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My opinion of Foley will always be high. Not because of any particular great matches or anything, but because of the whole "butts in seats" thing. It really speaks volumes of triumph. He was also doing a lot of things for the talent and the fans during transitional periods in the WWE. I always appreciated the idea that he's extremely intelligent, but as rugged and tough as they come.
I missed a lot of his previous stuff, I'd only ever seen a match or two of Cactus Jack. As far as what his legacy will be, I can't really say, but my guess is that when the Hall of Fame rolls around he'll be portrayed there as the 'hardcore legend.' They'll talk about the fact that he was a kid hitchhiking to MSG, etc., jumping off roofs, his hard bumps, etc.
Foley wasn't that to me. He was a wake-up call at the time that you didn't have to be the greatest thing on God's earth to get over in a huge way with the crowd. I really gave a shit less about Foley until they started giving him a lot of time, and he got over in a big way, and is largely in part responsible for one of the highest ever RAW rating scores.
There could be guys like him anywhere at the moment, that when given the opportunity, will do big things. So my memory of Foley is always going to be about the potential of a man. Ultimately, do I care in all honesty how many bumps a random guy takes, no. It's hard to just care for no reason. Foley's the kind of guy that seized my respect and made me go back and watch some of his psychotic encounters.
He wasn't even that good, and he deserves a lot of recognition in my opinion. That's very impressive. It's hard to make a big name for yourself when you're working under a roster the calibur of the attitude era and manage not to be forgotten.
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