WWE icon, 59, ‘forgot where he lived’ after brain damage from wrestling
His family are 'scared' for his long term health.
WWE legend Mick Foley suffered with memory loss after repeated concussions from wrestling.
The 59-year-old Hall of Famer, who also wrestled as Mankind, Cactus Jack and Dude Love throughout his memorable career, is known for putting his health on the line countless times in the name of entertaining the fans.
As well as the infamous Hell In A Cell match against The Undertaker still having lingering effects, his brutal I Quit Match at the 1999 Royal Rumble against Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson in also had a terrifying impact.
‘There were times when he should not have been wrestling, he should not have been cleared,’ his wife Colette recalled in the latest episode of Vice TV’s Dark Side of the Ring.
‘He’d drive around and not remember where he lived. It’s concussion on top of concussion on top of concussion.’
Wrestling veteran Jim Cornette argued: ‘He got brain damage for a f**king wresting angle on television.’
As Mankind, Foley took a ‘scary’ number of chair shots in the match against The Rock (Picture: WWE)Mick’s daughter Noelle admitted she always hated the I Quit Match, and she feels like watching it was so traumatising that her brain has blocked out any memories of seeing her dad in the ring.
‘I don’t have one singular memory of my dad ever wrestling. Part of me thinks because it was traumatic to me,’ she said, clearly overwhelmed with emotion.
‘How could these 11 shots change my dad’s health? If you were to get 11 head shots, a normal person probably could have died. it’s sickening, honestly.’
She noted how CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) – which is believed to be linked to repeated head injuries and can lead to dementia – is a ‘scary’ prospect for the former world champion’s future.
‘CTE is a very scary disease. That is a long term effect of repetitive concussions and brain trauma. We don’t really know how my dad will be doing in 10, 20 years or so,’ she admitted.
