between “life and death for the promotion” at the time. Just then, the inspiration hits. Considering “What if?” scenarios to get him out of a writer’s block of sorts, Foley asks himself, “What if I became the first volunteer member of the Vince McMahon “Kiss My Ass Club”? After letting it marinate for a few days, he made the call. In the next journal entry, we come in a mere three days later. McMahon liked the idea and asks Mick to pitch it to the rest of the creative team. Realizing the potential of the idea, he even ditches the flannel and sweatpants for something a little more formal just for the meeting. This doesn’t seem important to most, but if you know Mick Foley, it’s kind of a big deal. Besides McMahon and Mick, the others at the creative meeting were Dusty Rhodes, Greg Gagne, Michael Hayes, Stephanie McMahon, Raw‘s head writer Brian Gewirtz, Raw‘s assistant writer Ed Koskey, and Smackdown‘s head writer Dave Lagana. Mick gives the team praise for how they honored ECW well the year previously, but the storylines have to be really engaging this year to repeat the success with this year’s edition of the One Night Stand PPV. Everything in his idea hinges on three important things. The first is that he wants Terry Funk to be brought in and they have to fully believe he can get “over” as a main event attraction in a very short period of time. Foley looks to Dusty Rhodes to vouch for him on Funk being able to convince anyone he’s crazy, with Dusty responding in an amusing manner saying that’s because he is crazy. As this part plays out, Foley notices McMahon isn’t laughing with everyone else, but he does have a smile on his face, which is good.

Foley explains in a small aside that McMahon and Funk have a contentious relationship going back to as early as 1993, when Funk walked out of the WWE at a major PPV and just left a note that his horse was dying as his explanation.

The second part was Foley making sure everyone was firmly behind the idea that him and Edge could create one of the most unique tag teams in recent history, and the third is that Vince McMahon needs to physically get involved. Unfortunately, this third part is the beginning of the hurdles Foley has to climb, as McMahon already has tentative plans to get involved in the D-Generation X storyline. As a response, Mick goes for the “Hail Mary” and throws in how he wants to become the first ever volunteer member of the Kiss My Ass Club. Being the freak he is, McMahon’s ears perked up to this, allowing for Foley to pitch a four-week plan to everyone. It would start with the formation of Foley and Edge, a two-week period where the team takes out ECW legends, and this would lead to a confrontation between Mick and McMahon. The idea is that McMahon catches onto to the team’s desire to ruin One Night Stand and how it would cost the WWE a lot of money. The week after the promo, Foley would call McMahon to the ring to apologize. After some back and forth on the mic where Foley would talk about how he kissed Vince’s ass figuratively in his other books and that’s not the person he’s proud of, he would say how he wants to prove himself as a man and actually do the things he says, asking to join the club on his own volition. When it comes down to the actual ass-kissing moment, Mick is stopped by Funk, who pleads with him to not go through with it on account of pride and everything. This would lead to Edge attacking Funk and the two forcing Funk to kiss McMahon’s ass. The kicker though is that Foley wants Funk to bite McMahon’s ass in front of everyone. At this point, the creative team is loving it, and Mick can see the pitch working. Using this angle, it can benefit everyone because McMahon can take out his frustrations on DX and he can join forces with Edge and Mick to take out One Night Stand, as his pride was hurt so much from Funk’s ass biting that he would go that far to sabotage everything.

Once Gewirtz suggests moving the date up to begin this potential storyline in Lubbock, Texas (right outside of Funk’s hometown), the meeting closes and Foley is all smiles. McMahon hugs him, and Stephanie also thanks Mick for dressing up for the occasion.

