Tens of thousands of wrestling fans from around the world will be descending on the south bay this weekend for the WWE’s Wrestlemania, the 31st annual championship blowout that will take place at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on Sunday, March 29th.

A host of other events are slated to take place surrounding the main event, including a couple of very special, intimate shows where fan-favorite wrestler Mick Foley will be sharing his one of a kind brand of comedy.

“When people hear that I’m doing comedy, they act surprised—but I tell them it’s an extension of telling stories that we did in the ring—I don’t tell jokes, but I tell stories that are funny,” laughs Foley over the phone.
“A lot of comedians basically talk about their day job—and I just happened to have the coolest day job of anyone!”

Foley, who is a three-time WWE Champion and 2013 inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame, had a long and fruitful career in the ring—and he has been just as successful outside of it, writing several books, acting, doing voiceovers, rallying behind social causes dear to him, and embarking on multiple tours meeting with fans.

“I challenge myself to make each one of my shows different—I have plenty of stories, and the fact that we open up the floor for a Q&A for the last 20 minutes of the show is always a new source of material as well,” says Foley.

“I have a lot of great, positive interactions, people share stories, and I can generally tell after all this time when somebody is in need of a hug. I have so many people coming up who weren’t even born when I was a full-time wrestler, and they learned about me from their parents—I never figured what I was doing would feel as timeless as it has to so many fans.”

Foley says that he has a lot of fond memories and crazy tales from coming through the Bay Area over the course of his 30-year long wrestling career, and that he’s looking forward to sharing them this week.

“Obviously this is the biggest weekend of the year for us, and I’m working on some surprises as far as guests for the Q&A, and a finale that will be up there in my mind, as one of the finest moments of my life.”

Mick Foley performs at San Jose Improv on March 27. More info.