Foley is Pod - Over The Edge 1998 [Show Notes] (Patreon)

Mick we’re coming off your match that we covered last month at Unforgiven when Steve Austin crushed Vince McMahon with a chair shot to end your match. Are you told at this point it’s going to be a 3 match series?

The next night on Raw the show is from Hampton and we’ll get into the “Invasion” but WCW is preempted due to the NBA Playoffs. How important was it for not just you but the whole company to present the best product possible?

How big an opportunity is this after breaking the 83 week streak just two weeks before?

From the Torch

Dude Love’s “Love Shack” had two women with hippie symbols painted all over their bodies dancing and hanging on Dude’s arms. Dude said Austin used to be his main man, but the night before he chewed up Austin and spit him out. Dude said after his match his gas tank was empty, and he met his women in his room and could tell in their eyes what they wanted, but he said he had to break the news to his women that “the Dude just needs to be held.” He said the ladies missed out on a beautiful night of passion, but he is without the gold because Stone Cold took the easy way out by trying to get counted out to save his belt. He said McMahon talked him out of it. Dude said since Austin KO’d McMahon, Austin should be fired and they should match Dude vs. former champ Shawn Michaels to see who deserves to be the champion. He said his preference, though, is to have the title just handed to him.

Were you having a hard time being the Dude Love character and come up with material like this while you’re a heel?

Are you working with Vince McMahon or Vince Russo for these promos?

Vince would come out “with a heavy heart” and with a concussion because of the chair shot. Vince decides not to fire Austin but to punish him by putting him in a title match against Goldust with Gerald Brisco as referee.

The Dude does not take nicely to this and cuts a promo on Vince in the locker room about it and also attacks Goldust during a promo being cut. Did you think you needed a little more heel edge with the Dude?

You would come out at the end of the Goldust-Austin match and attack Austin but Austin gets the upper hand and ends the show standing tall. Was this the performance you were looking for in front of this sized audience?

The Raw sets an all-time ratings record for Monday nights - posting a 5.7 rating but the real news coming out of the show is the DX invasion of Nitro. What did you think when you saw the skits?

Were you surprised they went through with it?

Would this had been something you would be comfortable doing?

The next Raw is taped in Richmond and you would write that it was one of your finest hours.

You come out onstage to start the show and apologize for all the corporate misdeeds of the preceding few weeks and promise you would never suck up to a lowlife like Vince McMahon, bump and grind with second-rate strippers in front of your kids and you’ll never wear the tie-dye crap again.

The Observer would point out when you said you didn’t want your wife & kids to see you dancing you got booed but they popped for you huge when you said you wouldn’t wear the tie dye again. Did you have them right where you wanted them?

Vince comes out and cuts what Meltzer would call one of the great all-time promos and convinces you that if you want a title shot again that you’d have to go out there and earn it against Terry Funk. Vince goes, “I don’t want you to just beat him. I want you to destroy him. I want you to tear his heart out, so that the blood drips down your arm. Then you’ll get your title shot.” I was completely under Vince’s spell, until the sound of glass breaking and the roar of 18,000 fans signaled the arrival of Stone Cold, who proceeded to tear down the “Love Shack.”

That was the end of the Love Shack - you were happy to see it go right?

This is one of the all-time great segments and is one of the perfect examples of how great the WWF was at the time with their creative wouldn’t you agree?

There’s even footage of you & Terry’s FMW bouts, along with home video footage of you diving off your garage as a teenager and Funk is shown in the back crying backstage while you paced in the locker room. Was this something Terry was excited to do with you?

How important was this show to you in the long run to prove your ability to be a top guy for the time being?

From your book:

Terry and I had a classic no-holds-barred contest. Before the match, we spoke very little, but we both had the clear understanding that this was a very important match. “Cactus, let’s go out there and give it to them,” I remember Terry saying before leaving me alone for the next hour to prepare for the contest.

You have Pat Patterson as referee - how special was that for you?

Austin is drinking beer and doing color and you guys trade hard chair shots, you get color, even Terry moonsaulting off a mezzanine. You brawl all over the building and Funk kept kicking out of big moves before you piledrive him on a chair for the win.

From your book

Many who saw it considered my match with Terry to be the best Raw match of the year. I felt that it was on a par with my match with Austin, if not slightly better. For the record, it was the only match I have ever wrestled as “Mick Foley.” These days, it seems that hardcore matches have become an excuse to go all over the building and hit each other with cool stuff. That may be entertaining, and I’m not saying it’s not painful, but in my mind, it takes away from what these things should really be about-intensity. Terry and I wrestled with intensity that night. Lots of it.

This is an absolute career highlight for you is it not?

From your book

I came out the winner and then challenged Austin, who’d been doing color commentary, to step into the ring. He threw his ever-present beer in my face, and the temporary loss of vision caused me to mistakenly clamp the mandible claw onto corporate stooge Pat Patterson. As my vision cleared, I saw Austin flipping me off, but rolled out of the ring to avoid further incident. Suddenly, Vince appeared with the two second-rate strippers and my tie-dyed Dude outfit in his arms. As my music kicked in, I walked up the ramp, and to the strains of “Dude Love, Dude Love Baby,” I proceeded to do everything I swore I never would. I sucked up to Vince by giving him a big, sloppy hug. I not only took back the Dude outfit but cradled the tie-dyed ensemble with a tenderness usually reserved for old, scratchy Leonard Cohen albums. And yes, the Dude certainly did bump and grind with the strippers for my children and the whole world to see. Not only that, but I did it with a hell of a lot of gusto for a guy who had just been through a war and had a head wound that would require twenty-seven stitches to close. Vince even joined in and in a classic Raw moment, the four of us gleefully boogied our way off the air, as Austin shook his head with disgust. Stone Cold had lost out, and the wicked Vince had my soul.

My goodness Mick - heel Dude Love is back! Perfect show long storyline to make you an even bigger heel is it not? Do you think if you had done this in April it would’ve been bigger or was now the right time for it?

(This was after the show and didn’t air) - from your book:

Afterward, I did what I always do after suffering an injury-I looked for a camera. “Vince, let’s do an interview,” I yelled, and we prepared to capture this touching moment on film. The Dudettes were nice enough to return to their state of near undress, and the cameras rolled. “Hey, Vince, you want a little bit of this action?” I laughed in my Dude way, as I pointed to my two Love chicks.

“Ho, ho, Dude, I’m a married man.” Vince laughed with all the conviction of a sleazy used car salesman. “Besides, I think you’re going to need all the love you can get. Looks like you’ve got a little scratch up there,” he continued as the camera zoomed in on a three-inch gulley high on the left side of my skull. “We’ll probably need a little Band-Aid to patch that up.”

The show is a smash, and the WWF really sets itself apart from WCW at the time. Is that a locker room victory in the long run for everyone or were only a few interested in what was going on?

Do you think your story was the most important part of that puzzle?

You’re not doing much on the road though when not at TV - do you know why?

Raw 5/11/98 from Baltimore:

From your book

In the remaining three weeks leading up to the May Over the Edge Pay-Per-View, I decided to tweak Dude’s image. If Dude was going to be Vince’s hand-picked corporate champion, then I felt I needed to look like it. In a move that was very reminiscent of the psychology behind the ECW Hardcore Christmas, I once again strove to eliminate anything that the fans had found admirable about me. The hair was slicked back into a neat ponytail, and I borrowed one of Vince’s clapper sports jackets and a tie. I probably should have cut the hair and shaved, but I did come forth with a quality prop-a dental flipper of my two front teeth. I hadn’t worn these false teeth in so many years that I had difficulty speaking with them, but when I did, it was pure heat. Front teeth? Now that’s selling out. Sporting a pair of eyeglasses that were slightly slipping down my amputated auditory appendage and clutching a folded copy of the Wall Street Journal, the “new corporate kiss-ass” Dude made his debut in Baltimore. Sounding like a dull college professor or Dean Douglas, the Dude addressed the crowd.

Do you sit down with McMahon or Russo and discuss this or is this just something you did under control of your own character?

What did they think of it?

Here’s your promo

“It seems that as of late, I have been having trouble with my identity. But now with the gracious help of Vince McMahon, I have found out who I am. I am a speaker of four languages. I am a student of American history and a reader of Greek tragedy. I am a leader of men and a lover of women, as well as the toughest SOB in the World Wrestling Federation. As I’m Dude Love-your next World Wrestling Federation champion.”

Perfect transition for the next phase of Dude - was there something you wanted to do to your look that you couldn’t pull off?

The deck is stacked for your match against Austin at Over the Edge. It’s Brisco as timekeeper, Patterson as ring announcer and after a dramatic stage set…Pat Patterson introduces Vince McMahon as the special guest referee.

From your book

With that, Vince came bounding down the ramp, sporting a referee’s shirt that must have been eight sizes too small. In an attempt to show off his impressive physique, Vince was wearing a shirt so small that my son Dewey would have had trouble squeezing into it. The deck was clearly stacked against Austin, and the time seemed ripe for a new champion. A corporate champion. A kiss-ass champion. I was ready.

Vince in that shirt. My goodness Mick. How did you not bust out laughing?

The main event of that Raw is Austin & McMahon in a tag team match taking on Rock & D’Lo. Were you surprised that McMahon got in the ring at this point?

From the Torch

When Rocky had Austin in a chinlock, McMahon entered the ring to ostensibly “try to save Austin,” but in effect distracted the referee allowing D-Lo to come in and hit Austin from behind. At 7:20 D-Lo missed a frog splash, which gave Austin a chance to reach to his corner for a tag, but rather than tag in McMahon, he gave him the double middle finger, then he continued to fight off The Nation by himself. McMahon then entered the ring and hit Austin with a hard clothesline. Patterson and Brisco held Austin as McMahon taunted Austin. Austin fought out of the grip of Brisco and Patterson, but McMahon had already bailed out.

Dude Love ran out and attacked Austin. The Nation then entered the ring and a huge brawl erupted as the show went off the air.

Austin is just…the biggest babyface in the world and you’re doing just everything you can to try and take advantage. Did you feel that Austin didn’t sell enough for you to get enough heel heat?

How protective was Steve of his spot & character at this point?

Was he happy with how things were going?

The next week Raw is taped from Nashville. From the Torch

“McMahon introduced Dude Love, who walked out again in the suit and tie. Dude talked about Patterson counting to three and Brisco raising his arm as new champion at the PPV.

McMahon then called out Dustin Runnels by his real name. Dustin got a nice pop coming out. McMahon lectured Dustin on not blaming him for his problems, but taking responsibility for his own life. “I can’t help it if you have a dysfunctional family,” McMahon said. “I gave you an opportunity. I gave you Goldust. You want to prove yourself, I’ll let you prove yourself tonight.” After acknowledging earlier that Dustin just had knee surgery, he said if he could beat Dude on Raw, he would get the number one contender position and he would face Austin on May 31 for the WWF Title. McMahon said if he didn’t win, they wouldn’t pay him for 30 days, but he’d still have to work. Dustin accepted and clocked Dude. Patterson and Brisco joined Dude in jumping Dustin, who rolled out of the ring. Referees held him back.”

Why do you think it was time to get Dustin back involved in this story?

Dustin’s transformation out of Goldust into the religious gimmick - what did you think of it?

You would defeat Dustin in just under 3 minutes…but get the win with the Mandible Claw. Were you trying to think of different finishers for the character but coming up empty?

You had VKM written in a heart on your arm which is such a great touch.

From the Torch

In the TV main event, Austin faced Brisco & Patterson. McMahon appointed Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter to be special ref. When Austin gave Slaughter the double middle finger, Slaughter clotheslined him from behind. Patterson and Brisco went to work on Austin. Patterson hit Austin with a foreign object, but seconds later Austin fought them off, knocking Brisco out of the ring and crotching Patterson over the top rope. Ross said, “Sure, we’ve got a seniors tour, but what the hell.” Austin eventually gave Brisco, Patterson, and Slaughter stunners.

Dude Love then ran in, but Austin clotheslined him to the floor. A masked man came out of the crowd and threw Dude to the ground. Then he used a chair against Austin. The guy unmasked and revealed himself as McMahon. As Austin tackled McMahon, Dude attacked Austin from behind with the Mandible Claw as the show went off the air.”

Vince getting this physical - did you know he had this in him?

Did you think you were becoming another side piece of this story as you’ve referenced before? A lot of this is Vince & the Stooges against Austin…

The go-home Raw is taped from Chattanooga and even Wade Keller of the Torch would point out that on the go-home Raw, you’re barely seen. No promo or anything. You do a run-in at the end of Raw and Wade speculates that Vince is relying too much on himself. What say you?

The story of the show is McMahon getting arrested for assault by charges Austin filed and it’s something the WWE would do over and over again for years to come. Do you say anything to anybody about the lack of participation in the show?

Do you think it makes you look bad you waited until the end of the show to stick up for McMahon?

From the Torch

Throughout the show, they went backstage to the parking area where McMahon, Brisco, and Patterson were stuck in the police car. Austin said he’d let them go if McMahon would apologize. McMahon flippantly apologized. Austin didn’t accept. A frazzled McMahon then bowed his head and sincerely apologized. Austin patted him on the head and called him a “good boy,” humiliating him before letting him go. When McMahon stormed to the ring, he said he didn’t mean his apology and that to get back at Austin, he was going to make him fight Undertaker just six days before his PPV defense against Dude Love.

Having the Undertaker involved muddles the water even more for you now doesn’t it?

Vince is special guest referee…and again this is from the Torch

“Undertaker then got in McMahon’s face. McMahon, who earlier said there isn’t one wrestler in the WWF who intimidates him, looked quite intimidated. Undertaker chokeslammed McMahon to the mat. The crowd popped huge. Ross asked, “Why has the Undertaker assaulted Vince McMahon?” Undertaker then set McMahon up for a tombstone piledriver, but Kane ran to the ring. Undertaker dropped McMahon as dead weight and began brawling with Kane. They fought through the crowd. Patterson and Brisco entered the ring to check on McMahon’s condition, but then Austin’s music began. He came out with the WWF Title belt and immediately gave Brisco and Patterson stunners. He then tied McMahon’s arms in the ropes. McMahon cried in agony as Austin retrieved a chair. The crowd went absolutely nuts as McMahon grimaced in anticipation of being struck.

Dude Love then entered the ring, but Austin nailed Dude’s chair with his own chair. Meanwhile, Brisco and Patterson helped McMahon escape the ropes.”

Were you built up enough for this pay-per-view to be successful?

You would only do special guest referee shots all month on the road but what do you do? As you did last month - YOU TAKE AN INDEPENDENT BOOKING!

From your book

Resting up probably would have been the wisest thing, but I just had trouble turning down ten weeks’ worth of “Memphis payoffs” for one night in a sweaty high school gym. Hey, it might not have been glamorous, but at least it was profitable. So instead of concentrating on my big match and resting up for a cardiac machine like Stone Cold, I wrestled in four shows in three days in the boonies of Ohio, and then drove 500 miles to Milwaukee.

I was exhausted and questioning my intelligence when I showed up. Somehow, we pulled off a classic.

YOU WRESTLED BRIAN KNOBBS AS DUDE LOVE FOR 3 NIGHTS IN OHIO. MICK - WHAT IN THE HELL?

Over the Edge takes place in Milwaukee and it’s almost a 100,000 buyrate drop from Unforgiven. What do you contribute that to?

From your book:

I’ve mentioned before that I consider Mind Games, against Shawn Michaels, to be my best match. The future King of the Ring was probably the most emotional. Over the Edge, with Austin, however, was undoubtedly the most fun to watch. Don’t get me wrong, I got the hell beaten out of me and I was so blown up (out of breath) that I must have been running on something other than oxygen for the last ten minutes. But I have never before or since seen such a reaction from the boys as they watched the replay the following day. Smiles and laughter for twenty minutes as they watched our elaborate twenty-minute epic drama unfold. Thinking about it now, it’s a small miracle that things went as well as they did.

Is this another proud moment?

From your book

Pat Patterson came out first as my announcer and proceeded to read off a long, scripted, ridiculous series of introductions. I came out to the Dude Love theme, nattily attired in sports coat and flowered blue pastel tights. I was dancing just a little but not enough to ruin my corporate image. I had never understood why a retro hippie would go out to a faux Bee Gees disco number, but now when I threw in the corporate image, it was completely confusing. I guess the Dude was a disco-dancing corporate hippie.

