- Terrance X. Martinez

Ask any twenty wrestling fans to describe Mick Foley and you will most likely get twenty different replies. King of the Death Match. Hardcore Legend. WWF Superstar. Crazy S.O.B. Comedy Wrestler. The descriptions go on and on. Each one of them may be accurate, but none really capture the man completely. In fact, after reading Have a Nice Day, you come to the conclusion that these descriptions don't even begin to do justice to the man we know as Cactus Jack, Mankind, Dude Love or plain old Mick Foley.

For starters, unlike most wrestling books, Foley wrote the book himself, without the aid of a ghost writer. Making the task even more impressive is the fact that he wrote the entire 544 page book in long hand on a series of yellow legal pads. It doesn't take the reader long to ascertain that this is just one example of the type of dedication Foley shows in every aspect of his life.

Foley's willingness to succeed comes through early on in the book. Even before he became a wrestler he was dedicated to the sport. Whether it was hitchhiking to Madison Square Garden to see Snuka/Muraco in the cage, or diving off of a roof onto a mattress in a precursor to the backyard wrestling craze, Foley had always shown a deep love for wrestling. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Foley, while still in college, started driving hundreds of miles and sleeping in his car just for the opportunity to train on the weekends to become a wrestler.

Since I am writing this review for Kayfabe Memories I guess it's only appropriate to point out the different regions that Mick passed through on his climb up the wrestling ladder. After beginning his career in Northeast indies, Foley got the call to come to Memphis, his first real territory. Even though Foley came along towards the end of the territories he also wrestled in the World Class region and for Alabama. After making a name for himself in these areas Foley finally got a shot in a national company, WCW.

In the book, Foley covers his trials and tribulations in WCW. Going into detail about the backstage politics that he felt held him back in WCW. Foley pulls no punches in this area. He also describes his most memorable matches and angles. From the humorous, (his Clash match with Mil Mascaras) to the idiotic, (the amnesia angle vignettes he filmed) and the downright scary (getting powerbombed on the concrete by Vader). And, yes, he goes into great detail describing the match in which he lost his ear.  

Foley seems to take great pride in describing his injuries throughout the book, and he certainly has no shortage of them. Aside from his ear loss, he also talks about his chronic back problems and all the broken bones and cuts and bruises that go along with becoming a hardcore legend. Also, if you were ever wondering how Foley lost his teeth, this is also revealed in the book. The interesting this about that is it didn't happen in the ring.

Foley's Japan tours and his ECW stint are also covered in the book.