Mick Foley Finds His Happy Place With AEW (Exclusive)

There are times to keep your head down, and there are times to take a stand, and Mick Foley knew it was time to take a stand. After commentary by President Donald Trump after the murder of director Rob Reiner, coupled with WWE’s closeness to the Administration, Foley made the call and ended his nearly combined three-decade relationship with the company earlier this year.

After weeks of speculation, Foley found a new home with AEW, and at Double on Nothing, he made his debut in a fantastic in-ring segment with both MJF and Darby Allin ahead of their AEW World Championship match. In a conversation with TheSportster at WrestleCon in Minneapolis, Mick Foley speaks about his debut, the comparisons to Darby Allin, and that time he had to share a hotel room with The Blue Meanie.

Mick Foley Finds Tony Khan’s Leadership In AEW Refreshing

Mick Foley’s career has been one of the most sensational, unexpected, and violent in the history of professional wrestling. Between his early days as the maniacal Cactus Jack, to his intensely terrifying flight off the top of the Hell in a Cell cage against The Undertaker at 1998’s King of the Ring, to his WWE Championship win, Foley’s story feels equal parts unbelievable and expected.

Post-retirement and as an ambassador for WWE for many years, Foley tells us that his love of the game has faded in recent years. His children, who says were the driving force of him staying in tune with the product, had all moved out of his home.

“I [had] kind of fallen out of love a little bit,” Foley says, having just wrapped up a very busy Friday at WrestleCon in Minneapolis that saw droves of fans wrapping around the floor of Downtown Hilton in Minneapolis.

“[I was] just taking a break, as they say.”

Foley had been paying attention to AEW, and he found himself intrigued. He saw the enthusiasm of the people in charge and the performers, and saw the contrast between them and the more modern, corporate feel of WWE.

“I just thought, I like one of these things a little better than the other. Since I have begun working with AEW, I have to tell you, there’s something really refreshing about seeing the owner of the company so obviously happy after matches. So obviously thankful for how hard people work for him. I’m not saying that Vince McMahon’s management style didn’t work, because it did. It’s just that my age, there’s something really nice about seeing an owner who is really happy to watch his product and to watch the people excel inside of it.”

Mick Foley Sees A Lot Of Himself In Darby Allin

As one of the more death-defying performers in professional wrestling, Mick Foley set the bar high for himself and the wrestlers who came after him. His legendary risks and violence, including that harrowing fall from the top of the Hell in a Cell during his match with The Undertaker in 1998, helped shift the industry from a silly gimmick approach to a more real, raw presentation.

There’s been few who embrace the chaos and violence the way Foley did, but the one who exemplifies that spirit most closely is Darby Allin, the former AEW World Champion known for his over the top and outrageous spots in his matches. Foley tells us he’s heard that Allin mention how much influence he had on his career, and when he first met him and told him he hadn’t heard that, Allin was shocked.

“He looked at me and said, ‘How could you not know?'” Foley says with a laugh.

Foley says he remembers Allin as a quiet kid who didn’t say much, and that it was Jon Moxley who told him that he needed to see Allin in action. At that point, he said he saw Allin as someone who not only made it cool to be someone who didn’t fit in, but also someone who took chances, and says these things made him the star he is today.

“I see Darby as someone who took the inspiration from Cactus Jack and added a whole lot of athleticism to it. He did things that I could have never done, and he’s created a hybrid style that borrows from me a little bit and from others who are far more athletic than me, and he’s made it his own in the same way that I basically took one part Bruiser Brody, one part Tommy Billington, and made it my own. He’s created a hybrid style that works for him and has made him one of the biggest stars of this new generation.”

Mick Foley’s Legendary Stories Are Coming To England

Mick Foley’s stories of his time on the road and in the ring have been well documented, and he’s been sharing the known and the unknown with fans across the world. His well-received “40 Years of Foley” Tour announced its last three dates, occurring in the United Kingdom, will take place at the end of August.

Foley loves the response he’s gotten from the Tour, spanning over 100 dates in a Tour he calls his longest and biggest ever. He says the final night in London on August 31st, the day after AEW All In, will be a sad and bittersweet one for him for a special reason.

“I’ve got a Terry Funk story that I’ve looked forward to telling the entire tour. I remember when Terry’s daughters came to the event in Washington, D.C., and looking out, they had tears streaming down their faces. I’m going to be emotional on that final night. All 3 nights are going to be big nights. The U.K. has always been incredibly supportive of me, so I think it’s going to be a great way to go home.”

One story you may hear on this tour is a more legendary, albeit flatulent one, that involves The Blue Meanie after Foley’s WWE Championship win in 1999. Foley recalled that, when arriving to the hotel after his big win and a long drive through a blizzard in Boston, he found Meanie in the lobby of the inn, stranded without a room.

“I don’t know if I actually came back down to the lobby after I checked in. I was like, I can’t in good conscience leave the Blue Meanie out there. I had a king-sized bed. So for the record, I spent the biggest night of my career listening to the Blue Meanie snore and fart. I was thinking, if I had to do this all over again, no way would I have let him sleep in my bed. One of the biggest mistakes of my life. Blue Meanie, you turned that into one of the worst experiences of my career.”

Tickets for Mick Foley’s final “40 Years of Foley” dates can be found at this link.