Is Dude Love Wrestlecrap?

[thesam07]

So, here is a question I propose to you, the viewing audience.
Was Dude Love Wrestlecrap?


Oww Have Mercy Sam!

The story of Dude Love originated when Mrs Foleys Baby Boy created the persona Dude Love when he was a teenager as part of a home movie he made which featured the infamous backyard dive off the roof.

Many years later, Mick Foley was now the deranged Mankind in WWF. In an interview with Jim Ross, this movie and Dude Love where mentioned in the conversation (before Mankind gave J.R. a Mandible Claw)

Some time passed until July 14, 1997, when Dude Love made his debut to help Stone Cold Steve Austin beat Owen Hart and Davey Boy Smith for the WWF Tag Team titles.

And then Steve suffered a neck injury forcing them to vacate the titles.

The only other thing Dude Love is remembered for is making history by having Mick Foley compete as all 3 personas in the Royal Rumble.
Oh, and his awesome theme music.


Dude Love slowly dissappeared shortly after Wrestlemania 14 when Dude went Corporate and helped Vince McMahon take on Steve Austin for the WWF title at Over The Edge 1998 and Unforgiven 1998.

In my opinion, Dude Love culd be considered Wrestlecrap.
As fun as the character was, and Foley did a damn good job with it, it is the weaker of Foleys 3 faces.
Cactus Jack appealed to the Hardcore fans, Mankind appealed to the Kid Friendly fans. Dude was kid friendly, but IMO Mankind was much better at it than Dude.
And it became a bit cliche. Wearing tye dye, coming out to faux disco music, being from the 70's. Not even Mike Awesome could pull that off.

Fact: Me and Vince Russo are the only 2 people on Earth who liked this.

So, agree or disagree. YOU MAKE THE CALL INTERNET!

[mrfujiwara]

I don't know, but I going to make a beat sampling the Dude Love theme song

[Cactus Jack]

Hell no!

[HBKite]

Yes, it was.

But I must say Dude Love had the coolest titantron in the history of our sport.

[The Possum]

No way. He was meant to be funny, anyways.

[perpetualn00b]

If Pirate Paul is, so is this.

[Aceorton]

If Foley had debuted with this gimmick, I'd say absolutely. But he didn't. It only came out much later when they began to focus on Mick Foley the person, which was the first step in him getting so over. Dude Love was supposed to be Foley acting out one of his childhood dreams -- some kind of fantasy escape for a mentally troubled guy. They never pretended that's who he really was, and they never overdid it, either. The first run was only for a few months before he "became" Mankind again, and then Cactus Jack for a while. And then when Dude Love re-emerged, it was a darker manifestation of his personality. It always had a storyline purpose.

So, blah blah blah ... no. Not Wrestlecrap.

[Cactus Jack]

Apr 18, 2009 3:30:35 GMT -5 Aceorton said:

Dude Love was supposed to be Foley acting out one of his childhood dreams -- some kind of fantasy escape for a mentally troubled guy.

I'm one of the biggest Foley fans you'll meet, and I've never thought of it that way before. Bravo, sir.

[dsriggs]

Two things that always amuse me about that Dude Love Titantron.
1) That one deer running sideways.
2) Paul Anka *thumbs up*

[bob]

absolutely not!!!!!

[Hawk Hart]

Dude Love was greatness.

[Milkman Norm]

You know what I wanted to see back in 97? Remember when Dude Love would get beat up until it triggered the change to Cactus Jack? While I wanted to see the opposite, where Mick was Mankind or Jack and he was beating the crap out of someone in a viscous hardcore match but then he suddenly becomes Dude Love and the match goes from hardcore into comedy. I would have loved that. Granted most people would be pissed off, but it would have made me happy and that's all that matters.

[Jay Peas 42]

No. I have fond memories of that smelly hippy.

FUN FACT: Dude Love had Dude Love Dancers. One of them was played by his inexplicably hot wife, Colette.

[h]

Of course he was. He was also a very entertaining character that I enjoyed watching. It's important to remember that crap and WrestleCrap are very different things.

[Bob Schlapowitz]

[Aceorton]

Apr 18, 2009 20:28:26 GMT -5 Milkman Norm said:

You know what I wanted to see back in 97? Remember when Dude Love would get beat up until it triggered the change to Cactus Jack? While I wanted to see the opposite, where Mick was Mankind or Jack and he was beating the crap out of someone in a viscous hardcore match but then he suddenly becomes Dude Love and the match goes from hardcore into comedy. I would have loved that.

Didn't that kind of happen in the steel cage match with HHH at SummerSlam '97? Climbing the cage triggered the switch to Dude Love, who'd always wanted to do the big Snuka leap.

[Milkman Norm]

Apr 19, 2009 15:45:57 GMT -5 Aceorton said:

Apr 18, 2009 20:28:26 GMT -5 Milkman Norm said:

You know what I wanted to see back in 97? Remember when Dude Love would get beat up until it triggered the change to Cactus Jack? While I wanted to see the opposite, where Mick was Mankind or Jack and he was beating the crap out of someone in a viscous hardcore match but then he suddenly becomes Dude Love and the match goes from hardcore into comedy. I would have loved that.

Didn't that kind of happen in the steel cage match with HHH at SummerSlam '97? Climbing the cage triggered the switch to Dude Love, who'd always wanted to do the big Snuka leap.

Yeah it did and I forgot about that one. Didn't really work well because the heart Foley had drawn on his chest had been erased by sweat and because Dude Love hadn't been introduced let no one knew what it meant, other than the Snuka tribute.

But what I was talking about would be like if lets say Mankind and HHH were having a hardcore match and then Mick became Dudelove and it turned into a full on comedy match with goofey spots and no intesity. I wanted it to have been in a major match so that amount of fans being pissed of would have been really high.

[James McCloud IS John Godot]

I'd say, yes, it was but in a good way.

Personally, I don't wrestle crap means "bad" or "terrible", which is what many do but a celebration of the silly, fantastical and ridiculous as well. It was Mankind acting like a burnt out hippy with a Sweet Chin Music parody who came out to a Bee Gees knock off.

It was ridiculous. Funny, entertaining and good, but ridiculous.

[Maniac Mitch]

Nope, non, niet, nein, nada, never.

I don't think it qualifies as wrestlecrap. Even though I agree that not everything in wrestlecrap is bad, I don't think Dude Love fits the bill. As had been previously said, Dude Love was brought to life because it tied in with Foley's past and made sense within the context of the story. Mankind was too much of a freak for Austin to team with, so Foley felt he had to be "cooler" to team up with Stone Cold and finally brought Dude Love to life. The joke, of course being that Dude Love was hopelessly uncool.

Ironically, the song they came up with for Dude when he joined McMahon was more appropriate for a hippy throwback. It's not as catchy though, but I like it just as much as his regular theme. He should have used it when he was a babyface and then abandoned his free spirited roots and went disco when he joined Vince McMahon.

[Deleted]

No way.