Mick Foley on whether he intends to wrestle in AEW, additional roles he can play for the company, compares the styles of Tony Khan and Vince McMahon, explains his decision to sever ties with WWE

By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

Mick Foley appeared on The Ariel Helwani Show on Tuesday, June 2. The following are the highlights of the interview that can be viewed in full below or at YouTube.com.

Foley on severing ties with WWE for political reasons: “Everyone has to make a decision that feels right to them. I sometimes describe someone’s big break as being more like a series of little breaks, like a ball-peen hammer on a windshield. You don’t know which tap actually caused it to crack, but without a multitude of them, that windshield is not cracking at all. So for me, it was the comments about Rob Reiner. Just heartless, unbelievably cruel comments from the most powerful man in the world, finding joy in how somebody died… I just think WWE has had a very cozy relationship, where there was definitely the illusion of a relationship there, a perception rather. I think when five different people are posing in the Oval Office, and they’ve all received Stone Cold Stunners, that’s a little cozy… I made the move that I felt was right for me. I love that company, I’m not going to disparage them, but it just didn’t feel like a good fit, a fit that would allow me to look at myself in the mirror before I went to bed.”

Whether he heard from Paul Levesque: “No, no, I did not hear from Paul or any of the McMahon family. The saddest part is that I really did have a great history with Paul, and was a good friend of Paul and Stephanie’s at their wedding, and Vince McMahon meant so much to me. So I knew going in that that was probably going to affect those friendships.”

On how soon AEW reached out after he exited WWE: “Well, a little while passed. I have known Tony Khan for fifteen years. I had a really good lunch with Tony – before he got into wrestling – in Jacksonville, and I always considered him, if not a friend, then a friendly acquaintance. Even during AEW shows, I would direct message him. For instance, I was like, Hey, Tony, is it possible to get the rights to “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC for Thunder Rosa, or I might say, Wow, that’s a great show. I really was not testing the waters. I was just reaching out to somebody that I like to let him know that I enjoy his product… I knew I wasn’t interested in doing a figurehead… commissioner, general manager, because I’ve done that before. I think the shows actually work best when there’s not as much shine on the figurehead commissioner, authority figure. And then Barry Bloom came to me. He asked me if I wanted him to talk, and I was like, yeah, I’d like that. So we did. He had a nice talk with Tony Khan, and then I had a nice talk with Tony Khan. This was months after the decision with WWE went down, because honestly, Ariel, I was content doing my own thing, because life in the nostalgia world is treating me pretty kindly, especially after the pandemic.”

On Tony Khan: “He’s got that indomitable spirit. To see Tony backstage, the word I’m coming up with is joyous, because he’s filled with joy in that position. The first thing he does is ask people if they are okay. And he’s happy, he’s really happy. Like I’ve said many times, there’s no one way to cross the finish line, whether it’s wrestling or portraying Santa Claus or producing a pay-per-view show. But I have to tell you, as a guy who always reacted better to a pat on the back than a kick in the butt, I would have really enjoyed that style. And Mr. McMahon had his own style, and when he put you over, it meant a lot, but he didn’t do it nearly as much. But he didn’t jump up to meet the talent that was coming through (laughs), you had to take the walk over there.”

On his role in AEW: Well, I think my role is to be the Swiss army knife of AEW, and I’ll work in wherever I can and wherever they need me. There are quite a few things I can do. I can host those shows with Renee [Paquette]. Renee is so much fun to work with. I think I could do a good job on publicity, being sent out a day or two early to get publicity. I believe I could take on a managerial role for a handful of misfit babyfaces or heels, and try to take some guys in the middle of the card and give them a little boost up a little closer to the top of the card.”

Whether he’s interested in having another match: “It’s definitely crossed my mind. The cinematic matches have opened up the door for guys whose cardio may be suspect. The loss of 100 pounds made my life so much easier. I used to have to stop a couple times just walking up a moderate hill. And now I don’t even realize I’m walking up hills because I’m not really getting winded, not like I used to. I don’t know. I think that clearly, if I had a match, it would have to be a match that would avoid trauma to the head. Luckily, there’s a whole lot of me to traumatize below the neck. I think, yeah, I think I have one more last good match in me. All the stars would have to align. It would have to make sense. And, Ariel, honestly, maybe that long-term goal of dropping an elbow off a TV truck onto a parked car, I had a serious talk with myself and realized just how much my hip replacement and later my knee replacement changed my life. And I don’t think they have statistics on former knee replacement recipients dropping elbows off of TV trucks onto a parked car. There’s a 50/50 chance it could undo all the good that it brought me. I don’t know if I’m ready to take that chance. But I find my mind wandering sometimes coming up with ideas that look better than they hurt, that rate higher on the instantaneous Foley risk/reward ratio analysis, and if I can come up with enough of those type of moves that allow me to risk a little bit less while still giving fans a good match and if I feel like I’m up to it, then maybe a couple of years down the road we will look into that. Stranger things have happened.”

Powell’s POV: Foley also spoke about whether he regrets things he did during his career, if he plans to speak with Darby Allin about his in-ring style, the death of Beyond the Mat director Barry Blaustein, and the WWE Unreal show. Foley is always a good interview, and it’s great to see him looking healthy. Mick turns 61 on Sunday, so I would hope that he’s just trying to throw people off the scent by saying he might be up for another match “a couple of years down the road.”