Customer Reviews

WWF - Mick Foley - Hard Knocks & Cheap Pops [VHS]

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I Own Over 100 Dvd's and this is the best. i don't generally write reviews and when i do its about stuff i like. mick foley is my role model he rules. anyway onto the review.

this dvd is incredible the chapters are as follows :-

al snow
rock 'n sock connection
cactus jack returns
royal rumble 2k street fight
no way out 2k hell in a cell
wrestlemania 2k
commisioner foley is here
the cheap pop story
edge & christian with the commisioner
stephanie mcmahon-helmsley
commisioner foley's agenda
the commisioner as enforcer
foley vs stone cold
foley vs mr. mcmahon
the legacy of mick foley

in the middle of the chapters foley discusses the storyline and how he felt emotionally etc. this is viewed as real life and not wrestling so angles etc are discussed.

the extra dvd features are as follows :-

mankind vs shawn michaels ( mind games )
mankind vs stone cold ( raw is war )
mankind vs the rock ( halftime heat )
dude love vs stone cold ( in your house )
al snow vs big boss man ( unforgiven )

the last match has funny comentary by mick and kevin kelly

so go and buy this dvd right now

oh yeah and click the yes button beneath please

Just Sell the Item: Mick Foley "Hard Knocks and Cheap Pops" (DVD) By Markind

In the last year or so of Mick Foley's active wrestling career the fans of the WWF saw him transform from loveable pseudo comedian Mankind, into the infamous and wild Cactus Jack just before the man, Mick Foley retired from active competition. Mick Foley "Hard Knocks and Cheap Pops (DVD)" as narrated by himself, is the story of how Mick Foley fell from grace as the hardcore legend, Cactus Jack only to be re-born as the "uber-nerd" extroidinare Commissioner Foley.

The first part of the journey starts with an explanation of why Mankind's last leg's as a competitor was more of a silly, loveable lout character rather than the violently insane character he started out as. Foley also explains why a majority of that airtime was shared with one Al Snow. This sets up a sub-plot of sorts where Foley can clear the air about backstage heat between him and his friend Al. Foley also illustrates that reason why he did such angles as the Rock and Sock Connection and his feud with Al Snow was because his body was rapidly deteriorating. In this piece of the story the viewer can see some rare footage of Mick and Al while also taking a quick tour of some of the funnier bits of that time in WWF history.

The next part of the journey covers Mankind's final metamorphosis into the mythical Cactus Jack. Foley explains that he was on the verge of retirement due to his body being condemned with injuries. He believed that he could be the true Cactus Jack for one last run before hanging up his boots forever. Here the viewer gets a look at how Mick and his nemesis at the time, Triple H, began and ended a maniacal feud in the course of two months. Both characters tell you their sides of how two of the WWF's most violent matches came to be. For those that don't know, those matches were The Street Fight: Royal Rumble and Hell in the Cell 4:No Way Out. There is also a little bit on the epilogue of Mick Foley's wrestling career, Wrestlemania 2000.

After Mick Foley retired the personas of Cactus Jack, Mankind and Dude Love the WWF presented him with a new challenge. Here Foley explains his tenure as the WWF Commissioner. Along for some color commentating is Edge and Christian who along with Foley made that era of the WWF the funniest it had ever been. Foley also explains where the "cheap pops" gimmick came from and illustrates what was going on behind the scenes at that time.

The conclusitory segment of the DVD brings the viewer to a pair of comebacks that eventually brought Foley's time as commissioner to an end. First, Stone Cold Steve Austin returned and began poking holes in the Foley's Commissionnary armor. And then around the time of Hell in the Cell 6, Vince McMahon returned and it was all over but the shouting for Mick Foley. Again he fell from prominence.

This DVD is a treat for any fan of Mick Foley. It not only tells an epic story but it also has some pretty neat bells and whistles. There are six full-length bonus matches featuring some of Mick Foley's best work. One in particular is his title match against Shawn Michaels at Mind Games. The DVD also comes complete with all of Mick Foley's various entrance themes/video's. And if that's not enough to have you running to the nearest Tower Record's, wait there's more...

...Mick and the WWF were gracious enough to include the KENNEL FROM HELL MATCH featuring Al Snow, the Big Boss Man and a half a dozen confused rottweilers! Oh Boy!

This may be the best video the WWF has ever put out. Mick comments throughout the video, breaking kayfabe all the time, and it's interesting to hear him comment on some of his biggest matches. Also, it's fun to see him sitting with Edge and Christian talking about the many hilarious moments the 3 have shared, and Triple H's comments about Mick are great as well. The DVD gives you a bunch of cool extras, including all 3 of Mick's entrance videos, as well as Mick's favorite matches, including him vs. HBK, vs. Steve Austin (twice), and vs. The Rock. Also, Mick and Kevin Kelly do a hilarious voice over on the infamous Al Snow/Bossman Kennel From Hell Match...poor Al Snow...he isn't spared on this disc, either. Anyway, skip the tape if you can and buy the DVD of Hard Knocks and Cheap Pops. I enjoyed it immensely...right here, in San Francisco, CA!

Sort of a mid-point documentary, Hard Knocks and Cheap Pops covers pretty much where Three Faces of Foley left off. From about late 1999 on, it chronicles the bloody and hardcore adventures of Mankind attempting to win the WWF Championship from Triple H, and the need to bring in Cactus Jack.

Then it moves on to Foley's tenure as WWF Commissioner, perhaps one of the best periods in WWF history, all the way up till his kayfabe firing by Vince McMahon in December 2000.

All the while, Foley as host maintains a kayfabe approach, without breaking it very often, but in such a way that it doesn't sound genuinely fake or scripted. He's highly charismatic and always fun to watch, especially his relationship with Al Snow.

Foley is genuinely funny, and the things he does as Commissioner made me laugh out loud, and even his cheap jokes and cheap pops got a rise out of me, a nostalgic memory of what WWE used to be and no longer is.

The extras include four Foley matches and one extra match, poking fun at Al Snow, the Kennel in a Cell match against the Big Bossman.

The matches include Mankind vs Shawn Michaels in 1995 I think, in a long match full of high points and great athleticism by Shawn Michaels. It has some boring moments, but they're easily topped by the great turns taken by the two of them.

The next, Mankind vs Stone Cold Steve Austin in November 1996 is just plain boring.

Mankind vs The Rock in 1999, the first ever empty arena match, is the best of the selection, and genuinely hilarious. In an empty arena, you can easily hear The Rock berating Mankind, and McMahon's commentary echoes in the arena. The match ends up literally all over the arena, into the crew's lunch area, a backstage office, even out in the office hallways. It's extremity is made genuinely comedic by the antics of The Rock and Mankind, from hurling food at each other, to throwing themselves over tables. The Rock is the master of words, and provides some of the best laughs.

The last Foley match is Dude Love vs Stone Cold Steve Austin in May 1998 and is a great hardcore match almost on par with an ECW match, with lots of blood and use of prop cars to slam people upon.

All in all, it's a magnificent DVD full of charm, comedy, and violence. Mick Foley isn't a great wrestler, but he's a natural star and a well-deserved fan favorite. It's hard not to like or at least respect Foley after watching this DVD, especially in cohesion with the previous one, Three Faces of Foley.

Already having his career immortalized on VHS ("Three Faces Of Foley") as well as having his autobiography ("Have A Nice Day") and his first children's book ("Mick Foley's Christmas Chaos") reach #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, Foley now ventures onto DVD with the release of "Mick Foley: Hard Knocks and Cheap Pops".

Done mainly as an interview that flashes back to highlights as well as low points in his career, Foley continues to be candidly frank with his audience concerning his views and experiences by using "insider" terms as well as his usual witty retorts. Providing great interviews and reflecting on their experiences with Foley are Triple H (the man who retired Mick Foley from wrestling) and Edge & Christian, who reveal the secret behind "Credgly's". The DVD also focuses on the Rock N' Sock Connection, the return of Cactus Jack, the retirement from wrestling and subsequent return of Foley as the WWF Commissioner, and ends with him being fired by Mr. McMahon.

The extras on the DVD are Foley's choices of his favorite matches. The infamous Hell In The Cell, which some have called the greatest match ever, is surprisingly absent (which may be the sole reason it gets 4 stars instead of 5). The greatest and most pleasant surprise, however, has to be the inclusion of Al Snow (Foley's good friend and victim of countless jokes) taking on Bossman in the ill-fated Kennel From Hell match, which features Foley and Kevin Kelly providing their own commentary which really has to be heard to be fully appreciated.

This DVD is also a perfect compliment to Foley's new autobiography, "Foley Is Good", which was released in May. That book and this DVD pretty much parallel each other and you really feel as if you get to know Foley on a more personal level by experiencing both.

This is by far one of the very best purchases I have made. It is my most watched DVD. It has incredible matches in their entirety of the great one (no, not the Rock), Mrs Foley's boy. I really don't have any complaints about this fine DVD except to say that I wish they included the whole match between Cactus Jack and Triple H. They did show wonderful highlights while both Mick and Triple H talked about it, which was so insanely interesting. I have never had so much respect for Triple H like I did after hearing him be humbled by Mick Foley. He truly gives Mick the respect he so very much so deserves. You also get to see some fantastically funny bits Mick did with Christian and Edge. The chicken suit part has been watched at least 200 by me and my friends. My favorite part of the DVD is that you can watch Micks entrance montages in their entirety and they're on a loop! Of all the wonderful montages including The Commish, Cactus Jack and Mankind. My favorite has to be one that I know I have watched far too many times...Dude Love's. It's a peice of art everyone should own and cherish. This is a DVD with Mick Foley all over it, you can't go wrong. I'd have paid waaaaay more than they're selling it for. It is truly fantastic!

