Mick Foley Recalls Working With Terry Gordy In WWE, Gordy’s Issues With Pill Addiction

On a recent episode of Foley is Pod, the former Mankind discussed working with Terry Gordy in WWF when Gordy was the “Executioner.” Mick has previously written and talked about working with Terry Gordy during King of the Deathmatch, and how he tried to overcome Gordy’s post-overdose limitations. Here, he discussed his brief tenure teaming with the Executioner during Mick’s initial 1996 feud with the Undertaker, including Terry’s tragically worsening pill addiction. You can read some excerpts below

On Michael Hayes taking care of the other Freebirds: “Michael Hayes, oh man, he was loyal to Buddy [Roberts] and Terry [Gordy]. He was such a great friend to those guys. Buddy Roberts, some people know, he spent the last several years of his life with a voice box. And Gordy, I think, technically did die on that flight to Japan; he was revived, but was never the same as we talked about in the last episode, King of the Deathmatch.”

On Terry Gordy’s incredible conditioning: “From what I heard, Raven was able to have a really good match with him, kind of turn back the hands of time. Maybe gave the impression that Terry had more left in the tank. Cardio-wise, Terry was a machine. You know the old “babyface holds on, heel hits the ropes two or three times and then realizes he’s been made a fool of?” Well, I think it was Owen and Davey Boy, they were babyface at that time. Anyway, Terry and I were with them and they did that spot… Terry ran the ropes for about two and a half minutes. Just kept running in a way that would’ve worn anybody down. He could really go, as far as cardio.”

On Gordy taking random pills on an airplane flight: “Look, you can’t say what someone would’ve wanted. I don’t think he’d mind me sharing this story, but it does tell you that Terry seemed to have a little problem with pills. We’re on an airplane, and I see a woman open up a pill bottle and Terry turns to her and goes “got any extries (sic)?” She gives him a couple pills! In baggage claim, one of the guys says “what kinda pills were they?” and he goes “orange’uns.” He had no idea what it was!”

On Mick’s own naivety towards pills, he and Paul Bearer having to wrangle Gordy: “It was sad. Look, I was kind of naive in a way to the power and the seductive quality of opioids. But I was riding with Terry, I knew he wasn’t drinking, and he went from being lucid to being… less than lucid seemingly quickly. What the heck, how did that happen? I should’ve known, but I didn’t know.[One night], Uncle Paul [Bearer] called me up and said “we have to find Terry.” So, we had to go searching. It was like you were dealing with a child in some ways. I think we found him at a local bar and I said, “Terry, we have a good thing going here. We have to keep it.”

On Gordy being a giving, kind man: “He had those puppy dog eyes, and he was such a good-hearted guy. Deep down, I think I mentioned that on my first trip to Japan for Baba. He bought some little speakers back when the Walkman was the height of technology, and he gave me his old set of speakers. This is Terry Gordy, one of the best workers in the world, he gave me his speakers.”

On how hard it was to see Gordy declining: “It hurt me to see him reduced to the level he was as the Executioner. So that when we were doing the Buried Alive match [in fall 1996], we were furiously trying to fill this thing with Earth, there’s Gordy with his back to the hole just scooping like he was a cat in the litterbox.”

If you use any of the above quotes, credit Foley is Pod h/t 411mania for the transcription