Bruce Prichard On Backstage Heat Between Ric Flair & Mick Foley, Why He Didn’t Like Their WWE SummerSlam 2006 Match

In a recent edition of Something to Wrestle, Bruce Prichard discussed Ric Flair vs. Mick Foley at WWE SummerSlam 2006, why he didn’t like the match, and much more. You can read his comments below.

Bruce Prichard on the backstage animosity between Ric Flair and Mick Foley and the idea behind the build to their “I Quit” Match at SummerSlam 2006: “There was true animosity there. There was real animosity, but you also have professionals that are there to make money and there to do what they need to do. So you get people to lighten up and work with each other, and that’s really what it came down to. You had some tidbits of reality, and that’s where we were…..in real life Mick and Melina were close, and Melina would go to Mick for advice and Mick really liked Melina and tried to help her out with her career as well. They were friends, and it was kind of a mentorship more than anything.”

On why he didn’t the match: “Not a fan. I didn’t like it. It’s a hardcore garbage match with a lot of gimmicks. The story of Mick saying “I quit” is a good story, but I’m getting old and crotchety and I’m not a fan of this stuff. I just don’t think you need that much gore and crap. I really don’t. I’m not a big fan of it and wasn’t a big fan of it at this point. It didn’t need all that……I think you could’ve [done it without the violence]. It’s just in how you tell the story, and there’s other ways to do it without all the gore. It’s a matter of taste and a matter of what you like. I think more people were probably turned off by it than saying, ‘Yeah, I want to see more thumbtacks and barbed wire in the face.’ Some people like chocolate ice cream and some people like strawberry shortcake.”

On Flair’s reaction to being in a hardcore match: “I don’t think Ric was hesitant. You look at what makes Ric Flair great is his matches and his work, not his gore and the use of other things to dress it up. Two of my favorite people in Mick Foley and Ric Flair. But I’ve told Mick this before, ‘Hey man, I get it.’ And I think Mick is one of the greatest workers ever, one of the greatest talents this business has ever had and an extremely intelligent, bright guy. But Mick likes one thing, and I like something else. To his each his own. For me, not crazy about it.”

If using any of the above quotes, please credit Something to Wrestle with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.