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Matt Talbot

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THE OUTSIDER'S EDGE
Have a Nice Day!

        In Mick Foley's auto-biographical novel Have a Nice Day!, there are many instances of Mick telling his life story (ironically enough).  Through personal experience, Mick tries to show the pain and dedication he used to become a pro wrestler today.  He speaks of falling onto concrete day in and day out.  He preaches from the book of BWire and quotes from DeathMatch 24:13. 

        Ok enough of this English paper introduction junk.  What I am trying to say is two fold.  One, the bio is like the coolest book I have read in a long time and is almost singlehandedly responsible for my english reading to be behind.  I try to read this book every chance I get, but, two, I have noticed some things weird about it.  He makes everything seem so unreal. 

        At times, he will be talking about certain matches and relate how painful some move was.  He will be like, "So I got powerbombed onto the thumbtacks and barbed wire and it was all sticking into my skin.  It was really painful, so I got up and continued the match".  It makes it seem like he is either God (which may be possible) or the moves are not as painful.  For example, when he is talking about the C4 explosions in the King of the DeathMatches Final, he says that it feels like being shot with a shotgun.  That sounds totally kayfabe, but I thought that the book is total shoot and at most times it is.  It could be shoot, but then he talks about getting right back up and continuing the match.  I know that if I were shot with a shotgun it would be really hard to continue.  Really, really, really hard.  I have the mach on tape and Foley does continue the match with what seems like a good level of maneuverability, especially considering having been "shot by a shotgun".  So, it seems to me like some of it has to be exaggeration, if not outright kayfabe.  When he is fighting HHH at SummerSlam '97 (the cage match) Mick relates how painful Chyna hitting him in the head with the cage door was.  He says it was one of the most painful thing he ever felt in his life, but then says he continued to wrestle the match and even did a huge elbow off the top of the cage.  I know that Mick Foley is a great taker of pain, but it seems too unreal, when he is talking of this intense pain and then still does other stuff to compound it.  I have a certain level of disbelief in his words, when he speaks on barely surviving the door attack and then saying he climbed up the fencing and dove off. 

        Mick talks really shoot during most of the book, but when he gets to his time in the WWF (his current work place), he seems to get a little more kayfabish.  It is like he is trying to protect certain people and their reputation.  One example of this is near the end, where he speaks about the cage match between himself/ Terry Funk vs.  NAO from the Raw right after WM XIV.  He says:  Showing the intestinal fortitude that was my trademark, I battled back against the odds and was climbing the cage en route to victory."  That seems to me to be a rather kayfabe statement.  He battled against odds, but isn't it just rigged to have Cactus climb up the cage no matter how bad NAO hurts them.  Of course, that was the debut of XPac and the new DX, but that is superfluous to the situation at hand.  It is little things like that, that make the WWF portion of Mick's book seem outlandish.  He will talk about his true feelings about Rocky or Mero's contract, but then at some point he will say how it was a hard fought victory for him or something kayfabe like that. 
        
        Don't get me wrong.  I love the book as much as the next guy and wish it was 5000 pages instead of 500.  I just think that at some points, Mick gets unreal with his descriptions.  I know he can take unimaginable amounts of pain, but in his words he just blows off missed EDrops to the outside or fall onto the BWire like they are nothing more than scratches.  I love the parts about WCW.  He makes it sound like WCW is totally chaotic and out of control, which helps prove my points on several levels.  Those points are another column, though.

        Anyway, if you have any comments, complains, criticisms, or questions or just wanna talk about how it seems Kevin Sullivan must end every sentence with Brotha, then email me at talboito@uclink4.berkeley.edu.

        PS  Bill Simpson and I both give the book 9 thumbs up.

Matt Talbot
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