Mick Foley Meets World

Summary

Pod Meets World – "Mick Foley Meets World"

Podcast: Pod Meets World (iHeartPodcasts)
Date: January 19, 2026
Hosts: Danielle Fishel, Rider Strong, Will Friedle
Guest: Mick Foley

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Episode Overview

In this much-anticipated episode, the Pod Meets World team—Danielle, Rider, and Will—welcome wrestling legend Mick Foley to reflect on his memorable guest appearance on Boy Meets World (“For Love and Apartments”) and celebrate their mutual history and friendship. They revisit Mick’s legendary wrestling career, his multifaceted persona in pop culture, and the intersection between wrestling and sitcom stardom. The conversation is candid, nostalgic, and funny, offering rare behind-the-scenes stories from both the show and the squared circle.

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Key Topics and Insights

1. Mick Foley’s Arrival & Boy Meets World Memories

• Scheduling Mishap: Mick describes accidentally waking up at 6AM due to a time-zone confusion, showcasing his good-natured humor.
  • “I deduced that when I was told 9am I mistakenly thought that meant east coast time when it is wet… but I’m here.” — Mick Foley, [14:08]
• Connection to the Show: Mick reveals he was familiar with Boy Meets World prior to his cameo thanks to his kids, and viewed his guest spot as a “really good friendship” in the making, not just a work assignment.
  • “I think, you know, for 15 years now, since we’ve all gotten back in touch, it makes people feel warm and fuzzy inside to see that.” — Mick Foley, [18:53]
• Reactions to Guest Starring: He fondly recalls being treated as part of the cast and how the camaraderie grew into enduring friendships and convention reunions.
  • “Literally every time we see each other… we sit down, we talk.” — Mick Foley, [37:16]

2. Wrestling Personas & TV Crossover

• Playing Multiple Characters: Foley recounts the challenges of portraying Mankind, Dude Love, and Cactus Jack—sometimes all in one night. Struggles, like uncomfortable masks, and evolution from darkness to comedic warmth are discussed.
  • “Cactus Jack was essentially me with the dial turned up… whereas Mankind… was a little bit of character acting because I was trying something different, darker, and my face was obscured.” — Mick Foley, [24:12–24:34]
• Origin of the Sitcom Role: His cameo was arranged through producer Bob Tischler, a result of the unexpected yet enduring overlap between wrestling fans and Boy Meets World fans.
  • “They knew wrestling was really popular… there was a definite crossover.” — Mick Foley, [21:40]
• Wrestling in Sitcom Land: Foley marvels at the strangeness of a character like Mankind popping up in a family sitcom, but embraces its charm. The group reminisces about questionable sitcom logic—such as wrestling for apartment leases—with affection.
  • “Why or how mankind suddenly popped into the show is never explained, but considering it… we’re more than happy to just let that slide.” — Danielle Fishel, [12:22]

3. Legends, Friendships & Reflections on Wrestling

• Rivalry with Vader: The podcast delves into Foley’s iconic and brutal matches with Leon “Vader” White—both a Boy Meets World guest and a milestone opponent.
  • “He was the hardest hitting wrestler. I think anybody who's been in the ring with him will say, yeah, hands down.” — Mick Foley, [27:22]
  • Foley’s empathy is clear as he recounts trying to reassure Vader about the importance of legacy beyond Hall of Fame inductions.
• On Terry Funk: When asked about the greatest wrestler of all time, Foley singles out Terry Funk—a master of emotional storytelling, devotion, and authenticity in and out of the ring.
  • “He gave the greatest wrestling interview I’ve ever heard. And it consisted of one word: forever.” — Mick Foley, [56:47]

4. Pop Culture, Comedy, and Beyond

• Celebrity Encounters: Memorable convention run-ins, like Foley’s soulful conversation with William Shatner, highlight the strange camaraderie among pop culture legends.
  • “He looks at me and says, I love Dark Side of the Ring… The dedication and your willingness to sacrifice for your business is so admirable.” — Mick Foley, [32:09]
• SNL & Hollywood Ventures: Mick recalls his cameo on SNL with The Rock, his awe at The Rock’s breakout comedic talent, and Tina Fey’s later invitation to 30 Rock.
  • “I could see the Rock’s future expanding as the show was going on… when he was doing, they asked him if he, you know, be willing to poke fun at himself. He said, I’ll do anything.” — Mick Foley, [46:38]

5. Live Studio Audiences, Acting vs. Wrestling, and Lasting Impact

• TV Taping Experience: Foley enjoyed the Boy Meets World live audience, finding parallels with the energy of wrestling crowds, and appreciating sitcoms’ forgiving, supportive audiences.
  • “Finding out, like, you could mess up a line… and the crowd was—they’re there for you. Right. These are, they really want to lift up the… show.” — Mick Foley, [41:32]
• Recognition & Cultural Legacy: The feedback from his Boy Meets World appearance still surprises him, continuing years after its original air date. He also discusses appearing on Avatar: The Last Airbender and unexpected fan recognitions on Say Yes to the Dress and Celebrity Wife Swap.
  • “It’s that role and the, the three lines I delivered on Avatar: The Last Airbender are the things that people remember me for. Outside of wrestling.” — Mick Foley, [45:41]

6. On Retirement and Legacy

• John Cena’s Retirement: Foley explains the tradition of “losing on your way out” and why it was important for Cena’s storyline, especially in elevating Gunther.
  • “It was the right thing to do for the sake of business… now Gunther will essentially have that proverbial rocket strapped to his back.” — Mick Foley, [61:18]
• On Real Retirements: Foley jokes about never quite staying retired and the nature of wrestling comebacks.
  • “I am the only person in WWE history to try to talk their way out of being in a WrestleMania main event.” — Mick Foley, [64:08]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “For 15 years now… it makes people feel warm and fuzzy inside to see that. I was on the show one time, and it’s been responsible for a really good friendship.” — Mick Foley, [18:53]
• “There were things I could do and things I could not do.” — Mick Foley, describing stunts on set, [19:38]
• “Vader was hands down the hardest hitting wrestler… I saw three, maybe four people during my time… see their name on the chalkboard against Vader and they would leave.” — Mick Foley, [27:22–27:53]
• “He gave the greatest wrestling interview I’ve ever heard. And it consisted of one word: forever.” — Mick Foley, [56:47]
• On The Rock: “That really launched… I think that opened people’s minds up to his potential. And it was, it was fun. But… I could see the Rock’s future expanding.” — Mick Foley, [46:38]
• “I failed, but I tried, so I did. But then it was another four years before I came back. I think every person is allowed one big comeback match that does not violate the trust of the fans.” — Mick Foley on comebacks, [64:06]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [13:40] – Mick Foley joins, funny scheduling mix-up, Christmas traditions and shirts
• [17:40] – How Mick got cast on BMW, his kids' fandom, mutual appreciation
• [24:12] – Foley’s perspectives on his different wrestling personas
• [27:05] – The Vader rivalry, physicality, respecting opponents
• [32:09] – Convention stories (William Shatner encounter)
• [36:27] – Remembering the BMW taping, guest star experience
• [41:32] – Live audience stories and comparing sitcom tapings with wrestling crowds
• [45:41] – Legacy, rerun recognition, Avatar cameo, and more
• [56:47] – Greatest wrestler of all time: Terry Funk
• [61:01] – John Cena’s retirement, tradition of ‘losing on your way out’ and Gunther’s ascension
• [64:08] – Wrestling retirements vs. reality, Foley’s hilarious WrestleMania main event story
• [67:51] – Cena’s dad, memorable family Christmas moments
• [68:22] – Emotional close, checking in after hard times, lasting bonds

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Final Reflections

The episode glows with the warmth of real, long-lasting connection. Foley’s humility, humor, and generosity shine through, matched by the hosts’ clear affection for their old friend and guest star. Whether dissecting the logic of sitcom wrestling matches, sharing backstage anecdotes, or discussing the bittersweet cycles of pop-culture stardom, everyone finds something to laugh—or even tear up—about. Wrestling and Boy Meets World might seem worlds apart, but the relationships forged in both are enduring, weirdly wholesome, and sometimes, covered in barbed wire.

