The great character skills of Mick Foley allowed him to portray quite a few gimmicks in WWE. Mankind, Dude Love, and Cactus Jack were the three big ones, and WWE even had him playing a version of himself at the end of his run since fans connected with him. The characters fans most associate with Foley are Mankind and Cactus Jack. Both created special runs that added to his overall legacy.
Many fans will have different stories about what made them such a diehard fan of Foley. We will look at arguments for both characters that helped make Foley a superstar. Mankind was the first introduction to WWE fans. Cactus Jack made his mark all over the world and made hardcore wrestling relevant. Find out which one is yours with five reasons for Mankind and five reasons for Cactus Jack as Foley’s best character each.
10 Mankind: The Undertaker Feud
The Undertaker started bragging that he made people famous by doing horrible things to them in wrestling matches in the '90s. Mick Foley was the main wrestler he referenced when looking back at his legendary feud with Mankind.
Paul Bearer turned on Undertaker for the first time in his career to align with Mankind, which made the story even more important. Fans most remember the moments of Undertaker throwing Mankind off the hell in a cell structure and through the cage. The rivalry put Foley on the map in WWE forever.
9 Cactus Jack: The Triple H feud
The feud between Triple H and Cactus Jack helped make both men bigger stars. Mick Foley tapped into this side of his persona to get violent against Triple H after all the dastardly things the heel did to him during this storyline.
Triple H and Cactus Jack started off 2000 with classic matches at Royal Rumble and No Way Out. The matches cemented Triple H as a top heel champion and gave Foley the perfect way to end his time as a full-time wrestler.
8 Mankind: Character work
The character element of Mankind pushed Mick Foley forward into a different aspect of his career. Instead of having hardcore matches with Cactus Jack like his ECW time, Foley now played a character with a lot of facets to the act.
Mankind had a dark past that made him a demented character that enjoyed feeling pain from his opponents. The impressive character skills of Foley got Mankind over in a way most other wrestlers on the roster would have struggled with.
7 Cactus Jack: Allowed him to show facial expressions
Mick Foley was one of the best wrestlers at expressing his emotions in the ring during matches and promos. The mask for the Mankind character restricted that as it would take a little more effort to get his expressions across.
Cactus Jack had no restrictions when it came to showing off his facial expressions. Foley had that incredible feud with Triple H with the personal emotion of the character helping sell the feud. WWE essentially stopped the Mankind character to let Foley show more of himself in the Cactus Jack act among others.
6 Mankind: Proved he was a star
The career of Mick Foley was struggling before he landed the role as Mankind in WWE. Foley had a lackluster run in WCW and was not on the big stage when performing in ECW. The Mankind character gave him his first real chance at relevant success in wrestling.
Mankind’s feud with The Undertaker made him an upper card name. The classic match against Shawn Michaels for the WWE Championship showed that he belonged in the title picture. Mankind delivered outstanding performances to validate Foley’s talent.
5 Cactus Jack: WCW and ECW runs
Mankind only appeared for WWE while Cactus Jack had runs in ECW and WCW. Despite the push never getting him that far in WCW, Foley delivered great matches against top names like Vader and Sting. ECW added him to the roster with the same gimmick when WCW released him.
The success in ECW helped set Foley up for a strong run in WWE. Foley used the hardcore fans’ style against them by calling them out for the desire to see bloodshed. The ECW and WCW chapters of Foley’s career makes Cactus Jack an even bigger asset.
4 Mankind: The Rock and Sock Connection
The tag team between The Rock and Mick Foley led to great success together. Fans loved The Rock and Sock Connection due to the comedic segments between the two main eventers. It was a small chapter of their careers, but the time together made a huge impact.
Mankind was the perfect character to comedically work with The Rock given their timing. One unscripted moment featured Rock’s sunglasses falling off during a promo and Mankind picking them up to try them on. The Rock and Sock Connection helped add to the legacy of Mankind.
3 Cactus Jack: Created new weapons in WWE
The hardcore wrestling style of Cactus Jack led to the some of the most violent matches in wrestling history. Foley introduced a few new weapons to the WWE world. The barbed wire bat was one to become synonymous with his time as Cactus Jack in WWE.
Foley took it to another level in his Hell in the Cell match with Triple H by lighting a flame on a 2x4 with barbed wire using it as a weapon as well. The future of hardcore matches would see many wrestlers using weapons inspired by Cactus Jack.
2 Mankind: Won WWE Championship
Mankind was the character that led Mick Foley to the top of WWE. 1999 would see Foley finally win the WWE Championship. The character of Mankind defeated The Rock in the main event of Raw to accomplish the lifelong dream of Foley.
Fans reacted with a massive live ovation and the ratings led to tremendous success. The WWE Championship reigns of Mankind during his feud with Rock made Foley a main eventer for good. Foley achieved this iconic moment as Mankind.
1 Cactus Jack: Hardcore legend legacy
The reputation as the hardcore legend is used for Mick Foley in general, but it started due to the success of Cactus Jack. Foley’s portrayal of that character showed someone that would do anything to get the win. The matches had a different dynamic to them.
Cactus Jack truly made the matches feel barbaric and dangerous. The vicious matches against Triple H specifically showed what the Cactus Jack character represented. Many wrestlers work that style of match, but no one changed the atmosphere of it more than Foley did for the better.