Mick Foley Interview (Source: Silvervision.co.uk)

Not content with being one of the greatest WWE Superstars ever and a best selling author, Mick Foley will be coming to the UK in November to embark on his Stand Up Comedy Tour. We caught up with Mick to talk about this new venture and his previous career in WWE.

From Daniel Flatt: Being that WWE are touring the UK the same week as your stand up tour, is it just coincidence that you've got both Monday and Tuesday free?

Well, technically, Monday and Tuesday are media days to do press for the UK tour, but hey, if I happen to get an itch for being at a WWE show again, Liverpool is not beyond my reach.

From Dan Armstrong: Who are your comedy inspirations?

I've had many inspirations in comedy. The first comedy album I ever listened to was George Carlin: Class Clown, which is an all-time classic. I still have the two classic Steve Martin albums, "Let's Get Small" and "A Wild and Crazy Guy" somewhere in storage. I was a big fan of Steven Wright, and thought Jerry Seinfeld was great long before he became famous. I also like the story-tellers, like Bill Cosby, since story-telling is more along the lines of what I do.

From Shahin Najafipour: How have you prepared for the British audience as our sense of humour is quite different to the US?

I'm not going to do anything different as far as adjusting what I do for the British audience. I'm aware that comedy can be much different in the UK, but we love British comics in the US, and they seem to like what US comics do as well. I think trying to adjust too much for a certain audience would be like trying to wrestle like an Englishman on a WWE tour; fans like the individual styles, not copies of other styles.

From Chris Ericsson: What's your favourite joke of all time?

My favourite joke of all time is from Steven Wright. It had me on the floor laughing in 1981, and it's even more relevant today. "The Stones, I love the Stones. I can't believe they're still doing it after all these years...Fred and Barney."

From Ben Ashelford: Mick, when writing a novel do you use a template of any kind or do you just type and structure it afterwards?

Wow, it's been a while since I've written a novel, but I thought on both of the novels I wrote until it's almost like they could write themselves. I did have chapter outlines for "Tietam Brown", and mainly worked from notes on the second one, "Scooter", which wasn't available in the UK since it was a baseball novel...which doesn't mean much to you guys across the pond.

From Thomas 'Millions' Lowson: What do you consider your funniest moment in WWE?

I think my funniest moment in WWE was a story about Al Snow's most unfortunate wardrobe mishap in Montreal, Canada in 1999. I may share that one with an audience or two when I come over. I try never to do the same show twice - but that one is worth telling on more than one occasion.

What made you take the step to stand up comedy?

I never saw the step to stand up comedy as being that dramatic a departure from talks I'd given at Universities across the US over the past several years. But when I was speaking at schools, there was never a specific emphasis on being funny; if a story happened to be funny, that was a bonus. In comedy, even though I consider myself more of a story-teller than a comedian, there is obviously an emphasis on making people laugh. But once in a while, I want to make people think...and maybe even learn something as well.

Does your stand up material contain any references to your career in wrestling?

Oh, yeah, many of the stories I tell are either directly from my wrestling days, or inspired from them. I don't want to be like the lead singer of a famous band on a solo tour, refusing to play his greatest hits.

How will you handle any hecklers?

I guess I've been lucky; I haven't had to deal with many hecklers. But I come from a line of work in which we invited heckling - almost saw it as a compliment. So if a heckler shows up in the UK, I can dispatch of him with a few quick verbal jabs.

How did you feel about being rated #33 on the recent Top 50 Superstars of All Time DVD?

I was cool with being #33 on the all time greatest wrestlers list. I'd rather be #33 than not on the list at all. Plus, I think when WWE puts out their "Greatest Wrestlers/Authors/Comics", I'm going to be in the top 20.

Staying on the subject of DVDs, your fall from the top of the cell at King of the Ring 1998 has ranked the number #1 spot in the new OMG: The Top 50 Incidents History in WWE DVD. Are you surprised that 13 years on people still remember and revere that moment so much?

I was thrilled to have the number one moment on the new WWE DVD. I had no idea at the time that it would still be so relevant today. In fact, it's probably too relevant - in some ways, I've been Bill Murray in "Groundhog Day" since that match; reliving the same questions over and over again.

What made you choose the UK for your stand up tour?

Honestly, Id pretty much given up on comedy when Chris Brooker approached me about doing some shows in the UK. The big challenge in the US was getting the same fans who would gladly stand in line for two hours for an autograph signing to see me try something different. But I decided about four months ago to give it a serious try. I travel around with my notebooks now, and write thoughts down when they come to me, and give them a try on unannounced guest spots around Long Island and New York, before putting them out there on my own shows. I recently recorded one of my shows a sell-out on Long Island, and have been posting clips on my website. So when people ask what I do, I just point them to the videos. Maybe my style isnt for everyone, but fans seem genuinely happy when they leave these shows. I might be considered un-American for saying this, but I dont think US fans are nearly as adventurous as UK fans are when it comes to taking that kind of leap of faith. Weve been thrilled with the sales so far; two shows in London are sold-out, as are shows in Manchester and Glasgow. I cant fully explain just how much Im looking forward to coming over.