As his former company prepares for upcoming WWE events and record-breaking success, Vince McMahon is still under investigation by the Department of Justice and awaiting trial for a series of disturbing allegations that originally led to his removal from the wrestling organization. With a new upcoming Netflix TV series that will highlight McMahon on the way, wrestling icon Mick Foley recently shared his honest thoughts on his former boss and the situation.
Foley was part of panel at Comic-Con Northern Ireland when the topic of Vince McMahon and their personal relationship came up. The wrestler behind Mankind, Cactus Jack, and Dude Love had big moments in WWE and WCW where he worked with and without McMahon, and talked about his thoughts on the former wrestling chairman:
I genuinely liked him. 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. 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.
Mick Foley's comments on Vince McMahon are somewhat similar to statements made by wrestlers like John Cena and Randy Orton. The similarity between all three is that they don't wish to admonish McMahon publicly and talk about the duality of having positive experiences with the former CEO, and hearing these terrible allegations that all started after WWE investigated secret payments he made to a former employee.
More details were later revealed, as the woman filing the complaint was later identified as Janel Grant. A lawsuit filed by Grant alleging disturbing acts of sexual abuse and trafficking led to McMahon's removal from the company and also led to the dismissal of bigger names in the company, like John Laurinaitis, and for Brock Lesnar to have been removed from television. Mick Foley touched on the allegations briefly and shared how it impacts his view of McMahon:
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.
While wrestlers share their thoughts on Vince McMahon and his legacy in the pro wrestling industry, the WWE has moved onward into a new era captained by wrestling hall of famer and McMahon's son-in-law, Paul "HHH" Levesque. His guidance has led the WWE into a new golden age for professional wrestling, marked by high attendance at shows and massive deals like Netflix acquiring the rights to Monday Night Raw and the return of Saturday Night Main Event on NBC starting in December.
While the future is bright for the WWE in this new era, it seems wrestlers like Mick Foley and some others would like to remind wrestling fans that for all his faults, Vince McMahon is the reason pro wrestling is in the position it is today. Of course, it's not up for the wrestlers to decide how history will look on him, as many wait to see the continuance of his trial and any other information that might come out from it.
The Netflix docuseries Mr. McMahon will premiere for those with a Netflix subscription on September 25th. Those curious about the figure and his long history in the world of wrestling, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes, will want to tune in.
