Mankind's AOL
Chat
March 25, 1999
| Copyright 1999. Titan Sports, Inc. All Rights Reserved. | |
| QUESTION | And here we go with Mankind! The first question is... Would you rather see Austin or Rock walk out of WrestleMania with the belt? |
| WWFMankind | I'd rather see Austin because I've had enough title shots with The Rock with Austin I may get a couple more in the next year. |
| QUESTION | Hey Mick, I think you are a great wrestler. How long do you think that you will continue |
| WWFMankind | Realistically probably another couple of years. We work a difficult schedule and I'm very warn down and just about used up. When I finish I plan to take maybe a good year or two off and just relax. |
| QUESTION | Where did you get the idea of Mr. Socko? I know he first debuted at Mr. McMahon's side but where did the idea come from? |
| WWFMankind | I was looking for something to cheer up Mr. McMahon in the hospital. I already had a box of candy a balloon an inflated rubber glove and I also had the clown making balloon animals. I felt like I needed one more. the coup de gras. And Al Snow suggested a Sock Puppet. So unlike Al, who won't admit the Head was my idea, I'll admit that the Sock was his idea. I'm just glad that people like him. It makes my job a little easier. |
| Who knew that Al Snow came up with that one??? | |
| QUESTION | Hey Mick, I was wondering who was your favorite wrestler to face in Japan? |
| WWFMankind | When I was there I worked for one of the smaller companies so I wasn't really facing some of the better known guys. But Tarzan Goto and I had a very good rivalry there. Shoji Nakamaki was willing to do just about anything in or out of the ring. So he was fun as well. |
| Who knew we'd mention Tarzan Goto in a WWF chat? | |
| QUESTION | here's an interesting one...What's your favorite TV show? |
| WWFMankind | My favorite TV show...let me see. Besides RAW IS WAR, I'm a big Nick at Nite fan. I love the old Happy Days and Bob Newhart show, and my daughter and I like to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer together. |
| QUESTION | Do you have a favorite venue to wrestle in or have wrestled in? |
| WWFMankind | It used to be the Sportatorium in Dallas, the ECW arena has some good memories, but I think I like Madison Square Garden in spite of the parking problems just because that's where I saw so many matches when I was younger. |
| QUESTION | Here's a frequently asked question... how do you feel about ECW? |
| WWFMankind | I had great times in ECW. I was given almost complete creative freedom. And I really thought Paul E. was a genius. I think they're struggling a little just because of all the talent they lost. |
| QUESTION | Will ever see Cactus Jack again... |
| WWFMankind | I think we'll see Cactus somewhere down the road. The truth is it was hard for merchandising to get behind any of my characters because of the fact that they changed so often. So because of that, and because I'm very comfortable being Mankind now, I believe I'll stay that way! Some of the things Cactus Jack was real good at like real shoot-type interviews seem to have gone out of style. |
| QUESTION | Rumor has it that you're very light on your feet... will you be at the Rage Party? |
| WWFMankind | I think everybody's going to be there. |
| QUESTION | Will we get to see you dance? |
| WWFMankind | I gave these interviewing saying that at the Rage Party I was gonna prove once and for all that not only was I a former World Champion, not only was I a Hardcore Legend, but I was beyond a shadow of a doubt... a surprisingly good dancer for a big man! The truth is I'm a horrible dancer, but that'll be our little secret. |
| QUESTION | What did you think of your WWF home video? It's still in the Billboard top ten. |
| WWFMankind | I was very proud and happy with that home video several people have told me that it was fun and the last 20 minutes were very emotional. I personally got goose bumps watching it. Unlike a couple other videos in the field, I think this one is actually something that people will refer to from time to time. |
| QUESTION | Now that the Undertaker has his own comic book, will we be seeing a Mankind one? |
| WWFMankind | I don't think you'll see a comic book but I was honestly thinking about writing a children's book. Also I believe there's going to be an autobiography published in October. |
| QUESTION | Are you friends with Sable |
| WWFMankind | I've known Sable since when she was just Marc Mero's husband. She's been to my son's birthday party. So I guess that makes us friends. |
| QUESTION | What do you enjoy doing in your spare time. |
| WWFMankind | Spare time? I am a roller coaster and amusement park enthusiast. I'm currently cleaning my son's room. One of the problems with coming home with new stuff every tour... there's simply too much junk and too little space. I'm actually getting rid of my T-shirt selection all my XLs are going and have been replaced by XXLs. I'm actually looking for a fan to give these shirts a good home. |
| QUESTION | Do
you think Paul Wight is going to like the taste
of Socko in his mouth? |
| WWFMankind | (Also I have two cars for sale if anyone wants them.) I don't think anyone likes the taste of Socko in their mouth. |
| QUESTION | who are some of your favorite superstars, past and present? |
| WWFMankind | My past favorites are Jimmy Snuka, and then when I got into wrestling I really enjoyed Bruiser Brody, Terry Funk, and Dynamite Kid. I think in the past 14 years I've ripped them off pretty freely. The current guys I like watching...I really get a kick out of Too Much. |
| QUESTION | You trained with Shane Douglas early on... do you still have any contact with him? |
| WWFMankind | Yeah, Shane and I feel out of touch for a while but we've spoken quite a bit over the last year. I'd imagine he'd be a pretty big part of my autobiography. |
| QUESTION | What are your opinions on Shane McMahon? |
| WWFMankind | Shane's another guy I like watching. He's an old fashioned cowardly heel. And there aren't too many of them anymore. I think the match I had with Shane where he hit me with the chair and I turned around and he ran, was one of my favorite moments in the ring. I also think he's very good at his real job, which is selling used cars. |
| QUESTION | What was your worst injury? |
| WWFMankind | Let me see...visually the worst would be when my ear was torn off. The one that hurt the most was actually a torn abdominal muscle in 1992. |
| QUESTION | How scary are those exploding ring matches? |
| WWFMankind | The one where the actual ring exploded wasn't scary at all. Because it misfired. But the explosive that I landed on, I felt like I'd been shot. |
| QUESTION | What are socko's plans for the future? |
| WWFMankind | To become the biggest crossover entertainer in wrestling history. I believe Mr. Socko is the first sock ever featured on the cover of TV Guide. |
| QUESTION | How often you get recognized on the street. |
| WWFMankind | The last two years the recognition has been unbelievable. The first year I was Mankind I was pretty much incognito because I always wore a hat with my hair tucked up. And the only people that occasionally recognized me where longtime Cactus Jack fans. |
| QUESTION | I've read a lot about your family being very concerned about you being... injured. Will you ever give up wrestling if your wife or children ask you to? |
| WWFMankind | My wife would certainly like me to, but honestly we've been waiting a long time for wrestling to peak again. Right now I think it would be a mistake to get out. |
| QUESTION | How does it feel to be the spokesperson for Chef Boyardee? |
| WWFMankind | I like the commercial and the funny thing is even the fans that like the wild matches and the pushing the envelope seem to enjoy it as well. It just enforces my opinion that deep down most people are nerds at heart, including myself. |
| QUESTION | Other than your own, what matches are you looking forward to at WrestleMania XV? |
| WWFMankind | I'm definitely looking forward to The Rock and Austin. When I was in the tag match with them last week the atmosphere was just unbelievable. I'm looking forward to the whole show in general. |
| QUESTION | What are your plans for beating Paul Wight at WrestleMania. |
| WWFMankind | I think I'm going to have to go back to the old Cactus Jack plan: Just hurl my body in as many different ways as I can. And hope that it works. |
| QUESTION | Is there a chance that you and Sable will ever team up. |
| WWFMankind | I can foresee a lot of things happening, but that's not one of them. Although Dude Love did steal a kiss off her a couple of years ago. |
| QUESTION | Who is your role model? |
| WWFMankind | Terry Funk was my mentor. I'd like to come up with a very deep answer for all of you, but seeing as how I'm watching the "Bride of Chucky" right now, that's not possible. |
| QUESTION | There has been a lot of talk about Terry Funk's impending retirement... thoughts? |
| WWFMankind | This would be about his 7th retirement. |
| QUESTION | Will the Dude will ever come back? |
| WWFMankind | I don't like to bring religion into this thing, but God I hope not! I think Dude was very useful in April and May of last year, and the summer of Love of '97 was unbelievable. But to me, the Dude had his day and it's over. |
| QUESTION | Do you ever watch WCW? |
| WWFMankind | Occasionally I watch their show. As a cure for my insomnia. They have a good show. But I honestly don't think it measures up to ours. At least a lot of my friends there are making a good living. |
| QUESTION | Your fans are perhaps the most loyal in the world... why is that? |
| WWFMankind | I don't know. I believe that is true though. Jim Cornette pointed that out to me in an autograph signing. That I didn't have the most fans in the WWF, but that mine certainly were the most loyal. I don't think most people that are loyal fans have actually met me. But hopefully the ones that have will come away thinking that I was a nice person. The first question I asked somebody that said they met me three, four or five years ago or whatever...is that, "Was I nice?" And that's important because as I get a little older and my matches get worse and worse, at least they can say, "What a nice guy!" I once asked Owen Hart how his match with Dan Severn went and he replied, "He's a nice guy." |
| QUESTION | We're almost out of time here, I believe.. any last thoughts going into WrestleMania XV? |
| WWFMankind | I would like all the fans to purchase the event even if they do have a pirated TV box. So that I can hopefully send my children to the college of their choice. And instead of always cleaning the house, just buy a bigger one. |
| WWFMankind | Also anyone that wants to buy my cars, it's a '92 Crown Victoria that I bought brand new. Both my kids came home from the hospital in. And I would really like it to have a good home. I'll autograph the windshield. We're looking for a minimum bid of $4,000. |
| Onlinehost | Thank you so much for your time tonight, Mick. |
| WWFMankind | Have a nice day! |
| Onlinehost | We really appreciate it! and we'll see you at WrestleMania! thank you to everybody that attended! |
| Copyright 1999. Titan Sports, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |