Mick Foley laid out exactly what pushed him to cut ties with WWE during an appearance on the Going Ringside show in Jacksonville, recorded shortly after his sit-down with Ariel Helwani. For Foley, the breaking point was the public mockery surrounding Rob Reiner’s death.
There’s just a type of discourse to me that is unacceptable from anyone, let alone the most powerful man in the world. You don’t mock people when they die. And why people in his party don’t call him out on that type of behavior, it’s not acceptable. I wouldn’t accept that from a fan here taunting somebody over someone’s death. And so that for me was the straw that broke the camel’s back, but there were an awful lot of straws on that camel’s back already.
Foley let his WWE Legends deal expire and has since signed with AEW, debuting at Double or Nothing. He framed the split as a hard call after decades tied to the company.
It was a difficult decision to make, to kind of cut ties with them. I hadn’t been employed by them for many years, I was an independent contractor, but I did have a merchandising deal. I had a couple really easy, high-paying events at WrestleMania weekend. As it turned out, I had to work 24 hours on my own to make what I would have made in four with WWE. But I’m okay with that. I believe if you want something, you go after it and you work hard for it.
No Bitterness Toward His WWE Legacy
Foley was clear that the political dispute doesn’t touch his pride in the work he did. He pushed back on the idea that he resented WWE airing his old matches.
“I did want to set the record straight when somebody said I was upset they were showing my matches. My point was, first of all, they have every right to show my matches. Second, I want people to see those matches, that’s part of my history. Just because we don’t have a relationship in the near future doesn’t mean I’m not proud of everything I did. Some of the Dude Love stuff I wasn’t proud of, but for the most part, I love doing what I did and I’m glad that younger generations have a chance to discover it.”
The comments echo Foley’s earlier public stance. In January, Foley backed Jesse Ventura’s anti-Trump message on social media, well before formally walking away from the company.