WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley was recently interviewed by WWE for their “Mankind’s Greatest Moments” documentary on a number of topics including Vince McMahon initially not liking The Rock’s infamous “This Is Your Life” segment.
Foley said, “There’s a phrase I use, it’s called embracing the ridiculous. Some people, they’re just a little short of being able or willing to do that. I think it’s those that embrace the ridiculous, who sink their teeth into every opportunity that they are given that really make a difference. Rock was always in the zone, I’m not sure how neither one of us laughed during this scene, I don’t know. Looking back on it now, he’s the biggest star in the world and I got to be two feet away from him. I really wanted this to go well.
“What people don’t know about This Is Your Life, almost everyone loved it, one person decidedly did not like it at all and that was Mr. McMahon. Keep in mind, I think we had 14 minutes slotted and we went 26 on live, national television. Prime time TV. They brought in some local actors to portray the coach, the teacher, the former girlfriend.
“Yerple was discovered in Michigan when we visited Mr. McMahon in the hospital. She and her husband had a place called Yerple and Jojo’s Fun Time Palace. One of the heartwarming aspects of the story is to this day, Yerple and I are in contact.”
“There have been other attempts to try to recreate that, and I don’t think anyone’s ever gonna get it like that, because part of the beauty is that it was so loosely produced. So Dwayne did have the chance to just make it such a star vehicle, and with so little effort. When it was clear that we had not tanked, but instead done the exact opposite, we went in bold pursuit of Mr. McMahon and that’s when we walked away with the agreement that we could do whatever we wanted from that point on.”
You can check out Foley’s comments in the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BahE2IpVptw
(H/T to Fightful for transcribing the above quotes)