Next, we go into the section “Falling into a Falling-Out”. This was following a New York Times article that came out about Mick wanting to write a novel several years previously. Suddenly, everyone wanted to talk to him about his aspirations as an author including Today with Katie Couric, when they had previously been uninterested. Mick’s publisher and friend Judith Regan of Regan Books was supportive and offered him a two-book deal with or without the participation of the WWE. Out of courtesy, Micky called up then WWE president Stu Snyder to tell him he planned on accepting the offer, but it didn’t go over too well. Mick blames it on the timing as it happened as the XFL was failing and he had his other son “Little Mick” at the time. Mick Foley and Vince McMahon always had a close working relationship up until this timeframe. Despite retiring from full-time duties as a wrestler in 2000, Mick would always come back for random stints here and there and be in the midst of storylines as an onscreen character. He was “fired” in December 2000 just so he could get some time at home for the impending birth of his child. He assumed he would be back at some point, with the idea being a match against Vince McMahon himself at WrestleMania X-Seven, probably with his commissioner’s job on the line. Unfortunately, he heard the idea “about a day before its scheduled shooting, got cold feet, and called up Vince, saying something about ‘never wrestling again’, blaming it on fear of one final devasting head injury”. He ended up refereeing the match instead, which turned into Vince versus Shane McMahon, and everything turned out okay. However, he always felt that opting out of this specific storyline changed Vince McMahon’s perception of him. In July of 2001, Mick asked for his release from the WWE directly from McMahon. What resulted was an argument where Mick stood his ground but was ultimately denied. Even so, Mick felt good about getting to go toe-to-toe with a billionaire and not backing down on his grievances.

In November, he eventually got the release, but it was with the help of Katie Couric, unbeknownst to her. After the interview he had with her in May, Mick was invited back to Today to promote his book Halloween Hijinx. Actually, he was asked to come back days after the first interview. Normally the cool-headed guy he is, Mick talks about the frustrations regarding the release of his Halloween-themed book, as WWE made it harder than it had to be. They didn’t pay his artist and friend Jennifer Suitor on time, so he flipped out on a phone call to WWE officials a day before his interview on Today. He didn’t want anyone representing WWE to be there because it was his day, so he had any WWE personnel banned from the building. Afterwards, the interview went great, and Katie even held little Mick to end the show. This led to the release. On November 5, 2001, Mick was told he wasn’t booked on the show once he arrived at the arena. Head of talent relations and legendary commentator “J.R.” Jim Ross sent for Mick to come to his office. Based off of everything leading to this point and the Today show fiasco, Ross and McMahon came to the conclusion that if they were to keep Mick, “it might very well prevent us from doing business together in the future”. If they were to let him go at this moment though, they could work together in the future when the stars align. With that, Mick was let go and he was happy, though he does note that it didn’t become official until another night of Raw where he was flown out to Charlotte to be fired aboard the WWE private jet. Regardless, he was finally free to pursue his outside interests. He wouldn’t see McMahon again for another eighteen months.

Getting back on track in the diary, we are back in the regular timeline of 2006. It’s May 2nd, and Mick is struck with writing inspiration on a commuter plane headed to LaGuardia Airport. He talks about the ultimate goal of wrestling immortality and how he wants his idea to be remembered forever. However, an unnamed person when they were in Colombus had reservations about it and it has seemingly stalled the progress. Of course, it’s the problem with Terry Funk’s inclusion, which Mick refers to as his “Best” idea. Based off of the response from the creative team, it was gold too. Next, he goes on about how Terry Funk is the greatest wrestler he’s ever seen personally. No one was a more believable wildman nor was anyone able to make others suspend their disbelief quite like Funk, a man Mick considers to be his friend and mentor. The problem at the moment is that Funk hasn’t been seen in a WWE ring in 8 years, he’s 60 years old, and he only has a few short weeks to get himself over again to help sell this PPV. Mick sees his idea of Funk biting McMahon’s ass as the only way to make an instantaneous star. Brian Gewirtz tells him privately that it still might happen but there’s a possibility it won’t. Since they are worried about how it might end the Kiss My Ass Club, Mick comes up with an idea on how to solve things – Melina. Two days later, Mick does another journal entry talking about McMahon being the ultimate decider on how things will go and how Mick himself is in the position of a persuader. To get his way, Mick is willing to sacrifice his dignity, though he doesn’t go into detail on how just yet. After talking about his burgeoning friendship with Melina, his love of everything about Christmas and involving aspects of it in his life year-round, and his upcoming radio interview with former porn star Christy Canyon, he talks about why he wants to include Melina.

