Arn Anderson On His Favorite Gimmick By WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley

In mid-1993, Mick Foley, as Cactus Jack, made a seamless transition from maniacal heel to fan favorite while feuding against the villainous trio of Paul Orndorff, Harley Race, and Big Van Vader. While Foley did eventually bask in the cheers of WWE fans years later, Arn Anderson saw flashes of his babyface character connecting with WCW audiences and felt that WCW missed the boat by not pulling the trigger on Foley as a good guy.

"You could see rumblings and the beginnings of him being born," Anderson said of Foley on his "ARN" podcast. "He was starting to get really comfortable with his promo style — it was going to work for him, obviously. It fit everything he did — his look, working style, all of the things he was willing to do for the business. My hats off to him for that. I mean, the guy gave up his body. Right now, if you find him, wherever he is on Planet Earth, I can guarantee you he's in pain — and he did that for the business."

Unlike his stint in WCW, where Foley wrestled only as Cactus Jack, "The Hardcore Legend" portrayed other personas — Mankind and Dude Love — in WWE, and eventually created an amalgamation of the three characters to simply go by his real name. When asked which of the four personas resonated with Anderson, he said, "I think when you figured out that Mick Foley was an actual human being, you started looking at what he was willing to do for the audience and company, it made you — I don't know if respect is the right word — but appreciate him."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "ARN" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.