Mick Foley Talks Why Its Tough For Wrestlers To Retire

WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley joined Alex McCarthy of talkSPORT to discuss The Undertaker and the topic of why it's difficult for wrestlers to step away from the ring for good. While there is something to having that last perfect match, Foley notes for most wrestlers it's about continuing to make an income as they get older, using the skills they've crafted for decades.

"Yeah I was [chasing the perfect last match], and I had it," Foley said. "I had the perfect goodbye in 2000 at WrestleMania. I had it again with Randy Orton at Backlash in 2004. I think people take the financials out of the equation. It's one thing to say I had the perfect exit, but then you're like, 'I'm 34, what do I do?' In my case, I realized, 'Wow, I've written two best-selling novels.'

"That's hundreds of hours in solitude, months away from your family on the road promoting the book where you don't get paid, and then it's like, 'I could make the same amount of money for a match against Carlito?'

"With the economy falling apart a couple of times and you have half of what you think you have, you owe it to your family sometimes to come back and make a living. So, I think the romance is in having the perfect match and the storybook ending, but the reality is we have this skill set that allows us to make a good living, but we can't make that living without employing that skill set."

In regards to The Undertaker, Foley says thanks to his reported 15 year deal with WWE, he has not only a fantastic potential final match with AJ Styles, but also a 15 year contract.

"Undertaker got a 15 year contract with the company from what I understand and I haven't seen the end of The Last Ride, but I assume having that amazing match with AJ Styles would be a perfect way to ride off into the sunset," Foley said. "I don't know how the story ends or if he has written his ending, but as far as I'm concerned he's had that storybook ending and now has a 15 year deal."