Mick Foley: If I Was In My Prime, I’d Have An Audience In Tears And Fearing For Darby Allin’s Life

Mick Foley believes he could have reduced an audience to tears if he would’ve faced Darby Allin in his prime.

Mick Foley is easily one of the premier wrestlers who focused on character work in storytelling throughout his career. He did this because of a lack of superb athletic ability that was replaced by his ability to craft a believable story and willingness to inflict punishment on himself.

Speaking with Thunder Rosa while eating tacos, Mick Foley named a handful of superstars that he believes he could have told a good story with inside the squared circle.

Outside of the obvious names like Jon Moxley and Bray Wyatt, Mick Foley named the surprising choice of Ricochet as somebody he would have liked to wrestle because he believes he could have worked around the athleticism of Ricochet to really portray him as a babyface in peril.

“Assuming I was near the top of the game, I’d love to wrestle Moxley. Bray Wyatt, in whatever incarnation he comes back as, but I also loved wrestling the smaller guys that did the flying. Because although I could not work every style, I could adapt to just about any style. I could incorporate aspects of what anyone else did. Then put my own personal stamp on it. So coming out of the gate, when Ricochet came into WWE, he needed a great opening a feud. I thought if I was that guy, in my prime, [he] was someone who can do anything and was also small enough for me to come across as a power wrestler, which wasn’t easy. We really could have made an impression.”

Furthermore, Mick Foley would go into the idea of what he believes is missing and wrestling and that is a genuine feeling That the babyface is fighting for their life.

Foley would reveal that it’s actually a Vince McMahon pet peeve if wrestlers don’t constantly go for the victory but to The Hardcore Legend, not everyone is always going for the victory, sometimes it is about inflicting damage.

Foley would further say that he believes he could easily manipulate an audience’s emotions if he was able to wrestle Darby Allin in his prime.

“There’ll be other guys, like Darby Allin, if I could have gotten my hands on Darby — The one thing I say, sometimes it’s missing, and I guess, a knock on Mr. McMahon. He wants every heel to look like they’re trying to win at every moment. He’s real big on covers after everything. That’s great for some people. But Abdullah The Butcher didn’t go for covers. He looked like he was there to end your life. So, sometimes what’s missing is that aspect that the babyface is not fighting for a win, he’s literally fighting for his life.

“I think that’s one of the things that’s missing there. It’s another one, you can’t overdo it. You can’t have five matches like that. But if you had one certifiable madman, you know, I’d like to think that in my prime you know, if I had a guy like Darby Allin, I’d be looking out, and then there’d be tears falling, you know, as people fear for his life. Then, you know, you try to put that person in a world of hurt and hate, and then have them fight their way out of it.”

Darby is currently paired with Sting. 30 years ago, Mick Foley, as Cactus Jack, was able to elevate his career and give Sting a credible opposition during a wild feud they had in 1992 which culminated in a Falls Count Anywhere Match at WCW Beach Blast.

Mick Foley and Sting would go full circle in their rivalry as Mick Foley won his last World Championship from Sting at TNA Lockdown in 2009.

Today, Sting is still wrestling and was recently credited by Ric Flair as a major ratings draw for AEW but Sting was too modest to accept the credit. Learn more here.

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