Mick Foley Reveals Why Retirement Match Never Happened

WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley had serious plans to go out with a bang in 2024—but his long-awaited retirement match never happened. Now, he’s finally revealed exactly why he walked away from the idea, and it all came down to pain, hips, and a reality check.

Speaking on Inside the Ropes, Foley got real about the physical toll on his body—especially his back and hip—which completely derailed his return plans.

“I just couldn’t work out as hard as I wanted to because my back was so bad,” Foley admitted. But it was his wife Avril who noticed something wasn’t right. “She said, ‘That looks like your hip.’ I said, ‘How could it be my hip if it’s my right lower back?’ She explained medically how the piriformis muscle can grip onto the sciatic nerve, and it all made sense.”

A trip to the doctor confirmed the worst. He was told by an orthopedic that Foley’s hip was the worst he had ever seen in 25 years.

“I went to the orthopedic guy and saw the X-ray… He said, ‘Mr. Foley, I’ve been doing this for 25 years. This is the worst hip I’ve ever seen. Honestly, I don’t know how you’re walking.’”

That moment of clarity made Foley realize just how serious the situation was—but even as he started to feel better, he began thinking about the move he’d never gotten to do: dropping a trademark elbow off a TV truck onto a car hood, captured from a low-angle shot that would make it look like he was flying into fans’ living rooms.

“It wouldn’t be the match if I didn’t do the one move I’d always wanted to do and never had the chance to — dropping an elbow off a TV truck,” Foley said. “But I had a serious talk with myself and realized that if I did that move, there’s no telling how much damage I might do.”

There was no blueprint for what would happen to a surgically repaired hip after a stunt like that—and Foley didn’t want to be the first case study. Then came another warning sign: a minor concussion he picked up just training at Tom Pritchard’s gym.

“I was trying to make the point that there’s no one right way to do anything… But I wasn’t willing to pay with my health. I wasn’t willing to pay with my hip, and I wasn’t willing to play games with my head.”

It’s not the sendoff fans might’ve dreamed of, but it’s a decision that shows just how much wisdom—and pain—comes with a career like Mick Foley’s.

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