Foley disappoints...yet again...

[harrythem]

I watched last night's impact rather eagerly due to how highly Mick Foley rated his verbal confrontation with Ric Flair. After the sterling work Foley did on the mike in the WWE (with far more restraint put on them then in TNA) I was so looking forward to those two finally being able to have the confrontation that two stars of their stature deserve. Yet, after watching the segment I felt...deflated. The whole thing felt flat. Foley seemed so blown up and out of shape he had trouble getting his words out in the first place, let alone keeping pace with the nonsensical ramblings Flair delivers nowadays.

I also found it funny that Foley was saying this meeting was 20 years in the making when, unless I'm wrong, they had a feud in the WWE a few years ago. Seems strange that Foley himself would say 20 years in the making when he helped book (rather poorly) the WWE version of the feud.

Overall I really enjoyed most of impact this week but, to me, the segment I was looking forward to the most really let me down, and I blame Foley for that as, if he'd not hyped it up, it'd have probably not let me down as much.

So, after all that, it's Flair Vs Foley next week and I'm wondering who else is now less interested in this match, thanks to Foley's rather bland promo this week?

 

[Rasha]

It was kind of weak on Foley's part, I agree. His whole "I'm a family man but don't push me" gimmick has worn stale. I know Ric's also repetitive, but something about this character of his where he's playing up the fact that he's getting older and maybe even a little crazy entertains me a lot.

That said, I don't think it's bad they're acting as if the feud in the WWE never happened. They both took veiled shots at their time in the WWE as being somewhat restrictive, such as when Foley told Flair that he seemed like "The Nature Boy" again. They can now say what they want to say without Vince hovering over them, so they can "get it all out" as it were.

If Flair v. Foley was going to be on the BFG card then I might be more critical of the build-up. But since it's going to be on Impact I think they've done enough to hype the match. Name value alone would get most people to watch, so the promo was just a little icing on the cake.

 

[Greg4WWE]

I have always liked Foley.. don't get me wrong..

but the man was the most popular Jobber ever..

He put people over like crazy.. but how many of his big feud matches did he ever win? Edge? Orton? Taker? Kane? Rock? SCSA? none..

Always been great on the mic.. and i loved watching him.. but he always lost.. that part was deflating to me

 

[LokiCobain]

It was INSANE. The entire 20 minute "debate" was absolutely absurd. There seemed to be no planning on the part of creative, just telling the two to go out and insult each other (as I recall they actually don't like each other), and that lead to awkward "thinking" pauses. Then Ric Flair turned into the Ultimate Warrior. Ric Flair is also enjoying the fact that he can say "asshole" and "bitch" now.

But I think what was MOST "deflating" (I like that word haha) part was that the audience didn't respond. I think they said "oooooo" when Flair said "asshole", but that was it. It was the same problem with the Sting, Nash, and Pope bit. The audience is supposed to cheer when they approve, boo when they don't. They sat their in silence with the occasional person "I love you Flair". Then you see them awkwardly insert "now hold on" to the audience, but they're not doing anything to hold. The crowd seemed overall dead this week during promos

 

[wushady]

I haven't been looking forward to this match since it was announced. There's nothing appealing to me about two washed up broken down wrestlers that should be retired kicking the crap out of each other. I agree with the OP that Foleys promo was horrible, but then again his entire run in TNA has been pretty lackluster in my opinion.

 

[King_of_Swing1520]

the whole promo was terrible. it could have been great but it wasnt. it was like they didnt practice it. i liked them going hardcore and making themselves bleed (thats the type of wrestlers they are) but the promo as a whole sucked. it was gibberish. this match could have been the match of the year about ten years ago. but thats the key. 10 YEARS AGO!!!! look i love flair but he should have never gotten back in the ring after leaving wwe. manager fine, i little inverfearance fine, but an actuall match? no! same goes for foley. neither man as anything to prove they dont need to be wrestling anymore.

 

[Joe's Gonna Kill You]

I was not at all disappointed by either mans promo yesterday as I thought they both did a good job on the mic and I thought Mick did a good job on the Mic like he always. The point of the promo between the two men was to hype the match for next week on the live Impact , before this promo I had no interest in seeing this match between Foley and Flair but now after the promo I am actually interested in their match next week. So no I am not disappointed In Mic Foley at all.

 

[bullsgo]

The whole confrontation had a certain been there done that feel to it. Perhaps this is due to their feud in the WWE, who knows? The whole self-mutilation stunt came off as cheap. Both Flair and Foley should slide into the background of TNA and let the young guys have the space to build up their names. It seems to me that the 40 plus year old veterans are featured in the forefront while the young talent is where the vets ought to be, in the background offering support.

