Foley to TNA????

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

Source: TheSun.co.uk

 

The Sun out of the UK is reporting a close friend of Mick Foley has informed them that the hardcore icon is headed to TNA Wrestling when his WWE contract expires on September 1st.

 

Foley’s friend told the Sun, “Mick's body cannot handle a full time schedule, even in TNA. But he's hell bent on doing everything he can to further his legacy and put them on the map.

 

The friend added, "Mick's plan is to wrestle select dates, like Sting currently does. He feels he will legitimately make a big difference in the way TNA Wrestling is perceived by the public!”

 

Back in 2005, Foley was in talks wih TNA and was very close to signing with the company before he wound up back in WWE. He did not work this week's SmackDown! tapings.

 

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport...icle1553248.ece

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Uhhh... Foley isn't even in the shape that Sting is, to pull his schedule off. Foley'd be better off wrestling ONE match a year or so, if at all. I think if he absolutely has to be brought in, it should be in a capacity similar to his ROH stint.

[Matt Young 0]

He's better off on Smackdown. He is/was a good commentator.

[cabbageboy 0]

If Foley does go there please let him replace Cornette as the GM. He could be fun in that role, but the last thing TNA needs is yet another washed up WWE guy coming in to take a main event spot.

[Zack Malibu 0]

I don't think even Foley himself would find himself able to keep up in the main event scene. I would, however, like to see a prolonged Angle/Foley feud. Granted both are in worse shape now than ever, but I always thought they could have a good feud based off the "workrate vs. hardcore" type of story that Foley worked with Ricky Steamboat in ROH.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

I don't think even Foley himself would find himself able to keep up in the main event scene. I would, however, like to see a prolonged Angle/Foley feud. Granted both are in worse shape now than ever, but I always thought they could have a good feud based off the "workrate vs. hardcore" type of story that Foley worked with Ricky Steamboat in ROH.

 

Yeah Foley/Angle was always a dream match of mine, too bad the WWE never pulled the trigger on it.

 

 

[CubbyBr 0]

I could see them doing some interesting stuff with Foley/Abyss and Foley/Sting. Foley will probably have creative control so I could definitly see him coming up with some good stuff.

[Steviekick 0]

I think Foley/Tenay would be a much better commentary team.

[luke-o 0]

Foley in TNA could be a great thing. But I can't see him as a wrestler anymore. Unless he did one match a year where he pulls out all the high spots like his hardcore match against Edge.

[haws bah gawd 0]

If Foley is there to work one insanely hardcore match once in a blue moon (ex: vs Edge at WM22), for the sake of putting someone over, then have a strictly non-competitive role, then hell yes make it happen. Foley just has no place working match after match.

[Zack Malibu 0]

I'd give him a sparse amount (say, contract him for 6 actual matches a year, that way you can get him on the big PPV's or a Very Special Impact) and give him a non-wrestling role. Foley and Tenay could be a very good commentary team, but West has been there since Day 1 and you know they won't drop him anytime soon.

 

Foley is/was good friends with Joe as well, which is part of the reason why Mick enjoyed working with him in ROH and even suggested him to WWE back in the day. Foley/Joe would be a hell of a main event for a PPV.

[Precious Roy 0]

If Foley can get himself back into the kind of shape he was in for the run with Orton I'd like to see him wrestle on a semi-regular basis for TNA, but if he's in the kind of shape he was in for his last couple WWE matches why bother?

 

Also, Foley wouldn't be able to make much of an impact. Sting, Angle, Booker T...they've all helped the company's star power and sell house show tickets, but TV ratings and PPV buyrates won't change until the product is better, and that won't happen until Russo is gone or they stop booking such god damn retarded shit all the time.

 

If Foley really wants to help TNA he should lobby for the booking job.

[CubbyBr 0]

and that won't happen until Russo is gone or they stop booking such god damn retarded shit all the time.

 

NEWSFLASH: They were booking god damn retarded shit way before Russo came in. If anyone needs to go it's Jeff Jarrett.

[RedJed 0]

I definately wouldn't want to see Foley in another GM role, they could do much better with him than that, even on a non-wrestling capacity. A third man on the announce team would be alright.

 

I could see him coming in since he was supposed to in 05, but Vince made him an offer he couldn't refuse. Now though, I would think he could care less about the money and more about actually doing something substantial to help the company gain some momentum as a true competitor to WWE.

 

Time will tell but I could see Foley actually wrestling on a semi-regular basis, like Sting. And if he doesn't have any non-compete clause in his contract, he could show up anytime after Sept 1. Its not out of the question for TNA to make Bound for Glory significant by either booking him in his first match or appearence at that show.

[cd213 0]

Actually, since his contract expires, there is no non compete clause. That only stands when someone is released, see Christian who let his contact expire.

[RedJed 0]

and that won't happen until Russo is gone or they stop booking such god damn retarded shit all the time.

 

NEWSFLASH: They were booking god damn retarded shit way before Russo came in. If anyone needs to go it's Jeff Jarrett.

