In his first address since falling to Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam, Triple H talked about his loss, his injuries and the future of his professional career on Raw. During his spiel, The Game revealed he never wanted to be the guy who just hung around past his time, which on-again, off-again WWE Superstar Mick Foley felt was a reference to him.
He wrote on Twitter, “Jees, kind of felt like he was referring to me there, didn’t it?”
Foley also lampooned his appearance in the earlier video package: “YES! Just lost three times in a single Triple H highlight reel. When it comes to losing high profile matches, I truly am The King of Kings!”
After some some fans apparently misunderstood his remarks, Foley tweeted a lengthy message addressing a long-standing rumor alleging friction between he and the WWE executive. He wrote: “Can I clear up this rumor about me not getting along with Triple H?
“Triple H is the man responsible for bringing me back to WWE. I am very happy in my role as WWE Ambassador, and have a variety of WWE projects due out in the next few months: a children’s book, a set of cards that I did the writing for, and the WWE13 game that I am apparently featured prominently in. I am hoping to use the release of the book to become a much larger part of WWE’s “Be A STAR” campaign.
“WWE has gone out of their way to clear considerable chunks of time for me, including the Montreal and Edinburgh comedy festivals and the upcoming Singapore Writer’s Festival (more on that in a few days) and February tour of Australia.
“And if I ever feel like I need a quick Foley fix; like I absolutely need to hear thousands of people chanting my name? Well,pretty much any house show I want to appear at is just a phone call (or text) away.
“There is no higher form of flattery for me than showing up on another WWE Superstar’s highlight video. I was thrilled to be there three times for Triple H.
“Bottom line: I’m happy. I’m part of the company I love, and I get to try things on my own. Thank you, Triple H, for bringing me back to WWE.”
Rumors of friction between both parties resurfaced in June when Wrestling Observer editor Dave Meltzer stated that WWE had not utilized Foley on television more frequently since his return to the organization last November because Triple H would lobby against it. Meltzer had reported that Triple H would deprecate Foley whenever his name was broached in creative meetings, citing that he ‘doesn’t look tough’ and can’t be taken seriously as an in-ring performer.
A former WWE creative writer told Power Slam in 2008 under the condition of anonymity that Levesque would disparage Foley whenever he appeared for the company, and in the process, diminished his value in the eyes of Vince and Stephanie McMahon.
“Foley is an out-of-shape nobody,” Levesque was reported as saying by the writer. “No one cares about him at all. Funaki puts more asses in the seats than Foley does. He should pay us for coming on our shows.”
Meltzer believes the real reason Triple H held Foley in contempt is because he gets irritated over the consensus of his closest co-workers that his memorable matches with Foley in 2000 “made him a star.”
