Sometimes Vince McMahon needs a little coaxing when it comes to something. In this case, a little advice from Jim Ross and The Undertaker paid off.
Jim Ross spoke on his Grilling JR podcast about the WWE bringing in Mick Foley and the debut of Mankind in 1996, talking about how originally Vince McMahon was originally against the idea of bringing Foley in. Eventually, JR convinced him that Foley could be an asset to the company, even if it was only for a short bit of time. However, it turns out that The Undertaker was equally as instrumental in the move being made. Ross discussed how the friendship between Taker and Foley prior to his arrival in the WWE eased some of Vince’s apprehensions.
“Oh absolutely, and look, let’s not discount the influence that Undertaker had in this whole equation. When Vince saw that one of his most iconic stars, i.e. the Taker, wanted to do this program and he was rejuvenated to a certain degree, that’s magic for a promoter. Because now, both men are very much equally invested. Taker was so unselfish, that his job was to get Mick over so that somewhere down the line when the story concluded, that when Taker went over, he would have beaten somebody significant and it would have been a great win.”
Foley eventually debuted and was inserted right into a feud with The Undertaker. The two would go on to create many memorable moments in the WWE, some of which defined Mick Foley’s career.
Thanks to Fightful for the quote
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