Mick Foley may be serious about wrestling one more match in AEW, but that does not mean he can just walk into the ring tomorrow and do it.
Foley recently sparked attention after comments about possibly having one final match, and WrestleVotes Radio stated there is a belief from a source within AEW that Foley may have already decided to return to the ring before he officially signed with the company. All In was also mentioned as a possible stage if Foley moves forward, with MJF standing out as the most obvious opponent.
During Wrestling Observer Radio, Garrett Gonzales brought up Foley’s AEW future and asked Dave Meltzer what he thinks Foley will actually be doing. Meltzer said he believes Foley is going to try to wrestle one match with MJF.
“You know, I think he’s gonna do one match with Max.”
Garrett reacted with surprise, and Meltzer explained that Foley’s recent interviews, along with the long-running setup between Foley and MJF, make it seem like this is more than just a random idea.
“I mean, just from the interviews that he’s doing and knowing the fact that they’ve been plotting this out for three years, I think he’s going to try to do a match.”
That would be a big deal for AEW, especially after WrestleVotes Radio said Tony Khan would likely be eager to present the bout if Foley goes through with it. The idea of All In was floated, but the timeline was not locked in.
“Following Mick Foley’s recent comments about potentially wrestling one final match, we spoke with a source within AEW who believes the company would be eager to present that bout should Foley ultimately move forward with his plans. Furthermore, the source indicated there is a belief internally that Foley had already made the decision to return to the ring one last time prior to officially signing with AEW last month.”
The biggest issue may not be whether AEW wants the match. It may be whether Foley can properly prepare for it. Garrett pointed out that Foley has been traveling nonstop and said he would need real training time if he is serious about getting back in the ring.
“He can’t be doing driving car all around the US doing stand up. He’s gonna have to be like preparing.”
Meltzer then revealed just how heavy Foley’s schedule has been, saying Foley personally told him he was on the road almost the entire year.
“He told me he was on the road 330 days last year.”
When Garrett said Foley would need to take time away from that schedule to get ready for a match, Meltzer agreed.
“He’s going to take time off.”
That is the real update here. Foley may want one more match, and AEW may be open to giving him that stage, but it sounds like he would need to clear space in his schedule and actually train for it. At 60 years old, Foley cannot treat this like just another appearance.
There are also health concerns. Garrett brought up Foley’s past concussion issues and noted that Foley had previously talked about getting dizzy from roller coasters. Meltzer said Foley could try to work around head trauma, but he did not act like Foley would avoid physical punishment entirely.
“Yeah. Well, and he’s got the knee and the hip and everything. I mean, his mentality, reality is, is that you can do a match and stay away from the head and he will absolutely stay away from the head and everyone will stay away from the head.”
Garrett asked whether that meant Foley would avoid taking bumps altogether. Meltzer said Foley would likely still take bumps, just not ones aimed at his head.
“Oh, no, he’ll. He will, he will, he will. He will not stay away from the back and he will not stay away from the other stuff.”
Garrett then pointed out that even a missed bump could still lead to Foley hitting his head. Meltzer agreed with the concern and said Foley’s weight loss may make him feel much better physically, but that could also create a false sense of what his body can still handle.
“I’m sure, like, walking around and everything as compared to when he was like 310. Now that he’s 260, he feels, you know, like a million times better. Yeah, but that could be the illusion, too.”
Meltzer seemed far more confident about Foley’s promo work than the actual match. He said Foley already showed during the MJF angle that he can still reach a level on the microphone that very few people in wrestling can touch.
“I think that the promo aspect of it, which is the most important thing and will be the most memorable part of it more than the match, could be incredible because the one thing that he did show with the thing with Max at the last pay per view, is that he can get to that point in promos that very, very few people in wrestling can get.”
Meltzer also said MJF and Foley could build something strong together because both men can talk, even if the match itself is a bigger question.
“Max is a super promo guy and Foley can be a super promo guy as an adversary for him. So you do have, you know, like, the build, you know, I mean, the build is incredible. But the match, I don’t know.”
Garrett suggested Foley teaming with Darby Allin as one possible way to make it happen, but Meltzer said teaming with Will Ospreay might be the safer route.
“I’m gonna tag with Osprey. That’s probably the safest of all.”
Meltzer explained that if Foley teamed with Darby, Foley might push himself too hard because he would not want people saying Darby carried the entire match. He compared that mindset to Sting’s AEW run with Darby.
“The problem is he does it with Darby, he’s gonna want to be like Sting and not be so, you know what I mean? And not keep up because, you know, Sting could never keep up. But nobody, when Sting and Darby wrestled said that Darby’s carrying the entire match and that Sting is doing nothing and letting Darby do everything because Sting wouldn’t allow that.”
Meltzer said Foley may not do Darby-level insanity, but he likely would not let himself take the easy route either.
“I think that if Mick teamed with Darby, he would want to, you know, he will not do the craziness that Darby does, but I don’t think that he will allow himself to not be close to, you know, to do enough.”
Garrett said he personally does not want to see Foley wrestle again, even though he understands the business side of it. Meltzer said if Foley views this as his final match, he will want it to feel like a true Mick Foley match.
“If this is his last match, he’s going to want to do the Randy Orton match. And you know he is.”
That makes Foley’s possible AEW match a complicated situation. AEW may have a major emotional story on its hands with Foley and MJF, but Foley would likely need real time off the road to train and get his body ready. Between his age, knees, hip, concussion history, and the fact that he still has pride in what a Mick Foley match should be, this is not something that can be rushed.
For now, the clearest update is that Meltzer believes Foley is going to try to wrestle one more match, but preparation may be the deciding factor. If Foley really wants to do this under the AEW banner, he may need to step away from his heavy travel schedule and fully commit to getting ring-ready first.
Do you think Mick Foley should take time off the road and train for one final AEW match, or should he keep his role limited to promos and appearances? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comments section below.