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Pod Meets World continues to be a love letter to 90s television, its fans, and the unique bonds shared between those who grew up together on screen…and, apparently, in the ring.

Transcript

[Danielle Fishel]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Danielle Fishel]

I'm Danielle Fishel, Rider Strong and Will.

[Will Friedle]

Friedle from Pod Meets World.

[Danielle Fishel]

Whether you're a seasoned small business owner or thinking about getting started, check out season four of Mind the Business small business success stories from iHeartMedia's Ruby Studios and Intuit QuickBooks.

[Will Friedle]

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[Mick Foley]

Soar past sweeping views on a scenic.

[Will Friedle]

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[Mick Foley]

Huh.

[Will Friedle]

Is that not insane?

[Mick Foley]

How come that happened?

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, how come. How come he decided to do it?

[Danielle Fishel]

Hokum. We are not a part of this.

[Mick Foley]

Yeah, is.

[Will Friedle]

What is. Is Hokum the name of a town or something or. Okay, so novelist, very scary looking. Obviously you can see here like it's. This is a very scary movie. And it's. It's produced by the same people as, like long legs. And I mean, it's supposedly like going.

[Danielle Fishel]

To be really good thing. You were on Had a description. There we go. Hokum. No.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, you want me?

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah, I want to see the description.

[Will Friedle]

The last I was reading it first, it said something like he's an author or something.

[Danielle Fishel]

Travels to an Irish inn, unaware of the witch rumored.

[Will Friedle]

Well, let's share it. Adam Scott stars in Damien McCarthy's new horror film hokum, which follows a novelist who travels to an Irish inn to scatter his parents ashes, unaware of the witch rumored to haunt the place.

[Danielle Fishel]

Cool. So what do we think? Is the witch named Hokum? Or is the city called Hokum?

[Will Friedle]

No. Or the inn, like the Hokum Inn. The Hokum. Hokum. You're stopping here? How come There's a witch here? Hokum. There's a witch here.

[Danielle Fishel]

Hokum.

[Will Friedle]

Pocus, welcome. My body is tingling.

[Danielle Fishel]

Wow, that is so funny.

[Will Friedle]

Isn't that weird? Weird? Am I the only one who was like. It was like. That's very strange. It is strange. Hokum itself is a weird title. And then Adam Scott. And now he's starring Adam Scott. Yep. Wow.

[Danielle Fishel]

All right, well, Hokum, we're gonna go see this together.

[Will Friedle]

That's what I was saying. This is scary. I don't do scary.

[Danielle Fishel]

I don't do scary.

[Will Friedle]

It'll be great. No, Hokum. I can't sleep tonight is what I was talking about. But you guys, we should see this and we should recap it. It's Hokum. Yeah, I'm not watching that. Witches are real and they scare me. Ryder knows that. And we could shoot like Ourselves in that like weird radar looking thing where you can see Danielle scream when something crazy happens in the dark.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh, you'll see me. You'll see me like this most of the movie.

[Will Friedle]

That's right.

[Danielle Fishel]

But also I have my thumbs in my ear and I go like this.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, she covers her ears too.

[Danielle Fishel]

So the sound. The sound is.

[Will Friedle]

Huh? You're still seeing.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah, but then if I want to, it's very quickly to just do this. But more importantly is that I have my fingers in my ears. It's more about the sound.

[Will Friedle]

That was so Saturday Night Live. And then I pull out my arms and I smell them like this.

[Danielle Fishel]

I'm like, this is my thumbs in my ears and I go like, pull.

[Will Friedle]

Them out and I smell them real quick like that.

[Danielle Fishel]

That's what I was for Halloween this past year.

[Mick Foley]

Were you?

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. Yeah. I will say that when I see a horror movie and there's something like a nail. Like I know a nail's going through someone's leg or something. Yes, I will put my hand in front of my eye. But I still see. But I don't know when I wanna watch.

[Danielle Fishel]

But I want it to be limited. I wanna see it like through a little. Only a little bit.

[Will Friedle]

Like, you wanna see it through a peephole?

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah, I wanna see it through a peephole. And I need to have my hands in my ears to calm the sound. Cause the sound's the worst part. So ears and then just peephole and then I can close the peephole. Like we just did Indiana Jones at Disneyland. And I know where the spiders come up. And so I blocked my face and like I could just close my eyes, but I have to be more dramatic than that. So I had to fully cover my head with my arms. And yeah, it works.

[Will Friedle]

Did you see the meme that I sent you, which I thought was pretty perfect?

[Danielle Fishel]

Not the one. Oh, yes, it was unbelievable. Will sent me an Instagram DM with a meme that said you, and it was this. It says when someone asks what my biggest fear is, but I can't answer. Flying economy internationally. So I just say spiders. Well, okay.

[Will Friedle]

Also you.

[Danielle Fishel]

But. But no spiders.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, no, no spiders.

[Danielle Fishel]

Well, interesting.

[Will Friedle]

Well, kokum May 1, 2026. Okay, so maybe we'll just. Yeah, maybe we'll just create a hokum rewatch podcast and just talk about it every episode. That sounds great. Can we actually do it from an Irish pub in Ireland? Cuz then I'm in. Good luck.

[Danielle Fishel]

All right, thank you. Welcome to this episode of Pod Meets World. I'm Danielle Fischl.

[Will Friedle]

I'm Ryder Strong. And I'm Will Friedell. Ever been at the pharmacy counter and the pharmacist asks do you have any questions? And suddenly your mind goes blank? That's exactly why you need to listen to beyond the Script from CVS Pharmacy and iHeartMedia. Hosted by Dr. Jake Goodman, this podcast brings you real conversations with CVS pharmacists, the health experts you see most answering the questions you wish you'd asked, like which medications might not mix well, what vaccines should you consider before a big trip, and even those questions you were too embarrassed to say out loud. Each episode busts myths, decodes health trends, and gives you practical, trustworthy advice straight from the people behind the counter. No white coats, no lectures. Just real talk, real answers and maybe a few laughs. Listen to beyond the script on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Danielle Fishel]

I'm Danielle Fishel, Rider Strong and Will.

[Will Friedle]

Friedle from Pod Meets World.

[Danielle Fishel]

Whether you're a seasoned small business owner or thinking about getting started, you will definitely want to check out season four of Mind the Business small business success stories from iHeartMedia's Ruby Studio and Intuit QuickBooks.

[Will Friedle]

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[Danielle Fishel]

Sure, we've been dreading the Season seven recap since the moment angel and Vicky first pitched us this podcast, but we always knew that if we ever made it to the end of the series, there would be at least one silver lining, probably wrapped in barbed wire. That bright spot our show's second iconic wrestling cameo. The only man to survive both a 15 foot fall through a steel cage and a note session with Michael Jacobs. And now, 30 years later, one of our most requested podcast guests. He was best known as Mankind, a masked horror movie ready loon who took the WWE by storm during its iconic Attitude era of the 90s. In addition to that deranged fan favorite, he also simultaneously performed as two other characters, Cactus Jack and Dude Love, once even appearing as all three during a single Royal Rumble.

[Will Friedle]

Oh God.

[Danielle Fishel]

But to us, yeah, isn't that crazy? Just would leave and then go back.

[Mick Foley]

And come back as somebody else? That's crazy.

[Will Friedle]

We have to ask about that.

[Danielle Fishel]

But to us, he was just the lovable Teddy bear who showed up in our season 7 episode for love in Apartments in order to referee a wrestling match where the winner claimed the lease to an apartment. Why or how mankind suddenly popped into the show is never explained, but considering it meant keeping the sky in our lives for more than 30 years, we are more than happy to just let that slide. He's a WWE hall of Famer who wrestled around the world, most infamously in Japan, then with mythic stops in WCW and ecw, making him one of the Biggest stars in wrestling history. He's a three time WWE Champion, an 11 time tag team champion, including an all time run in the Rock and sock connection, and he was the inaugural WWE Hardcore Champion. He is undeniably the hardcore legend. But most importantly for the next hour or so, he is our former co star. Finally. Welcome to Pod Meets World. The great Mick Foley. It's so good to see you, Mick. We have been kind of counting down the episodes finally past three years basically to get to you.

