Countdown to Lockdown: The REAL MICK FOLEY

AN ANSWER FOR AMBROSE

 I have only spoken to FCW prospect Dean Ambrose on three different occasions. Following his match on a WWE house show on Long Island, I went out of my way to tell him I had enjoyed his match. The skills and unique qualities qualities he posseses might very well make him a force to be reckoned with somewhere down the line. He has supporters in lofty places who feel he might be a huge asset to WWE for a decade or more in the future. I'm also told that his interviews ( "promos" as we call them) are compelling, intelligent and emotional; every bit as good as the top guys in WWE.

My second conversation with Mr Ambrose got quite a bit of attention. I know there has been alot of speculation as to the nature of this conversation. To me, it was whatever anyone wanted it to be; a shoot, a work, or somewhare in the middle - as almost all compelling pieces in sports-entertainment ultimately are.

I'm far more concerned with my third conversation with the guy. Look, Ive been accused from time to time of taking some things in the business a little too seriously. Maybe I do. But like that sailor-man of old, "I am what I am, and that's all that I am." After all these years, there are some things that just bother me. Remember that "Cane Dewey" promo from 1995 that so many are still fond of? It actually came from a very heavy place in my heart, when my wife impressed on me just how sick it was for any fan to be making a sign advocating the beating (even in jest) of my 3 year-old child.

That's the immediate feeling I got when I actually read the Dean Ambrose tweet that mentioned his dream to seeing me no longer able to make a dime in the wrestling business - with a particularly nasty mention of how he wanted to see my home repossesed and my children starved. Maybe the 1995 Cactus Jack would have cut a promo on the guy. The 2102 Mick Foley just wonders what would make something say something so stupid, heartless and ignorant. I felt Dean Ambrose had crossed a line that shouldn't be crossed, so took the opportunity before the Hampton, Virginia Smackdown to ask/tell him to please stop crossing a line that I wasn't comfortable with. Ric Flair had once asked a similar consideration of me before a memorable promo we shared in New Jersey in 2006. Of course I honored his request. Ours is a business built on trust and respect. I thought Dean Ambrose understood this. But less than a day after making my request, I saw that my children were once again the subject of his tweets - a reference to how I might feel differently about something if my children were in wheel-chairs. Maybe I would have cut a heck of a promo about it in 1995. Seventeen years later, I just wanted to get the fuck away from the whole scenario. It's not fun, it's not cutting edge. It just sucks.

Sports-entertainment has to involve a certain ammount of respect and trust. It's pretty obvious Dean Ambrose doesn't have any respect for me, my requests, or what I have done in the wrestling business. Therefore I can't place the slightest ammount of trust in him. Has anyone wondered if I'm feeling better following the concussion I spoke of in that December 2010 TNA Impact promo with Flair?  I'm not feeling too much better. I tend to have two types of days when it comes to that muted, under-water feeling I spoke of in that promo - bad and worse. I'm just not the same guy who took 11 chair shots from the Rock in 1999. I haven't been that guy in a long time.  Given my history of concussions, I would have to be a fool to place my future in the hands of someone I don't trust.  Perhaps I do have another decent match left in me. If so, it will be with a guy like Dolph Ziggler, who might well be the best worker in the business, and just needs that ONE little something to allow the WWE Universe to see  how talented he really is. Or a guy like the Miz - one of the best heels of this generation. Say what you want to about Miz, but the guy is damn good at what he does.

But Dean Ambrose? No. I may not have the power I once did in the business, but I still have the power to say no to things that just flat-out seem wrong. Like trying to put Dean Ambrose on the WWE map. A few weeks ago, it seemed like an interesting challenge. Now, it seems like an insult. A few weeks ago, it seemed like cutting-edge stuff. Now it just seems like bullshit. He is a very good talent. He has those supporters in high places. Let them wrestle him. Maybe they can put him on the WWE map. Good luck.

It's tough to get over in WWE. I certainly wouldn't want to be one of the young guys facing someone like Skip Sheffield, knowing that the priority placed on getting over will be somewhat higher than looking out for the well-being of an opponent. I'm not picking on Skip, either; I like him, think he has a wold of potential, and he has personally shown me nothing but respect. But that clothesline on that kid in Hampton, Virginia? To quote one of my idols, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka - "Not tonight, bruddah!" I went through that with The Dynamite Kid in 1986, when I was 21 years old. I willingly did it then. I did it at 25. I did it at 30. I did it at 34. I came back and did it at 38, and 40, and so on and so forth. I refuse do it at 46...almost 47. Especially not for Dean Ambrose.

YOU THINK YOU KNOW HIM?

You Think You Know Him? – a review of THE STORY OF EDGE

 

Until I watched this DVD in its entirety, I don’t think I’d ever paused to think about how appropriate that opening line “You think you know me”  - from Edge’s entrance song truly was.  As great as Edge was inside that ring - as classic as his matches were, as amazing as some of the feats of athleticism and bravery could be – what I found most enthralling about this new must-see DVD from WWE was the light it shone on Edge’s constant unveiling process.

 The first word that came to mind for me was “chameleon” , as, throughout his career, Edge seemed to take on new characteristics, to constantly add layers to the complex character he portrayed so well and for so long on our TV screens, and in our arenas. But calling Edge a chameleon is almost an insult to the subtleties with which he was able to imbue into those layers. One didn’t watch a single episode of Raw, and say “look, there’s Edge changing before our very eyes.” He was more like an engine shifting gears so smoothly, you might not feel the shifts at all; you just suddenly realize you’re enjoying the ride of your life, without completely understanding how you got there.

This DVD does a tremendous job of describing that ride, and explaining its origin; how a young, shy kid named Adam Copeland followed his dream of one day being a WWE Superstar - through the independent ranks of Canada, getting his first taste of WWE, finding fame in the tag-team ranks, before shattering what had been thought to be the glass ceiling that separates those who are Superstars in name only, from those who exemplify the more traditional Webster’s definition of that word: “superstar”.

My main complaint on some DVD’s in WWE’s past, is that they seem almost formulaic – always well done and produced with that polish only WWE knows how to apply. But I sometimes got the idea that these DVD’s were relying on whatever interesting and knowledgeable talent wasn’t busy on a particular day. Like a stroll through catering would turn up just enough talent, who could provide just enough good sound-bites to give the WWE Universe just enough to keep them happy. I’m happy to say, that this DVD continues the recent trend as seen in the recent exemplary DVD’s on Stone Cold and The Rock - towards really searching out the people who knew the stories, who lived the matches, who were personal witnesses to the great moments that unfolded in Edge’s career.

Edge’s trainers – Sweet Daddy Sikki, and Ron Hutchinson are interviewed. Adam’s mom adds a great deal to her son’s story. The key guys on his rise to fame – including, of course Christian, share valuable insight into the mindset, work ethic and drive that took Edge to the top. Other WWE Superstars who were witnesses to different stages, who were there for the revelation of different layers, talk about what it was like to be along for those unique rides. But I give credit to WWE for reaching out to their former Superstars – guys like Rhyno , Dave Batista, Lita, Trish Stratus, Matt Hardy, and yes, even me – allowing this unique story to unfold and be told as accurately, and as interestingly as possible.

Quite simply, this is an amazing DVD, about one of the greatest WWE Superstars of all time. Like the career of Edge himself, it’s one heck of a ride.

I WANNA WRITE

About a week after Dee Snider embarked on his journey into memoir writing, I received a voice message from the aspiring writer, concerned that the process was not going as hoped. “Mick, it’s Dee”, he said. “I’m taking a dump here. Could use your help.” No, it’s not what you think. The legendary Twisted Sister front-man was not looking to utilize me vaunted butt-wiping skills – as impressive as they may be. Instead he was hoping that a seasoned memoirist, with four (yes four) autobiographies to his name, could offer a little guidance.

Dee’s message had confused me however. I pictured the poor guy at the bowl of rock n roll literature, struggling in vain, straining away, unable to produce even a single nugget of knowledge. Instead, when I arrived at the Snider home – every bit as beautiful as it appears on reality television – I discovered that Dee could simply not producing these nuggets; the bowl of rock n roll literature was in real danger of over-flowing. They seemed to be just spilling out of him, word after word, story after story, with no end in sight.

My advice? Let it out. Let it all out. We can clean it up later.

Weeks later, I was flattered to be among the very first readers of the initial manuscript. Dee’s strain is our gain. “Shut up and Give me the Mic” is a great read; laced with the same humor, audacity and knowing appreciation for the bizarre that made Snider’s best songs so iconic. More importantly, Snider’s book serves as a valuable document to rock n roll history – about a band that played literally thousands of shows before they became an ‘overnight” success.
We’ve all read the somewhat typical tales of rock-star excess and debauchery as told to a journalist or ghost-written from hazy recollections. Snider’s book is different. By possessing both the foresight to remain clean and sober throughout his journey, and the determination to insist that every word on every page be his and his alone Dee Snider has given us a memoir that wants to –and does – rock. Thanks for all those nuggets of knowledge, Dee. You clean up nicely.

DIVA BELIEVER

 

This may come as something of a surprise to those who saw me only as a very minor player on the biggest show of the year, but this past Wrestlemania week may have been my busiest one yet. With no match or substantial role to worry about,  I was able to take in the majesty of the occasion, and appreciate just how fortunate I was to take part in a veritable bonanza of Wrestlemania events. I visited a children’s hospital, presided over the WWE’s National Reading Challenge, walked the red carpet at a high-end fashion show, did a VIP signing at Axxess, attended the Hall of Fame induction ceremony and busted my butt to make my segment with Santino, Captain Keith and Ron Simmons the very best it could be. Truly, I felt like I was among the hardest working men in the WWE – with the keyword in that sentence being “men”.  For if 2000 was the year I main-evented Mania, and 2004 was the reunion of the Rock’n’Sock Connection, and 2006 was the year I captured my elusive Mania “moment”, I believe I will look back on 2012 as the year I finally understood just how hard our WWE Divas work, how their contribution to the company extends far beyond their work inside the ring, and just how fortunate WWE is to have such diverse, determined group of young women representing them.

There will always be part of me that is proud to be considered “old school” - for that romantic image of sacrifice, paying dues and respect that such a sacred term brings to mind. Several years ago, when I heard of WWE’s intention to actually recruit beautiful women and teach them to wrestle, I thought the notion to be utterly ridiculous. You didn’t find the female stars of tomorrow through a televised search; you found them the old-fashioned way – by finding that certain quality that allowed talent to shine in the armories, middle school gyms, and county fairs that dot the independent wrestling landscape. Female wrestlers, I was sure, could only be found training in the Dojos of Japan, like Kharma, finding bookings in whatever country would have her, like Lita, catching eyes and turning heads at every stop like Melina or Beth Phoenix, or born with the business in their blood, like Natalya or Tamina.

I still think I’m largely right; combing those Indy shows is still a great way to find those stars of tomorrow, and I hope one day I can suggest a few women who have done great things, and fallen just short of a well-deserved shot with WWE. But as I’ve come to see, you really can recruit beautiful women and teach them to wrestle – if they’re willing to work for it. This business has a way of weeding out the ones that don’t really want it. If you don’t learn to love it, you’re usually going to hate it – that’s just the nature of the beast that asks those lucky enough to be selected to find the joy in being slammed repeatedly, both emotionally and physically, while traveling the country and the world at a pace that few could withstand.

I began to see the possibilities about the time I realized Candice Michelle had somehow morphed from a charming, beautiful young woman into a hard-working, top notch performer.  I happened to be backstage getting ready for my match at the 2007 “Night of the Champions” when Candice returned from her match, tears of joy streaming down her face after winning her first World Championship. She’d learned to love the business – and it showed. It showed in so many of the new generation of Divas, too – from those mean girls in Lay Cool, to the naughty, demonstrative Maryse, (I’m still the only announcer to properly say her name) to the world’s most beautiful wedding planner, Alicia Fox, to my future partner in RAINN fund-raising, Eve Torres, to the two (or three, depending on how you look at it) most unlikely Diva success stories I could imagine – Kelly Kelly and The Bella Twins.

 

It’s hard for me to even fathom that Kelly Kelly has been in WWE since 2006. But go back to that summer and you can actually see footage of Ms Kelly dancing, with Melina and yours truly (yes, I was actually dancing on ECW, albeit poorly) while Joey Styles provides the very finest in shocked and bewildered commentary. I vividly remember thinking, “nice kid, beautiful girl…she’ll never make it”, after that initial dance extravaganza. Yet, there she was, six long years later, hitting a move I’d never seen, on the biggest show of the year in front of 78,000 screaming fans.

 

 I smile every time I think of Brie and Nikki Bella. Maybe because I honestly never thought I’d see them again after our inaugural (quite memorable) interaction over five years ago. Months later, I was stunned to see them hanging on - when I had the opportunity to address WWE developmental talent in the fall of 2007. I had thought the wrestling business would have chewed them up and spit them out almost immediately. Yet there they were, perspiring profusely, listening intently, looking down-right determined, giving me tiny, identical waves, as if to say, “yes, it’s us, we’re still here…surprised?”  

I’ve had a chance to see them progress from afar, and a little chance to get to know them as individuals since I’ve been back in WWE. I can even tell them apart most of the time.  Most recently, I had a chance to watch them represent the WWE over a five day period in Miami. Remember me telling you how I felt like I was the hardest working man in WWE that week? But  this particular man didn’t even come close to carrying the work-load of Brie or Nikki and so many of our wonderful Divas. They did everything I did..and then some – with  finesse, elegance, beauty, and high-heels!

Maybe the Bellas make me smile because they are symbolic of the idea that sometimes, you really can teach an old dog new tricks – that my way may not be the only way and that that the venerable old-school – as tried and true as it may be, is not the only place to instill a passion, a love and a commitment for one’s craft.  I used to resent those I encountered so frequently who judged my particular book by its tattered cover.  But recently, I’ve come to see that I can be just as guilty when it comes to matters  of pre-judging others in our business.  I think it’s just human nature to jump to conclusions, whether those conclusions are arrived at by pre-judging beauties or the beasts.

 

Funny how our WWE Divas can make me feel so good about being so wrong on so many different occasions.

THANKS A MILLION FOR THE SIXTY THOUSAND!