Though he may get “improper thoughts” about the WWE divas at times (as we all do), it’s never meant to be anything devious, and Mick is always consistent with this. He gives the reader three reasons as to why he wants Melina involved:

1. She’s very talented and will be able to pull off this difficult role;
2. It will ensure that I do get my way in the “Terry Funk takes a chunk out of Vince’s ass” idea;
3. It does indeed give me a cheap excuse to call her.

Obviously, the last one is a joke from Mick, but you get the point.

He made the call while he was at Abilities on their media day, which precedes their 40th annual “Sports Night”, a gala fundraising event that includes some of the biggest athletes ever. Along with Mick, some names include Jim Brown, Gayle Sayers, and Jack Nicklaus. Very few participate in the play portion, so Mick does every year. After a small anecdote about the play and how he tried to playfully wrap his arm around each former MLB star there, with Rich Gossage being the only one who gave him a death stare, he talks about another charity event he was at, the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s Muscle Team event. At one point, he’s fielding questions from children. Following a series of expected questions, a kid asked him if he was friends with the Divas. After being asked to prove it, he looked to his phone. He’s got plenty of numbers on speed dial from the roster. He already called Trish Stratus a few days earlier after a visit with his friend and wrestling fan suffering from cerebral palsy Chris Giordano. They were watching Backlash together and Trish looked like she got hurt during the match. Seeing her poster on his wall, Mick called Trish to hopefully make him feel better. He only got the voicemail, but this was enough to make Chris happy. Because of this, Mick decided to call Melina instead. Though he got the voicemail again, the kids went crazy. He explained the event to her in the message, had the kids greet her, and mentioned that he had an idea to run by her. When it came to calling Melina later, he took a sleeping pill before looking at his messages. Melina responded and was ready for the call, so Mick did so. It went on for two hours and forty minutes, and he realized later that he started to fade out two hours in because of the pill, but Melina was excited about the possibility, nonetheless.

In “A Novel Idea”, Mick discusses his novel Tietam Brown and how it led to his return to WWE. His second novel Scooter led to his return as a wrestler. He talks about his children’s book Tales from Wrescal Lane, the main character being based on Stephanie McMahon, and how Vince McMahon was enthusiastic about the idea. This led to a conversation where the real Stephanie was touched by the story because she was always under the impression that Mick didn’t like her because she didn’t pay her dues coming up in the business. Also, when WWE started scripting promos, something Mick was never good at and doesn’t believe in, Mick would stray away from what was written for him. Since she was a part of this process, she took this as Mick not respecting her. He then goes back to when he first started thinking about the idea for Tietam Brown when he returned in June of 2000 and sharing the idea behind a certain scene he was thinking about with Stephanie and Kurt Angle. They were optimistic about it. Eventually, this snowballed into his first novel, and many commented on how dark it was, which surprised Mick. His manuscript was sent to the reputable Knopf, where hardass editor Victoria Wilson took a look at it. She liked it but still saw major structural problems that needed to be rewritten. He took her notes and reworked it in five days and in about 70 hours of work. Though there were still some fixes needed, it was surprisingly very minor, and Wilson was surprised at his hard work. He read an excerpt of it to Raven, and he loved it.

This back-and-forth (and up-and-down) structure continues throughout the book, with Mick focusing mainly on his storyline in 2006 but taking the time when needed to jump back and forth in recent history to make sense as to how he got there or why he’s thinking of certain things.

My Thoughts:

The Hardcore Diaries is another very good autobiographical effort coming from professional wrestling legend Mick Foley. With his trademark wit and unbridled honesty, Mick takes us through the trials and tribulations of backstage politics within the WWE, his own literary journey inside and outside the company, and the struggles of having creative passions being stifled on so many occasions. Actually, the most important theme of The Hardcore Diaries is failing, as well as trying to find other avenues to curtail this “failing” in any way, shape or form. Of all the ideas Mick Foley is able to bring to the table and help bring to life in front of our television sets because of his burning desire to evolve as a performer, he runs into so many forks in the road that he ends up back at square one once it’s all over. At the beginning of the book, he stresses how his last match in the WWE, at WrestleMania no less, lacked the passion that he once previously had. It wasn’t like he was phoning it in, but he just wasn’t feeling the story like he used to, despite how great of a performance he put on at the biggest show of the year. Basically, his 2006 run consisted of Mick fulfilling his contractual obligations and trying to find some kind of spark in the midst of it all to remind him why he goes through the trouble of putting his body through the ringer.

