Mick Foley has a hardcore fan base. Known to wrestling fans the world over as The Hardcore Legend, Dude Love, Mankind or Cactus Jack, Mick has done time - 27 years in the world of wrestling - breaking bones and losing teeth in the name of sports entertainment. He has put this hard won knowledge to good use in an hour of stand up comedy. In Prisoner of Raw, Foley is out of the cell and off the chain, released from his stint as prisoner and here to relate his choicest anecdotes and a few incidental gags as well. His easy breezy set is full of behind-the-scenes stories and well-timed punch lines: a real crowd pleaser.
His jokes rely on a combination of wrestle-o-mania (of which there is plenty in the crowd) and charisma (of which he has buckets). He has a lot to say about the sport that made him famous, but he is also voluble about politics, warfare, and the US presidential race. Not bad for a guy who has been on TV with one of his own teeth up his nose.
He is at home with a crowd: working all the awkward angles of the stage, involving the front row into his piece, directing choice lines to the back of the room, moving enough to give everyone something to look at, but not so much as to be annoying.
This is not the most amazingly hilarious or insightful stand up you’ll have ever seen, but he is an undeniably good storyteller and has a charming stage presence. If you’re interested in professional wrestling you’ll love it and if you’re not you’ll like it.
