So Mick Foley....

[OYDK]

Am I the only one that finds it weird that Mick Foley is bashing the WWE Creative team on a weekly basis while being under contract ? Mick has recently said that his contract is expiring soon, but he will continue to work with the company going forward. Mick has also said, "My official contract with WWE runs out soon, but we have mutually agreed to continue to work together on a case-by-case handshake deal – the same way I did some of my best work (remember the 2004 Randy Orton program)".

Maybe this is me just being hopeful but they have to be doing something with Mick Foley for him to be able to bash the product as hard as he does while STILL being in contact with Vince. Maybe they'll bring him in as some kind of spokesperson for the infamous "Board of Directors", or maybe he is going to align himself with Daniel Bryan and CM Punk (if he returns), or maybe he'll come back and... promote another book.

What do you think of all of this? Does it sound a little sketchy or am I completely off.

 

[MrMojoRisin]

Sometimes... it just is what it is.

Keep in mind that unlike many, Foley doesn't really NEED wrestling anymore. But he does care about it a great deal, and he is a fan.

If they either don't renew his contract, or simply don't throw any work his way... does it really affect his bottom line? The guys made his money already, and he still pulls in good coin on his other ventures. That gives him the freedom to say exactly what he thinks about the current product.

WWE's actually been doing a great job of late blurring the lines and making it seem like everything going on around them is some sort of meta-work. Well either a great job, or such a lousy job that people are reading meta-work into everything because they can't believe that a company like the WWE would have it's head so far up it's ass.

Either way, I think that's somewhere in the middle. Some of the stuff that's been happening is work... and some of it just is what it is. Keep in mind, that Foley also hasn't always been the most popular guy amongst the McMahon's because he isn't someone that's easily controlled. So it's doubtful to me at least, that in this case, everything Mick's been saying isn't just him speaking his mind.

 

[jeffrey9800]

I don't know if your questionning comes from my answer to your earlier threat about Ziggler
but just in case you missed my answer regarding what is going on with Ziggler being burried here is what I replied to you :

I had the same thaught at first. (Ziggler's booking is odd)

But like I posted earlier this week, what I believe will happen is this :

Miz, Ziggler, Del Rio and possibly CM Punk will form some sort of faction sometimes soon, probably lead by Foley

CM Punk leaving
Del Rio getting killed by a part timer,
Miz getting no matches AND complaining to commentary
Ziggler with anti-authority speach after a house show that was SHOWN and promoted on WWE.com,
Foley being very vocal against a company that is paying him a shiet load of money for appearing here and there once and a while ... MAKES NO SENSE!!!! Why would you bash your employer who pays you the big bucks publicly.

I have to think this will lead to something, if not, I don't get it, I truly don't

 

[Reflection]

I think it is not a work, and is in fact genuine feelings from the Hardcore Legend... Someone said the other day that Foley too got held back, back in the day because he didn't have the look, so maybe he noticed that the same thing is happening with Daniel, and protesting against it... and it is justified too. Many fans are naive enough to think that they made Bryan lose to Sheamus in 18 seconds, or kept him out of the Royal Rumble match, or keeping him out of the WrestleMania XXX main event- for Bryan's betterment or to get him even more over, but that's not true at all. They are waiting for Bryan's momentum to wear off, so that they can say again that they were right and the fans were wrong. Also, some fans are actually bashing Mick Foley that he is acting like a mark, and that he just "needs to lay back and enjoy the show" <--- (this line, I must add, is more overused than "You probably like in your mom's basement")... Well, Mick Foley has been actively associated with the business for a few decades now, and someone that is so attached to the sport is bound to (and has the right to) feel sadness or anger or pity, over something he finds very unjust, or molded to do a lot more harm than good.

 

[i_am_the_champ94]

Personally I've thought its been a little weird that he's been all over them recently too. In all honesty, this isn't me trying to be a jerk or disrespect the guy, but it seems like he has been writing these letters to suck up to WWE audiences by giving the utmost praise about DB. Calling WWE PPV's "trash" and "disgusting", begging for DB to just be sprung into the main event of WrestleMania without doing anything to earn it. Im not saying DB is the only one who has been receiving un-earned title matches but Mark Henry as well, The Rock didn't do anything to earn his title match unless you count beating Cena at 'Mania 28. Has WWE completely done away with #1 contender matches? Getting off topic, but Mick Foley should just chill out and quit trying so hard, its getting a little annoying.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Foley was always at his best when he was speaking his mind... Cane Dewey being the peak of this.