If you bought just one WWF DVD this year, it should be this one! First off, it's about everyone's favortie madman Mick Foley. It deals with his last few days in the WWF teaming as Mankind tags with Th Rock as the Rock 'N Sock Connection, battling HHH as Catus Jack in a Street Fight at the Royal Rumble 2000, His Retirement Match with HHH in "Hell In The Cell" at No Way Out 2000, and of course who could forget his return for one-night only to fulfill his dream of Main-Eventing in the Fatal Four Way match for the WWF Championship Wrestlemania 2000! It then wraps it up nicely with his reign as Commish of the WWF. It has some great matches and great commentary by the King of Hardcore himself. And the extra features will make you want to fly of a steel cage yourself...5 hand picked matches totalling 141 minutes of action that you'll only find on the DVD. Plus you get the wit and wisdom of the Mick-ster himself. How could you NOT buy this phenominal DVD? You get a nice blend of recent WWF matches as well as classic old-school matches. What could be better in a WWF DVD?..AL SNOW!! That's right! You get to see Mick's best friend Al Snow in his infamous "Hell in the Kennell" match from Unforgiven 1999! This is a must have addition to the die-hard WWF fan's collection.

I have been a wrestling fan since 1996 and have watched all kinds of wrestling. I have a wrestling DVD/VHS collection spanning over 50 all together. This is the most complete and accurate review of this DVD you will find. I hope you find this review helpful; remember to vote helpful or not helpful. (Note-Each DVD I review has a "Match of the DVD" award somewhere in it.)

Mick Foley Hard Knocks & Cheap Pops
Who would've expected me to give this DVD five stars? I usually hate DVDs that only show a period of the superstar's career, but this one is so well done. First of all, you have Mick Foley narrating the DVD. He can make really makes this DVD very entertaining to watch and is constantly making you laugh. He even goes into detail about the wrestling business and his feuds.

This DVD actually highlights the best period in Mick's career, mid-1999 to late 2000. You will hear about: his relationship with The Rock, his feud with Al Snow, his barbaric feud with Triple H, and his very comedic role as Commissioner. The DVD is very well done and keeps you into the program.

Extras Include-
Entrance Music for Mick Foley (Commissioner), Mankind, Cactus Jack, and Dude Love

WWF Championship (IYH- Mind Games)
Shawn Michaels(c) VS Mankind
I'm sorry but this match is nowhere near as good as what other people say. It is still a very solid match; it just lacks something to make it special. Still, this has some good wrestling and a few nice spots.
RATING- 8/10

Steve Austin VS Mankind (Raw Nov. 1996)
This was a good Raw match that ended with a lot of interference. Most everything else is forgettable at best. This is a good brawl worth a watch.
RATING- 7/10

Empty Arena Match (Halftime Heat)
WWF Championship
The Rock(c) VS Mankind
This was the first Empty Arena Match, and the second WWF title win for Mankind. The Rock talks a ridiculous amount of trash as they brawl through the entire arena. I felt like the ending was too fake looking though. The match is as entertaining as their other matches though.
RATING- 8.5/10

Special Referee- Vince McMahon (Over the Edge 1998) (Match of the DVD)
WWF Championship
Dude Love VS Steve Austin(c)
Now we come to over glorious Match of the DVD. How odd that this is a Dude Love match. The rules change multiple times in the match. At first it is a normal match, but soon becomes a no disqualification, falls count anywhere match. Both men go all out; Dude Love even hits a Sunset Flip off the top of a car. There are tons of other great moments.
RATING- 9.5/10

Kennel from Hell (Unforgiven 1999)
Al Snow VS Big Boss Man
Why would Mick Foley choose this piece of garbage to show us? The reason is simple; he wanted to make fun of it. Mick and Michael Cole do commentary over the match and make fun off it the entire way. The concept is that there is a steel cage and a Hell in a Cell lowered. The wrestlers would fight inside the steel cage. In between the steel cage and HIAC would be rabid trained dogs. You read it right...rabid...trained...dogs. Horrible match made cool through Mick's commentary.
RATING- 5/10

This DVD is shaped just like the Chris Benoit DVD where they don't keep it "in character" and actually have Foley comment on certain moments in the last year of his active wrestling and his tenure as WWF Commissioner. Foley speaks on his on & off camera relationship with Al Snow including the period where their relationship hit a rough patch because of something Mick did on TV, the Rock & Sock connection, his last two matches as Cactus Jack against Triple H with Triple H breaking character & telling his thoughts on the buildups & matches in that feud, the story behind his WrestleMania 2000 main event match, what his purpose of being the commissioner was along with the story behind the "cheap pop", himself with Edge & Christian talking about their on camera chemistry with each other & naming various funny incidents, and his on screen relationships with Stephanie McMahon, Stone Cold, and Mr. McMahon.

Matches Include:
Mankind vs. WWF Champion Shawn Michaels - Mick Foley wrote in his "Have A Nice Day" book that this was the best match of his career & was concidered by WWE as the best match of 1996. With HBK's high flyin' lucha libre influenced style mixed with Mankind's hardcore daredevil style made for one hell of a match with so many intense moments, you have to see this one to believe everything they went through with the cameos of people like Sysco Sid, Vader, and Undertaker towards the end only adding to the enviroment instead of taking away from it.
In Your House: Mind Games '96
(Shawn Michaels: From The Vault, History Of WWE Championship, Mick Foley's Greatest Hits & Misses)

Mankind vs. Steve Austin - This was a rare match in that it was a "tough man contest" with Mankind jumping Austin from behind right from the start & both men brawling with referees & officials coming out to get the match in the ring (and getting hit themselves in the process). Both men spent more time outside of the ring, throwning into the steel steps & guardrails, at ringside than they did inside. To quote Jim Ross, "this was a demolition derby except they're using their bodies, not cars."
"RAW" Nov. '96

Empty Arena Match: Mankind vs. WWF Champion The Rock - This was Mankind's title rematch from the "I Quit" match at the Royal Rumble a week earlier & was a halftime special during the Super Bowl. This was the first ever Empty Arena match in WWF history and is a glorified "Falls Count Anywhere" match as it should also be noted that Vince McMahon did the commentary for this match. For those who saw any of their matches from this feud knows exactly what to expect here as you had entertaining moments from The Rock's taunts (even throwing Mr. Socko in a kitchen oven, taking phone calls & coming onto a woman in the middle of the fight) to Mankind being his usual "goofy" comedic self at times to the point where he lost one of his boots. But more imporantly as you would expect from a "falls count anywhere match", they went anywhere & everywhere from with hardcore brawling...ringside area, the arena seats, the kitchen, catering area, the outside loading dock, and even a private office using anything they can get their hands on in the process including a couple of things that would bring a new meaning to the term "food fight." This was one of the most entertaining matches that you'll ever see in your life.
"Halftime Heat" Jan. '99

Dude Love vs. WWF Champion Steve Austin - The best match in the history of Dude Love as it's another brawl that goes all over the place from the ring to the outside and even the set with all the cars gets involved. McMahon, Brisco, Patterson, and Undertaker all have cameos in this match.
In Your House: Over The Edge '98
(Mick Foley's Greatest Hits & Misses)

Kennel From Hell Match: WWF Hardcore Champion Al Snow vs. Big Boss Man - Just like in his book, Mick just had to take a comedic shot at Al Snow on this DVD by featuring this match. This has gone down as one of the worst matches in wrestling history as it looked good on paper but was just horribly executed wrong. For those who never heard of this match (concider yourself lucky), it's a steel cage inside of Hell In A Cell with the object being that you had to escape both cages to win the match...however the trick here was that a stable of dogs were inbetween both cages and you had to avoid getting bit by them. Again, it sounds good on paper but it wasn't as the dogs were more concerned with "using the bathroom" at ringside & having sex with each other than anything else while the actual match in the ring was easily just as bad as they were stalling for the longest time before having a poor match in the ring as they were just lumbering around & had a piss poor match by the "hardcore" standards WWE had at that time. The only saving grace here is that Foley & Kevin Kelly redid the commentary here & all I can say here is that they added new meaning to the word "sarcasm."
Unforgiven '99

DVD extras include Mick Foley's titantrons as Mankind, Dude Love, Commissioner Foley, and Cactus Jack. Bottom line, great addition to the collection if your a Foley fan or a fan of WWF's attitude era in general.

It was a really great dvd! Mick foley is really funny but then again he is the hardcore ledgend and he can be really scary and serious. I personally liked the parts with edge and christian. The part with the rock n' sock conection was really good. Mick foley, cactus jack, or mankind, what ever person mick feels like being, he is still the hardcore ledgend. The only problem i found with the dvd is that it only showed things from late 99' to late 00'. Other than that i thought i was a great dvd and i would recamend it to any mick foley or any wwe fan.