HARDCORE: The greatest single word to describe Mick Foley. He's had dozens upon dozens of injuries. Lost teeth, broken bones, concussions galore. He's lost an ear, and has had over 300 stitches. All for one reason. To entertain you and me, the wrestling fans. Night after night Mick puts his neck on the line, and I for one appreciate it. So, for your viewing pleasure, here's a brief retrospective look at the career and characters that make up the hardcore legend that is Mick Foley. Warning: some photos on this page may be unsuitable for younger viewers, so use your own discretion So, without further adieu....

Born Michael Francis Foley on May 14, 1965, Mick Foley will forever be known as one of the TRUE icons in profesional wrestling. Forget the mainstream success of Austin or Hogan. Forget about the tradition of Ric Flair or Arn Anderson. We're talking about a different kind of icon. The HARDCORE Icon.

Mick spent his youth dreaming of being a pro-wrestler. He'd wrestle with his brother and give mock interviews (where we saw the first incarnation of Dude Love) with his home video camera. Mick would jump off of high places (such as his house) to come crashing down on whatever could break his fall. What started as a boyhood dream, finally ended up a reality. Foley was trained by Dominic Denucci to become a pro wrestler. For a few years, Mick wrestled the indies as Cactus Jack Manson and even had a run as a jobber in the WWF temporarily. He eventually entered WCW where he feuded with big names such as Vader, Abdullah the Butcher and others. It was during his feud with Vader that Cactus lost his right ear. During a match which took place in Germany, Cactus ended up getting his head trapped between twisted top and second ropes. As he tried to escape, his ear was ripped off because the ropes had been attached too tightly. Even though his ear was gone, he was in good spirits and even smiling for cameras. Cactus was given the chance to have his ear re-attached by plastic surgery, but he decided to go ahead and wrestle the next night. Eventually, Cactus captured the tag team titles with Kevin Sullivan on May 24, 1994. They only kept the titles briefly, which led to a feud and eventual "loser leaves WCW" match which Cactus lost.

After completeing his tenure in WCW, Cactus Jack entered the ECW. It was in ECW that Foley really began to bring his hardcore style to North America. There he had intense matches with Terry Funk & captured the ECW Tag Titles with Mikey Whipwreck on more than one occasion. Cactus Jack also entered the IWA in 1995 to win the King of the Death Matches tournament, going through Terry Gordy, Shoji Nakamaki & Terry Funk all in one night, where thumbtacks, barb wire, beds of nails & bombs were involved in the matches.