Mick Foley to TNA?

The Sun wrote an article last Wednesday about Mick Foley jumping over to TNA once his contract is up with the WWE.  The article doesn’t name the source where this information is coming from, aside from it being from a close friend of his, but the article states that Foley would be willing to step back into the ring for TNA.  Closer to home, the Long Island Press reported that Foley stated that there is a good chance that his contract with the WWE won’t be renewed when it expires on September 1st.

In my mind, the reports of Foley going to TNA are purely speculation.  Even if Foley decides not to renew his WWE contract, Foley and TNA would first have to come to terms on an agreement, which may or may not be a deal breaker for one or both parties.  Not to mention the fact that I feel the WWE would do everything in their power to keep him from going to TNA.  In simple terms, I will believe that Mick Foley has jumped ship when I see him at a TNA event or read about in a press release from TNA.

With all of that out of the way, that doesn’t mean that I won’t take a moment to entertain the thought of Foley actually ending up in TNA in the near future.

Foley on Commentary
Over the course of the summer, Foley has been a regular fixture on my television on Friday nights ever since replacing Jonathan Coachman in color commentary role on Smackdown.  Every so often he would through in a pop culture reference that even I wouldn’t understand, but he was a nice fit for the role; even more so since being teamed up with Jim Ross.

Foley could possibly stay in the color commentary role in TNA, however, it may be a little awkward.  Don West is the color man now, which means Foley would either need to outright replace West or the announce team turns into a three-man squad.  Replacing West in the color role would most likely be the best option, but the team of Foley and Mike Tenay doesn’t exactly thrill me either.

If Foley were to be added to the booth, I feel that it would be time to shake things up a bit and start a new announce team from scratch.  Tenay and West could still use their talents to fill roles within the company – West as a hype man for events and products, while Tenay could fill an interviewer role – but with Foley in the mix, it would be time to break up that tandem, which is getting awfully stale on Impact.

One person who may fit in well as a play-by-play man next to Foley would be Jeremy Borash.  It is a role that he has done before back in the days of WCW, so it wouldn’t be anything new for him.  If not Borash, then TNA may want to think outside of the box and put together a pair of wrestlers – namely BG James, who seems to be doing more interviewing than wrestling as of late in TNA.  Sure, both James and Foley would be best suited for color commentary, but having the two personalities together may make for an interesting announcing team.

Foley in the Six-Sided Ring
The Sun article plainly stated that Foley’s body wouldn’t be able to handle a full-time schedule, even by TNA standards, and that part I can believe 100 percent.  It’s no secret that Foley put his body through hell to entertain the fans and is no longer the wrestler that he once was.  If he is serious about stepping into the six-sided ring, I would like to see him perform on a very limited basis - even more limited than that of Kevin Nash or Sting.

Foley should be saved to wrestle once, maybe twice, a year and there should be a good back story or some other means for the match to take place.  I don’t want to see Foley wrestle in some garbage match against Abyss because they both have a hardcore style background, nor do I want to  endure weeks of seeing mysterious bats wrapped in barded wire suddenly appearing after the lights go out.  Foley should be reserved for big money matches, period.

Foley in a Creative Role
I’d be all for it if Foley were able to provide commentary and a rare match appearance in TNA.  Placing Foley on the creative team, however, would be the one role that I would like to see him in the most.  TNA has a talented roster and a not-so-talented creative team, which is where Foley could really lend a hand.  I’m not trying to make Foley out as a creative genius, but he just may very well be when compared to the current booking team.

More than likely, Foley wouldn’t be the piece of the puzzle that turns TNA into a multi-million dollar wrestling promotion, but he would be able to give the creative team good ideas to work with , help them focus on angles that either get off track, and add some logic to their stories.  Due to politics and personalities, I am not sure how well he would fit in with the current group, but I think his ideas and insights would be a welcome addition into the fold.

A lot of this may be wishful thinking on my part, but we’ll have to wait and see how this all plays out after the first of September.  Until a little over a week ago, I would have never guessed that I would be seeing Brett Favre in a NY Jets uniform, so anything really can happen in the world of sports and sports entertainment.

Until then, have a nice day!