Thumbtacks or barbed wire? What is worse? Here's Mick Foley's verdict
Amongst the most destructive items used in hardcore matches, thumbtacks and barbed wire certainly rank high, and Mick Foley recently revealed which was more dangerous.
Considered one of the godfathers of extreme wrestling, Mick Foley is quite familiar with the optimum usage of thumbtacks and objects wrapped in barbed wire.
While both might seem painful from a performer's perspective, Foley said that taking a thumbtack bump was always the safer option, and all that he had to do was ensure was he had his eyes closed during the spot.
The WWE Hall of Famer spilled the beans on the latest episode of Foley is Pod:
"Oh, that's an easy one because thumbtacks they rate very highly on the Foley risk-reward ratio analysis because the reward is very high and the risk is, I'm not going to say it's very low, but when your biggest concerns are making sure you close an eye, if you're dumb enough to take it face-first, which I was on a couple of occasions." [40:33 - 41:20]
As far as barbed wires were concerned, Mick Foley noted that matches with sharp fencing instead of the traditional ropes were always risky for the wrestlers.
Foley stated that there was a danger of suffering a massive cut if things went awry, as he added below:
"Barbed wire around a bat is not bad, but barbed wire when it's in place of the ring ropes, not in addition, but in place, they can catch and tear you and change your life in a major way." [42:01 - 41:28]
Mick Foley has another precautionary measure when using thumbtacks
Foley is no stranger to having tacks stuck in his back and, as mentioned above, even in and around his face!
Mick Foley stressed that it was important to have clean thumbtacks as, for a long time, he misjudged a simple rash to be a skin-related issue.
However, upon careful observation, Foley learned that he had several minute holes that ended up looking like a rash, and it dawned on him that the punishment he took did leave some marks.
"Then you also want clean tacks, right? Like, for years, I had like a skin rash that wouldn't go away no matter what cream I was putting on. Then I realized it wasn't a rash; it was 100s of tiny holes, and puncture scares that make up like something of a rash. So they don't leave too bad of a mark." [41:21 - 42:00]
Was Mick Foley envious of a WWE legend's heel turn? He finally revealed the honest truth right here.
Please credit the "FOLEY is POD" podcast and add a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling if you use any quotes from the article.