After hitting the headlines for declaring that WWE have problem, Mick Foley has been comparing the creative process from today to what he experienced during the Attitude Era.
Foley expressed his frustration after Bryan Danielson, Adam Cole and Ruby Soho followed Malakai Black and Andrade El Idolo to AEW. In the video posted to his Facebook page, the WWE Hall of Famer said that if he were an active performer he’s unsure whether he could trust WWE creative with his career.
Speaking on Sean Waltman’s Pro Wrestling 4 Life podcast, Mick Foley spoke further on how the creative process has changed since his run with the company during the Attitude Era. The former World Champion suggested that there used to be greater collaboration between the writing team, talent and Vince McMahon.
“We had a lot of say, and this isn’t downplaying what Vince [Russo] and Ed [Ferrara] did,”
“They did a great job, but they would bring us ideas, or we’d bring them ideas. We worked together on them. I remember Russo being so down at the WrestleMania party because I think Shawn [Michaels] had browbeat him about looking weak, and then within one night, 24 hours, DX was stronger than ever. I don’t think Russo should have received that browbeating, especially at a post-WrestleMania party, but it just shows we were really hands on with our angles. We would talk with each other. We did promos that felt real because they were real to a large extent.”
“Did Vince use to call you on Wednesday and run everything by you?” Waltman asked Foley. “Russo would call me every week.”
Expanding further, Foley recalled the famous hospital skit between himself, Vince McMahon and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
“I remember him telling me about Yurple The Clown,” Foley revealed. “He’s like, ‘Bro, she’s a party clown.’ I said, ‘So you’re gonna have the shoes?’ He’s like, ‘Bro, she’s got the shoes. She’s got everything.’ The interaction with me and Yurple was 100%. We didn’t go with a script. Nobody gave us a script. All I knew going in was, I’ve got a birthday party clown. The goal is I have to come in happy. Vince [McMahon] has to be relieved it’s me and not Austin, and then my actions have to cause him to throw me out of the room along with Yurple, the birthday party clown, leaving the opening for Steve Austin to hit him with a bedpan under the guise of being a doctor. I never said, ‘can I bring a sock puppet?’ because he surely would have said no. It was just a given that you could try things in that day and age.”
During the conversation, Foley also offered his opinion on what WWE could do to improve their current situation. ‘Mrs Foley’s Baby Boy’ said that an increased focus on continuity would make a big difference. Despite his frustrations, the best selling author still praised the work done by Roman Reigns, Paul Heyman and Damian Priest.
H/t to Wrestling Inc for the transcription.