WWE legend Mick Foley has recalled how he decided to leave WCW shortly after losing his right ear in a match against Vader.
Foley faced Vader at a WCW live event in Munich, Germany, on March 16, 1994. During the match, he attempted a routine move which was supposed to result in him getting caught up in the ropes. However, due to the tightness of the ropes, the stunt backfired and Foley’s ear was left hanging off the side of his head.
Vader ripped Foley’s ear off when he returned to the ring, prompting the referee to quickly retrieve it from the ring canvas. The match, which Vader won, lasted another two minutes after Foley’s horrific injury.
Speaking on Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions show, Foley discussed two-time WWE Hall of Famer Booker T’s reaction to his ear injury. He also explained how WCW’s reluctance to use his ear loss in a storyline resulted in him leaving the company:
“Booker is a tough dude,” Foley said. “Nobody messes with Booker, right? He’s on his first tour with WCW, looks at his brother Stevie, and he goes, ‘I don’t know if this is for me!’ But, Steve, I had that rush of adrenaline. It came crashing down when I realized, ‘Wait, they’re not gonna use this? This is a gift from the wrestling gods. I can cut promos all day long.’ And I just thought, ‘Ah man, if they’re not gonna push this, then there’s no future for me here.’ That led to me giving my notice.”
Mick Foley left WCW in 1994 and went on to work for companies including ECW and IWA Japan. He joined WWE in 1996 and debuted as the Mankind character.
Eric Bischoff’s take on Mick Foley’s WCW departure
Former WCW President Eric Bischoff discussed Mick Foley’s exit from the company on his 83 Weeks podcast in 2018.
He said Foley’s desire to compete in “brutal” matches played a big part in his WCW departure:
“Part of that was Mick Foley loved that type of action, which was one of the reasons why he left WCW, because it was one of the areas Mick and I disagreed on and he ended up leaving,” Bischoff said. “Mick Foley liked those kinds of matches. He loved the brutal, dangerous, almost death-defying matches.” [H/T Wrestling Inc.]
Mick Foley’s “death-defying” style did not change after he lost his ear. The WWE Hall of Famer competed in some of the most physical matches of his career against the likes of The Undertaker and Triple H in WWE.
Please give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use the Broken Skull Sessions quotes from this article.
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