Alex Biese

@ABieseAPP

Mick Foley, the hardcore professional wrestling legend, is moving from squared circles to comedy club stages. A three-time World Wrestling Entertainment champion and a New York Times best-selling author, Foley is now embarking on a career in stand-up comedy. He’ll perform Thursday, Oct. 16, at the Stress Factory in New Brunswick.

Foley, a Long Island native whose performances have been garnering rave reviews on both sides of the Atlantic — United Kingdom comedy guide Chortle described him as “charm personified” — discussed the reception his comedy has received to date.

“Obviously, no one show is going to do it for everyone, but I’m really proud of the fact that even the non-fans seem to walk away having a good time,” said Foley in an interview earlier this year. “One of the things I pride myself on is creating a nice, warm atmosphere, so that even those who wander in not being (wrestling) fans with a significant other end up having far more fun than they planned.”

Although Foley’s show is centered on stories from his decades in the wrestling business, being a wrestling fan isn’t necessarily a prerequisite for enjoyment.

“It is a wrestling-based show, the show revolves around stories from my career, but they’re fun, interesting stories that connect universally,” Foley said. “So, I don’t think my show is any more just for wrestling fans than Tim Allen’s was just for home improvement enthusiasts.”

When Foley is recounting tales from his years in the wrestling business — say, his instantly iconic 1998 “Hell in a Cell” match against the Undertaker that resulted in Foley, as the character Mankind, being thrown from the top of a steel cage and through an announcers’ table in a blood-chilling moment of carnage — how does he keep such stories fresh for both himself and the audience?

“You find ways to make them feel new again,” Foley said. “Last year, it was something I heard from (fellow hardcore wrestler) Terry Funk when he inducted me (into the WWE Hall of Fame). It was just one line of dialogue that he had with the Undertaker while that match was going on that made the story seem fresh all over again, and I really ran with that.

“For a while, I really shied away from the ‘Cell’ story, but now I kind of look at the ‘Cell’ story as my ‘Seven Dirty Words,’ it’s the story people need to hear in some fashion, or else they're going to walk away a little bit disappointed. So, I’ll modify it and find a new way to make it relevant and fun for me as a performer.”

Foley’s comedy gigs, including his upcoming date in New Brunswick, are a big change in venue for someone who, in his wrestling prime, could headline massive arenas the world over.

“When you’re in front of 20,000 people, you’re projecting to a far larger audience, not even counting the audience of millions at home, but really you’re connecting with the people you see in those first several rows,” Foley said. “And, in that sense there’s a great similarity between making that connection with people from the ring and people at the clubs. But, I never feel like I’m taking a step down, because then I will go out in front of a WWE crowd of 15,000 and get a very positive reaction, but I won’t feel inside as if it’s any more special than the reaction I get from a couple hundred people at a club.”

One wonders, what was more intimidating: the first time Foley stepped in a wrestling ring, or his first time on a comedy club stage?

“You know, you can’t ever downplay the possibility that you will be badly injured in a physical way before you step out in the ring, whereas stepping out on the stage just leaves the possibility of being badly injured emotionally,” Foley said. “In that way, they’re very much the same: the nerves before a show are very similar. And on a positive side the feeling of gratification that I get after a good show. I tell people it’s as close as I've ever felt to being in the ring, obviously without the physical risks.

“It is a little nerve-wracking, especially before big shows, but they’re very gratifying. It really is as close as anything I’ve ever done to being in the ring.”

MICK FOLEY

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 16, doors at 5:30 p.m.

WHERE: The Stress Factory, 90 Church St., New Brunswick

TICKETS: $32

INFO: stressfactory.com