Throughout his in-ring career, Foley has prided himself on standing out from the rest and highlighting the things that make him different. Following Foley’s famously violent Hell in a Cell match against The Undertaker in 1998, those things included a kinder, gentler spirit, purposely meant to separate himself from the tougher, more outspoken on-screen characters, such as “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, at the time. Nowadays, Foley sees the likes of Tony Khan and former AEW World Champion Darby Allin embracing their own unique qualities, which in turn, has formed a natural bond between them.

“I do connect with a guy like Tony who’s a little bit different. I gave the promo about Darby because I knew he was a guy who was different,” Foley said, referring to his complimentary speech about Allin on the Buy In. “A lot of people find comfort in professional wrestling because they may not be as comfortable with themselves outside of that world. I think the best move I ever made in wrestling was having the confidence to believe that I could speak to fans who were outside of the fans we were marketing to. I remember thinking not everybody’s hip and slick and cool. I knew for a fact I’m not hip and slick and cool. I remember thinking to myself, there’s a lot more of me out there than there is of them.”

In assessing the current landscape of AEW, Foley said that he’s identified a handful of talents, such Allin, that don’t look or act like traditional pro wrestlers. It’s those talents, though, that Foley particularly wants to help, potentially by uniting them in a stable under his managerial guidance.

“I just think there’s room for everyone in AEW. I really do,” he added.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “The Ariel Helwani Show” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.