Mick Foley sees something in AEW that he believes WWE has lost as the company has become more corporate. The WWE Hall of Famer says AEW’s enthusiasm immediately stood out to him when he started watching wrestling again, especially when he compared it to what he described as the “more corporate feel” WWE had taken on.
While speaking to The Sportster, Foley explained that he actually wasn’t following wrestling particularly closely when that difference first caught his attention. He had stepped away from watching for a couple of years after his children moved out. Wrestling had remained a family activity long after Foley retired, and once that disappeared, some of his own enthusiasm went with it.
“Uh man, well, I took a break from wrestling for a couple years, largely because all my children had moved out and they were the driving force behind me watching with the family. And so, I loved and appreciated wrestling uh for many years after I retired. Uh but I kind of fallen out of love a little bit. Just taking a break, as they say.”
When Foley eventually started paying attention again, the difference between WWE and AEW jumped out at him. AEW felt enthusiastic while WWE felt corporate. And Foley knew which one he was gravitating toward.
“And I started seeing the uh like the enthusiasm of AEW. And I was contrast contrasting with kind of like the more corporate feel that WWE took on and I just thought I like one of these things a little better than the other.”
Foley pointed specifically to Tony Khan and how much he enjoys seeing the AEW President genuinely excited after matches and appreciative of what his wrestlers just put themselves through.
“And since I have uh uh been working with AEW, I have to tell you like there’s something really refreshing about seeing the owner of the company so obviously happy after matches, so obviously like thankful for how hard people work for him.”
That inevitably brought Vince McMahon into the conversation. Foley wasn’t interested in pretending McMahon’s approach failed. He spent years working for Vince and readily acknowledged that his unusual management style produced results. He just appreciates something different now.
“I mean, I’m saying that Vince McMahon’s magic management style worked 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.”
That’s quite a comparison coming from someone whose greatest moments happened inside WWE. Foley isn’t trashing WWE or erasing what Vince McMahon accomplished. He’s talking about what makes wrestling enjoyable for him now.
After spending a couple of years barely watching the business at all, Foley came back and saw two very different environments. One felt increasingly corporate and the other had an enthusiasm he found difficult to ignore.
Do you agree with Mick Foley’s comparison of AEW’s enthusiasm to WWE’s more corporate feel? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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