You have to look at it a certain way, sure Foley is valuable in some ways but his value to WWE HAS diminished somewhat in recent years. He doesn't have the Rock, Austin or Hogan's aura, he doesn't have the ring capacity to be useful like Jericho, RVD and others...and the fans have seen a lot of him over the years he hasn't been active or even done much.. need a legend appearance, here comes Mick...lately that has reduced to panels basically. Who wants to get on a plane and travel to sit next to Josh Matthews and Booker T rather than actually be on the show itself? He hasn't got the novelty value of guys like Jake who have only really just returned or the familial connections that Dusty had.

Also remember last time he left he did EXACTLY the same thing thing, only bashing Vince himself for shouting down the mic at him while commentating. So it's not like this isn't form for Mick when he leaves WWE to bash them.

So there is likely a "parting of the ways" where Mick can finally say "I don't need this anymore", he can go and spend time with his wife and turn off the Wrestling bug. His kids are grown up, so the "gotta put them through college" mentality will have abated (damn Noelle went from a toddler saying nipples to a hottie who has them...lol) now it's gonna be about enjoying his life, scaring the hell out of potential husbands for his daughter ("You gotta jump off the roof if you wanna marry my girl... or at least let me show you the boiler room") and ultimately being a grandad while doing the odd speaking/comedy tour... when you have that kind of stuff to look forward to showing up in Cleveland on Thursday in case Vince decides to use you isn't really that appealing.

If they can use him to further this "meta angle" then so be it, Mick will probably get off on the fact that he can bash Vince and more likely Hunter for "free".

 

[OYDK]

I don't know if your questionning comes from my answer to your earlier threat about Ziggler
but just in case you missed my answer regarding what is going on with Ziggler being burried here is what I replied to you :

I had the same thaught at first. (Ziggler's booking is odd)

But like I posted earlier this week, what I believe will happen is this :

Miz, Ziggler, Del Rio and possibly CM Punk will form some sort of faction sometimes soon, probably lead by Foley

CM Punk leaving
Del Rio getting killed by a part timer,
Miz getting no matches AND complaining to commentary
Ziggler with anti-authority speach after a house show that was SHOWN and promoted on WWE.com,
Foley being very vocal against a company that is paying him a shiet load of money for appearing here and there once and a while ... MAKES NO SENSE!!!! Why would you bash your employer who pays you the big bucks publicly.

I have to think this will lead to something, if not, I don't get it, I truly don't

Yep your the one who put the idea in my head and I decided to research a little bit more. Everything you say makes sense but I doubt that WWE will actually have the smarts to do something like this....

Just wanted to see what others thought.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Maybe this is me just being hopeful but they have to be doing something with Mick Foley for him to be able to bash the product as hard as he does while STILL being in contact with Vince. Maybe they'll bring him in as some kind of spokesperson for the infamous "Board of Directors", or maybe he is going to align himself with Daniel Bryan and CM Punk (if he returns), or maybe he'll come back and... promote another book.

Yes, well, you'd like to think the parties have something in mind since it's unusual that a performer can bash his employer.....especially so close to contract renewal (or not) time. That Foley can do it suggests his "WWE and I have agreed to work together in the future" statement might be blowing smoke. Perhaps there have been no negotiations at all, which makes sense when you consider a part-time, comedy performer would have to be pretty low on management's priorities.

Or, of course, it could all be happening by design. I doubt the company is ever again going to make extensive use of Foley, but setting things up for the future is one of the things they do. Fans like seeing him, and no one knows that better than Vince McMahon.

In the end, though, I doubt that the specter of Mick Foley offering cutting commentary on his "sometimes" employer is going to make much difference in the scheme of things. CM Punk.....or even Dolph Ziggler..... saying crappy things about the company will concern the powers-that-be a lot more than anything Mick Foley can come up with.

 

[enviousdominous]

I think we're a little too hungry for details these days. If you end up in the same elevator as Mick Foley and blurt out some questions, he's not the type to just flat out ignore you or focus completely on "I'd rather not discuss that".

When asking an insider questions, we seem to tend to focus on the negative. That's not a really bad thing in that if you just shill for positive responses you look like a stooge.

Who does anybody really blame for the negative criticism focused on the WWE? The creative team of course. The amorphous blob of constantly interchanging names that shamelessly attempts to live up to the infinite monkey theorem, that thing is what I can easily blame all the WWE's problems on. If we ask why the product is lacking in quality, it's almost as if we're baiting the person being asked into blaming the creative team.

If Mick's criticism is unsolicited, I can hardly blame him for wanting to vent. If I had his level of popularity I'd be figuratively bitch slapping the creative team on a weekly basis if only to get some small amount of satisfaction after another disappointing finish to a WWE program.

It would be brilliant if this was all just a work to entice marks like me into buying into a new stable. While people like me bash the creative team, all the while they've been baiting me into doing so as a means of hyping a Mick Foley return. Then again, these are the guys that brain-stormed a fast count conspiracy between Daniel Bryan and Scott Armstrong that never went anywhere.