Nonetheless, Patterson continued, announcing my opponent.

The entrances alone for everyone including yourself are just great. Patterson was just built for this business wasn’t he?

From your book

The bell rang, and we started the match with a little bit of “believe it or not” scientific wrestling. Don’t worry, not too much. Just a couple of reversals that led to a cover and a quick one-count by Vince. The fast count earned Vince the ire of the Undertaker, who had been brought down by Austin to watch his back. For the rest of the match, Vince played it straight, but by virtue of his mannerisms, made it clear who he was pulling for. I even saw the Adam’s apple bob up and down a couple of times when the Dude kicked out of two close pinfall attempts.

A few minutes into the match, I took the advantage on Austin. I was choking him outside the ring when Vince suddenly got wide-eyed and ran over to Patterson. “This is just a reminder,” boomed Pat’s voice, which still carried a French Canadian accent even after over thirty years in the States, “that this match is a no-disqualification match.”

This story - how it all unfolds - is one of the best things WWF ever did at this point. Who comes up with the concept and what did you & Steve think of it?

From your book

“That’s not fair,” Jim Ross informed the home viewers. “This match doesn’t have any stipulations.” Austin eventually took over, but the Dude used a diabolical ballshot to send the champ to the outside. As I was putting the boots to Austin halfway up the entrance aisle, Vince got that wide-eyed look again and sprinted down the aisle, and around the ring to Patterson. A moment later, Pat was on the mic.

“Just a reminder, in this match, falls count anywhere in the building.”

“Oh, that’s great,” said a sarcastic J. R., “I guess they’re just making up the rules as they go along.”

JR adds so much to this all doesn’t he?

From your book

The impromptu falls count anywhere provision gave us the excuse to work our way over to where a series of parked cars made up the Over the Edge set. We spent the next few minutes liberally destroying the already destroyed vehicles, including a Dude Love backdrop that saw Austin smash a front windshield. At one point, with Austin prorte in the aisle, the Dude ascended two cars, which were stacked precariously on top of one another. I dove off the hood looking for the elbow, but when Austin moved, I uncharacteristically cheesed out and landed partly on my feet instead of on my hip. The fight continued into the ring, until Austin finally gained the upper hand and caught me with a vicious chair to the face. At that point, the match should have been over, but Vince refused to make the count.

That move with you landing - how badly did that mess with your head or body?

Realizing that a screwing was at hand, Stone Cold got in Vince’s face, while I came to my senses and picked up a steel chair that Patterson slid me. I came charging and brought the chair down. Hard, but Austin moved, and my boss took a shot so hard that it literally knocked the caps on his teeth off. I caught him with the claw, and before he even went down, Patterson slid in as an apparent substitute ref and attempted to count Austin out. Before he could get to three, however, the Undertaker slid him outside and promptly chokeslammed him. Now it was Gerald Brisco’s turn to slide in, attempt a ludicrous three count, and get pulled out and chokeslammed through a table. I got up and turned into Austin’s stunner, and Steve made the count himself with Vince’s very hand.

Brisco & Patterson getting up for these bumps - they knew what they were doing weren’t they?

Talk me through a locker room with you, Steve, Taker, Vince, Pat, Brisco & anyone else back there putting this together. That’s just some of the greatest minds in the business ever all contributing to one main event.

From the Observer

“The crowd was going nuts for almost every spot. The one spot that didn't get a reaction was when Austin stomped on Love's false teeth. Jeez, Eddie Graham and the Great Malenko built an entire industry in Florida around that spot in the 60s and three decades later it's not even good for a pop.”

How disappointing is it this didn’t get over more?

Meltzer would give the match ****½ and it’s an all-time classic and you need to go out of your way to watch it if you haven’t - how crazy is it it has been 25 years?

Is this your favorite main event match ever - or does you vs. Hunter rank up there?

This would be your last singles match against Steve until Survivor Series…you didn’t expect that to be the case did you?

How different is your career or life if this pay-per-view was as successful as Unforgiven was do you think?

Next week Mick…the 1 Year Anniversary of our show! We’ll discuss your first match, your training, how you broke into the business & more!