Mick Foley Says Vader Had The Stiffest Punches; Compares Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, and Steve Austin’s Punches

On a recent episode of Foley is Pod, Mick told the story of telling Terry Gordy to “lay it in” with his punches for their match at the 1995 King of the Deathmatch. This led to Mick comparing how snug different opponents in his career were. Read some excerpts below:

On how stiff Gordy’s punches were: “It was stiff, but not as stiff as a Terry Funk ‘working’ punch.” (laughs).

On Gordy compared to other stiff workers: “Remember, I’d worked with Vader so I knew what the upper echelon of stiff felt like. And then I would later go on to work with Stone Cold and Bret [Hart]… Shawn [Michaels] delivered the goods, too. Especially when it came to the televised matches. Nobody was smoother, but brother, he delivered those punches. Bret proudly referred to his punches as the “rubber mallets.”

On Stone Cold being “hurt” Mick didn’t think Steve was the most snug: “I think Steve was always just a tiny bit hurt that I didn’t feel like he was the “snuggest” (laughs). I’d have to be like, I’m sorry Steve. Look, Steve Austin was a lot of thing but an illusionist was not one of them (laughs). He worked that really rugged, physical style and I was always comfortable with that. As long as nobody took liberties with your nose, your teeth, your jaw. Steve laid that stuff in, and it looked great.”

This interview has been edited for clarity. If using any of the above quotes, please credit Foley Is Pod with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/king-of-the-deathmatch/id1610936969?i=1000585840677