Mick Foley On Bleeding During His WWE Run, Whether Blood Still Has a Place In Wrestling

On a recent episode of Foley is Pod, Mick Foley discussed the legendary Abdullah the Butcher. The conversation veered to the topic of blood in pro wrestling. Read on for some thoughts from the “Hardcore Legend”:

On Hannibal claiming he contracted Hepatitis C from Abdullah the Butcher: “I don’t know all the facts. Whether Abdullah knew that he had [hepatitis C].”

On how much he bled in his WWE run: “I always felt like [blood] had a place. I’ve been around when it was overused, I’ve been around where it was underused or extinct. I was pretty good with the amount of blood when I was in WWE. Of all the big matches — up until I had my comeback matches, where the blood was more frequent — I think I was only in four or five bloody matches, in my four years in WWE. Less is more. So that when Steve and Bret had their legendary match [at WrestleMania] it really meant something because it wasn’t overdone.”

On how blood can enhance a match: “I’m sure there were times when I was involved in bloody matches that didn’t need to be bloody. I was in some others where the blood would have taken a good match and made it great, or taken a great match and made it legendary. I did pretty well for myself in WWE during my main four years there, where I rarely bled. I did pretty well in WCW even after they put the ixnay on the bleeding. I didn’t feel like I had to have it. I thought I had it in perspective. Maybe I used it a little more often than I should have, but I also don’t think that I overused it. Or else my fair complexion would look considerably different.”

On the art of blading: “I don’t want to give away all the secrets. Abdullah would get colour in front of everybody. And you never saw it, because he was so lightning quick and it looked like a natural motion. The problem with going along with your natural wrinkles, frown lines, is that people see the elbow out here. That’s a giveaway back when it was important in drawing money that that be secretive. It’s much more natural but much more long-lasting if you going down [vertically]. [Abdullah] might have 20 lacerations that you never even saw coming. All the time I worked with Terry Funk, I never once saw him do it because he was so lightning quick.”

On how The Wrestler portrayed blading: “For example, when I see The Wrestler, the movie with Mickey Rourke. I loved the movie, but you can love something and find fault with it. I thought hold on a second. This character would have been super hot in the early eighties. Would’ve been a babyface who did the territories, he had the bleach blonde hair, the blood would’ve looked great on him. He probably would’ve done it hundreds of times. You can’t tell me would take a bump, slowly open up his tape, then maneuver his gimmick. He would’ve been (snaps) boom, had it before you even knew he had it. But then that doesn’t make for good cinema. Even though I think he could’ve been shot in a way that could’ve showed the (chuckles) the art of getting juice.”

If you use any of the above quotations, please credit Foley Is Pod h/t 411mania for the transcription.