Countdown to Lockdown Review

As I scour the state for Chris Jericho's Undisputed, I thought I'd post the Countdown to Lockdown review that I wrote months ago, but for some reason never posted. Enjoy:

Before I get to my review of Countdown to Lockdown, let me provide a bit of an introduction. Like most fans, I consider Foley’s two books on the list of my Top 5 favorite wrestling biographies. In fact, I enjoyed them so much that I’m one of the few fans who actually read Tietam Brown. I thought his third bio, Hardcore Diaries, was a lazy attempt to make a buck, and it actually made me change my perception of Foley in general. Much of the content was copied directly from his online column at WWE.com, and he completely glossed over what most fans expected to be the most entertaining portion of the memoir – his plane ride with Ric Flair (Foley is guilty of that again in his fourth installment, but more on that in a moment). Along with that, for the first time ever, Mick Foley came across as a somewhat egotistical, bitter, and difficult person to work with. When compared to many of the scheming personalities that have worked in the wrestling industry he’s probably not even a blip on the radar, but nonetheless this is the first time I thought he came across in a negative light.

Anyway, I anxiously awaited this book because I very much wanted to view Foley in a positive light once again. And while this book wasn’t perfect – and it didn’t measure up to his first two volumes – it was a SIGNIFICANT improvement from Hardcore Diaries. And, similar to Have a Nice Day and Foley is Good, you really could tell that Mick Foley is one of the “good guys” out there. Not only does he put his body on the line when he probably shouldn’t (which isn’t necessarily admirable in this day and age), but he really does seem interested in helping the people he’s working with. And it’s an absolute delight to see somebody manage to steer clear of drugs and maintain a healthy, successful relationship with his wife. And instead of complaining about the lack of financial benefits wrestlers receive, Foley is one of the smart ones out there who has actively encouraged people to begin investing in their future. Many people can point out what they perceive is wrong. Mick Foley is one of the few people that tries to improve the situation. And I admire that.

Countdown to Lockdown actually felt a bit like an episode of Lost. The book counts down the days until his main event match with Sting at TNA Lockdown. Throughout the story, however, we “flash back” to various events and circumstances, many of which actively led to that countdown. It was a clever way to tell the story, and I think this method already placed it ahead of Hardcore Diaries.

And while Foley’s favorite chapter is the one about Tori Amos (likely because it brings attention to some very worthwhile charitable organizations), my two favorite were his open letter to those competing in the industry today, and the one about the substance abuse problem in professional wrestling. I really enjoyed both because of the fact that the former urges wrestlers to take responsibility for themselves, and the latter points out that although he doesn’t have all the answers, he’s not even sure we’re asking the right questions.

Now, the criticisms. I think the biggest problem is that after spending so much of the book badmouthing McMahon, he suddenly gets a conscience and “leaves it to the imagination of the reader” when it comes time to discuss the circumstances surrounding his decision to leave WWE. I thought this was a big mistake. First off, he’s not doing Vince any favors here. He basically lays it out for the readers to assume that he said the most vile, nasty things you could possibly imagine. So this couldn’t have been about salvaging a past work relationship. Secondly, I found it difficult to allow myself to invent some sort of dialogue, because I didn’t feel like Foley provided the necessary details. Was it merely the use of the “F” bomb being repeatedly dropped? Or did McMahon say something personally offensive? Considering the goodwill Foley expected from his readers – asking them to read rather long chapters that relate in no way to the story he is telling – this was no time to ask them to leave something to their imagination. Honestly, laying out the dialogue just as it happened would have gone a really long way in understanding why he decided to leave the place he called home for so many years.

And while I didn’t mind the non-Lockdown chapters, some of them were just strange, and it really hurt the book as a whole. For example, he tells a story about running into Mark Coleman at the airport, and how Kurt Angle was nearly brought to tears because Coleman misremembered who won one of their amateur wrestling matches. For the life of me, I don’t know why this story was included in the book. At least with Tori Amos and “Wolfie,” Foley’s interactions with well known individuals served a purpose. But this story did absolutely nothing. And then there was an entire chapter devoted to Foley trying to determine if the woman he is watching on TV has real breasts. Literally, it’s about him rewinding and rewatching several scenes to determine whether or not they’re real. It was actually really, really creepy.

And finally, I found it somewhat damaging that the non-Lockdown chapters were so out of order. One second he’s talking about going to a charity function after he had left WWE. Then he’s talking about participating in a title match at Vengeance. Then he’s talking about the period that he was announcing. Then he’s again talking about the Vengeance match. Then he talks about his final appearance in WWE. I have to admit that it got rather confusing.

Sure, there were moments when I thought Foley might be a tad difficult (like taking such offense to the fact that he must now adhere to WWE’s dress code policy, where everybody except a select few active wrestlers must comply), but overall this book did a great job of reestablishing Foley’s likability to anybody who was left with a bad taste in their mouth following Hardcore Diaries.


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