This is saying something too because his WrestleMania match did end up with him going through a table that was set on fire.

In the middle of this run, he’s given the option to write another book. Though I would’ve liked seeing him covering Vince McMahon going into WrestleMania season, another autobiography was a good choice, as it really peels the curtain back on the politics of wrestling. For us wrestling fans, we can’t get enough of this. Now, Foley is already an untouchable legend at this point. This means his angles are given special treatment and he’s treated like a major attraction for pay-per-views, but even he has to deal with the fork in the road that is Vince McMahon and his creative team. This is why wrestling fans will enjoy this book. Many times, fans have talked about how lower or midcard wrestlers having their ideas shot down, their pushes stalled, and the unsolvable issue of professional wrestling in that a star’s career trajectory will always fall into the hands of the person who owns the company. Of course, this means that politics dictates all. It’s just how the business of sports entertainment works. It is true that these wrestlers have this issue and just have to do their best with what’s given, going with whatever the millionaire/billionaire says because they are the ultimate decider, as Foley puts it when describing Vince McMahon. What’s such an eye-opener is that Mick is someone with clout and is already considered a legend, and he still has trouble getting to do what he wants to do. It really shows you how troubling wrestling can be for creative minds behind the scenes. This is the core of The Hardcore Diaries and the brunt of the content. Though some of Mick’s ideas were given the spotlight, they aren’t given the care, or the attention Mick has in mind when the passion was reignited in the first place with his initial idea. He did get his way in getting the match and feud, but he has to compromise on so much and give up on so many things, he loses his drive that is so evident in the first half of the book.

Reading as the man goes from aged star striving for “wrestling immortality” by coming up what he perceives as one of his best ideas ever, to an injured and broken man trying to muster up one last fight to get through the show is one hell of a journey, and Mick writes it directly from the heart. Though it’s expected from the accomplished author that is Mick Foley at this point in time, I read this right after The Rock Says…, which is why it may stand out more and is a thousand times better in comparison. I will concede that the structure is a bit confusing at first, as Mick does jump all over the place. The main story is the journal entries in his 2006 run as he writes ideas down literally as they come to him. This includes moments of writing inspiration while he sits at the airport or when he’s actually on a plane. However, many times, he will jump all over the place, getting regularly off track to explain the background of something as simple as a baseball like when he greeted George Steinbrenner outside of the Yankees Stadium and he remembered Mick, or when Foley’s kids were giving away signed baseballs from Reggie Jackson to their friends because Mick had so many of them. Even so, this off-kilter structure does work in getting the reader to feel even closer to the hardcore legend. It’s quite like you’re having a personal conversation with someone, and it trails in a hundred different directions while you’re laughing and having a good time feeding off each other, with one thought reminding you of another moment in time. Plus, it spices up the main storyline for more casual readers. If the book was just about trying to get his storylines over with the front office, it may start to tread water at some point, but Mick’s anecdotes explaining his everyday life, his frustrations, his likes and dislikes, his lovable sense of humor, and how serious he takes his charitable obligations give us a real insight on who Mick is. It’s a connection that I never felt The Rock Says… ever reached.

So, though his meeting Adam West and Burt Ward at a convention and having pleasant interactions with both of them in “A Blurb from Batman” had nothing to do with what was going on, it gave us more insight into the colorful world Mick lives in and how the most random event can lead to an unforgettable experience worth sharing with the public. On top of that, it made me want to check out Burt Ward’s autobiography too, so there’s that. Along with this, there’s the rather long anecdote about meeting porn star Janine at the nation’s largest video convention in 1999. It’s a long set up, but the “Suck it” joke to finish out the chapter was actually worth it. This is the mark of a good writer. Even the most random and unimportant sections of the book are entertaining enough to keep you reading. Sure, it may lead to nothing substantial, but it’s all a part of this diary format and it’s very endearing. The only thing I would have omitted is the dream he had in giving Jon Kerry advice on his upcoming debate, as it didn’t amount to anything, was a bit confusing in its details, and felt very out of place.

