Mick Foley Pitched Entrance Theme Song To Tony Khan For AEW Star
AEW owner Tony Khan has become a polarizing figure in the wrestling industry since joining the business in 2019, taking on the role of WWE's biggest competition. With his introduction into the realm came a new style of doing things, including the way he promotes shows, uses social media, and does constant interviews with tons of different outlets.
Khan has ushered in a different way to run a wrestling company, and whether people view it as good, bad, or indifferent, AEW has quickly been cemented as the second-biggest wrestling company in North America. Before AEW, WWE had utterly dominated the continent, a move many believe wasn't good for the company, as its lack of competition was arguably leading to a sense of complacency. One person who has been very positive about his interactions with Khan is WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley, who believes that the AEW boss creating a competing wrestling company can only be seen as a good thing for the business as a whole.
"Much better, it's better for AEW, it's better for WWE," Foley said during the latest episode of "Foley is Pod." "I was talking to a mid-'90s female talent who told me she never made x-amount of dollars a year and I was shocked. So now, someone on that level, in the female roster, makes well over a million dollars a year and I don't know if they're doing that without the competition. I'd like to think WWE is doing it because it's the right thing, but they say a rising tide lift's all boats." Foley continued his sentiment to say he's not a WWE loyalist, but he's "first and foremost" for the men and women in professional wrestling and wants "what's best for the talent." The Hardcore Legend mentioned that he believes what's best for the talent is also best for the company and loves that "there's strong competition" in wrestling. Furthermore, Foley stated that if anyone claims AEW is not competition, "they're fooling themselves."
Foley made a request to Tony Khan involving Thunder Rosa
Another wrestling executive that's received plenty of criticism over the years is Impact Wrestling's Dixie Carter, who some have tried to compare to Khan. The two have taken an approach to attacking the wrestling giant that is WWE in different ways, with Khan holding his own while Carter failed to keep her company competitive, eventually losing ownership. When talking about Carter and Khan, Foley detailed the one thing the two have in common, stating how both have had a major impact on the wrestling business.
"Dixie did a lot for the world of wrestling and got unparalleled grief because of it, Tony Khan has done an amazing job for all of us and he probably shouldn't be as hands-on as he is as far as social media," Foley said. "He's very accessible and maybe too accessible but if that's the knock on him that he cares too much? I'll take that all day." Aside from the Carter/Khan comparisons, Foley did reveal an interesting request he made to Khan the last time he spoke to the AEW CEO, involving one of his top female talents.
"I reached out and said 'Hey, have you ever thought of procuring the rights to [AC/DC's song] "Thunderstruck" for Thunder Rosa?' This was about a year ago, just out of the blue," Foley said. "I just thought man, that would be epic, get the whole crowd chanting. He thanked me for it, wished me well, and away I went." According to Chris Jericho, AEW has tried to get the rights to songs from AC/DC before, but the price was too high, suggesting that maybe, TK did hear Foley's request and attempted to make this dream come true. This wouldn't be the first time AEW went out of its way to spend money to license a theme song, as the company has done so with talents such as Jungle Boy, CM Punk, and Jon Moxley to name a few.