For All Mankind Review: Foley is Still Good

Hardcore Legend, Hall of Famer, Best-Selling Author, Stand-Up Comedian – Mick Foley is a jack-of-all-trades who clearly needs no introduction. The man known by many as the daredevil who flew off of the “Hell in a Cell” cage has a new DVD out entitled “For All Mankind” that features a career spanning archive of matches and a documentary every wrestling fan has been waiting for.

The documentary is one the longest WWE has put together, spanning over two hours. It is also one of the most extensive and heavily detailed documentaries by the company Foley has literally given his body to. Within the first 20 minutes it elaborates on the infamous event in Munich, Germany in which Foley lost his right ear wrestling Vader with home-video footage of the incident. They even slow it down and highlight the ear falling off.

That alone is worth the buy.

Another highlight of the documentary is how it focuses on Foley’s life leading up to his WWE run. The documentary shows Foley growing up, his college days, training with Dominick Denucci and his runs with WCW and ECW, showcasing his feuds with Vader and Sting. It even shows the most footage publically known of Foley’s legendary college movie “The Loved One” about the origins of his least popular character, Dude Love.

Once it gets to the WWE aspects of Foley’s career, it continues to surprise. Fans who thought they knew everything from reading Foley’s autobiographies will learn even more about the Hardcore Legend’s infamous characters, matches, and post-retirement feuds. Some great matches that fans of the business may have forgotten about manage to tell their stories, such as Foley’s feud with then newcomer Randy Orton.

The match listing is mostly great, but very confusing at times. The first disc of matches is all WCW and ECW matches. Stand out matches include Cactus Jack vs. Sting and Cactus Jack vs. Vader. The ECW matches are also entertaining, but there isn’t enough of Terry Funk or Mikey Whipwreck, whom Cactus had both feuded with and held the tag titles with in the extreme promotion.

The second disc of matches is also great but seems to have dropped the ball with some of the selections. Highlights include the infamous “Hell in a Cell” matches with The Undertaker and Triple H, with Foley and former ECW commentator Joey Styles serving alternate commentary on the former, as well as Mankind vs. The Rock at “Rock Bottom In Your House.”

The confusing side is some of the other WWE matches that were added are clunkers. For example, there is only one Dude Love match and it’s with Rocky on Raw. Why didn’t they add the Dude’s debut match where he and Stone Cold won the tag titles instead? The same goes for the match where Foley and the Rock held the tag titles as “The Rock and Sock Connection.” The match on the DVD is them fighting Shane McMahon and Triple H on Smackdown. Why was it not the match when they won the belts from Undertaker and Big Show where the finish was a double “People’s Elbow?” Or their “Buried Alive” match on Smackdown? None of the Matches where Foley becomes WWE champion are included either. Just because some matches have been on Foley’s other DVD’s, it doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t make a second appearance on another one.

“For All Mankind” is a fantastic DVD that celebrates Mick Foley’s hard work and dedication to the business he loves so dearly. With a documentary that is one of the best WWE has ever produced, as well as an interesting assortment of matches. “For All Mankind” will warm the hearts of many as well as confirm just how deserving of his recent “Hall of Fame” induction Foley truly is.