WWE Smackdown vs Raw (PS2) Hidden Wrestlers (6/9): Mankind gameplay

Gameplay of the hidden character/wrestler Mankind in Yuke’s/THQ’s WWE Smackdown vs Raw.
I’ve read Foley’s first book and yet I just don’t have a ton to say on Mankind. Obviously he was hugely influential, but I still just find Foley’s time as Cactus Jack to be a hell of a lot more interesting, particularly his time as a heel in ECW or his insane deathmatches in the IWA, which would go on to insane probably the most insane of the hardcore indie lot (your CZW and GCW types, Nick Gage and the like basically). Mankind definitely feels likes Vince “vince-ifying” Foley though, if you catch my meaning; forcing a gimmick onto someone whether they really wanted it or not, as he’d do many times over (and apparently get very pissed when the person got over for it). I don’t get the impression that Vince wanted to bury Foley or anything, but it does feel like people weren't allowed to succeed anyway other than by Vince’s hand in the WWE.
He was one of the weirder gimmicks that actually worked out though, and in a sense could possibly be seen as a natural progression of the work which Matt Bourne did in making Doink work as a gimmick for a while, before that got over too much for Vince's liking and he had to ruin it too. Goofy gimmicks are some of the stranger ones in Wrestling, in the sense that they have the potential to be a little too meta and potentially 4th-wall-breaking, in turn taking the audience out of a medium which already requires you to suspend your disbelief a fair amount. On the other hand, they also have the potential to be so meta and goofy that they become likeable and even lovable in the process, such as pirate Paul Burchill and my personal favourite, Gillberg, amongst others. Having multiple gimmicks definitely helped Foley more though, and even though it was very meta it allowed him to show a number of different sides of himself which made him all the more entertaining and interesting as a result. Also, you know, all the insane spots he was in; even Disco Inferno would've got over hard if he'd been thrown off a hell in a cell, just saying.
Plenty other Mankind vids so I’ll comment on him later down the line.
Next up, The Rock again.

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Nostalgia

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alternate reality where he demolishes Rock lol

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