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Mick Foley spoke with Newsday's Alfonso Castillo. We posted highlights of the interview earlier. Here are a few of my random thoughts:

-Regarding the Hall of Fame: I'm a little disappointed, but not surprised, that now that Foley has hurt his chances of ever getting into the WWE Hall of Fame now that he's left for TNA and ripped on Vince McMahon publicly, that he's chosen to demean the occasion for those who still will get inducted. He said "entry into the Hall of Fame for a lot of guys" is about "healing," but he says he's not in need of healing. So the HOF is for damaged people looking for a little self-esteem boost? Come on, Mick. That's condescending. Even if in some cases it is a final moment of glory for some retired old-timers, it's demeaning to talk about it publicly like that, and it's certainly not the case for high-profile inductees which is what he would have been.

-Regarding the chairshot he took from Kurt Angle at Bound for Glory: He said he didn't know Kurt "was going to be quite that angry." He said his kids and wife were "a little concerned." He said "people are going to be criticial of anything that anybody does in pro wrestling." He affirmed he was comfortable with that decision. This is just sad. Foley writes off criticism from me and others that he hurts the business by taking needless stiff chairshot to the head without even selling them by saying people like me will criticize anything. I think, sadly, he has taken too many chairshots to the head if his ability to process criticism is that mangled. It is not only selfish and dangerous and cruel for his family to put his mental and physical long-term health at risk for a completely superfluous, needless, unprotected stiff chairshot to the head, but it's unfair to his colleagues. A chairshot like the one he took at ringside from Angle should never be done. Wrestlers should always protect themselves from risk of concussion. But if it's done, it shouldn't result in the victim jumping into the ring a minute later and applying a Mr. Socko Mandible Claw without selling the effects of the blow, nor should it result in that same victim of the chairshot saying on his next TV appearance that he "had fun" on Sunday. He should be selling the ramifications of chairshots, not doing everything in power to make them seem ineffective, much less "fun." That makes the next wrestler who sells a chairshot look like a wuss. Mick Foley: Bad for Professional Wrestling.

-His response to criticism of TNA booking: On this subject, he would have been wise to be politicial and talk around the issue, and that's what he did, although I'm not sure what he said made any sense. He began by saying, "If you were traveling around the country, you probably wouldn't have fans quite as interested in the backstage happenings. So you would be a lot less likely to hear, 'Fire Russo' chants." What does that mean? His praise of Russo was soft, calling him "a great idea guy." That doesn't mean he's a great head booker with his eye on the big picture and pacing. Even Foley, who likes Russo, isn't going to lose all credibility by praising him as a good booker overall. Russo is a good idea man, and I've always contended that Russo could be part of a good booking team, but he needs someone to create a picture framework and pacing, plus someone who has the authority to line-item veto some of his ideas. Foley seems to realize that, at least based on this comment.

-He said he feels what he does now is making a difference, and thus he's having as much fun as he's had since being commissioner in 2000. So far, he has not made a ratings difference, as they've been right in that 0.9 to 1.1 range since he's been a regular on the show. He could still make a difference in numbers in many ways, but the evidence is not in. Where he might make the greatest difference is behind the scenes by providing ideas and guidance, but if he's setting an example by taking unprotected chairshots to the skull (for no good reason other than to selfishly reenforce his "hardcore" image that is apparently more important to him than being a healthy, mentally alert father as his kids age - and I don't say that flippantly, but there's no other way to interpret his crass actions at BFG and his defense of it in this article) and setting the bar higher for young wrestlers who'd prefer to actually not end up with concussion syndrome issues later in their careers and prefer to sell weapon shots not treat them as "fun," then the difference he's making so far is a bad one.

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