WWE’s Mick Foley tweaks comedy, plugs Santa documentary

As he stood on The Brokerage stage, Mick Foley spoke of how he relished his ability to perform an “instantaneous risk reward ratio analysis.”

Turns out that skill is just as crucial to stand-up comedy as it is hardcore wrestling.

To that end, Foley, who turned 48 on Friday, offered a new wrinkle to the sellout crowd at the Bellmore comedy club Thursday night. After spending a couple of years trying to stretch the material of his latest passion to subject matters outside the squared circle, Foley has tapped out to fans’ demands, noting how nobody wanted to go to a Mick Jagger solo show and have him refuse to play Rolling Stones tunes.

“I am a wrestler, and I’m going to tell wrestling stories for wrestling fans,” the 1983 Ward Melville High School alumnus said to applause.

Foley did just that, stopping only to briefly explain inside wrestling terms like “pop,” “go home” and “selling” to the few uninitiated patrons. The show even had a near-grudge match to go along with its wrestling theme, as Foley -- dressed in both a red “St. Mick” Christmas T-shirt and a Hawaiian shirt with a yuletide theme -- nearly came to blows with special guest Santa Claus. (Luckily, Extreme Championship Wrestling legend Tommy Dreamer was in the audience to intervene.)

Longtime Christmas fanatic Foley -- who in April was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame during a ceremony at Madison Square Garden -- tied in his revamped stand-up routine with his latest project, a documentary called “I Am Santa Claus,” which is being spearheaded by New Jersey filmmaker Tommy Avallone. The documentary chronicles the real lives of those who dress up as Santa for the holidays and follows Foley on his path to becoming a full-fledged Santa.

With filming now complete, Foley is helping Avallone promote a Kickstarter campaign in which the public can help cover post-production costs so the documentary can be submitted to film festivals in 2014.

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The goal is to collect $40,000 by July 10. For more information, visit www.iamsantaclausmovie.com.