WWE Rivals (TV Series)

Triple H vs. Mick Foley (2022)

Bruce Prichard: Bruce Prichard - WWE Executive Director

Quotes 

• Self - WWE Hall of Famer : [after using thumbtacks in a match against Vince McMahon's wishes]  It's much better to do something and ask for forgiveness than it is to ask for approval. And, uh, Mr. McMahon wasn't even angry at us. It'd be impossible to be angry after all we'd done. At that time, word didn't get around like it does now, like about the bad knees and the bad... you know, I had a lot of wear and tear on my body at that point. And at that point, I start thinking about the, uh, you know, the physical toll that the match had taken on both of us.

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : I think at that point in time, he was serious about "I'm going to step away and I'm not gonna do this any longer" and medically needed to be done in-ring for a while.

  Bruce Prichard - WWE Executive Director : You're in the middle of looking at two guys that gel, have great chemistry, and the audience is totally invested in. And all of a sudden, one of your performers comes and says, "I'm ready to hang it up." The carpet's pulled out from under you, and you're like, "Okay, what next?"

• Bruce Prichard - WWE Executive Director : Mick Foley was the underdog. Mick was the ultimate underdog, because you had seen how tough and how durable Mick Foley was, and go through hell, and get up and come back.

  Self - WWE Analyst : Throughout the late '90s, Mick Foley continued to flip from one character to another. Three characters that talk differently, act differently, and fought differently.

  Kevin Owens - WWE Superstar : Mankind, Cactus Jack, Dude Love, it didn't matter which character he was portraying, you had a level of Mick Foley in all of them.

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : You have to be willing to adapt and to create something new, that evolution of who you are and what you do.

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : I never realized what a big deal it was until I actually had the WWE Championship in my hands.

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : Seeing him successfully shift himself out of those characters was definitely inspiring. At the same point in time, Rock and Austin have these moments and do all this stuff. As that's happening, I'm thinking, like, "We need a Darth Vader here."

  John Bradshaw Layfield - WWE Hall of Famer : Hunter had everything you need. Really smart guy and a terrific wrestler, but he knew he had to transform himself. And I think at the time if you had talked to him, he would probably know "This is my coming of age. This is my rite of passage. This is what I have to go through to be that guy."

  [a clip of Hunter's "I am The Game" sit-down interview with J.R. is shown] 

  Peter Rosenberg - WWE Analyst : Who knew in that moment that just those words would change him and take him to an entirely different level?

• Self - WWE Hall of Famer : King of the Ring is kind of tailor-made to be something that gives someone credibility or says to the viewer, "That's a top guy."

  [clips of Triple H's victory over Mankind are shown] 

  Bruce Prichard - WWE Executive Director : The snob won, and the snob had to cheat.

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : To be able to do it with Mick, he was a great opponent for me for that, and it helped put me at a different level.

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : Triple H gets to be the King of the Ring. And the sympathy I gathered, not only from losing the match but from suffering that beatdown after the match, this was like, "That's uncalled for. That's... that was unprovoked. We like that guy." And it just became this great study in contrasts.

  Peter Rosenberg - WWE Analyst : It was a story that, as time went on, you just continued to enjoy. 'Cause you knew they were gonna take it places you'd never seen before.

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : We had this really great chemistry together, neither one of us being top-tier main-event guys at that point in time, but being able to create something special. He was willing to do anything and take any bump and do anything crazy and put his body on the line. He liked it when it came back the other way. I don't think he got to work with that many guys that were that way.

  Self - WWE Analyst : When you've got these two superstars having battles that are spilling all over arenas, there's only one logical thing to do. Lock 'em in a cage.

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : [clips of his and Hunter's steel-cage match at SummerSlam are shown]  The fans, they were, like, kind of yearning for this bright spot in this dark character of Mankind. They loved this guy. They wanted to see that transformation.

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : We would have that match, and it would sort of be the culmination of that storyline, but also a start of Foley and Dude Love.

• Peter Rosenberg - WWE Analyst : What makes the street fight different is that it often goes other places. Street fights can go anywhere.

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : Physically, they're incredibly demanding. The mental game, you have to be a little bit off your rocker to wanna do a lot of stuff in 'em. But people enjoy it.

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : After this suplex on this wooden pallet, that Triple H is just pouring blood down his calf and into his boot.

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : I remember looking down and seeing a piece of wood sticking out of my leg. I knew that was a pivotal moment for me.

  Bruce Prichard - WWE Executive Director : Through those moments, no matter what you think of him, you see things like that and you see the toughness. You gotta respect the hell out of him.

  John Bradshaw Layfield - WWE Hall of Famer : This guy went out there and didn't call for the medics. They didn't call for the doctor. Nowadays, you would probably do all of that, or the doctor would call on you.

  Self - Host : Yeah, they'd make him stop.

  John Bradshaw Layfield - WWE Hall of Famer : They would make you stop. It-it's kind of, also, this rite of passage. You know, eventually you're gonna work hurt. And when you do, it's just part of... it's part of the game.

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : If there are doubters out there, I don't think anybody ever questioned his toughness again.