Mick Foley Says It Is ‘Pivotal’ For Cody Rhodes To Win At WrestleMania, Recalls Lex Luger Not Winning Title At SummerSlam

On a recent edition of Foley Is Pod, Mick Foley talked about how important momentum in wrestling is, and that it’s time for Cody Rhodes to win at Wrestlemania in his match against Roman Reigns. Foley brought up the infamous failure of Lex Luger to win the WWF Title at SummerSlam in the nineties, which led to Luger being branded a “choker.” Read on for highlights:

On how his failure to win the title at SummerSlam damaged Lex Luger: “I think it’s pivotal. Again, we’re quoting Jim Cornette. Should we put the Lex Luger comment in context? This was James E Cornette, prior to the SummerSlam where Lex had been heavily, and very well built. The Lex Express, the slam on the USS Intrepid. It was a really good build, and Cornette did a really good interview, I think it was a Torch interview, where you put the guy in a position where if he doesn’t win the title, he looks like a ‘plateful of piss.’ I wouldn’t go so far as to say that’s the way Lex came out of it, but he never regained that momentum.”

On Cody needing to win at Wrestlemania: “It’s so valuable. In so many ways, succeeding in WWE is an exercise in constantly keeping your head above water. But in some ways, it’s not enough just to survive, there’s a moment in time from which you might never come back from, if they don’t do the right thing. Whereas I don’t think wins and losses are as important as some people do; there is a time for a win. And I think it’s this ‘Mania for Cody.”

On wrestlers needing to constantly evolve: “Constantly bobbing, evolving. As long as we’re going with the ocean motif… you don’t want to be swept away by the tides of change. I think that’s one of the things you saw when guys depended on the catch phrases too long. I said last week, the secret is to tweak things before the audience realizes it needs a tweaking. And then y’know, oh, we’ll overhaul this character completely, maybe make him a different character, because that character’s dead.”

On making the most of your angles: “It’s really difficult work, while also understanding it’s a marathon, not a sprint. So if you’re in a ‘marriage’ with one of the other wrestlers that isn’t ideal, it’s okay. You still make the best out of it. And then go onto a marriage that might be more meaningful. So I don’t think there’s anything wrong with moving up and down the card, as long as you make the most of every marriage. My goal was always for the guy that I was wrestling to be better off after the angle and series of matches were over. But no matter how much water you’re treading and keeping your head above water, once in a while, you need that rescue, from WWE.”

If using any of the above quotations, please credit Foley is Pod h/t 411mania for the transcript.