WWE legend Mick Foley suffered with memory loss after repeated concussions from wrestling.
The 59-year-old Hall of Famer, who also wrestled as Mankind, Cactus Jack and Dude Love throughout his memorable career, is known for putting his health on the line countless times in the name of entertaining the fans.
As well as the infamous Hell In A Cell match against The Undertaker still having lingering effects, his brutal I Quit Match at the 1999 Royal Rumble against Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson in also had a terrifying impact.
‘There were times when he should not have been wrestling, he should not have been cleared,’ his wife Colette recalled in the latest episode of Vice TV’s Dark Side of the Ring.
‘He’d drive around and not remember where he lived. It’s concussion on top of concussion on top of concussion.’
Wrestling veteran Jim Cornette argued: ‘He got brain damage for a f**king wresting angle on television.’
Mick’s daughter Noelle admitted she always hated the I Quit Match, and she feels like watching it was so traumatising that her brain has blocked out any memories of seeing her dad in the ring.
‘I don’t have one singular memory of my dad ever wrestling. Part of me thinks because it was traumatic to me,’ she said, clearly overwhelmed with emotion.
‘How could these 11 shots change my dad’s health? If you were to get 11 head shots, a normal person probably could have died. it’s sickening, honestly.’
She noted how CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) – which is believed to be linked to repeated head injuries and can lead to dementia – is a ‘scary’ prospect for the former world champion’s future.
‘CTE is a very scary disease. That is a long term effect of repetitive concussions and brain trauma. We don’t really know how my dad will be doing in 10, 20 years or so,’ she admitted.
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Mick himself confessed he’s ‘really worried’ about how much his health could deteriorate as a result of the punishment he put himself through wrestling all over the world for WWE, ECW, All Japan Pro Wrestling and beyond.
‘If you’re wondering if I’m worried about that – yeah, yeah, yeah, really worried. Every day I worry about that,’ he said. ‘The fallout from what I’ve done – honestly, I don’t see a way out of it.’
However, he is staying bullish about his chances at trying to improve his mental capacity and maintain his health.
‘I’m gonna fight it. I’m gonna try to be someone who continues to get sharper as they get older,’ he added.
He also pointed to how his live spoken word and Q&A tours are ‘like mental gymnastics’ for his mind.
However, long time friend and fellow wrestler Al Snow pointed out that his pal is still ‘paying that price’ for everything he put his body through in the 1990s and early 2000s.
He said: ‘If you’ve pushed those physical limits like Mick has, yeah, you’re definitely going to pay the price. Sadly, Mick is paying that price right now.’
Back in 2020, Mick insisted despite not having about the Hell In A Cell match, it ‘shortened’ his career and made him ‘believe in his own mortality’.
Speaking to Metro at the time he said: ‘The cell collapsing when I was chokeslammed still has fallout for me!
‘I just paid $425 to remove my bottom flipper – which are false teeth which were knocked out in that cell – and I’ll have to pay $15,000 or so to get those teeth fixed.’
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