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Who thinks it's a good idea to wear a dress shirt and tie while wrestling a match, especially when it's for the WWE Championship? It appears that WWE legend and Attitude Era star Mankind has no problem wearing a dress shirt and tie when he's getting ready to scrap, even when he's putting his body on the line. Mankind has a bit of a reputation for being a specialist in hardcore wrestling, but even someone like him can get classy sometimes. As many are probably aware, there was a period when Mick Foley, as Mankind, would wear a dress shirt and a tie during the later years of his WWE career. Because of this, some might ask themselves why he wore a dress shirt and tie as it's not something that fits Mick Foley's overall persona.
Related: 10 Things People Forget About Mick Foley's Mankind Gimmick
Mick Foley Is One Of A Kind When It Comes To Creating Wrestling Characters
He may not look like the stereotypical wrestler, but Mick Foley has always been one of a kind. Whether as Mankind, Cactus Jack, Dude Love, or even himself, no one can emulate such characters except Mick Foley. Since the day he made his WWE debut on the Monday Night Raw episode after WrestleMania 12, Mick Foley has always had an enigmatic presence like no other.
Mick Foley may not have the usual physical build of a professional wrestler. However, during his four-year run in WWE, he garnered an overwhelmingly successful career as among the all-time greatest superstars of the 1990s. His unusual characteristics and boldness to put his body through hell made him among the most recognizable names of the Attitude Era.
Related: Why Mick Foley Had To Wear A Mask In WWE, Explained
Mankind Gets Corporate With The Dress Shirt And Tie
Fans who grew up watching WWE during the late 1990s may notice the change in Mankind's attire, as there was a period during the later half of his WWE run when he was wearing a dress shirt and a tie as his official ring gear. Along with the usual mask, the dress shirt and tie became a signature part of the "Mankind" character, so much so that when Mick Foley revived the "Mankind" character when facing Carlito in a singles match at the Taboo Tuesday 2005 PPV, he wore a dress shirt and a tie.
Perhaps the most noted event of Mankind standing out with his dress shirt and tie was when he won the WWE Championship for the first time by defeating The Rock on a January 1999 episode of Raw is War. In the most monumental moment of his career, while some people may be used to the idea of Mankind wearing a dress shirt and tie, the fact that he wore such attire for a high-profile match may seem odd to some modern wrestling fans.
Many months before Mankind won the WWE Championship for the first time, some might remember Mick Foley's on-screen character trying to do everything he could to suck up to Vince McMahon. Not long after turning heel in mid-1998, Mankind thought it'd be classy to wear a dress shirt that didn't even get tucked correctly and a noticeably loose tie, trying to humanize himself to be the perfect corporate stooge for Vince McMahon.
Related: Mick Foley's 10 Best Matches, According To Dave MeltzerDespite appearing his usual gritty self with the signature "Mankind" mask, the dress shirt and tie allowed Mick Foley to showcase a comedic side to this personality. And because of the absurdity of Mankind's corporate dress wear, he kept the attire after turning face in late 1998 as it helped him stand out from the rest of the WWE roster.
