WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley has shared an inspiring update on his health and recovery journey, revealing that he’s “moving much better” after losing nearly 90 pounds and undergoing major hip and knee replacement surgeries.
During an appearance on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Foley opened up about the life-changing impact of his transformation, crediting the surgeries and lifestyle changes for restoring his mobility.
“The crazy thing is I’m moving better,” Foley said. “I dropped like 90 [pounds]. At one point, I’d gone from 372 to 273, then maybe took it a little too easy for a few months and crept back toward 300, but I think I’m down around 275 now. The hip and knee replacements — those were game changers. I remember telling Kevin Nash something amazing happened to me: I actually passed someone in the airport. I used to be the guy people had to move around, and now I’m the one walking past them. Didn’t mean I was fast — just better.”
The hardcore legend also reflected on the severe pain he endured for years before finally getting the procedures done.
“I don’t want to overexaggerate the pain, but it was more than severe — sometimes agonizing,” Foley recalled. “After sitting on a plane or driving, I’d need five minutes just to get moving again. My kids said I’d punch my right thigh for hours to try to get some feeling back in the nerves.”
Foley credited a physical therapist friend for identifying the real source of his pain — not his back, but his hip.
“A physical therapist friend told me, ‘I think that’s your hip,’” Foley explained. “I thought it was my lower back, but she described how the piriformis muscle can grip onto the nerve and mimic sciatica. When I went to an orthopedic doctor, he showed me the hip X-ray and said, ‘I’ve been doing this for 25 years. It’s the worst hip I’ve ever seen. I don’t know how you’re walking.’ I wasn’t upset — I was relieved, because I knew it could be fixed.”
Now, after undergoing both hip and knee replacements, Foley says he feels like he’s been given a “new lease on life.”
“Once I realized there was hope, and once I had the hip followed by the knee, it was like a new lease on life,” Foley said. “Sure, if someone else suddenly had my body, they might think it’s hell on earth — but compared to how I felt for the last 10 or 15 years, I’m doing a lot better.”
Foley’s health turnaround has inspired fans and peers alike, as “The Hardcore Legend” continues to show resilience both in and out of the ring.
