Mick Foley believes WWE now has a problem.
Amid multiple TV rights deals that are worth more than ever, it could be reasonable to say that WWE is in the best shape that it’s ever been in financially. However, from a television product perspective, there are many that feel that after the recent AEW All Out event, All Elite Wrestling, and Tony Khan are shifting the balance of power in the industry.
Adding credence to this belief, WWE Hall of Famer and three-time WWE Champion Mick Foley posted a new video on Facebook where he talks about feeling like WWE is no longer the desired place to go if you are a rising young independent talent. In his video, Mick Foley would openly state that he believes if he was a young talent, he wouldn't trust that WWE creative would do the best for his career. Foley would even cite Karrion Kross as an example.
“The problem is that WWE is no longer the place for talent to aspire to. Part of it is because AEW is doing a great job of attracting great talent, proven talent, building younger talent, creating storylines. But part of it is a problem of your own making. I think younger talent sees the way that developmental characters are cut or left by the wayside or in the case of Karion Kross, greatly watered down and even made a joke of when they debut on the main roster.
“If it's not broke, don't fix it. If I was an aspiring talent now, a big-league talent with a major decision to make, I'm not sure that I would trust WWE creative to do the right thing with my career. You guys did wonders with me, uh, back in the day, that was a different time, a different place. If it was today, I'm not sure I would trust the powers to be with my career in their hands and until that changes WWE, you've got a problem.”
Once upon a time, Mick Foley was a major league talent with a decision to make. In 1996, Mick Foley made the decision to come to WWE and because they were in a position at the time where they needed fresh faces, WWE was able to turn Mick Foley into a household name and use his calendar along with that of The Rock oh, Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, and others to build a thriving Attitude Era in the face of the nWo storyline in WCW.
Recently, CM Punk commented on comparisons to the recent talent influx in AEW to the Exodus of names like Scott Hall and Kevin Nash in the 90s to WWE. Learn more at this link.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit Fightful for the transcription and link back to this article.