Various: Mick Foley on Some Plans He Had for a Final Match Would Have Tested His New Hip & Knee, Joe Koff on All In 2018 Would Never Have Been Possible Without ROH, Indies

Sep 13, 2024

Mick Foley Comments on “Some Of The Stuff I Had In Mind For My Last Match Would’ve Put My New Hip And Knee To The Test”

As noted before, WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley dropped all of his plans to potentially wrestle one final match for his wrestling career due to health-related issues involving him suffering a concussion injury.

A recent episode of the Wrestling Life Online podcast featured Foley as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Foley’s thoughts about his past meeting with MJF for a potential final match of his career and some of the plans he had in mind for it.

“Well it was fun to see, once I put the word out, that I was not at loss for potential opponents. From WWE to AEW to the king of deathmatch type thing with Cardona. MJF, I should probably write an article on this, the secret meeting. We did have a secret meeting and he laid out a scenario that was really fascinating, so much so that I think he was the first guy I called when I was like, man, I think it’s over, I got a concussion doing almost nothing. I think that could’ve been really fun. Obviously he’s a super smart guy who had put some time into a storyline and I liked it, you know, when you feel yourself really going for something. It doesn’t look like it’s gonna happen, I mean, it definitely not going to happen, but at least I didn’t give up [in terms of] dropping weight.
Some of the stuff I had in mind would have really compromised, it would have put the new hip and knee to the test. I don’t know if any match or any feeling after the match is worth going through another one of those difficult and expensive operations.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com

Former ROH COO Joe Koff Comments on All In 2018 Event Would Never Be Possible Without ROH

A recent episode of the Busted Open Radio podcast featured former Ring of Honor COO Joe Koff as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Koff’s thoughts about how Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks being able to run their All In 2018 event would never have been possible without ROH’s help.

“I was in the TV business. ALL IN was a pay-per-view, ALL IN was content. ALL IN was content that I was gonna own in my library. So I understood the risks. The one thing I was always aware of is that I was in business of wrestling and a lot of the wrestlers were in business of wrestling are two arches. We’re not quite the same. But I wasn’t gonna stop. I wasn’t gonna stop their passion for what they believed in. I didn’t know the end result really. I had an idea, I had an inkling, because we (ROH, Cody Rhodes & The Young Bucks) were in contract talks at the time. But they’re independent contractors. So, they had the freedom to do what they needed to do. Did I think that was a downside? Look, there’s always a risk. For me, I think it helped me sellout Madison Square Garden, because they weren’t announced, nobody was announced. I pivoted back to New Japan for that show, because I felt I might have needed a little bit of boost. I’m not sure we did or we didn’t but the show was great. But you know what? I would do it again. Because ALL IN was a terrific show and they could never, ever, ever have done it without us. We were the production company for that show. We took care of the management for that show, and they knew it by the way. There was no yin and yang here. You do this, I do that, you do this, I — they wanted a showcase. They wanted to show what they could be. I had a great show. It was a great show. So I have no regrets about any of that…
No. I had no regrets (Koff said when asked if he wishes he put ROH’s name in the ALL IN show title) because again, Bully (Ray), you’re a businessman, I’m a businessman. At the end of that program, the ownership rights were Ring of Honor/Sinclair… I know that (people don’t know that) but again, I didn’t even really go into it at that point so your point is well-taken. But, it didn’t matter to me. I knew it was their show. One thing I never did in Ring of Honor was really get involved in creative. I really tried to stay out of it. I’m not smart enough. I learned my lesson in Battle of the Belts with creative. I learned from some of the smartest guys in the world. Hiro Matsuda, Duke Keomuka, Wahoo McDaniel, they taught me about being on the business side. He said, ‘That’s where you are. You’re office…’ I thought it was good, and again, maybe in retrospect, I should’ve. But, it’ll never be remembered as ROH and All Elite. It’ll always be All Elite. But again, my thing was the ownership of the content. That was probably the single piece of content that had the most value, and I knew that because I understood the business side. But very fair point.”

Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com

Misc. Wrestling News & Notes

New Japan Pro Wrestling legend Kuniaki Kobayashi passed away this past Monday at the age of 68. Kobayashi’s career spanned from 1973 to 2000 and was most known for his time in NJPW. Following his retirement from his active wrestling career in 2000, Kobayashi worked as the caretaker of NJPW’s Dojo system until his passing. Kobayashi’s notable career achievements and accolades included being a one-time IWJP Junior Heavyweight Champion, one-time NWA International Junior Heavyweight Champion, one-time AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Champion, and induction into NJPW’s Greatest Wrestlers Hall of Fame (2009)

Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling recently announced that Jake Something will be making an appearance for the company at their Forged In Excellence events on October 19-20 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

TMZ reported that former 90 Days Fiance star Paola Mayfield will be joining Women of Wrestling for their upcoming new season of WOW TV.

Game Changer Wrestling recently announced that WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley will be making an appearance for the company at their Dream On event on November 23rd at American Dream in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The National Wrestling Alliance announced that they have recently signed “Magic” Jake Dumas to an exclusive contract with the company.

Revolution Pro Wrestling recently announced that Robbie Eagles is the next official entrant for this year’s British J Cup tournament on September 28th in Stevenage, England.

Pro Wrestling Illustrated recently announced that Nigel McGuinness took the top spot for their Color Commentator list for 2024. The top 10 in order were McGuinness (AEW), Wade Barrett (WWE), Caprice Coleman (ROH), Matthew Rehwoldt (TNA), Taz (AEW), Pat McAfee (WWE), Booker T (WWE), Hugo Savinovich (AAA), Veda Scott (NJPW), and Matt Menard (AEW).

Major League Wrestling recently announced that Trevor Lee, former Cameron Grimes in WWE, will be making his official debut appearance for the company at their Slaughterhouse 2024 event on October 4th in St. Petersburg, Florida.

MLW also recently announced two new matches for the card of their MLW Fusion taping on September 14th in Atlanta, Georgia:

Barrio Brawl match – Matthew Justice vs. Jesus Rodriguez
Vale Tudo Rules match – Matt Riddle vs. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor

PROGRESS Wrestling recently announced one new match for the card of their Chapter 171: History Is Written By The Victors event on September 22nd in Cameden, England: