Chris Jericho vs. Cactus Jack (ECW Hardcore TV- March 12, 1996)
Yes! A Chris Jericho vs. Mick Foley match! Two of my favorite wrestlers! I don't think these two ever faced each other in the WWE but they did in ECW. The fans who witnessed this match probably didn't know they were watching two future WWE Legends.
The Facts:
- This match can be seen on Chris Jericho's DVD.
- This match happened at the Big Ass Extreme Bash in Queens, New York. The event was reportedly attended by 1,200 fans.
- Chris Jericho's stint with ECW was brief. He joined ECW in early 1996 and he was working for WCW by August of the same year.
- Mick Foley (Cactus Jack) saw Jericho's match against Último Dragón for the WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship in Japan on July 7, 1995 and gave a tape of the match to Paul Heyman who was ECW's promoter.
- Cactus Jack was one of Mick Foley's three wrestling characters. Foley also wrestled as Mankind and Dude Love. When Foley was in ECW, he wrestled as Cactus Jack.
- This was one of Mick Foley's final matches in ECW before joining the WWE. The match aired on March 12, but happened on March 8. On March 9, Cactus Jack wrestled in ECW for the final time when he defeated Mickey Whipwreck.
- Joey Styles was the announcer for this match.
- This match had a 13:57 official time length.
The Match:
Chris Jericho took control of the match early and forced Cactus Jack out of the ring. Cactus got back in the ring and tried to fight back but Jericho was able to knock Cactus out of the ring again. Jericho then started attacking Cactus outside the ring. The two of them went back-and-forth a little bit outside. Cactus got a chair and hit Jericho on the back a couple times. Stevie Richards and the Blue Meanie were ringside so they got in some cheap shots on Jericho. When both men were back in the ring, Cactus took control of the match. Cactus executed several offensive moves on Jericho and then knocked Jericho out of the ring. A lot of action outside the ring in this match. Cactus shoved Jericho into the guardrail and then hit Jericho with a suplex on the floor. Cactus tossed Jericho back into the ring.
With Jericho laying on the mat, Cactus hit a leg drop. Cactus tried to jump off the top turnbuckle while Jericho laid down with a chair on his face but Jericho got up and hit an off the top turnbuckle hurracarrana. Jericho was able to execute some offensive moves on Cactus but Cactus stopped Jericho's comeback with a piledriver. Cactus forced Jericho out of the ring. Both of them went back-and-forth outside the ring until Cactus jumped off the ring apron and hit Jericho with a flying elbow. Cactus got Jericho back into the ring and hit Jericho with a piledriver. Cactus covered Jericho but Jericho kicked out. Cactus tried to hit another piledriver but Jericho reversed it and hit a German suplex. Jericho didn't release Cactus after the suplex which pinned Cactus's shoulders to the mat. Jericho got the three count and won the match.
Winner: Chris Jericho
Rating: ***
This was a solid match. It wasn't a great match, but it was good. I like Foley and he's a decent wrestler but his matches aren't very good when he tries to have a real wrestling match. Foley's style usually worked better in gimmick matches. Foley did some impressive stuff but Jericho entertained me more in this match. Foley and Jericho are two different wrestlers. Foley is slow and uses his strength to win matches. Jericho is quick and uses his athleticism to win matches. It wasn't a great match-up but both guys worked their asses off. I loved the effort from Foley and Jericho. This match isn't one of Jericho's best matches. He did a good job but the story of the match was Cactus controlling most of the match with Jericho finding ways to stay in the match. Jericho won the match, but the way he won made it look like he pulled off a surprise win. Jericho looked like the underdog in this match. I would have liked to see Jericho get in a little bit more offensive but I think it was a well-worked match. It was nice to see Foley and Jericho wrestling each other in a match before either of them joined the WWE.
This was just before I had even heard of ECW.
ReplyDeleteThis was three years before I watched wrestling. In March 1996, I was seven years old.
DeleteI was about 16 or so. Saw somebody get crotched on the post by 2 guys and was hooked.
ReplyDeleteFor me, it was because all my friends at school was watching it. My first WWE memory was Undertaker and Stephanie's unholy wedding.
DeleteNever seen this match before, decent match. I recently got into wrestling history, I guess I'm kind of studying it. Time before Attitude Era. Currently getting to know more about 80s wrestlers. A couple of weeks I'll get to know more about ECW, although I know a fair bit about it.
ReplyDeleteYeah I would like to get into wrestling history too. I would love to watch more matches of guys like Ric Flair and Macho Man in their primes.
Delete@ Ray: In the 80's, there used to be this guy named Hulk Hogan and he was super-over! You might've heard of him. :-)
ReplyDeleteHulk Hogan had a bigger "superman" gimmick than John Cena. The IWC would have ripped the shit out of Hogan if the internet was around in the 80's. "Hogan can't wrestle! All he's got is that Big Boot and leg drop!"
DeleteWTF! Really? lol
ReplyDeleteyeah Tony, that's exactly what would be said by the majority of the IWC.
The internet would have forced Hulk Hogan to turn heel a lot sooner.
DeleteTotally agree! Change in fans>change in booking.
ReplyDeleteI read Eric Bischoff's book and he said Hogan was the one who wanted to be the "third man". Bischoff was going to make Sting the third member of the nWo. If the internet was around during his time in the WWF, he would have asked Vince to turn heel.
DeleteI'm just trying to picture heel Hogan at that time. Or Sting as the turncoat. I think we have a new "What if?" column.
ReplyDeleteSting joining the nWo would be a good "What If" but I'm not much of a Sting or WCW fan to write about it.
DeleteTry kicking the idea to J or somebody from Ray's site. It has potential.
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