[Mick Foley]

Well, I'm so glad to be here. I understand it's like a phenomenon this, this podcast you guys have going on.

[Danielle Fishel]

You. You hear about it quite a bit at conventions, huh?

[Mick Foley]

Yeah, I keep being asked when I'm going to be on it. Yeah, I guess whenever they invite me. But no, you. The invitation's been there for a long time and. Can I share what happened earlier today?

[Danielle Fishel]

You certainly can. I would love to. Yeah, go ahead.

[Mick Foley]

I text Danielle and I'm like, danielle, I don't understand. You know, I woke up early just so I could do this. I don't see anyone on there. And we deduced that when I was told 9am I mistakenly thought that meant east coast time when it is wet. I'm going to turn this chair around a little bit. Yeah, so. So I'm near not in the format you'd like me to be, but I'm here.

[Danielle Fishel]

You're here. And you know what? When he texted me at 6:00am and he was like, hey, is it 6 Pacific or is it. And I was like, it's definitely not right now because I'm in a robe.

[Mick Foley]

And were you doing up at 6am? I know you don't want to sleep.

[Danielle Fishel]

Mick, you're so sweet to think that I would still be asleep at 6:00am when I have two small children and 9,000 jobs. Yeah, no, I had. I had already lived a couple lives by 6am and was happy to write you back. And I'm. Thank you. He was like, I'm going back to sleep. I said, please do.

[Mick Foley]

Danielle, you will have a Santa video. I recorded it a few days ago and my guy is doing the editing. You know how much pride I take in these videos. So my guy's doing the editing and I believe you'll really enjoy it, as will the children.

[Danielle Fishel]

Well, I am so excited to get your Christmas. Everything you do around Christmas, you're wearing one of your Christmas shirts. I did tell the guys that you have.

[Mick Foley]

Oh, yeah. At least.

[Danielle Fishel]

How many, how many Santa slash Christmas shirts do you think you have?

[Mick Foley]

Well, in 2014, we had this little documentary called I Am Santa Claus and it's really good. It's touching in a unique way if people want to track it down streaming somewhere.

[Danielle Fishel]

Okay.

[Mick Foley]

And Morgan Spurlock was the executive producer and I told him, you know, there's not a lot of money. There's not a lot of money. And to promote a small, low budget documentary film. So I said, I will wear something Christmassy every single day for this year and I will document it on social media. And I did. Which actually caused my, my profile to lose followers. Oh my God. Oh no. My kids are like, dad, why? Yeah, why are you losing followers? I said, I don't think people like the whole Christmas in March thing. So I probably had like maybe a hundred different things at that time, but I've scaled down. It was one of those things where you lose. I, I lost weight and I gave away all my stuff because I didn't want that signal to myself that I was going to be that heavy again. Then I did get that heavy again. Had to buy a bunch of new things and now I'm back down almost of 99.2 pounds, down from my all time high. So I'm proud of that shirt. Fits me much better. I appreciate that. I appre. It's hard, especially with the Galaxy Cons and they have that amazing selection of homemade candy. It can be really tough. Yeah, it can be really tough. But I probably have, I'd say I still have about 40. 40 shirts. Probably 40 shirts. Combination button down T shirts, long sleeve shirts. I'm still known to fire up some Nat King Cole. Oh, Holy Night. Any month of the year.

[Danielle Fishel]

I love it. I love that you're Mr. Christmas. It really, it brings our family a lot of joy. So thank you.

[Mick Foley]

You're welcome.

[Danielle Fishel]

My first question is, had you ever seen Boy Meets World before mankind came barging into the girl's apartment to inexplicably referee a match?

[Mick Foley]

I was thinking of that earlier after I talked to you or texted with you. I was la back down. I was like, why did mankind show up to referee the match? It just, we don't have explained. It just seemed to make sense, right? We don't have a referee. And then boom. I knocked on the door like somebody asked for a referee. Yes, I had because my, my son and daughter were fans of the show.

[Will Friedle]

Okay.

[Mick Foley]

So I really, I always enjoyed it. You know, it was one of those things where the ultimate, I think, compliment is that when someone is multitasking, they're on their phone, they're reading the paper, whatever it might be, while simultaneously watching the show when they put down everything else just to enjoy the show with their children. Yeah, I really liked it. I did. And then when I met the cat, you guys and you kind of took me in, did not make me feel like I was, you know, outside. And I. I think, you know, for 15 years now, since we've all gotten back in touch, it makes people feel warm and fuzzy inside to see that. I was on the show one time, and it's been responsible for a really good friendship.

[Will Friedle]

Yes. Wait, you were only on the show once? It seems like you were on more than once because you're such a presence.

[Mick Foley]

It was just that one time. And if you remember, Will, at the end of the show, I'm supposed to, like, throw you up into the air. And the problem is, like, if anyone's seen me in wrestling, I didn't have great deltoid development. I could lift you up into the air, but I could not get off the road. No, no. I'm not capable of doing that. And I can only lift you like. Like head length. And the stunt guy was like, I thought you're a wrestler. I was like, have you seen my arms? I can't do. There were things I could do and things I could not do.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. I'm also not. At the time especially, I wasn't light. You know, I was probably close to £200 at that point. So lifting that. Anybody lifting that up is tough. God, that's funny.

[Mick Foley]

Yeah. Yeah. But that was where you stood up and you called mankind a bully. I know you're back down. And I said something. Like something or throwing. You went throwing, Please. And then there's that. I won't say it's an iconic photo, but it's a popular photo of me laying down in bed as mankind.

[Danielle Fishel]

Hello Kitty.

[Mick Foley]

Yeah. With a hello Kitty. Yeah. That was. That was fun. It's so great.

[Danielle Fishel]

You have a long storied history. Wrestling in bingo halls, Japan, ecw, Thumbtacks, death matches, Barbed Wire was acting in a family network sitcom. Ever something you saw in the cards for mankind?

[Mick Foley]

No. Especially early Mankind. You know, I was Cactus Jack for 12 years. Went to WWE, and so I was. I had this kind of scary mask, and I decided I was going to do my best to make this character dark and foreboding. And I guess it was working because as a certain point, WWE asked me not to participate in any more Make a Wish events. And I was. Yeah, I was like, you know it hurts, right? I was like, why? And one of our road agents said, brother, you have to understand, this is supposed to be one of the best nights of their lives, and you're making it one of the worst. So that was kind of a dark, scary character. But by the time I got to Boy Meets World, he man kind of lightened up so much. He was like. He was like a big muppet. So. Right. I didn't. I had not foreseen it, but I. I welcomed it. I thought it was a strange choice, but it seemed to work. Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

So how did it come about? You didn't know anybody from the show?

[Mick Foley]

No, I knew one of your producers.

[Will Friedle]

Mark Bloodman, was it?

[Mick Foley]

No. No.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. Because Mark was already gone there. Oh, that's right.

[Mick Foley]

They'll come to me. I'll have to. After. I might have checked Tischler. It was Tischler. Yeah, Bob Tischler. So Bob Tischler was a friend of Barry Blaustein's who directed beyond the Matt. And, you know, they. They knew wrestling was really popular. And despite what our critics, you know, WWE critics thought there was a crossover. You know, there was a definite crossover. And you see that even to this day. Danielle, not so much. You will. When they pointed out Danielle in the audience.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, yeah. No, it's like, I wasn't there.

[Mick Foley]

I'm at home yelling to my TV with my kids. Will is right next to her. Will is right next. No one cares.

[Will Friedle]

Just. No, just whoever's. Just the dude sitting next to Topanga. That's all it is.

[Mick Foley]

But there's, you know, clearly a crossover audience. You know, as the years go by, it only makes what all of you did more iconic. You know, I didn't use it talking about the photo, but all of you, if it's an iconic show and you probably experienced what I did, is that for a little while, you're on top of the mountain. For a little while, people think you're washed up. And then as the years tick by, it's like, no, no, no, here we go.

