Foley's Principled WWE Departure
Mick Foley Explains Why He Severed WWE Ties Over Trump Relationship and Joined AEW
Mick Foley says he cut ties with WWE because he believed the company maintained a “cozy” relationship with President Donald Trump, arguing that WWE’s public association made him feel complicit if he stayed silent. He described Trump’s comments about the death of filmmaker Rob Reiner and Reiner’s wife as the tipping point, calling them heartless and cruel, and used the “ball-peen hammer” metaphor to explain how that remark ultimately broke his confidence in the arrangement. Foley also pointed to WWE figures appearing in the Oval Office—along with the recurring “Stone Cold Stunners” detail—as evidence of an illusion of closeness. He says he decided to give up his Legends Deal and join AEW, where he is now working as part of the broadcast team, even though it meant giving up easy, high-paying opportunities during WrestleMania week. Foley added that he is open to the idea of one final match in AEW only if it avoids head trauma, noting improved health and weight loss, while stressing that the stars would have to align.
Key Points
Foley said he “reached out to the head of talent relations,” describing that person as a friend and noting that he “still [writes] handwritten letters from Santa to every year,” framing his break with WWE as a personal, values-based decision rather than a purely professional one.
Foley said WWE attempted to talk him out of leaving. He recalled: “The first one was, ‘I respect your stance and I’ll tell the people in charge.’” He also described receiving a call from someone “really high up,” who argued that “Paul (Levesque) is just on the physical fitness board, and Linda has worked at WWE for X number of years,” adding (per Foley) that he thought he “saw Paul behind the President’s shoulder.”
On AEW and the possibility of one last match, Foley said it “crossed my mind,” and he tied the idea to his health improvements—specifically saying he has lost “100 lbs.” and that he no longer gets winded on “a moderate hill,” though any match would still need “obvious caveats” to avoid head trauma.
Foley explained the personal stakes of his choice, saying he wanted his grandchildren to know “what their grandfather was doing when things were really tough,” and hoped his children could one day say, “This is what grandpa did.”
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