Mick Foley addresses a major issue with modern-day WWE

Mick Foley cemented his status as one of WWE's most iconic names during the Attitude Era in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In a recent interview, the 59-year-old gave his thoughts on something he would like to change about modern-day wrestling.

Foley performed as Cactus Jack, Dude Love, and Mankind during his WWE run. In those days, the Hardcore Legend felt it was important to inflict punishment on opponents rather than try to win matches as quickly as possible.

On the No-Contest Wrestling podcast, Foley acknowledged that current wrestlers are more athletic and better in-ring talents than past generations. However, he raised concerns about the modern-day product missing an element of danger.

"This is where I had some issues with modern-day WWE," Foley said. "When it was evolving, they insisted that you cover every single time you do a move because you wanna show you wanna win the match. I was like, 'I'd rather show that I would like to inflict some punishment.' That's what makes someone dangerous." [53:11 – 53:29]

Foley won several titles during his wrestling career, including the WWE Championship three times. He received a WWE Hall of Fame induction in 2013.

Mick Foley thinks WWE could settle conflicts better

In 2022, Mick Foley's former in-ring rival Triple H replaced Vince McMahon as WWE's creative figurehead. Since then, The Game has made a clear effort to prioritize long-term storytelling over short-term angles.

While he still enjoys watching WWE, Foley believes current wrestling is missing a vicious 1980s heel like Abdullah the Butcher or Bruiser Brody:

"Wanting to win and be the best is not a moral lapse, right? Wanting to inflict damage, and appreciate what you did while you're doing it, makes someone far more dangerous, and I think that's one thing that's missing, the fact that the Abdullah the Butchers of the world, and the Brodys, who would come in for four to six months, and just wreak havoc and leave, go somewhere else, are no longer there. If it's just a bunch of guys trying to be the best, I don't see a lot of room for settling conflicts." [53:29 – 54:04]

Foley added that storylines were usually centered around believable feuds when he watched wrestling as a child. Nowadays, he thinks rivalries revolve too much around title matches.

Please credit No-Contest Wrestling and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use Mick Foley's quotes from this article.

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