Mick Foley On The Move To TNA

 

For a man that has applied his craft all over the world and for all major organizations within the professional wrestling industry, it should come as no surprise that Mick Foley is making his way to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. With his short tenure as a Smackdown! announcer over and Foley a self-proclaimed “free agent,” he has decided to pursue other endeavors. One of those endeavors is a trip to Orlando as a member of the TNA roster.

There are numerous reasons why Foley may have come to the decision to end this run with the WWE. Maybe the travel schedule was just to much for him at this juncture of his life. Perhaps the sour relationship with Vince McMahon, which only got worse as Foley was scolded for his commentary, was just too much for Foley to hang around. Maybe he felt trapped, like Ric Flair did, as a WWE employee that couldn’t partake in other activities like indepedent appearances and TV work of his own choosing.

Whatever his rationale, Foley made the move he felt was necessary. And good for him. After what he’s offered this profession, Foley more than deserves that right. The WWE may have helped him become a huge star in the business, but his talents certainly brought him a long way. He owes the WWE nothing at this point.

Two problems exist with this move, though. For starters, TNA has now employed yet another former WWE star that will overshadow its own homegrown talent. Also, where does Foley really fit in with the company? Will he wrestle at all? Will he simply be a spokesperson? Is he going to play an active role in this new Millionaires Club vs. New Blood feud that TNA has gotten the ball rolling on? Exactly what is TNA going to do with the hardcore legend?

I don’t think anybody but TNA officials and Foley really know the answers to those questions. And I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough. But the way I see it – things can go really well for Foley and TNA, or really bad. I don’t think there’s any ‘in-the-middle’ here. He comes out a valuable asset or a complete waste of roster space and money. I’m hoping for the former, but fear the latter might come out triumphant based on TNA’s track record.

However it works out, a new chapter is beginning in the career of Mick Foley. And I’m interested to see how it turns out.

1wrestling.com- The Good, The Bad, The In-The-Middle: WWE Monday Night RAW 09.01.08

Back on its normal station, the USA Network, the WWE presented the last edition of Monday Night RAW before Unforgiven on Sunday. Among the highlights were two battle royals involving Championship Scramble participants, an appearance from a currently injured former WWE Champion, and a contract signing between Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels for their Unsanctioned Match scheduled for this Sunday.

THE GOOD

• Randy Orton shows his face: I can’t say I really respect Randy Orton and his actions outside of the ring very much. But, I will happily admit that his appearance on RAW definitely lifted the level of the show several notches. He’s been out of action since suffering a broken collarbone in his match against Triple H at One Night Stand in June. And while he had been working toward his comeback, Orton re-injured himself courtesy of a motorcycle accident that added three months to his time on the disabled list, according to WWE.com. So, a special appearance by the former champion was not only a surprise, but it gave the company an ability to showcase one of its top guys and best heels.

Orton opened up the program with a rant against the brand’s current crop of champions. He claimed that a brand’s status is defined by its champions, and that the group of title holders on RAW was giving a bad representation. He was especially hard on C.M. Punk not only for the manner in which he obtained the World Heavyweight Championship, but also for his “no-name” status before entering the WWE.

This didn’t sit well with Punk, who came to the ring to respond face-to-face with “The Legend Killer.” He knocked Orton’s road to the WWE being paved by his family lineage and mocked Orton re-injuring himself. He also considered Orton jealous of his title reign, as Punk made no bones about the fact that he was champion regardless of how the title was won. They both agreed that the conversation needed to continue at a later time, since Punk had a battle royal to prepare for and Orton was still unable to go after the World Heavyweight Title because of his injury.