Mick Foley Returned to WWE: 5 Possible Reasons Behind the Return

Mick Foley made his long awaited return to WWE Wednesday at a live event in Ireland. He cut a promo on Awesome Truth, then served as the special guest referee for the main event.

While most predicted his return to the company (I first predicted it as early as July, while he was still in TNA), his first appearance overseas may have shocked some people. It certainly did not shock me!

Here is my article from nearly three months predicting an early November return for him, noting that both Mick Foley and WWE were going to be in the same area overseas in early November.

Now that he is back with WWE, where do we all go from here? Here are five possible scenarios...

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5. He Was Just Visiting for One Night Only

It is no secret that Mick Foley had dabbled into some stand-up comedy shows the last few months; he recently went overseas with his act.

Perhaps he was just in town and decided to say "Hello!" to some of his former/current WWE friends.

Yeah. I don't believe that theory one bit. However, it is still an option. There is nothing wrong with just visiting friends for a night or two before saying goodbye again.

4. Final WWE Appearances Overseas?

Foley does not have a lot of time left in his wrestling days—nobody is going to argue that point. He has a few matches left in him, maybe one last run. Maybe!

However, you just never know in this crazy world. Foley may have just dropped by to say hello to some of his fans in Ireland, but it may have also been a goodbye. You never know.

When is WWE's next overseas tour? When is Foley planning to perform for his fans again in other countries? You just never know.

Foley could have been saying his farewells to a lot of fans on this tour, without many people even realizing it.

3. Easing Himself Back

It must make Foley feel good to perform in front of actual paying fans for a change. Being in front of over 10,000 fans had to be a sight to see for Foley—something he certainly has not seen in the past three years.

Thus, it is no surprise that Foley returned to WWE on a non-televised show. You don't want to come off as being "off" on your big WWE TV return. Think of The Rock!

He is wrestling at SurvivorSeries in a tag-team match. Stepping into the ring at WrestleMania 28 to main event against John Cena after being away from the ring since 2004 is just insane. You have to ease yourself back.

Foley is a smart man. He knows he needs some practice before giving a live Raw promo or big comeback speech in front of a worldwide audience.

2. Planting the Seeds for a Storyline?

Watch that promo! It is a wonderful six minutes. Such a shame Foley wrote in one of his books that he did not enjoy that particular segment too much...I loved it!

Anyways, we all know Mick will get that itch to wrestle again. My only concern is if he is able to pass the medicals. Health always comes first in my mind. It was no secret that I was against Ziggler wrestling twice in one night at Vengeance—it just did not seem safe.

That is my same concern of Foley. Can he even wrestle once? Is he is in shape to do more than be the Raw GM? Will being special guest referee every couple weeks be enough?

I think this appearance in Ireland was a test to see how the crowd reacted. I think WWE wanted to see how well he could move around the ring.

Trust me, he will appear again for WWE overseas in the upcoming days. Why? Who knows? Perhaps there was a reason why Miz and Truth were out there with him.

1. The Rock

Yes, this is the sole reason Foley is back now. Yes, he will do plenty of charity work for the company. Yes, he will have the itch to do plenty of story-lines for WWE. Yes, I am sure he is getting a nice paycheck from Vince McMahon.

However, none of those things explain why he returned now! Look, everybody knows Rocky won't be around for a long time, thus everybody wanting to work with him better get in line. Foley knows this.

He knows there is a limited time frame on working with The Rock one last time, so the timing couldn't be any better. From November to April, I expect to see a lot more of The Rock, and every WWE legend knows that if they want to be on screen with anybody, it is The Rock!

Imagine Rock and Foley in Boston on Raw in two weeks! Mick could do tons of things.

I would mention another "This is Your Life," but truthfully? I did not enjoy that too much watching it live in 1999, and I still have only watched it back only a few times. It just didn't do it for me—despite its monster quarter-hour number.

The best part about Foley and Rock working together is it doesn't stop there. In the next few months during "Rock's Run," we could see Jericho, Foley, Undertaker, Batista and others make appearances for WWE. Throw in non-wrestlers like Steve Austin and HBK!

You have a group of guys who all know how huge this Wrestle Mania is going to be and will want a piece of it. WWE knows it. Legends outside the company know it, and right now? Foley knows it.

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