Has Mick Foley been effective in getting people over in TNA?

TNA Question 8; I’ve posted 20 questions on WWE, TNA and the Indies, inviting readers to answer. Now, I’ll be posting some reader response and commenting on what I think the answer is to each question. Feel free to continue to post responses on any question after the one I’ve already answered (I’ll be going in order). The awesome Andy Wheeler replied to all 20 questions over on Pulse Wrestling. No one knows more about the WWE mindset than Wheeler, so be sure to give him a read. Let’s get going with the sixth TNA question:       

8. Has Mick Foley gotten anyone over at all since he came to TNA?

“I can't remember the last time he got someone over in WWE.” – Grey Sherl

We begin with this statement, which is, in the end, just untrue.  Mick Foley in the WWE came out of retirement and twice used his name to help establish new stars.  Both Edge and Randy Orton owe much of their main event success to Mick setting them up as killer heels.

 “That's a weird question. Only in TNA can you ask if friggin' Mankind is getting the heat. And yet, it's valid. I think he's been an effective heel, but he comes across as bored/boring as a face.” – Brad Curran

Yes, here we are.  A major star of the WWE’s hottest era ever has come to TNA to become just another guy.  Fans love cheering Foley.  He’s a lovable babyface and beloved, but it’s a role he’s bored with, so not only is he not putting people over, he’s also been mostly giving uninspired performances.

“No, but he hasn't buried anyone either so he hasn't hurt the product.” – Kewf

And here’s another falacy.  First, his underwhelming performances with top stars hurts the top of the card- that which in the product is supposed to draw.  Secondly, Foley takes up a lot of telelvision time- time that could be utilized in getting young guys over, or, were they in segments with him, time that would expose this young talent to a wider audience.

“Absolutely not. Just about everyone he's had interaction with since coming to TNA was already an established star somewhere else and hasn't gained anything as a result. The feud with Abyss is the first time he's had a chance to elevate a "homegrown" TNA star.” – Crash

So, we had Mick working semi-silly, uninspired segments that seem to bore him with top stars, but the idea is that now things are improving because he’s working with “homegrown” Abyss.  Abyss has been through every concievable match and, generally, jobbed out in the most absurd ways possible.  Is Abyss really the best that TNA can do for Mick (though at least he’s a heel and apparently having fun again)?

“No. There are only two people that need a rub in the upper mid card to get to the main event level: Hernandez, Morgan. Morgan is getting the rub from Angle so he doesn't need it from Foley. Hernandez could use the rub to push through to main event, but I am not sure how they could have made that work.” – Ben

Foley is being kept away from the young guys TNA truly wants to get over as killers.  This is the exact oposite of the way WWE used him against Orton and Edge, arguably the top two faces in the company right now.  This is almost the equivalent of WWE having Mick come out of retirement to face Koslov, but at least Koslov hasn’t been made to look silly.  If this is what Foley finally came out of retirement for, he’s done nothing but sour his legacy and should never have come back.