Mick Foley on Vince McMahon: ‘I’m choosing to appreciate him until I learn more’
Mick Foley says he’s not going to judge Vince McMahon until learning more about “what may have gone down.”
Foley joined Rikishi for a panel discussion with Monopoly Events this weekend at Comic-Con Northern Ireland, hosted by SoCal Val. During the session, both were asked about the relationship they had with Vince during their careers.
“I genuinely liked him,” Foley responded. “I mean, my relationship was never the same with him after I left WWE and went to TNA for three years but to this day I’m still trying to find an address to write to him just to thank him for taking a chance on me.”
“I think all of us are a combination of good traits and bad traits,” Foley continued. “You hope your good traits outweigh your bad traits and it seems perhaps that Vince got it backwards there for a little while but I’ve been there when he’s done good things. I’ve seen him do good things.”
Foley continued to say that he’s holding out judgment until learning more about the situation.
“He was someone who did the right thing for the right reasons a lot of the time. I feel really bad that someone I care about got into something that seems pretty unsavory. I’m going to hold off judgment until… – But I think one thing that’s fortunate is whatever he did or did not do, I don’t think many of us are allowing that to mess with our memories, you know what I mean? He was instrumental in creating some of those memories, so I think I want to—I’m choosing to appreciate him until I learn more about what may have gone down.”
Rikishi also responded by saying he wishes to keep his happy memories of Vince intact and spoke about the long relationship between his family and the McMahons.
“We have a long relationship with the McMahon family, well over 75 plus years with this man. Business has been open with his father well over 100 years, so we’ve kind of grandfathered into the McMahons. Me personally, I thank him for the opportunity of giving a bunch of guys from the island of Samoa, this small place, to be able to give us a platform to introduce our culture and our people to the world.”
“If it wasn’t for McMahon, then nobody would know who Afa and Sika was, nobody would know who Peter Maivia, Rikishi, all the way down to Roman Reigns to the Usos. As far as the Fatu and Anoa’i clan, we’re forever McMahons and WWE. Since I’ve left WWE, I’ve been underneath the legends (deal) and that umbrella with the family, still in contact. They’ve given me another opportunity. I feel it’s the trust and the relationship of our families that has given me the opportunity to help my business grow in Los Angeles with the wrestling school.”
“I have nothing but respect for the McMahons, and when I say McMahons, I say all of them.”
“You know, what’s happening with him now, as far as with the Netflix—I’ll make a decision when that comes out, but for now, I always believe in people having a second chance in life.”
“At the end of the day, like Mick, I would like to keep my happy memories of the McMahons and what they have done.”
The “Mr. McMahon” Netflix docuseries produced by Bill Simmons is scheduled to premiere on September 25.
Foley and Rikishi’s full panel discussion is available below: