WWE Star Mick Foley Is Quitting Over Organization’s ‘Close Relationship’ with Trump. He Says Rob Reiner Post Was ‘Final Straw’

WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley says he’s stepping away from the company, citing its “close relationship” with President Donald Trump.

Foley, 60, announced Tuesday, Dec. 16 that he was “parting ways” with WWE in a social media post, saying Trump’s remarks following the murders of director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Reiner, were the “final straw.”

“While I have been concerned about WWE‘s close relationship with Donald Trump for several months — especially in light of his administration’s ongoing cruel and inhumane treatment of immigrants (and pretty much anyone who “looks like an immigrant”) — reading the President’s incredibly cruel comments in the wake of Rob Reiner’s death is the final straw for me,” Foley wrote on Instagram.

“I no longer wish to represent a company that coddles a man so seemingly void of compassion as he marches our country towards autocracy,” Foley continued. “Last night, I informed @WWE talent relations that I would not be making any appearances for the company as long as this man remains in office.”

Foley added that he also plans to let his current agreement run out rather than renew it this summer.

“Additionally, I will not be signing a new Legends deal when my current one expires in June. I love WWE, will always treasure my time with them, and I am deeply appreciative for all the opportunities they afforded me. But, in the words of Popeye the sailor, ‘I stands all I can stands, and I can’t stands no more.’ ”

WWE did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday morning. A message was also left with Foley, but there was no immediate response.

Foley has criticized Trump publicly in the past and framed his opposition in moral terms.

“I do think this is a matter between right and wrong,” Foley said in a 2020 interview about the presidential election at the time.

“I really do feel like future generations are going to study this period of time and wonder how we stood by and let so much go wrong,” he said. “I want to be on the right side of history.”

Foley has worked with WWE on and off since 1996 and last appeared for the company in 2023. Known for personas like “Mankind” and “Cactus Jack,” he played a major role in popularizing hardcore wrestling during the late 1990s, and he became a four-time world champion. Over the years, he shared the ring as both rival and partner with major stars including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.

He retired from in-ring competition in 2012 and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013 — the same year Trump was inducted for his celebrity appearances on WWE programming.

WWE’s ties to Trump stretch back decades, including his recurring appearances leading up to WrestleMania 23 in 2007, where he faced then-WWE chairman Vince McMahon in the storyline match billed as the “Battle of the Billionaires.”

Those connections continued into Trump’s political career. Earlier this year, Trump appointed Linda McMahon — Vince McMahon’s ex-wife and WWE’s former Chief Executive Officer — as U.S. Secretary of Education. Linda previously served as head of the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term, from 2017 to 2019.

WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque and his wife, Stephanie McMahon, met with Trump at the White House as recently as September and shared a joint Instagram post marking the visit.

In recent years, some WWE talent have also appeared at Trump rallies. WWE Champion Cody Rhodes has made such appearances, and Roman Reigns told Variety earlier this year that he supports Trump and suggested he voted for him in the most recent election.