[Danielle Fishel]

We love them again.

[Mick Foley]

Yeah. Yeah. We're relevant. Right? It happens to fans, it happens to wrestlers, it happens to actors. And if you could, like, I'm kind. I don't want to say I'm obsessed, but very much taken with the whole David Cassidy story.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, yeah.

[Mick Foley]

And if he would have just realized, if somebody could have said, Hey, 20 years from now, you're going to be back and bigger than ever, he wouldn't have needed to be depressed for 20 years. Right. Like, I think maybe we need to, as a support group, support other Wrestlers, sitcom stars, and let them know, hey, you may have trouble picking up jobs because you're so, you know, you're seen as that one, that one person. But if it's 20 years, you'll clean up on the convention circuit. So we need to be there for those other sitcom stars.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. So I. So you mentioned that you were Cactus Jack for 12 years, and we know that you've played so many different kind of characters in the wrestling world. Is there one you preferred to play over the other ones?

[Mick Foley]

Well. Well, when I started as Mankind, I remember having so much trouble breathing through that mask. I did what's known as a run in. I guess if you have to start off in a company, attacking the Undertaker and leaving him lying is a good way to do it. But I couldn't see the upside because I was having so much trouble breathing in that mask. It was so prohibitive. And I remember calling my wife and saying, maybe I could just do this for six weeks and become Cactus Jack. And then I. As time went on, I began to see how that character was working for me, and I became a little easier. And I, you know, it didn't take as long to kind of get into that character is. Cactus Jack was essentially me with the dial turned up. That's the best portrayals of characters. Whereas Mankind, in the beginning was. It was like a little bit of character acting because I was trying something different, darker, and it was. My face was obscured. But as that became to feel natural, I began to enjoy it. But later on, when I did have that kind of transformation from dark to light, especially when I teamed up with Dwayne Johnson, you know, we just. We started making people feel happy. And. And that was me just with the nerve dial turned up a little bit. I realized something very vital. I realized our audience was nowhere near as hip and cool as we were making them out to be. And I remember thinking, there's a lot more me out there than there are them. I'm going to embrace it. I'm not going to be afraid of it. I'm not going to try to be the 11th guy to be stone cold light. I'm going to see if there's an avenue for someone who's, you know, a little naive and polite, who doesn't just beat up people as soon as he has a disagreement. You know, that seems counterintuitive, but it really worked for that character. And again, you know, big kudos to Dwayne Johnson. Not only is my tag team partner, but earlier on, a really great opponent for me.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah, Another opponent, someone that ties into the Boy Meets World universe. Vader, a wrestler who not only appeared on Boy Meets World a few times, but also had a historic feud with you as Cactus Jack in wcw. He broke your nose, split your eyebrow open. And then there's the infamous powerbomb onto a concrete floor. One of the worst bumps of your career. Leading to a concussion and numb extremities.

[Mick Foley]

Yeah, for a few seconds, definitely. Or 15 minutes.

[Danielle Fishel]

And so I ask you, how were you both so insanely kind and nice in real life? And what was your relationship with Leon like?

[Mick Foley]

You know what I really, when people ask me about my favorite rivalries, my favorite opponents, I'll say Rock, Austin, Undertaker, Triple H. I'm probably leaving out one Terry Funk in Japan.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Mick Foley]

And they'll say like what about Vader? And I'll say, well those, those matches weren't fun, but they were great matches. I go, yeah, they were great but they weren't fun because you had to really, I mean Leon, he had a very, very physical style. He was the hardest hitting wrestler. I think anybody who's been in the ring with him will say, yeah, hands down he's the hardest hitting wrestler. He took what he, yeah, he took what he did really seriously. And you, but the thing with Leon is if you were willing to take what he gave and give back, he was in a position where he make you look better than you'd ever. So physical. I met a couple fans in Birmingham UK and they said we were at the match you had with vader probably in 93. And he said, I turned to my friend and I said I can't believe what they're doing to each other at a house show which is a non televised event. And I said that is a coincidence because that's exactly what I was saying to myself. At a house show. But Leon, you know, you knew if you went out there you were in for. It wasn't a night off. And I saw three, maybe four people during my time in and wcw. They would see their name on the chalkboard against Vader and they would leave. They would leave. Now I don't know if they would retire, but they just look at their friends like shake their head. And not one time did I see their friends go, hey, come on, think about it. They went like, okay, I understand. Because he could be, you know, he was ruthless out there, but he was deep down he was, you know, he was a nice guy and a sensitive guy. And during the last two years of his death, before his death, years of his life, we, we were in. Leon, please don't try to let the WWE hall of Fame dictate to you whether your career was successful or not. And it was like, the words are going in one ear and out the other. And he would end the, he would listen to what I said and he'd go, I just have to get in that hall of Fame. And I was like, leon, it's a really special thing on one hand, but the other hand, it's kind of make believe, you know, it's like a few people make that choice, you know, it's not like they put the issue out to the fans to vote on or they have a team of 40 journalists like they do in the Baseball hall of Fame. And I think that's where the head injuries came into play, where you just could not, he could not get that out of his mind. And he was inducted posthumously. I mean, I did go to the powers that be and I said, leon's got two years to live. We, we know he's going to get in sooner or later. I just asked you if he could make it sooner. And I, I, why they, why they waited? I don't know. It would have meant so much to him. But he was a great guy and we had really great matches and I understand, you know, I hadn't seen those episodes at the time. I've seen them rerun where he is the father of one of the, One of the children.

[Will Friedle]

Yep.

[Mick Foley]

Yeah. Yeah. And I guess you can kind of see where, you know, Frankie's not getting along with everyone to forgive me if I'm wrong. But then Leon being his father kind of explains who he is a little bit. It's been a while. You're nodding your head, but you're not really agreeing with me.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, there's an episode which we don't quite remember ourselves. That's the problem.

[Mick Foley]

Okay. I'm sure you get people all the time, because I know. Says he was 60 years ago or whatever. Yeah. Hey, can I tell you a Bill Shatner story?

[Will Friedle]

Please, please.

[Mick Foley]

Because, you know, Bill's like the grand poobah of the conventions, right? Like, we all play a role in the hierarchy, but he's way up there at the top. Right. And so I had seen Shatner's documentary on a plane and I really enjoyed it. I thought, all right, he's had an interesting life. This is going to be an A to Z documentary. And it was different. It was a lot different. And I told myself, I know Bill, only he just says hi to me. You know, I've never had a real conversation with him. And I'm risking the, you know, risking possibility, the very real possibility of being stubbed by Shatner. But I'm going to at least take the time to let him know how much I enjoyed that documentary. So I go up to him and he's in a scooter, you know, because he's what, he's 90 years old, I think.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, I think so. Yeah.

[Mick Foley]

So he's on a scooter and I say, excuse me, Mr. Shatner. And I tell him exactly what I said to you. And he looks at me and he says, I love Dark side of the Ring. I said, you know, there was an episode about me. He says, I know, that's why I'm telling you. And he looks at me, goes, the dedication and your willingness to sacrifice for your business is so admirable. And I said, wow, thank you. I sure wish we had that on video. He goes, would you like it on video?

[Will Friedle]

Wow.

[Mick Foley]

Oh, that's awesome. And so here I was thinking he's the guy who snubs me, and I guess opposite. He's the exact opposite. Made me feel pretty good.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, that's cool.

[Danielle Fishel]

That's a cool story. I love hearing those stories.

[Mick Foley]

John, thank you.

[Will Friedle]

Ever been at the pharmacy counter and the pharmacist asks, do you have any questions? And suddenly your mind goes blank? That's exactly why you need to listen to beyond the script from CVS Pharmacy and I Heart Media. Hosted by Dr. Jake Goodman, this podcast brings you real conversations with CVS pharmacists, the health experts you see most answering the questions you wish you'd asked, like which medications might not mix well, what vaccine should you consider before a big trip? And even those questions you were too embarrassed to say out loud. Each episode busts myths, decodes health trends, and gives you practical, trustworthy advice straight from the people behind the counter. No white coats, no lectures. Just real talk, real answers, and maybe a few laughs. Listen to beyond the script on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Danielle Fishel]

I'm Danielle Fishel Ryder Strong and Will.

