Speaking on Saraya’s “Rulebreakers” podcast, Noelle Foley, the daughter of WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley, gave a detailed account of her time training to be a professional wrestler and why she ultimately stepped away from the career path. Foley cited a series of significant injuries as the primary reason her time in wrestling was short-lived.
Foley stated that from the beginning of her training, she was susceptible to getting hurt. “I just kept getting hurt,” she said. “I was taking shoulder tackles from like, 300 pound men.” She recalled one specific incident that occurred shortly after a medical procedure, stating, “Right after I got my implants, it was the first practice back, and we were practicing shoulder tackles. I should have said, ‘Oh no. Like, I should probably heal a little bit more.’ I was just like, ‘Okay.’ Like, I don’t want to get any special treatment.”
Another injury occurred just days before a scheduled tryout with WWE’s NXT brand while filming the reality show Holy Foley. “I tried dropping the elbow… and of course, I landed right on my ribs instead of, like, landing on my hip. And instantly it hurt so bad,” she recalled. “We ended up going to the hospital that night, and they said I bruised my rib, but in a in a few days, we had to go to Orlando to have my NXT tryout.”
Foley described the tryout as the “most intense thing I’ve ever done,” especially while dealing with the rib injury. She noted that current WWE star Bianca Belair was in her tryout group and recalled one specific drill. “I had to do a fireman’s carry with her,” Foley said. “And doing that, one, being out of shape, and two, having a bruised rib, I was like, just like, barely moving and barely walking.”
During the most difficult drill of the day, Foley said WWE executive Paul “Triple H” Levesque came in to observe. “Of course, Triple H walks in while we’re doing the last drill of the day, where I was absolutely struggling,” she said. “I think I somehow got my bruised rib re-bruised… the next day, I was in so much pain, I was asking my dad, ‘Can you please take me to the hospital?'” Her full story was shared on her appearance on Saraya’s “Rulebreakers” podcast. Click below to watch.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Rulebreakers With Saraya with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