Every step of the way, Mick is taking you on this frustrating road with him as he tries to accomplish his lofty goals while dealing with his family and young children, staying positive despite troubles with dieting, working out, and his litany of injuries, fulfilling every obligation he has with charities, fundraising events, and continuing the friendships he has with sick children in hospitals and in their homes, to wounded soldiers, to everything in-between. Yes, he does only work around 15 days a year in the WWE at this point, but being Mick Foley is a year-round job, as Mick describes so well throughout the pages of his book. Mick is just a good man in general. This can’t be argued. He never toots his own horn (though he could, and we couldn’t say a damn thing about it), as his actions and general personality do it for him. From his year-round Christmas room (which is kind of insane to me) to his sections on the Christian Children’s Fund and a poor girl he sponsored from the Philippines named Herma Grace, to going to see paralyzed wrestler John Grill, to getting the whole locker room to treat a dying child named Marcos Diaz like a superstar, Mick is like a real-life Santa Claus who tries to bring joy into the life of everyone he meets. In a world full of fake people who do things for the publicity, Mick proves throughout this book that he is literally doing everything he can to help out the less fortunate and using what little clout he has a wrestler to aid him in these quests like when he brought in his good friend Dee Snider to cheer up a hospitalized kid named Brian in a very sweet side story.

Honesty and authenticity are crucial in an autobiography, and Mick pulls no punches in aligning with these themes. Despite being under contract with Vince McMahon at the time, Mick is consistent with his criticism of McMahon and his strategies. In retrospect, he’s really ahead of the curve on this one. He still gives McMahon a lot of credit and still loves him for all the things he did for Mick’s career, but it’s clear that the biggest issue in the book is the charismatic billionaire and him refusing to concede to Mick on numerous occasions (McMahon paying more attention to his protein bar more than Mick during an argument is so “Vince McMahon” it’s not even funny). I also loved Mick randomly throwing in how he hated that McMahon mocked Jim Ross for his colon surgery. With a stern note he straight-up says, “It’s not funny”, and “As far as I know, only one person found it funny – you”. Finally, someone stands up. Again, Mick was ahead of the curve in calling out McMahon. His foresight regarding the potential of CM Punk was also hilarious saying Punk may eventually be a big star, “…if he’s able to successfully dodge the minefield of political b.s. that dots the WWE landscape”.

Man, Foley was hitting Nostradamus levels of foreshadowing the future with that one.

Foley’s personality really makes this worth the read. He’s a personable guy, but he’s very funny too. There are a lot of great quotes and stories that fill the cracks of the book to make it an enjoyable experience through and through like with his constant jabs at Test and Al Snow, his jokes about trying to avoid talking about the attractiveness of the females of the WWE roster (even calling himself the “gay friend” of the Divas in a way), him staying at a friend’s house where the guy’s girlfriend ended up being a crack dealer, or quoting Triple H when he saw AC/DC when they were on Saturday Night Live (“Look at the cock on Brian Johnson!”). It was even funnier when he talked about how they could get into legal trouble when talking about Johnson like this in his book, but him calming things down by stating the obvious: “Men don’t consider accusations of possessing a giant penis to be slanderous”. Also, Vince McMahon’s constant concerns about Terry Funk’s mental state and age is funny in itself. The biggest fork in the road for Mick in getting his storyline to work is to make sure all of the higher-ups believe in Funk, but nobody trusts his crazy ass. As a Funk fan and a bit of a wrestling historian, it’s funny because it’s kind of true. We all love Terry Funk, but you could definitly see why McMahon would be concerned. Giving the 60-year-old a live mic when they thought the son of a bitch was insane when he was in his 40s is a reason to be worried. Mick’s battles with the creative team are very worth it too, as well as his visits to “Promoland”, trance-like state where he gets his ideas for what he’s going to say on television.

My favorite line of the entire book had to be when he flips on writer Brian Gewirtz after getting the news of McMahon heavily changing a segment with Terry Funk saying, “Hey, I know in this case Gewirtz was just the messenger, but the message was so freaking lousy that in this case, he deserved to be shot”. Pure gold coming from the continuously improving writing of the talented author that is Mick Foley. Honestly, he’s always had a writer’s mind. You can see it when he tries to explain the motivations for his character in a storyline and why he wants to take it a certain way. When he talks about his Randy Orton feud, he talks about certain segments and promos more like a writer rather than a wrestler. When he refuses his fight against Randy Orton, he sees it as his “hero” character having faults and vulnerabilities akin to Shane, but McMahon and company have to be spoon fed his reasoning because they see it as black and white with no nuanced details. It’s all about character growth and how he needs a reason to do the things he does. It shows in his writing and his performances years after he retired from full-time competition. Once again, Mick Foley has the mind of someone destined for fleshed out stories. It’s clear he has more to offer the world as a creative person. Once you read The Hardcore Diaries, you’ll notice why Mick has succeeded as an author more so than any other wrestler before him.

Simply put, he just gets it.

*I understand Mick Foley’s points during his argument with Vince McMahon, but I don’t think his most popular character was Commissioner Foley. I’m taking McMahon’s side on that one. Additionally, I don’t want to be a stickler, but Mick does claim he met Rasheed Wallace in Portland when he was at a WWE show. Apparently, at this show, Rasheed heard he was being traded to Detroit, so Mick says he may have gotten the last Trail Blazers Rasheed autograph. However, Wallace got traded to the Atlanta Hawks, played a game, and then got traded to Detroit. So, he’s wrong there.*

Despite the happy-go-lucky Mick trying to stay positive, the realities of life come in at times and bring a damper on things to remind the reader what Mick is facing. Obviously, the aforementioned kids and injured people he goes to see out of the kindness of his heart is a good example, but one stood out in particular regarding the wrestling business. He talks about going to see Davey Boy Smith in 1999 when he was hospitalized, and how none of his fellow wrestlers went to see him. Despite Mick not being particularly close with him, he did. It’s just a reminder that though he’s always chasing wrestling immortality and wants to give back to the fans as much as he can, he doesn’t owe wrestling a damn thing at this point. It’s the somber truth about this stage of Foley’s career and leads to the harrowing final lines that really put the stamp on The Hardcore Diaries in closing:

“If I had known then what I know now, would I still have pitched my idea in Stamford, the idea that served as the basis for The Hardcore Diaries?… No, I wouldn’t have shown up in Stamford. But I think my mistake made for a good book.”

Maybe he’s his own worst critic and doesn’t give himself enough credit for what he accomplished, but it’s hard to say. When you see the sun’s rays shining on a golden idea and all he needs to hear is a confirmation to go through with it, it’s just hard to not feel like how everything is just one massive, missed opportunity despite the success that happened along the way. Promises are broken, one man’s opinion defeats all, and an excited and willing worker who is ready to put on a show ends up right back to where he started, as a star wondering what could have been. Such is the life of a professional wrestler in the WWE. The Hardcore Diaries is another great tell-all tale of wrestling’s most famous “everyman”. One day, he gets thrown down a set of stairs by Randy Orton only to be told he has to take out the garbage when he gets home, to flying to Japan on a moment’s notice to take a big money match when he can barely walk, there is never a dull moment in the life of Mick Foley. Because of this, his third autobiography never gets dry. Even the charity stuff, which encompasses a lot of the book, are very thoughtful sections that explain his thought process as a human being more so than a wrestling character. If you want to hear about the psychological warfare a wrestler faces in and out of the ring or reading how this specific legend falls short of his ultimate goal, while being thoroughly entertained as he tells it, The Hardcore Diaries is a wonderful book detailing every last bit of it straight from the mouth of Mick Foley.

It’s not a sad book but one grounded in the darker realities of one’s situation and how we just can’t have everything we want. If we’re being honest, you can see it in Mick’s eyes on the front cover. That somber smile tells all.