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Mick Foley is feeling better than ever after dropping over 110 pounds to get his health back on track.
The 61-year-old Hardcore Legend, who joined All Elite Wrestling (AEW) earlier this year after becoming one of the most influential wrestlers of all time in ECW and WWE, has struggled with his weight over the years.
‘I think there was a time in WWE – I did ask Mr. McMahon; he didn’t verify it or deny it. I said I think part of the reason why I’m rarely on TV is that it’s difficult to watch me get around,’ he candidly told Metro in an exclusive chat.
‘That’s when I told him – this is going back 10, 11 years that I planned to lose quite a bit of weight. And I did, [and] put it all back on, and then some, during the pandemic.
‘But now I’m down 110 pounds.’
Mick, who was promoting AEW’s upcoming All In London show at Wembley Stadium later this month, admitted his weight hit ‘dangerous territory’.
He added: ‘I was 372. You know, that’s some dangerous territory. Lugging that kind of weight around at my age was really not healthy. I had to stop – just after walking up the incline when I got off a plane, I had to stop to catch my breath. It wasn’t a good situation.’
Mick, who weighs 260 pounds, is ‘doing surprisingly good’.
‘This sounds crazy, but I feel better now than I did 20 years ago. I remember specifically, maybe in 2005 when Eddie Guerrero passed, that I was in the UK, and I needed anti-inflammatories basically to walk, and that was when I was 40 years old,’ he recalled.
‘Now I’m 61, and I’m getting around a lot better. I even noticed when I did a little segment with Tony Schiovani and Justin Roberts [in AEW], I looked back. I was like, “This is the best I’ve walked in a long, long time”.
‘So, generally speaking, I’m feeling pretty good. I mean, I think if you magically took a regular person and put them in my body, they would think they were trapped in some type of horror movie. But you know, all things considered, I think I’m doing pretty well.’
The former world champion is certainly in better shape, so is one last match possible?
‘There’s a big difference between dropping 110 pounds and being in ring shape,’ he pointed out.
‘There’s the chance of doing something cinematic. There’s a chance of being in something like the Stadium [Stampede], where I could shine during small parts.
‘I do not know if I’m capable of participating in an AEW type of main event match. I really don’t think I am. But we’re going to see how the conditioning goes. We’ll see. We will see if the stars align. It might happen!’
Mick joined AEW after cutting ties with WWE over what he described as its ‘close relationship with Donald Trump’.
An unfortunate knock-on of that is the star footing the bill for ongoing dental treatment stemming from his 1998 Hell In A Cell match with The Undertaker, which he told us in 2020 stood at around $15,000.
‘Oh, probably more than that,’ he said six years on. ‘These two [teeth] have to be replaced, but also this one’s rotting out because of the impact, and this one will have to be removed.
‘So it’s four teeth, and then there’s the three on the top that were not Cell-related. But yeah, I imagine it’s probably going to be a hefty bill.
‘I don’t know what the charge is now. Back once upon a time, you know, WWE was going to cover it because it was clearly, you know – I had teeth when I entered, and I did not when I left. But I’m pretty sure I’ll be taking care of that bill by myself now.’
Mick is keeping busy and motivated, with All In approaching and his Forty Years of Foley live tour coming to the UK later this month,
‘I take people on that same type of ride that we always took pride in taking them on as wrestlers,’ he smiled. ‘We always thought we told stories in the ring, and I love the idea of telling stories in the ring, on the page, on the stage. At heart, I’m a storyteller.’
His story could be coming to the small screen, with wrestler and actor Paul Walter Hauser lined up to star in a biopic.
‘I don’t want Paul to be doing an imitation. I want him to do an interpretation,’ Mick said of the project. ‘He’ll do a great job. We’re still shopping it, but we’re hopeful that it’s going to land. And if it does, I think people will enjoy that story.’
Mick, who plans to be ‘hands on’ as a consultant, has also promised ‘something special’ for All In.
‘I don’t know what it’s like to actually have a main event match or any match in front of a crowd that size,’ he pointed out.
‘The AEW fans in London and people coming in from around the UK to watch this are going to sense that it’s something special for everybody competing that night.’
AEW All In London returns to Wembley Stadium on Sunday, August 30. Tickets are available now at livenation.co.uk. The 40 Years of Foley tour will be in the UK on August 27, 28 and 31 with dates in Birmingham, Cardiff and London.