FINALLY…The Sock can stop bothering you! Actually, it wasn’t that bad, was it? I know I was pretty steady with the plugs for RAINN and the raffle for an entire month. But when it was all said and done, YOU raised almost $60,000 to help survivors of sexual violence*, AND you helped create awareness about a subject that is difficult for most people to speak of, let alone do something about.
At the beginning of the raffle, I wrote that we would need about 2,500 entrants to meet my hopes for a very successful event. That’s almost exactly what we got! I really can’t thank all of you enough for the generosity to give of yourselves at a really tough financial time; knowing that the odds of winning were extremely small, but that the act of giving was just as important as the luck of winning. Well, maybe not QUITE as important as winning, but pretty close!
I admit, there was a little part of me – the glass half empty part - that wondered why more people weren’t climbing on board The Hardcore Legend’s raffle train, especially with the incredible Grand Prize I’d assembled – with A LOT of help from WWE. But I stopped looking at that glass half-empty a couple of weeks ago, and thought instead of how many of you were entering, tweeting, re-tweeting or spreading the word through some other means. We had almost FIVE HUNDRED new entrants on the last day of the raffle alone – with many of them making purchases of hundreds of dollars in raffle tickets. So many of the messages I received were of a similar sentiment: “I hope I win, but if not, I’m happy the money is going to a great cause.” By the end of the raffle, I had not only stopped looking at the glass as half-empty, but had come to see it as almost overflowing with good cheer!
Even though the raffle drawing is officially over, I won’t feel like my job is done until the winner of the raffle - a very excited young man from Ontario, Canada, is heading north on a plane from Miami, after having the best Wrestlemania experience imaginable. Honestly, I thought the winner was going to come from the UK, where we had so much support and interest. I hope that all of you, from around the world, will consider entering again next time.  Our winner and his guest have agreed to let us film the raffle-winning festivities during the weekend, and I hope that I can use the footage to let others see and feel the majesty of the occasion; to let them see that people really do win – and that the possibility of winning a future raffle is only a small purchase away. I’m already thinking of ways to make next year’s raffle EVEN better, and am hoping that I can combine forces with The Heartbreak Kid, Shawn Michaels to form some sort of a Super-raffle for a winner and THREE guests to have the adventure of a lifetime in New York City and New Jersey. I know HBK’s raffle this year is likely to bring in quite a bit more than mine, but I really believe the two of us together can make a combined effort bigger than the sum of its parts – and really show the world what a difference our sports-entertainment world can make. WWE was so good to both of us to make our raffles a reality, but I’m hoping that next year, they will embrace the idea with even more enthusiasm – making it accessible to even more of the WWE Universe.
I KNOW I’m going to leave out a few people here, but there are so many people to thank – and I’d really like to name as many as I can, instead of just the blanket “thanks”.
Thanks to the WWE’s lovely Sue Achison for making the Mania tickets HOF and Axxess tickets a reality. Did you know that Sue let me sit at the WWE table at the USO Gala in DC last year, even though I was obviously not an official part of the company? But, somehow, I was always part of the extended, dysfunctional WWE family. Thanks to Chelsea, Kate, Alyssa and Scott and all the members of my RAINN family. Keep doing what you do. Thank you Eve Torres, for wading into this this thing with me, and for being a great partner - even after breaking my Broski’s heart. Thanks to the assorted, eclectic group of WWE Superstars and Divas, Impact wrestlers and Knockouts who got the word out via the miracle of Twitter and other means: CM Punk, Chris Jericho, Zack Ryder, Beth Phoenix, The Bella Twins (who I absolutely adore) Paul Bearer, Kharma, David Otunga, Randy Orton, Joey Styles, William Regal. AJ, Natalya, Stacy Keibler (yes, we stay in touch)Billy Corgan (honorary wrestler, shredder of Stratocasters and Smasher of Pumpkins)JBL, Shelly Martinez, Lilian Garcia, Good ol’ JR, Tommy Dreamer, Kurt Angle, Jeremy Borash, Colt Cabana, Daffney ODB, DDP. Shawn Grande (Boston Celtics radio hunk) Richelle Carey (CNN Headline News achor) Kadee Strickland (incredible actress, even better person) Hurricane Helms, J-E- Ha ha-Double F, J-A-Ha ha, double R, Ha ha, Double T – Jeff Jarrett, Dee Snider, Jill Thompson (illustrator of two of my WWE books) Velvet Sky (initiator of naughty motor-boating incident) Shawn Michaels, The Blue Meanie, Maria, Bret hart, Matt Hardy, The Miz, X-Pac, Lance Storm, Wade Barrett, Lita, Melina, Maryse, MVP, Trish Stratus and Al Snow. Wait, come to think of it, Al Snow did NOT tweet about the raffle. Not even once. My bad.
I KNOW I’m missing some people. But clearly, there was no shortage of people willing to help, and no shortage of me nagging them to help me. But, hey, on this, the 18th anniversary of the loss of my right ear (still March 16th on the west coast) I think I’ve earned the right to badger people once a year when I think the cause calls for it. And I felt like this cause called for it.
Wait, I remember now one of the people I left out. You! Because none of this happens without your support. Thanks so much.

 

* If you, or someone you know is a survivor of sexual violence, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE or log onto the RAINN's online hotline at http://rainn.org Information on rape, sexual assault and incest, as well as information on how to donate or volunteer can also be found at http://rainn.org

 

What This Wrestlemania Raffle Means to Me

 

                               What the Wrestlemania Raffle Means to Me

 

Last April, I felt slightly over-whelmed when asked by RAINN – Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network – to launch a Twitter campaign, designed to raise money and awareness for survivors of sexual violence. The issue had become very important to me, and as a weekly volunteer on RAINN’s online hotline, I knew how important their work towards crisis intervention, prevention and education were for a subject that was rarely spoken of; an issue that largely is pushed off into the corner of public consciousness – leaving survivors to suffer in shame and silence. Part of the reason that I had picked RAINN and the issue of sexual violence as a way to make a difference is that I knew from research that it was an issue thought to concern just women, and survivors. Surely, I had thought, there is no way that a person like me – who is neither female or  a survivor, could make much of a difference with this type of issue.

But the more I learned, the more I came to feel that this was exactly the type of issue where I could make a difference. Maybe, I could be part of a new generation of people on the front lines of this battle, becoming part of a much larger societal conversation that might eventually dispel old myths and free survivors from the feelings of worthlessness and depression and the thoughts of self-harm and suicide that are such common bi-products of sexual violence.

I started donating – first a little, then a lot, and eventually gave 100% of the proceeds ( originally, just the advance, but in publishing, if a book does not outsell its advance, there are no other proceeds) from my book “Countdown to Lockdown” – 50% to RAINN for their programs helping survivors in the United States, and 50% to Child Fund International for over 200 loans and scholarships for the survivors of rape, and their children in the West African country of Sierra Leone.

I even decided to get further involved, in a more hands-on way, and took RAINN’s volunteer training course, allowing me to work once a week or more on the online hotline, working directly with survivors of sexual violence.  Each week I feel the pain of these survivors, some whose assaults were very recent; others who were telling their story for the first time in years, sometimes decades. So, I feel like I have been walking the walk, in addition to talking the talk, and that I might be in a unique situation to use an online fund-raiser as a way to shine a light on this problem that far too seldom, had any light shined on it at all.

I had a just about a quarter of the Twitter followers (about 62,000) than I currently enjoy (250,000) when I did my #10 for RAINN campaign last April. We didn’t really know what to expect, but we set $10,000 as out modest initial goal. But our little campaign turned into the “Little Engine That Could” of charitable fund-raisers, topping out at TEN TIMES our initial goal – bringing in $101,000 to help RAINN in their quest to end sexual violence and offer help for those in crisis. Then, with the help of my two older kids, I launched an E-bay online auction of some of my most valued pieces of career memorabilia, which, (with the help of a Billy Corgan Fender Strat,) brought in an additional $20,000. In addition to the money – perhaps even more important than the money - the campaign and auction helped bring valuable awareness to the issues of rape and sexual assault.

I really thought about doing the same campaign again this year. But I felt like there might be a few issues that would make duplicating the type of success we had last year extremely difficult, and likely, impossible.

1)      A great deal of the total donations had stemmed from a handful of large gifts from individuals, such as Vince McMahon and Dixie Carter, who each contributed $10,000. Another $15,000 came in the form of well publicized lawn-cuttings, stemming from an off the cuff comment I made about showing up and cutting people’s lawns if the contributed enough money.  I was able to match the first $10,000 and matched funds right at the end with an anonymous donor who kicked in $9,000 – which got us to the $100,000. I knew I wasn’t in the same position to donate those large sums this year – career really winding down and four kids to put through college - and for obvious reasons, would be less likely to get that same type of super-generous commitment from Dixie Carter. Last year, it seemed daring and cool to ask my former employer, Mr. McMahon for that type of donation. This year – I don’t know; I just wouldn’t have felt right about asking him. Without those big donations, another  #10forRAINN seemed destined for disappointment.

2)      A full month of asking all of you for donations, even for a good cause, was draining. Hey, it’s a tough economy, and any regular Twitter follower gets asked to help out with great causes every day. After a while, the constant campaign seems like an intrusion, especially for people who tune in to Twitter to escape real life for a while. The truth is, even in last year’s very successful campaign, only a small percentage of followers contributed financially – about 1%, which is actually very high for this type of online fund-raiser. Others tweeted, re-tweeted and got the word out, but even in a great fund-raiser, only a small percentage are going to get involved. Honestly, not a very high percentage of fans are even going to get this far in this article; they just have other things to think about at the different stages of their lives.

3)      Part of the reason my memorabilia did so well was it was clearly some of my best and most meaningful stuff. Unfortunately, there is only one “Hell in a Cell” shirt, and one pair of historic leopard print Cactus Jack boots – with the exception of the ones Stagecoach rushed to me for this year’s Rumble. I didn’t want to be coming up with the crumbs of the Foley career cereal box – auctioning off that t-shirt I wore somewhere when I wrestled someone.

 

So, what to do, what to do, what to do?

 

Well, how about combining the power of social media with the power of WWE – a perfect marriage if ever there was one – and let the WWE Universe know that for a cost as low as $10 to enter, they would have a chance to enter a once in a lifetime dream Wrestlemania vacation raffle!* You’ve seen the prize package; in my mind, it’s unprecedented! Go ahead, take a look at http://realmickfoley.com/mania  And it just keeps getting better. This past Tuesday alone, I was able to add three amazing items to the raffle.

1)      The Bella Twins will be joining Eve Torres (who has been a huge part of this raffle effort) and one mystery Diva to be named later for the luncheon part of the prize.

2)      I will present the winner of the raffle with the exact half Rock/half Cena t-shirt I wore for my return to Raw in November. Imagine putting that bad boy on and reliving one of the worst Raw segments in recent history!

3)      The winner and a guest will get to have a cup of coffee with David Otunga! Yes, and according to my sources, he will be bringing the thermos.

No matter how great the prize, the truth is, only a small percentage of the WWE Universe is going to climb on board this particular train. But we only need a small percent. My hope is, that if you have made it this far into this piece of writing that you are willing to consider being in that small percent.  1% of 250,000 followers is 2,500 entrants – about the number of entrants we need to make this raffle a true success. I think we can do it! Plus, if some key WWE Superstars and Divas get involved, we could get double that number. Or triple. Or more. I think it’s the perfect prize for an audience that is very adept at social media and very passionate and loyal to WWE. I just have to try to perfect the very inexact science of letting followers know it’s out there without over-doing it, and reminding the WWE Superstars and Divas to get involved without becoming a nuisance to them.

Then again, I’ve done some cool stuff in this world of sports entertainment. Maybe some things in life, like RAINN, are worth being a nuisance over. Maybe The Rock, and Cena, and Punk and Jericho, and Mia and Orton, and Ziggler and Ryder ought to expect their phones to be ringing (or receiving texts; no one really calls anymore). Maybe the Hardcore Legend could create an entirely new persona behind the scenes – Mickey the Nuisance! This really could be big – in terms of money, and greater understanding about a very difficult subject that I have come to know very well. But, it could serve another positive purpose as well. Maybe, just maybe, this raffle can be one of those things that catches the public’s attention, and allows then to at least consider what I have known for a fact for many years: WWE, wrestling, sports-entertainment can be a positive force in so many ways.

 

*Actually, unbeknownst to me, The Heartbreak Kid, Shawn Michaels had done a similar raffle last year, and is once again doing a Wrestlemania raffle to benefit three great organizations. Check out his raffle on his Twitter site @ShawnMichaels  . Who knows, maybe next year HBK and I can join forces for some type of Super-raffle!