[Will Friedle]

Friedle from Pod Meets World.

[Danielle Fishel]

Whether you're a seasoned small business owner or thinking about getting started, you will definitely want to check out season four of Mind the Business. Small business success stories from iHeartMedia's Ruby Studio and Intuit QuickBooks.

[Will Friedle]

Mind the Business is part entertainment, part instruction manual, part inspiration. Each episode features practical tips and success stories that will resonate with entrepreneurs in any industry. In this latest season, hosts Austin Hankwitz and Janice Torres are covering topics on the forefront of running a small business.

[Danielle Fishel]

They're talking to self starters about everything from how AI helps them work smarter to weathering market uncertainties and enjoying the benefits of being your own boss and using Intuit QuickBooks to help you get more done in less time. You won't want to miss it.

[Will Friedle]

Listen to Mind the Business Small business success Stories on the iHeart app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index. With AI it all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors, LLC SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com disclosures hey.

[Danielle Fishel]

This is US Olympic gold medalist Tara.

[Will Friedle]

Davis Woodhull and I'm US Paralympic gold medalist Hunter Woodhull.

[Danielle Fishel]

As athletes, our lives are about having.

[Will Friedle]

A clear path and a team that you can absolutely trust.

[Danielle Fishel]

So when it came to getting the.

[Will Friedle]

Best mortgage, we chose PennyMac.

[Danielle Fishel]

PennyMac is proud to be the official mortgage provider of Team USA and you.

[Will Friedle]

Learn more at pennymac.com PennyMac Loan Services, LLC equal housing lender NMLS ID 35953 licensed by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the California Residential Mortgage Lending act, conditions and restrictions may apply.

[Danielle Fishel]

So back to your Boy Meets World episode. What do you remember most from that week of taping?

[Mick Foley]

When I got to, you know, rehearse that everyone was really nice and open towards me and, you know, you'll read like a memoir about somebody who was a guest star or something and they'll say I, you know, no one really had time for me Right. And there was one I read one of the. One of the Walton girls from the show, the 70 show. The Waltons. Talk about a guest star. And I don't want to say the guest star was. And she ran up to him on his current show and said, oh, hi. And he. He didn't really remember or didn't think much of it. And I contrast that with me being your guest star. And literally every time we see each other, you know, we sit down, we talk.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Mick Foley]

I think. I think we're all Will you and my Ryder, including you, we're on bro hug terms, right?

[Will Friedle]

Sure, absolutely.

[Mick Foley]

Yeah. Danielle sinks in a little firmer, but I always let her initiate the contact. And I think it's cute. I think it was about a year ago where we had agreed to wear each other's shirt. And so there's a great photo of me and you, and you're wearing the Halloween Havoc shirt with me and Vader on it, and I'm wearing the shirt. You know, I don't think you get royalties on the one that you get off Etsy.

[Danielle Fishel]

That has no. I don't get royalties off anything.

[Mick Foley]

No. Are you kidding me?

[Danielle Fishel]

No.

[Mick Foley]

Gives me royalties.

[Danielle Fishel]

I know that they. It's one. It's one way wrestling treats their. Their people better than. Than network, but yes. That was so fun. We taught. And Mick and I talked about it via text before we went to the con. He said, listen, I'm gonna wear a Topanga shirt. Do you want? And I was like, I'll wear my Mankind. I wore my Halloween Havoc shirt. Let's do it. And then we picked the day, took the photo. So much fun. Always, always enjoy seeing you.

[Mick Foley]

I want to reiterate, this is based on me being on the show 26 years ago, and we're wearing each other's shirts. Yeah, it's been really. It's been a lot of fun.

[Danielle Fishel]

How much were you involved, if. I mean in. The answer, I think is entirely. How much were you involved in choreographing the wrestling that we did in the episode?

[Mick Foley]

Oh, I don't know. I think it had been pretty laid out.

[Will Friedle]

Okay.

[Mick Foley]

I think I had a few ideas, but yeah, I don't think I was an essential part of that because, you know, if you guys did something that was per. You know, is perfect now why you're wrestling for an apartment that remains. That's a valid question.

[Will Friedle]

We don't know. We don't know either.

[Mick Foley]

How are our referee magically showed up your door? Another valid, solid question. Another mystery best left to the ages. Yeah. But I think you guys had been working on your. Your scene, and you may have asked me if you. It seems to me like I was there for tips, but I wasn't trying to force my vision of a wrestling match on you.

[Danielle Fishel]

Okay. Was Mr. Sacco originally in the script, or did you pitch that?

[Mick Foley]

I can't remember. I would assume that Bob Tischler was in the mix, that he would have known and wanted Mr. Sacco in the mix.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

So because of your day job, do you think having a live studio audience was intimidating for you as an actor, or did it actually make you feel more at home?

[Mick Foley]

No, I liked it. I liked it. And I can't remember if. If your show. Yeah, your show would have been the first one. I did. And I saw Mr. Feeney. I told him what a big, big fan of St. Elsewhere I was. William Craig. Wait, no, he was Dr. Craig in St. Elsewhere. Yeah. Is real. His real acting name is William Daniels. William Daniels, Yeah. And so I told him what a big St. Elsewhere fan I was. And then I told him my favorite line, because he was. He was undergoing psychotherapy as Dr. Mark Craig. And the doctor said, now, this dream where you said you saw the silver spaceship sewing in the yellow haze of the sun. And he said, I was kneeling and I was young. Which is such a great line, you know? And there was another one about him being bit by a spaniel and how the next time he saw that dog, when he was riding his bike, he had a stick and he. And he hit the spaniel, and then he just looked at the doctor, he said, I shouldn't have hit Joe's cocker. So they had some fun lines, you know, that you either got or you didn't get.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. He used to tell us one specifically about how he was playing the piano, and there's flower. There's a flower vase on the piano. And the line is something like, I've always enjoyed tulips on the organ.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

And so he would tell us they would throw in these lines everywhere, and he's like, they would take it as far as they possibly could without needing some kind of a sensor to come in and say something.

[Mick Foley]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Crazy.

[Mick Foley]

Yeah. That show broke ground because they had a patient with testicular cancer. And I believe that word had never been on network TV before. So it was a landmark show. But anyway, going back to the live audience, I would. I. I found some reassurance and finding out, like, you could mess up a line. And then the crowd was. They're there for you. Right. These are. They really want to lift up the. Every one of them, I think takes. I, I know because I was in the audience for an episode of Jesse because my younger kids really liked Jesse. And you see that. You see, like, okay, we're part of this. We can make this show better with our support. And so when I saw. I don't know who, who missed the line, but, you know, played it off with a laugh. And the crowd, like enjoyed being in on that. Yeah, it's almost like that peek behind the curtain that, you know, WWE used to offer. Now I think it curtains a little too wide open.

[Danielle Fishel]

It is pretty wide open now.

[Mick Foley]

Yeah, pretty wide open. You know, and I don't know how I feel about that. I like the idea of reading between the lines and being shown glimpses, but that was, that was fun for me. And once I realized that, that everyone was there, you know, to, to, to lift up the show and that it was okay to make mistakes, I think that's. It's really important in anything you do to not be afraid of mistakes, you know, like, they're part of the process. And anytime you not to make mistakes, you can't really play to win. So I think it's great if you make a mistake and it becomes. It's almost like when actors break on SNL and the crowd loves. Yeah, as long as you don't do it too often.

[Will Friedle]

Right.

[Mick Foley]

You know, I think if it's done too often, it loses its uniqueness. But I, yeah, I felt very welcomed and supported on, on the set.

[Danielle Fishel]

When it aired in 1999, did you get any response from it from either other wrestlers or the public? I mean, I like the WWE was so red hot, it. You would have been helping us more than we were helping you. But did you get response from it back then?

