What Wrestling Legends Really Think Of AEW
9. Mick Foley
And now for a more good faith critique that will take time to register, if indeed it is prescient.
Talking to Inside The Ropes, Foley, when pressed on AEW, reckoned that there's an impetuousness to their approach that extends to both the in-ring style and the booking process. Foley believes AEW "rushed" the Cody Vs. Chris Jericho match because they knocked the build "out of the park", and there was much more to explore. He is also of the opinion - and there's a certain irony to this, given how Foley's style was received by the veterans when he was coming up, but it's perhaps a wisdom informed by age and pain - that an immediate need to impress with all-out sprints can manifest as an undisciplined top-to-bottom product.
To counter those critiques, AEW operates on the old big four pay-per-view model with a decisive finish policy. The rematch model with which Foley ascended to the main event, in those awesome programmes with Triple H and The Rock, would lessen the premium, major event vibe with which AEW has consistently drawn 100,000+ buys domestically.
The stylistic range has since opened up - the early criticisms invited by the AEW Tag Team Championship tournament appear to have been answered - but the recent injuries suffered by Fénix, Kris Statlander and Britt Baker indicate that he may have a salient point.