After watching Mick Foley last night, falling through the mat, falling off of a cage, and doing his damn best to put over one of the next generation of superstars, I must say I am in awe. There probably is no other active wrestler who has gone out of his way to please the fans of the sport as well as his employers and fellow wrestlers. However, Mick Foley has left wrestling an ugly legacy. The next generation may take his crazy antics to an even more extreme level.

And who drove Foley into this mad state? You all, the fans who wanted too much in every match.

I must admit, in the past, I did not pay much attention to Mick Foley. He seemed like another wrestler with over the top gimmicks (Cactus Jack) and goofy behavior (Dude Love). Watching his old matches, one cannot get past the fact that he ALWAYS GETS HIS ASS KICKED. He never seemed to exhibit any great wrestling ability in the ring. In fact, at times he seemed like a dummy bag to get people over in the eyes of the fans. Many extreme performers in the ring are benefited by their high risk style (Shawn Michaels, Jeff Hardy) but Foley lost and lost again or was stuck in the midcard until the end of last year.

How does a *loser* become a fan favorite? By appealing to the crude nature of the fans.

Cracking his head on the concrete probably caused a good deal of damage and immense pain but Foley did it to make Vader seem like more of an animal. Falling off of the cage had horrific effects on his body and mind to this day, but he underwent the pain in order to show that the Undertaker was truly a sadistic bastard. Therein lies the problem with Mick Foley. His actions have conditioned the fans to expect more and more, until wrestling reaches the point where it is no longer safe and tragedy is inevitable. Promoters will sit back while their wrestlers do insane stunts like senton bombs off of a railing, in order to please the fans. But wrestlers aren't trained to do things like this, they are trained only to perform in the ring. All of the other things that we've seen, like throwing fire, lighting oneself on fire, jumping 20 feet onto a person, etc. are beyond the range of the average wrestler. Bret Hart, in the midst of a huge push, still managed to have a wake up check when his monster truck stunts almost ran over people in the arena. Surely, Mick Foley is not the innovator of insane battles, but he has been the leading figure in this kind of wrestling in every federation that he has been in.

A quick glance at wrestling sites shows most internet marks giving praise to Foley for 'all that he has given' to the sport for so many years. But, in reality, Mick Foley was used. He was, at times, nothing more than a tool to get wrestlers over. When Vader had a monster push in WCW, Foley was the fall guy for his gruesome wrestling moves. Paul Wight's arrival into the spotlight in the WWF was prepared by having him slam Foley through pipes and on glass or placing his entire weight on Foley's chest. The Rock beat Foley's head in while his wife and children sat in the front row crying, simply to solidify the Rock as the #1 heel leading into Wrestlemania. In every instance, Mick was being used by others. Vince McMahon can never say that he ever cared for Foley's welfare because if he did he would have never left him do the things he did. The video packages and quotes are a nice sendoff and Foley's determination and love may be genuine but he was a pawn in a sick game of ratings. The man can't be over 40 but he can barely walk and his attempts at running are ridiculous (see him chase after Triple H and Stephanie). His body is almost completely deteriorated. Owners and management shouldn't encourage this sort of behavior. Wrestlers can provide entertainment without risking their lives or their health.

Next time, a look at online columnists in order to find out once and for all, why Netcop sucks. Just kidding.