 

The struggle for the company to start generating significant numbers isn't just as simple as bad booking, Jarrett, Russo, or whatever else. I've said it before but until gets on the ball with their marketing and promotion of the brand and their top workers, they are just going to be stuck, doin respectable TV ratings for Spike, and an occasional strong ppv here and there from a numbers standpoint, but nothing that will be consistent.

 

Basically, this company could have the most polished booking in history, and I don't think it would mean that they would reach WWE numbers in terms of competing. They still have the issue of that they don't know how to promote and market the company correctly.

 

For what its worth, TNA is actually profitable finally, which is a plus.

[Precious Roy 0]

and that won't happen until Russo is gone or they stop booking such god damn retarded shit all the time.

 

NEWSFLASH: They were booking god damn retarded shit way before Russo came in. If anyone needs to go it's Jeff Jarrett.

 

I don't want to derail a thread about Mick Foley, but anyway...

 

Russo has been booking the company for the last two years, and he had a couple lengthy stints before that, so over their near 6 year history now quite a bit of it has Russo's fingerprints on it. And yeah, the Dusty, D'Amore/Tenay and Mantell stints all had some crap, but the good generally outweighed the bad and overall they weren't even close to the levels the show is at now. Jeff Jarrett can share the blame, but he isn't ever going anywhere, so that's a moot point.

 

And you know, even if marketing is an issue that will hold them back from competing with the WWE, there's really no excuse for 1.0 ratings and nothing even close to a single six figure buyrate. Dave Meltzer does these PPV conversion numbers where he compares the size of the TV audience in a given month to that PPVs buyrate, and they're just laughably bad. All the marketing in the world won't do anything if the shows continue to be so lame and can't convince the people that watch them to spend money on the product. Ultimately TV wrestling is an advertisement for the product, and TNA's TV rarely comes off as something that looks like it's worth $35 bucks or whatever. Months of a terrible soap opera where the audience has no reason to care about or be sympathetic towards any of the players, gimmick matches all over the place with no rhyme or reason, a babyface champ who got over by killing people in the ring booked like a whiny moron, the ridiculously heavyhanded and cliched (the lights go out, really?!?) Sting/Jarrett stuff, Stone Cold Shark Boy, the complete waste of Tomko when he was looking like the coolest character in the company, the complete misuse of Matt Morgan who could be a breakout star if they actually DID something with him, I could go on and on, but the point is there are a lot of wrestling fans out there who see shit like this and opt not to watch TNA because of it. They obviously aren't drawing the elusive casual fan, to turn off so many actual dedicated wrestling fans is criminal.

 

Don't get me wrong, there's some good stuff here and there, but most of it owes to individual performers making the best out of a bad situation. Ultimately, Mick Foley comes in and within a month he'll be just another guy lost in the shuffle of underdeveloped, rushed and just plain bad writing.

[CubbyBr 0]

Russo has been booking the company for the last two years, and he had a couple lengthy stints before that, so over their near 6 year history now quite a bit of it has Russo's fingerprints on it. And yeah, the Dusty, D'Amore/Tenay and Mantell stints all had some crap, but the good generally outweighed the bad and overall they weren't even close to the levels the show is at now. Jeff Jarrett can share the blame, but he isn't ever going anywhere, so that's a moot point.

 

Really? The Jarret vs. Larry Z feud wasn't as bad as the stuff now? Or how about Slick Johnson involced in 4 pre-tapes per show. Maybe the 6-month breakup of Three Live Krew? Russo's not perfect and I disagree with his tendency to write a show that moves way too quick, pacing-wise. But as far as Russo's stuff before they actually got on Spike TV....I'd take SEX vs. TNA and Raven vs. Jarrett any day over the stuff The stuff that Mantel and Jarrett would book.

 

But a big problem with TNA is something out of Russo's control and that's the presentation. They could have the best marketing campaign in the world but if people tune in and see the Prince Justice League, Tenay/West, World Champ Samoa Joe who's offense looks completely fake and, quite frankly, looks out of place in the ring with guys like Booker...If they see stuff like that they will tune right out. They need an image overhaul...new graphics, get rid of the lame lights and lasers that make the show look like it belongs on Nickelodeon, and first and foremost get rid of Tenay and West. Those two represent the product...they're the ones that explain what TNA is and right now they're absolutely terrible.

 

Once they do all that then they could actually start marketing a show that the casual fan won't laugh at.

[CubbyBr 0]

Don't get me wrong, there's some good stuff here and there, but most of it owes to individual performers making the best out of a bad situation. Ultimately, Mick Foley comes in and within a month he'll be just another guy lost in the shuffle of underdeveloped, rushed and just plain bad writing.

 

I would usually agree with you on this but I think that Foley is smart enough to work out a creative control clause with TNA. From reading his books, he's always concerned with how his character is treated so I believe he'll work out terms where he'll have control over his storylines.

[Precious Roy 0]

My thing is, at least in the non-Russo periods and even the "Russo on a leash" periods, the really bad stuff wasn't any worse than the bad stuff now, and there was actually some really good matches and angles on a consistent basis. And like you said, the pacing and the "throw a hundred things at the wall" mentality right now is really tiresome, and it's something I just don't have any interest in sitting through. It's a two hour show yet everything feels rushed and matches that could be good don't get enough time. You can't even sit and think on the match or angle that just happened because it's immediately overshadowed by someone else running in and taking the focus off it or them cutting to some other thing. I just can't invest any interest in that, whereas in the past when TNA did longer matches on TV and kept their focus on just a few things at a time, yeah it wasn't all good, but it was a show I could actually sit down and watch. I rarely watch TNA anywhere, and it's a company I do want to like, but every time I give it a chance I'm left with the desire to put it on the shelf again. I can check out a segment or match on the internet, but trying to watch it start to finish is a real chore, and even though I could easily pirate the PPVS, I rarely even bother anymore.

[RedJed 0]

The pacing is bad NOW? Shit, since they have gone two hours, the "million things at once" stuff isn't nearly as evident than it was than any other time in Impact history, IMO.

[The Truthiness 0]

Foley going to TNA, is kind of like rappers going to Koch records, when they lose their buzz.

[AlaskanHero 0]

Foley going to TNA, is kind of like rappers going to Koch records, when they lose their buzz.

I wanted to argue this point, but when I think about it, it's really quite apt.

[Chazz 0]

and that won't happen until Russo is gone or they stop booking such god damn retarded shit all the time.

 

NEWSFLASH: They were booking god damn retarded shit way before Russo came in. If anyone needs to go it's Jeff Jarrett.

 

 

Much like Vince McMahon in The WWE, Jarrett gets the final say on what goes on T.V. If anyone wants to blame somebody for stuff happening that you don't like on TNA T.V., blame Jarrett for greenlighting it in the first place. I remember reading in a recent interview with Samoa Joe where he said he believes Russo gets an unfair rap, as he estimated that Russo wan't responsible for 70% of the things that made it the air in TNA, yet he continues to take the brunt of the criticism for stuff he had nothing to do with. Personally, I think this is a power play of sorts to get more money on a new contract from The WWE,(not that I'd blame him for it), but I wouldn't be shocked to see Foley end up in TNA.

[Scroby 0]

I thought Jarrett has been away for months on and off air because of personal reasons.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

Has Foley ever wrestled Angle?

[TheFranchise 0]

Foley retired in February 2000, Kurt wasn't facing main event talent until roughly the same month, and Angle was deep in a HHH rivalry at the time.

 

Foley hasn't wrestled Angle or had much interaction with him since he came back.

 

I believe Foley reffed an Angle match at Unforgiven 2000.

[ChrisMWaters 0]

Foley retired in February 2000, Kurt wasn't facing main event talent until roughly the same month, and Angle was deep in a HHH rivalry at the time.

 

Foley hasn't wrestled Angle or had much interaction with him since he came back.

 

I believe Foley reffed an Angle match at Unforgiven 2000.

They did have a confrontation around 2006 leading into that year's One Night Stand, when Heyman announced Angle was drafted to the new ECW.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

Well...I know that when Foley almost signed with TNA last time he was looking at a program with Joe designed to get him over as a top guy and out of the X division...

 

Flash forward and Joe is Champion so one of Foley's "make so and so a top star programs (like his HHH and Orton ones)" wouldn't really work now.

 

I say hire him to be the color guy and then do short special attraction programs for like...Bound for Glory and Lockdown each year. I don't think the matches would be all that good...but I think programs with guys like Angle, Sting or Joe could make for some good TV at least.

[DarKnight 0]

Much like Vince McMahon in The WWE, Jarrett gets the final say on what goes on T.V. If anyone wants to blame somebody for stuff happening that you don't like on TNA T.V., blame Jarrett for greenlighting it in the first place. I remember reading in a recent interview with Samoa Joe where he said he believes Russo gets an unfair rap, as he estimated that Russo wan't responsible for 70% of the things that made it the air in TNA, yet he continues to take the brunt of the criticism for stuff he had nothing to do with. Personally, I think this is a power play of sorts to get more money on a new contract from The WWE,(not that I'd blame him for it), but I wouldn't be shocked to see Foley end up in TNA.

 

Yeah, because none of TNA's shows the past 2 years seem like Russo shows at all! I don't know why people in the company are so afraid to admit Russo does the writing. If they don't admit to it, then why is he there? If they think signing Russo makes them look so lame and pathetic, why did they do it in the first place? And I don't know why people never say this, but the reason why TNA will never gain mainstream popularity is because they have that six-sided ring. In the eyes of mainstream wrestling fans, it makes them look 2nd rate and cheesy. I remember tuning in to one of their shows in 2004 when they were on Fox Sports, and I remember seeing that six-sided ring for the first time, and I immediately thought "What the hell is this?!"