Mick Foley’s AEW deal didn’t come out of nowhere, and now he’s explaining how it all came together.
While speaking to Ariel Helwani, Foley revealed that he has known Tony Khan for around 15 years. Even before joining AEW, Foley said he would occasionally message Khan about the product, including one idea involving Thunder Rosa.
“It had been a little while. I have known Tony Khan for 15 years, and even during AEW shows I would direct message him and say, ‘Hey Tony, is it possible to get the rights to “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC for Thunder Rosa?’”
Foley made it clear that those messages were not his way of trying to get a job. He said he simply liked Khan and enjoyed AEW’s product. The WWE Hall of Famer also said he was not interested in repeating the same kind of authority figure role he had done before.
“I wasn’t testing the waters at the time—I was just reaching out to somebody I liked and whose product I enjoyed. I knew I wasn’t interested in doing a figurehead, commissioner-type role because I’ve done that before.”
According to Foley, things moved forward after his agent, Barry Bloom, asked whether he wanted him to speak with AEW. Foley agreed, and conversations with Khan followed.
“Then Barry Bloom, my agent, came to me and asked me if I wanted him to talk. I said yeah, I’d like that. So we did. He had a nice talk with Tony Khan, and then I had a nice talk with Tony Khan.”
Foley also noted that the AEW talks happened months after his decision to step away from WWE. At the time, he said he was already content doing his own thing.
“This was months after the decision with WWE went down. Honestly, I was really happy and content doing my own thing.”
The comments add more context to Foley’s AEW arrival after his debut during Double or Nothing weekend. He has already said AEW’s backstage energy reminds him of the Attitude Era and praised Khan’s enthusiasm for the business.
Now, Foley’s latest comments show that the deal came from a long-standing relationship, mutual respect, and the right timing rather than a sudden jump. With reports stating he could be around AEW regularly, Foley’s new chapter may be just getting started.
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