WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley recently looked back on an unusual request he received during his time on Jimmy Kimmel Live—and why he ultimately turned it down.
In 2003, Foley appeared as a guest co-host on five episodes of the late-night talk show. During that era, host Jimmy Kimmel featured a rotating lineup of celebrity co-hosts, including names like Snoop Dogg, Deion Sanders, Travis Barker, and even Kermit the Frog.
Speaking on the No-Contest Wrestling Podcast with O’Shea Jackson Jr. and TJ Jefferson, Foley shared the story of how he was asked to take a chair shot during one of the episodes—but decided against it.
“It was actually on The Jimmy Kimmel Show,” Foley recalled. “Back when he had co-hosts for the week, he explained to me that it was tough to book guests because you didn’t know which co-host were going to work with you. I knew from wrestling that it is Jimmy’s show, I’m here to help him, I’m not here to overshadow Jimmy Kimmel on The Jimmy Kimmel Show, not that I could if I wanted to anyway. But, there were other people who didn’t know that. They would talk over the guests and it was pretty hard to book people.”
Foley then revealed that producers suggested he take a chair shot with a gimmicked chair as part of the bit. But upon closer inspection, the stunt seemed too risky.
“They wanted me taking a chair shot with a gimmick chair. The problem was the edges of the chair weren’t gimmicks, like the lip. The lip is usually what does the damage,” he explained. “He goes, ‘No, it’s not going to hurt’ and I go, ‘What if he hits me with this part?’ He goes, ‘What do you mean?’ I go, ‘It’ll split me open like a can of sardines on your show. Does he have any experience doing this?’ ‘No.’ I said, ‘I can’t do it.’”
(H/T to Fightful.com for transcribing the above quotes.)