[Mick Foley]

Yeah, I did. And that was nice, but not surprising because your show was so popular and, and WWE was at that time, it was super popular. And it is as well in a different type of way, but globally more popular than ever. But what did surprise me was that every time that Love and Apartments episode came over in reruns, that I would get feedback. So it did not surprise me that I got initial feedback. It does surprise me. Stop surprised me 10, 15 years ago. The fact that people will come up to me. I mean, I've designed a few of those photos with, yeah, hello Kitty. And it's really, you know, it is that role and the, the three lines I delivered on Avatar last Airbender are the things that people remember me for. Outside of wrestling. And every once in a while, I'll see, like, a certain type of expression on the face. I'm not. I don't mean to generalize, but it's usually women of 35 to 50, and it's an expression. And I'll go, say yes to the dress. Yes, I knew I knew you from somewhere. And 10 years earlier, it was the same expression. I go, celebrity wife swap. Yes, I knew I knew you from somewhere. That is so funny. Yeah. Like, I got called, like, by a friend of mine who was going to be on, say, Esther the dress. And she says, will you come into New York and help me make the selection? I was like, yeah, because I'm exactly the guy you want making your most important dress decision. Yeah. Yeah. Why wouldn't you want me on there? And I had a really good time. Like, as soon as I saw Randy, although I'd never seen the show, I was like, okay, yeah, I can play off Randy. And, you know, they were appalled by my fanny pack.

[Will Friedle]

Of course.

[Mick Foley]

Of course. And when I. When my friend Heather finally found the dress of her dreams, and everyone's like, oh, it's perfect, I was like, it needs just one thing. And I took the fanny pack off, and Randy all but tackled me. Don't you dare. Don't you dare. So I did have a good time. But nothing in terms of recognition compares to your show and Avatar.

[Danielle Fishel]

Well, soon after Boy Meets World, the Rock would host snl, which was a big step for wrestling in pop culture. And you made a cameo on that week's show. I know you are a big comedy fan, so this must have been a big deal for you. Was it just an incredible week?

[Mick Foley]

It was incredible. Well, I was there. I wasn't there all week. Like, Rock was. I was there the final day of rehearsal. We had a guy, a writer named Tommy Blacha, who is best known for Metal. How do you pronounce metal?

[Will Friedle]

Metalocalypse. Metalocalypse.

[Mick Foley]

So Tommy Blotcher was the brains behind. Go ahead and say it.

[Will Friedle]

Well, Metalocalypse.

[Mick Foley]

Metalocalypse. And he had written me and triple H and Big show into a few scenes.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Mick Foley]

And. And then we did a cold open. How. I'm trying to think of the little fellow Big show had behind his back. And Vince was like, what do you have behind your back? Show. He's like, nothing. Come on, show it. Give it. Show it to me. He turns around, he had the little guy who did the. Oh, man, I can't believe I don't remember what I'm saying, but he was. And show had him tucked behind his back like in a hammerlock position where you don't actually have much strength length. Right. But he was able to hold 150 pound human being for like a minute behind his back with one arm.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh my gosh.

[Mick Foley]

It wasn't like he had him in the front, you know, this way. He had him back here.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah, exactly. His lats and his triceps.

[Mick Foley]

But I know, right? The power it must take. And Show, I was the least interesting WWE guy on that show because Rock was in another stratosphere like that. That really launched. I think that opened people's minds up to his potential. And it was, it was fun. But like, it was, it was. When I say but. I mean, the key takeaway for me was that I could see the Rock's future expanding as the show was going on. Like when he was doing, they asked him if he, you know, be willing to poke fun at himself. He said, I'll do anything. But he didn't want to do a wrestling schedule skit.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Mick Foley]

So when he did Superman in Smallville. Yeah, just. He just crushed it. I mean, he crushed it. He. He really. But, you know, he nailed every one of his skits. Somebody asked me when I dropped the people out people's elbow on one of the cast members, like, he said, I'm surprised Rock let you do that. When he saw it in rehearsal, I said, I didn't do that in rehearsal.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, exactly.

[Danielle Fishel]

He wouldn't have let me do it.

[Mick Foley]

He wouldn't have let me do it. But we all had a great, great time. And I think. But it was funny because at that point, I've been on the road, you know, almost non stop with WWE for four years, especially on Saturday nights. And so I hadn't actually seen the show in a long time. Even though I grew up loving it, you know, I mean, my parents let me stay up late to watch the original. You know, I just, I thought John Belushi was the man and his Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd and Gilda Radner. Like, this was just, you know, an amazing cast they had. But I kind of fall in touch. So at that time, when Will Ferrell came up, I really didn't even know who he is, you know, Is that crazy? Seeing as how, you know, that's not just huge, but ubiquitous. He is. Everyone was really nice. Jimmy Fallon, Cherry O. Terry. Cherry o'. Terry. The cast could not have been nicer, but I wasn't that aware of who they were. Because they hadn't hit reruns yet. You hadn't, you know, they weren't on syndication. But that was a, you know, obviously Tina Fey was great to me and she remembered me from, I guess, you know, she okayed me being a guest star on 30 Rock, which was a lot of fun. And I went up, I went up to her at the end of the, at the end of my time there, and I said, first of all, can I be, can I be on every episode? And I said, I want you to know that everyone has been so nice to me, and I know that comes down from the top. And she, she thanked, she thanked me for that and she was great. So every, everyone I met was really nice to me. I wish I'd been more aware, but unless they've been on the show for more than four years, I probably had not seen them.

[Will Friedle]

Ever been at the pharmacy counter and the pharmacist asks, do you have any questions? And suddenly your mind goes blank. That's exactly why you need to listen to beyond the Script from CVS Pharmacy and iHeartMedia. Hosted by Dr. Jake Goodman, this podcast brings you real conversations with CVS pharmacists, the health experts you see most answering the questions you wish you'd asked, like which medications might not mix well, what vaccines should you consider before a big trip, and even those questions you were too embarrassed to say out loud. Each episode busts myths, decodes health trends, and gives you practical, trustworthy advice straight from the people behind the counter. No white coats, no lectures. Just real talk, real answers, and maybe a few laughs. Listen to beyond the script on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Danielle Fishel]

I'm Danielle Fishel, Rider Strong and Will.

[Will Friedle]

Friedle from Pod Meets World.

[Danielle Fishel]

Whether you're a seasoned small business owner or thinking about getting started, you will definitely want to check out season four of Mind the Business. Small business owners success stories from iHeartMedia's Ruby Studio and Intuit QuickBooks.

[Will Friedle]

Mind the business is part entertainment, part instruction manual, part inspiration. Each episode features practical tips and success stories that will resonate with entrepreneurs in any industry. In this latest season, hosts Austin Hankwitz and Janice Torres are covering topics on the forefront of running a small business.

[Danielle Fishel]

They're talking to self starters about everything from how AI helps them work smarter to weathering market uncertainties and enjoying the benefits of being your own boss and using Intuit QuickBooks to help you get more done in less time. You won't want to miss it.

[Will Friedle]

Listen to Mind the Business Small business success Stories on the iHeart app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an invest index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member finra SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com disclosures hey.

[Danielle Fishel]

This is US Olympic gold medalist Tara.

[Will Friedle]

Davis Woodhull and I'm US Paralympic gold medalist Hunter.

[Danielle Fishel]

As athletes, our lives are about having.

[Will Friedle]

A clear path and a team that you can absolutely trust.

[Danielle Fishel]

So when it came to getting the.

[Will Friedle]

Best mortgage, we chose PennyMac.

[Danielle Fishel]

PennyMac is proud to be the official mortgage provider of Team USA and you.

[Will Friedle]

Learn more at pennymac.com pennymac loan services llc/housing lender nmls id 35953 licensed by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act. Conditions and restrictions may apply.

[Mick Foley]

Foreign.

[Danielle Fishel]

You are also a multiple time New York Times Best selling author and you have been telling stories your entire career. Did you ever think about writing scripts for TV or movies?

[Mick Foley]

Oh, oh, I think it's a different. I think it's an entirely different skill set. I do. Even when I, even when I wrote a couple of graphic novels, I had to write them out as if they were short stories. So I, I, I did write a script for have a Nice Day. I wrote it all in loose leaf and I don't know. I, you know, it was okay. I don't know it was okay. But it is. It's a different, It's a different skill set. No, I never really considered that, honestly.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh, it's never too late, you know.

[Mick Foley]

You Never know. I have ideas, but I have to write them out, like their stories. I have to, oh, that's okay. Adjectives and things like that and then have someone else like, turn it around. Like, I was always good in pitch meetings because when I retired, yeah, in 2000, there was like a run of four straight years where credible Bob Tischler was one of them. We pitched a product, Bob Tischler, a Bob Tischler product, to the three, you know, the four networks. And Bob was not a pitch guy. And I remember I was like, oh, we're drowning in here. And I kind of took over the pitch and we got, we got, we went to script and then it never got past that. And I had something result in a, you know, a sizzle reel. Didn't work out. But there was four years in a row where I would go and I was pretty good at pitching other people's ideas, but I didn't have anything. It looks. Have you heard the rumors now about this docu series? Paul, Paul. Walter Hauser signed on to star and produce. And he said, dude, like, I'm just worried I'm a little, I'm too short to play you. I said, paul, you're the height that people think I am, so you're going to be fine. Because I was 64 when I went into WWE and people thought I was 510 because I hunched over. I wrestled guys who, you know, like Undertaker and Kane, who are much bigger than me. I said, you're the hype people think I am. And he's such a great actor that it's opening doors for us. So I might be in pitching meetings again.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh, I love that for you.

[Will Friedle]

That's great. I'm curious because I always love people in the know and people who know, you know, everything about their business inside and out, who they admire. So taking yourself out of the equation, who do you think is the best, best wrestler of all time?

[Mick Foley]

I think Terry Funk was the best wrestler of all time. A lot of people haven't seen him. He, he gave the greatest wrestling interview I've ever heard. And it consisted of one word forever. He was interviewed when he retired for good from wrestling the first time in 1981. And then he was wrestling until the middle, probably around 2007, 2008. So it was a short lived retirement. But Terry realized, like in a stoic culture like Japan, there was an avenue open for someone willing to show emotions. And you know, no one ever wept, openly or wept at all in Japanese wrestling. Here's this guy, tough as they Come. But he was sensitive. He would cry, and the blood was commingled with the sweat and the tears. And he gave this interview. They tried to interview, and he just said, forever, forever, forever. And a couple of Years later, in 1999, I'm giving a backlot tour of Universal Studios Hollywood, and as my golf cart's going by, I hear someone going, forever, forever. And I turned around, it was Eddie Murphy doing a Terry Funk promo. But Terry had the ability to suspend disbelief not just among the audience, but among his opponents. And so there was this one scene where I was the guest enforcer ringside for Jerry Lawler, and Funk was coming out as the enforcer or manager for a guy named Man Scout, you know, a grown up boy scout, you know, which is a great independent.

[Danielle Fishel]

Scout's hilarious. Yeah.

[Mick Foley]

Danielle, you've been known to appear at some independent show.

[Danielle Fishel]

Love Man Scout.

[Mick Foley]

Yeah, yeah, it's a. It's a good character. But. And I see Terry and I can feel that it's a big crowd. It's about 1500, which is a really good size for an independent show. And I can. I can feel that a lot of the fans don't know who Terry is because he was before their time. But by the time he left, he's all that people were thinking about.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Mick Foley]

He comes into that ring, and I'm saying to the referee, as I see Terry's eyes on his way down to the ring, I see. I said, you'd better run. He goes, what? I said, you'd better run. And as Terry gets in the ring, I start urgency. You'd better run. You'd better run. And I bailed out. And he stayed in the ring, and Terry punched him square in the forehead with. With his left hand, which is a devastating left hand. And after the show, after. After the match, I come back at the ring. Announcer's got a big goose egg on his head. He's got an ice pack. And he said, I can't believe he hit me. And I looked at him and I said, what? Part of the words, you'd better run, Terry Funk. You never know what he might do. So he, you know, he did have respect for his opponents. It's not that he, you know, took liberties, but when you got in there with him, there was a very real sense among the crowd where they go, oh, I think this one's real.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Mick Foley]

This one's unhinged with everything he did. Yeah. And he went from being, you know, like a more traditional baby face champion to be at 42. And he came Back on WCW as middle aged and crazy. And then even as he got older, became old age and crazy. I pitched an idea to the, the creative team in 2006 that would pay off in the match. Be me and Edge against Tommy Dreamer and Terry Funk. And I said, this whole angle hinges upon us being able to convince fans that Terry Funk is crazy in about two weeks. And Dusty Rhodes pipes up. He goes, that ought to be easy because Terry Funk is crazy. You know.

[Danielle Fishel]

That'S a good Dusty Rhodes impression.

[Mick Foley]

That's not bad, right? Right.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, pretty good.

[Danielle Fishel]

You mentioned retiring and we are speaking to you shortly after John Cena's big retirement night.

[Mick Foley]

Yeah, yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

Can you, I'm excited for you to be able to have this, to give this explanation. Can you explain to people who are upset that he lost the match, why it was necessary for him to lose the match? And, and do you think Gunther was the best guy to do it?

[Mick Foley]

It? Oh, yes. John felt it was necessary.

[Danielle Fishel]

Huh?

[Mick Foley]

It was. I mean, it was the right thing to do for the sake of business.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Mick Foley]

It's because now Gunther will essentially have that proverbial rocket strapped to his back. I do think he was the, I think he was the right guy because he is, you know, he's got such a believable style. He's very convincing. But you might say he, he doesn't have the pomp and circumstance that, that some of the guys do.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Mick Foley]

I'm down to 10%, so you might want to sign me out in a few minutes. And if he needed that little something, this would be that little something.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Mick Foley]

Now, when Brock Lesnar defeated the Undertaker at WrestleMania, ending that streak, he had Paul Heyman on his side.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Mick Foley]

And Paul Heyman made sure that, that every week, every week for at least a year, he was the man who defeated the Undertaker. Constant repetition is the key, you know, when it comes to promoting something. And nobody's better at it than Paul. So I don't know if, if they're going to align someone with him, but I think he is a great guy to, to do that for. I'm only going to argue the other point is that because it was Saturday night's main event, because we were drawing in hopefully a few million new fans, or I would say at least a million new fans, you had the opportunity to show them just how joyful WWE can be, and we didn't give them that moment. And I wonder if in the bigger picture, you don't know because there's no textbook, but I can see both points. When, when, when he lost. I mean, the camera hit those reactions, and people were genuinely hurt.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah, there were tears in my house.

[Mick Foley]

Really?

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah, there were tears in my house.

[Mick Foley]

From you or the children?

[Will Friedle]

Both. Both.

[Danielle Fishel]

And wrestling is kind of famous for the retire but then come back. Do you think John Cena is really gone?

[Mick Foley]

Wait, are you pointing fingers at me, Danielle?

[Danielle Fishel]

No.

[Mick Foley]

I came back in six weeks.

[Danielle Fishel]

Did you enjoy your vacation?

[Mick Foley]

Well, I. You know, I got the phone call. I had retired. In my mind, I was never going to wrestle again. Then I got a phone call from Jim Ross saying, hey, we got some plans for your WrestleMania. I said, do you want me to host, like, a panel or something? He said, no, we would like you to be in the main event. And I said, but I just retired.

[Will Friedle]

That's the opposite of retiring.

[Mick Foley]

It is the opposite retirement. But I will say this. I am the only person in WWE history to try to talk their way out of being in a WrestleMania main event.

[Danielle Fishel]

Exactly. I don't know if I want to.

[Mick Foley]

I failed, but I tried, so I did. But then it was another four years before I came back. I think every person is allowed one big comeback match that does not violate the trust of the fans.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Mick Foley]

But after that, it's at least partially a grab for money, and John's making plenty of that. So I will say that for anyone who's down about John Cena's last match, just go to YouTube and look for the song medley from Ricky Stanicki, and you'll feel good all over again. That's movie magic there. Have you seen it?