 

[Tully]

Watching it, it appeared to me that Foley was trying to not burst out laughing after watching Flair attack his book with knees and elbows. I myself cracked up when Flair gave that book an elbow drop.

Then the "Who can do the better self-beatdown!?" angle commenced and both seemed to be enjoying themselves. I thought it was a better, more-engaging, entertaining promo than anything I've seen on RAW in quite some time, except that it was too long.

 

[TruckaHoganFan]

It was INSANE. The entire 20 minute "debate" was absolutely absurd. There seemed to be no planning on the part of creative, just telling the two to go out and insult each other (as I recall they actually don't like each other), and that lead to awkward "thinking" pauses. Then Ric Flair turned into the Ultimate Warrior. Ric Flair is also enjoying the fact that he can say "asshole" and "bitch" now.

But I think what was MOST "deflating" (I like that word haha) part was that the audience didn't respond. I think they said "oooooo" when Flair said "asshole", but that was it. It was the same problem with the Sting, Nash, and Pope bit. The audience is supposed to cheer when they approve, boo when they don't. They sat their in silence with the occasional person "I love you Flair". Then you see them awkwardly insert "now hold on" to the audience, but they're not doing anything to hold. The crowd seemed overall dead this week during promos

this is the problem with the Impact Zone. i was in Disney World with my family few weeks back and most of the folks who are there take the wrestling show in due to the fact they see Hogan, Flair, or to a lesser extent, Sting's name on the banners. also, it's taped to be on TV. they are enticed to see the legends and not the rest of the guys. they sit there like fuckin zombies for most of the show. this is a major reason why guys like Anderson say "asshole" and Flair and Mick curse each other out, to wake the crowd up. The Zone is bullshit ! the house show fans are the real deal, not the tourists !

 

[Ferreira]

We all know that Foley is out of shape and Flair is also but he has been for 10 years or so, so I'm not expecting much about their match next week, I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up being a clusterfuck of run-ins.

About the promo itself I enjoyed it, I tought it was too damn long but it served for what it was for. To make the match and create the whole 'storyline' behind it, that most of us know about for 10 years plus.

Mick Foley was entertaining and so was Flair, well, Ric Flair always is, but Foley sometimes seems repetitive, well Flair is too but he can deliver a promo anytime he wants to.

 

[Wrestlefan27]

The whole promo was absolute self indulgent *********ory crap. Two guys insulting/praising eachother.

What happened to using the old guys/wwe talent to put over the TNA originals? I don't give two craps about Flair or Foley, or Hogan, or Nash, or Jarrett, or Sting, or Anderson, or Hardy.

I want to see the guys who made me start watching TNA in the first place. And the guys who were never really given much of a chance in WWE.

 

[Wrestlefan27]

And WTF is with Flair and elbow dropping/knee dropping inanimate objects? Is he bat s**t insane these days?

Sure, you're a wrestling god, but s**t dude, it's just wrestling! You're effin' useless in any other capacity!

 

[Whatsinaname696]

It was a little long but the only thing I really noticed is when Foley was giving Flair a compliment and flair said that it must have been a figment of of foleys imagination.... has he really fucking lost it? is he now actually bat-shit insane? (don't get me wrong, I can run with it but.... wow)

 

[Mitch Henessey]

I don't think the match next week will be good or decent, but I didn't think last night's promo was bad. I was literally speechless as I watched this. Flair looked like he was having a seizure at some points during this segment, but I thought Foley did a good showing his raw emotions. Remember, this could be Foley's last match, and Flair is very high up on the list of his all time rivals, so I understand the intensity from both men last night. Foley felt lost, but when he challenged Ric Flair, a fire was lit inside of him. I'm not excited for the match next week, because I'm sure it will be terrible, but I didn't have a problem with the segment between these two.

 

[Alex_U]

I thought it had great potential. Sad thing is its the exact same thing as in the WWE. YouTube, Here is the same b/s that played out in there last fued in the WWE. Anyways, i think that Foleys intentions were good, the delivery was bad, and Rick flair ruined the entire segment. Foley asked for Flair the man and got Flair the crazy old guy thats losing his fucking marbles charater. If they made it "Real" like Tommy Dreamer and Raven did for there mathc it would hold a higher prestige to me. The match should be good... maybe

 

[BigLuther]

And WTF is with Flair and elbow dropping/knee dropping inanimate objects? Is he bat s**t insane these days?

Sure, you're a wrestling god, but s**t dude, it's just wrestling! You're effin' useless in any other capacity!

He's done that his entire career. WWE just really watered down his character and he didn't do it much during his last run there.

As for the promo, I actually really enjoyed it. Saying Foley is out of shape is a true, but unnecessary statement. He always has been out of shape. Does it surprise anyone that he still is today? I didn't think either Foley or Flair were flat. They both showed real intensity, and I'm looking forward to a good brawl next week. No, this isn't going to be a wrestling match. It's gonna be a bloodbath. What these two have always been best at is straight up brawling. Yes, Flair can do a great wrestling match obviously, but the man can be absolutely sadistic in a match where there's no rules. I'm totally on board with this whole thing.

 

[Rampage Bentley]

Yeah, can't say I was ever really excited to see this match, Foley was pretty much done in 1999 (he's put on good matches since then, but 1999 was when he was last consistently good) and Ric Flair really hasn't been any good since 1988. I don't see how he's a "wrestling god" unless he believes God just quit after the first seven days, then I could see it.

But to all the people who say they're taking time from the younger guys, at least they have the decency to have the match on Impact as opposed to wasting a Bound For Glory slot on this crap. It's a match between two washed up "Big Names" just to get people to tune into the live Impact. It's all a moot point, because we all know it's just going to be an EV2/Fortune brawl

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

I have a lot of thoughts on what happened between Foley and Flair, and I'll share some of them.

First of all, Foley didn't disappoint. Flair didn't, either. To say so is basically stupid. They were jumping all over each others words because it was poorly scripted. WWE over-scripts their segments, and TNA doesn't do enough scripting. They let guys run wild. Do I like the pure emotion Flair and Foley showed? Absolutely. Was that a product of not having to follow a tight script? Absolutely. But, because they had NO script, at all (more than likely), they were fumbling over words, interrupting one another, etc.

You can be scripted without being over-scripted, and I think TNA has problems with that.

But for the most part, this was great. It was the most real dialogue I have seen in TNA in a long, long time..maybe ever. Both of these guys can cut one hell of a promo, and they did that last night. Was it a bit mangled and jumbled up? Sure, they weren't following a script. Is that something I would like to see from other wrestlers every week? No, because I'm not sure younger guys could handle that kind of freedom with any amount of success.

It went over well. Could it have been better if, A. They were 20 years younger, or B. They were somewhat scripted? Sure, but I enjoyed it for the most part.

 

[Dizzy]

this is the problem with the Impact Zone. i was in Disney World with my family few weeks back and most of the folks who are there take the wrestling show in due to the fact they see Hogan, Flair, or to a lesser extent, Sting's name on the banners. also, it's taped to be on TV. they are enticed to see the legends and not the rest of the guys. they sit there like fuckin zombies for most of the show. this is a major reason why guys like Anderson say "asshole" and Flair and Mick curse each other out, to wake the crowd up. The Zone is bullshit ! the house show fans are the real deal, not the tourists !

You do realize WWE crowds do the samething right? It's the unfortunate fact in wrestling today.

You have the fans who are chanting smark fans that are annoying but you have the half dead fans that only cheer when Cena or Jeff Hardy comes out. It's just the state of fans today.

And yeah, House Show fans are more enthusiastic but certain cities or states can be just as dead.

 

[czar76]

this was one of the best promo's i've seen in a while. people can shit on it al they want but fact is it worked. it was supposed to be uncomfortable. we were supposed to watch it and say "wtf". yeah there could have been a script but damn do u really want to see these two with a script? let them fly and see what happens. it felt like two guys that hate eachother beig forced to work togeather. now i know it's mostly kayfabe but they pulled it off.

god willing this will be the last time we see either of them in a match. it's been stated that tna is stale on both of them wrestling(for good reason) so i think this was the setup for one last ride so to speak.

as far as the promo, it did it's job and shinned far better then the match will.

 

[Rampage Bentley]

I have a lot of thoughts on what happened between Foley and Flair, and I'll share some of them.

First of all, Foley didn't disappoint. Flair didn't, either. To say so is basically stupid. They were jumping all over each others words because it was poorly scripted. WWE over-scripts their segments, and TNA doesn't do enough scripting. They let guys run wild. Do I like the pure emotion Flair and Foley showed? Absolutely. Was that a product of not having to follow a tight script? Absolutely. But, because they had NO script, at all (more than likely), they were fumbling over words, interrupting one another, etc.

You can be scripted without being over-scripted, and I think TNA has problems with that.

But for the most part, this was great. It was the most real dialogue I have seen in TNA in a long, long time..maybe ever. Both of these guys can cut one hell of a promo, and they did that last night. Was it a bit mangled and jumbled up? Sure, they weren't following a script. Is that something I would like to see from other wrestlers every week? No, because I'm not sure younger guys could handle that kind of freedom with any amount of success.

It went over well. Could it have been better if, A. They were 20 years younger, or B. They were somewhat scripted? Sure, but I enjoyed it for the most part.

So what you're saying is that they didn't disappoint because TNA doesn't script them and everything they did was from the mind of Mick Foley and Ric Flair.... That sounds like they disappointed.

If this was say Jay Lethal and Kaz I could see your point, but Mick and Ric have been around the block a few times, these guys have delivered some of the greatest promos in history, and I'll let you in on a little secret, when they were in WWE they weren't scripted either. Foley even talked about how he was allowed to improvise and say whatever he wanted in the WWE (in "Foley is Good.") And even if you were to blame it on a lack of preparation, there's no rule saying they can't come up with talking points and go over it with each other. I don't know about Foley, but Ric Flair is so high on the smell of his own farts that he just says whatever comes to mind, and people say he's a genius when he's really just an over the hill geriatric who is seemingly fighting off bouts of alzheimers in a public forum.

With all the experience these guys have there's no excuse for them to put out something so piss poor, and that blood is on their own hands, not TNA's

 

[Dewayneeee]

The whole confrontation had a certain been there done that feel to it. Perhaps this is due to their feud in the WWE, who knows? The whole self-mutilation stunt came off as cheap. Both Flair and Foley should slide into the background of TNA and let the young guys have the space to build up their names. It seems to me that the 40 plus year old veterans are featured in the forefront while the young talent is where the vets ought to be, in the background offering support.

I agree, I loved Foley at one time, there are not many guys who could sell what he could. But TNA seriously needs to give a little to the younger guys. Thats the only thing that is appealing about WWE to me right now, is that they are giving the young guys a lot of chances.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

So what you're saying is that they didn't disappoint because TNA doesn't script them and everything they did was from the mind of Mick Foley and Ric Flair.... That sounds like they disappointed.

Yeah, that's not even close to what I said/meant. Did you even read my post?

If this was say Jay Lethal and Kaz I could see your point, but Mick and Ric have been around the block a few times, these guys have delivered some of the greatest promos in history, and I'll let you in on a little secret, when they were in WWE they weren't scripted either. Foley even talked about how he was allowed to improvise and say whatever he wanted in the WWE (in "Foley is Good.") And even if you were to blame it on a lack of preparation, there's no rule saying they can't come up with talking points and go over it with each other. I don't know about Foley, but Ric Flair is so high on the smell of his own farts that he just says whatever comes to mind, and people say he's a genius when he's really just an over the hill geriatric who is seemingly fighting off bouts of alzheimers in a public forum.

WWE is a whole hell of a lot more scripted than TNA is. Foley improvised a lot during backstage segments, interviews, etc. Those are much easier to improvise as opposed to heated dialogue, face-to-face, in the ring. They did pretty well in talking for such a long period of time. Could two younger guys, like Jay Lethal and Kaz, have done that well? Doubtful. I really don't think you understood anything I wrote.

Ohhhh, hating on Ric Flair due to his age..original.

With all the experience these guys have there's no excuse for them to put out something so piss poor, and that blood is on their own hands, not TNA's

Oh, right. It's Mick Foley and Ric Flair's fault that TNA gave them shit to work with. It's their fault TNA told them to out onto national television and cut a near 20 freakin' minute promo about something that could have been said in 5-10. Mick and Ric put forth their best effort, and worked their asses off out there. It came off a whole hell of a lot better than you are giving it credit for...or you're blind and deaf.

 

[manstis1804]

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IF YOU DON'T AGREE WITH ME, YOU OBVIOUSLY CANNOT SEE AND/OR HEAR. Go away man, if that's your attitude.

You really think Foley and Flair were just thrown to the wolves by bad ol' TNA management? Both of them are full of themselves they probably wanted that much time, so they could "really say what they felt, and not be held back by the WWE machine maaaan". Well, they're two batty old pro wrestlers, so what they feel and think doesn't always make much sense. WWE gets hated on for scripting, rightfully so at times but these two exemplify the need for it in some cases. Great presence and name value doesn't always equal money promo. A good guideline/script, along with those two things, does equal money promo.