Mick Foley Names WWE HOFer Who Came Up With 'Have A Nice Day'
Mick Foley has had one of the most iconic careers in the history of the WWE. From being thrown off and through Hell in a Cell to being speared through a flaming table at WrestleMania 22 and taking 11 chair shots directly to the head from The Rock, the word hardcore could never be used to describe anyone more than Foley.
Hardcore wrestling isn't the only thing Foley was known for during his career though. With lines like "BANG BANG" and "Owww have mercy!" Foley established himself as someone who could both take and give a beating while also being funny on the microphone and creating compelling stories.
However, no statement of his was more iconic than "Have a nice day!" which became a staple of his promos throughout his time as Mankind and beyond. But the question is, where did that line originate from?
"That's from Jim Ross," Foley said during the latest episode of "Foley is Pod." "He was in the Pseudo Dungeon that had been built, I was supposed to do a quick, it wasn't one of the sit-down ones, it was a quick one and he just came up off the top of his head 'Say have a nice day.' Then I ran with that. Who knew, that was 22 years later, I'd still saying 'Have a nice day?'"
Foley and Ross' relationship throughout the years has been well documented, with the former WWE commentator stating numerous times that he heavily pushed for Foley to be signed by WWE to Vince McMahon. Iconically, Vince signed Foley while JR was Head of Talent Relations and didn't think Foley was a good hire, stating that Ross needed to know "what it feels like for a talent to break your heart."
The Hardcore Legend's iconic catchphrase turned into a No.1 New York Times Bestselling book titled "Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks." Throughout the book, Foley details his time in WCW, his iconic King of the Ring 1998 match with The Undertaker, and ends by describing his experience beating The Rock to become WWE Champion during the Attitude Era.
Foley wrote a sequel for the book just two years later, titled "Foley is Good: And the Real World Is Faker Than Wrestling".
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Foley is Pod with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.