[Will Friedle]

It?

[Mick Foley]

No. Oh, you need to see it. Ryder, how about you? No. I don't even know what you're talking about. You need to watch Ricky Snicky.

[Danielle Fishel]

Okay.

[Mick Foley]

When John Cena. I can't. I don't know how much I can give away from, you know, not just a content, but a PG standpoint. What the medley is about.

[Will Friedle]

Okay.

[Mick Foley]

It is brilliant. It was one of those few times that I've laughed so hard my back hurt. And it is. I think he learned his fearlessness from wrestling. You know, here's a guy who showed up essentially naked at the Academy Awards. Right?

[Will Friedle]

Right.

[Mick Foley]

I mean, I believe he had, like, the modesty pouch, but nothing else, so he could get a laugh. And, you know, he poked fun at himself in the train wreck. You know, humor. And he's been increasingly better and better at everything he does. But I feel like the musical montage where by turns, he is devo from the 80s. He is Alice Cooper. He is.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Mick Foley]

He and every One of his songs is about a certain act that some guys do when they're alone. So it's brilliant. It is brilliant. And if you watch.

[Will Friedle]

I'm looking at it right now, they're looking at the. What it. What it actually is. So it's a movie.

[Mick Foley]

Ricky Sticki, okay, He's a movie. Ricky Snicki is the imaginary friend that the. This core group of friends created from childhood. They could. They could blame anything on, and then they have to actually produce him at a party, and they hire this actor with some serious question marks. And that actor is John Cena, best known as in under the pseudonym Rock Hard Rick. He's best known for performing off. Off the Boardwalk at City. And it's just brilliant. But he puts everything he has into it, and it's. Oh, Billy. One of them is Billy Idol. So, yeah, Billy Idol. And there's another one or two, but Devo, Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, man. He. I hats off to him. And he's a good guy, his dad. I'm actually better friends with his dad than I am with John, just because his dad comes out to my events anytime I'm in Boston. You know, he. One of the great Christmas gift openings in our house was my son Mickey, who's very talented guitarist. He thought he was getting a new amplifier, and there was this one package that he just knew was his amplifier, and we were recording. He tears into was a case of Johnny Fabulous's Fabopop. Because John Cena's dad, at 80 years old, is one of the best independent managers in wrestling. And the letdown of seeing 24 bottles, he was devastated. And then I had the amp behind the door.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh, my God. That's amazing. Yeah, that's a good gift exchange right there.

[Will Friedle]

We'll make.

[Danielle Fishel]

We are so honored that you are a part of Boy Meets World's legacy. And we still hear about you and Vader all the time, everywhere we go, especially the conventions. And so the fact that because of you and Leon, we are also always connected to WWE is very special to us. So thank you for gracing us with your presence. Long time coming. We're happy to have you closing.

[Mick Foley]

I just want to say it's great to see you looking so healthy. I know you've been through a lot, and if you notice, the. The Foley text messages were more frequent when, you know, when you were going through that.

[Danielle Fishel]

So, yeah, you were really. You were really good about checking in with me, making sure I was okay. And you also. You survived a terrible car crash.

[Mick Foley]

Yeah, Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

I mean, we Both really went through it around the same time. So we were checking in with each other. So it's. It's always nice. Nice to see us healthy and well.

[Mick Foley]

That's right, Ryder. Thank you, Will. Thank you, Danielle. Thank you. I had a great time. See you soon. Bye. Bye.

[Will Friedle]

Bye.

[Mick Foley]

See you later.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh, my gosh. What a life, right?

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. I'd love to pitch something with him because I just want to see him in the room.

[Danielle Fishel]

Exactly.

[Will Friedle]

You know, he'd be great. When he said that, he's like, I.

[Mick Foley]

Think I'm pretty good at pitching.

[Will Friedle]

Like, we know.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh, yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, yeah. Everybody believes you about you.

[Danielle Fishel]

We know you're good in pitch meetings. So fun. That's been a. That's been in a long time. That's a long time coming, that interview. Jensen says he's been in a pitch meeting with Mick. What was the pitch meeting?

[Will Friedle]

Wwe. When I was working there. He came in and pitched us ideas and he's great. Tremendous, of course. I'm sure. Jeez.

[Danielle Fishel]

Well, thank you all for listening to this episode of Pod Meets World. As always, you can follow us on Instagram Pod Meets World show. You can send us your emails podmeetsworldshowmail.com. and we've got merch.

[Will Friedle]

I think you should buy some merch. I'm trying to do a mankind and I don't.

[Danielle Fishel]

I.

[Will Friedle]

He's got that lilt. I can't do it. I know. And I wanted a socko, but the sock I'm wearing is too small and gray. It didn't work.

[Mick Foley]

Forget it.

[Will Friedle]

I've done better.

[Danielle Fishel]

Baby.

[Will Friedle]

Sock looks like it's like the little. So you really screwed this up is what you're. I did. There's nothing good in and it's awful. I don't. I don't think we should even air this. This episode. Oh, he should be hard on him. This is.

[Mick Foley]

You know, he's got one job.

[Will Friedle]

He got one job.

[Danielle Fishel]

Pod meets WorldShow.com writer. Send us out.

[Mick Foley]

We love you all.

[Will Friedle]

Pod dismissed. Pod Meets World is an iHeart podcast produced and hosted by Danielle Fishel, Wilfred L. And Ryder Strong, executive producers Jensen Karp and Amy Sugarman, executive in charge of. Of production Danielle Romo, producer and editor Tara Sukhbaksh, producer Matty Moore, engineer and Boy Meets World superban Easton Allen. Our theme song is by Kyle Morton of Typhoon. Follow us on Instagram odmeatsworld show or email us at podmeatsworldshowmail.com hey, guys. It's Adam Blake and Honors Holm from this Is Important. This Is Important is presented by Heineken 00. It's funny, people turn into to full on detectives the second we show up with a Heineken 00. Suddenly we're getting all the questions dry. January Are you training doing some big.

[Mick Foley]

New wellness thing bro. And half the time I'm like chill dude, relax. There's no headline.

[Will Friedle]

Sometimes you just want to Enjoy a.

[Danielle Fishel]

Nice Heineken 00 and it doesn't have.

[Will Friedle]

To be any fuss about it. Yes, it's true. We just like having a great tasting alcohol free option that fits wherever we are. Weekday dinners, office hangs, backyard nights, or those quick gatherings that somehow turn into hours. Sometimes it's as simple as I just want something that tastes great. Zero alcohol Great taste. Now you can available at your local Heineken retailer or for [e-mail] must be 21/ to purchase.

[Danielle Fishel]

Enjoy Heineken responsibly. Cold and Flu season happens. And when it does, your skin deserves comfort. That's why Kleenex lotion tissues are made with moisturizing Ingredients and offer 3 in 1 skin loving benefits helping protect, soothe and moisturize your skin. So whether you're at home, on the go or just living life, keep Kleenex lotion close for a little extra care that makes a big difference. For whatever happens next, grab Kleenex. Hey all, I'm Jamie Lynn Sigler, a mom, actor and advocate. I know how overwhelming it can be trying to decide which treatment is right for you. I've been there. But you should know you're not alone. You can do this. Start with some research, talk to the community and most importantly, don't be afraid to ask your doctor questions. You might find results that speak for themselves. That's how I landed on Qysimpta. Ask your doctor if Qsimta ofatumumab could be right for you. You can check out the [e-mail] Small businesses are the pulse of every community. They bring people together, create opportunities and drive growth. That's why Chase for Business helps small business owners like you by offering personalized guidance and digital tools that can help your business grow.

[Will Friedle]

With our guidance and your determination, you.

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Can take your business farther and help build a brighter future for your community. Learn [e-mail] business chase for business make more of what's Yours the Chase Mobile app is available for select mobile devices. Message and data rates may apply. J.P. morgan Chase Bank NA Member FDIC Copyright 2026 J.P. morgan Chase Co. This is an iHeart podcast guaranteed human.