WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley recently shared a video on social media which he titled, "WWE - We've Got A Problem." In that, he shared his thoughts on AEW being the company wrestlers now aspire to compete for. Foley also talked about no longer having faith in WWE Creative, and the way Superstars from NXT are watered down once they arrive on the main roster.
Now, he's appeared on Sean Waltman's Pro Wrestling 4 Life podcast (via WrestlingNews.co), and elaborated on why he said what he said about WWE.
"The only deal I have with WWE is a nostalgia contract...a Legends deal," Foley explained. "They do pay people to be consultants, and if I was being paid to be a consultant, I would say, ‘WWE, we’ve got a problem.’ I’m putting myself in the place of a top tier superstar who has a decision to make. I would look at how AEW has treated their recent acquisitions and I would compare it to how WWE has treated a few of their recent, as in development brought up to the main roster."
"I would say, ‘I don’t know if I would want to gamble to such an extent that I’m willing to have everything that I’ve done watered down or made a joke of.' So, if somebody is a more intriguing character in NXT than they are in WWE, and it seems almost by design, I think that’s a big, big problem."
Foley went on to address issues with two Superstars, in particular: Keith Lee and Karrion Kross.
"I look at Keith Lee and I look at how dynamic he was. I know Keith has had some health problems, but it’s like, the guy comes out and you don’t know that he’s got that look? You haven’t done enough research to know that he’s a big dude, and now you want to cover him up? That’s part of his appeal that he’s loud and proud, and for whatever reason, his incredible ring entrance music was taken away."
"In the case of Karrion Kross, you don’t reinvent the wheel. If the guy’s got the best entrance, one of the 4 or 5 best entrances in the business, and then you send him out there as a generic guy and he loses in 2 minutes? You only get one chance to make a first impression. Can you dig that guy out of the hole? Yeah, you can, but he shouldn’t be in a hole. I think the AEW pressure is the best thing that can happen to WWE."
At this stage, it's hard to say what's gone wrong in WWE. Some argue that Vince McMahon has lost his mind, while others say that it's the so-called "creative team" who just don't get pro wrestling. However, with Triple H and many other wrestling legends working behind the scenes, it's impossible to figure out what the hell is going on backstage based on many recent decisions that have been made.
Check out Foley's original post below: