[1993-04-17-WCW-Saturday Night] Vader vs Cactus Jack

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Having Jesse Ventura edited out of commentary shows how bad Tony Schiavone on auto-pilot could be. Pretty famous match with Vader potatoing the hell out of Cactus' face, which is pretty brutal. Cactus, whose all bloody in the face, wins by countout to set up a rematch which we'll get to soon.

[shoe]

I never really thought much of this. It was o.k but nothing special. Man was Vader targeting that nose.

[BackToBionic]

Just brutal. He talks a bit about this match in his first book.

[El-P]

Brutal match, with an aura of violent brawl, but it's a bit too much of Cactus jerking off of getting hit in the nose and not enough good actual work like their previous match. Still like it, and the post match promo by Vader is great.

[Zenjo]

Foley did plenty of stupid things in his career, and encouraging Vader beforehand to attack his face ranks right up there. It was savage as Jack got pummeled into a bloody mess early. Despite this he really took it to the champion and hurt Vaders ribs on the barricade to get the upset win. I remembered this finish vividly from the time. Only went 10m so was sharp and to the point.

[Kevin Ridge]

This is where WCW cameraman standing on apron in corner really works out well. Vader's shots were so stiff and brutal. Most of the match is that but it's still something to watch. I do not like Ventura being edited out of WCW commentary on WWE releases. Race took a couple bumps on the outside.

[PeteF3]

I fucking hate watching these matches with Ventura edited out. I was hoping to find an uncensored version with Jesse on commentary online, but no luck (I used to have a videotape of it, so it's out there). I'm not normally impressed by matches that just consist of one guy taking legit shots, but there's a bit more to that here. Cactus catching Vader in an avalanche and bodyslamming him was a cool spot, and Cactus' comebacks in general have more pep to them because of the beating we see him take. Yes, part of this is Foley jacking off, but at least it's still somewhat serving a larger purpose in telling the story.

[WingedEagle]

I love Vader hop stepping. Vader just laying it in with his strikes. Cactus catches Vader and slams him, then a top rope lariat and it goes to the floor for more rapid fire violence. Cactus is busted open and his face a mess from all the stiff shots. Vader sends Cactus to the floor but misses a splash on the railing that lets Cactus win via countout. More brutal than New Japan vs. WAR but not as heated or dramatic. Still, great pace here and didn't leave you time to blink. I slightly preferred it to the rematch which was a little more cartoonish.

 

***1/2

[soup23]

So yeah, Ventura being edited makes the commentary suck here as Tony sounds weirdly alien. The match was a good, gritty fight but not a whole lot of substance to it, just straight potatoes and hard hitting shots. Looking forward to the rematch. ***

[garretta]

I thought that this was tremendous, perhaps WCW's Match of the Year so far. Even the lack of Jesse on commentary didn't hurt this like I thought it would.

 

I don't understand the "Foley's jerking off" references. I know what the phrase means, but I don't know how the hell it can apply here. Can any of you prove that Mick in essence sabotaged the match by ordering or otherwise encouraging Vader to forget whatever plan they may have had going in and just keep hitting him in the face instead? How do you know that wasn't the plan to begin with?

 

Remember, Cactus Jack is just as crazy as Vader if not more so, and Vader knows it. He also knows that he's in for the fight of his life if he lets Cactus have his way for even a moment. So why not just forget the wrestling stuff and pound the hell out of him? I don't doubt that some of the shots were legit (though we don't have anyone's word other than Mick's, and he's trying to make himself look good), but I don't imagine that a match between them was ever going to feature much in the way of what El-P called "good actual work".

 

The finish was a stroke of genius, as we saw Cactus lure Vader into charging him on the safety rail, then move out of the way. Vader looked like he hit hard, and I wouldn't doubt that he legitimately bruised a rib or two. I loved him throwing the piece of rail around at the end as if he blamed it for the loss.

 

Harley can still bump when he has to, God bless him. He adds more to Vader's matches that way than he does as a spokesman.

 

Tony was actually more tolerable by himself, even though I hated Vince editing Jesse off of his DVDs on general principle. I loved Tony's line the first time the rail was knocked over: "There goes the furniture!"

 

I'm really looking forward to the rematch, although I'm not sure if this bout can be topped for sheer brutality without the use of weapons.

[Superstar Sleeze]

WCW World Heavyweight Champion Vader vs Cactus Jack - WCW Saturday Night 4/17/93

 

When the masochist meets his sadist, the blood will flow. Vader targets the nose of Cactus with some nasty shots early on but cannot accomplish his mission. The first comeback by Cactus is great catching Vader in the corner and then hitting a bodyslam, leg drop and then taking out him in the railing (I always freak out because it looks like Vader's arm is about to break but then he gets free from the railing), Cactus smokes Harley with a clothesline. Talk about someone who does not sell. Harley gets hit with two clotheslines in this match (one by Jack and one by Vader) and is up and fresh as a daisy. Vader splatters Cactus' nose. Holy fuck! Some nasty shit. Vader manhandles Cactus. Cactus keeps absorbing the brutal punishment. He lures Vader over to the railing. Vader wants to splash Cactus on the railing like what happened to him but Cactus moves. The big Grizzly Bear is wounded. Cactus somersault splash from the apron. Vader's selling and howling is phenomenal here as his temper tantrum after losing by countout. Throwing the railing into the post and then his psycho promo even hitting Tony. Cactus had a lot of momentum turning babyface in January against Harley and then beating Orndorff. This match feels like a big deal and the countout win really establishes he can take a lickin and keep on tickin, but also leaves you wanting more can Cactus pin the Mastodon? ***3/4

[Steenalized]

Felt like watching some Vader and came across this first. Watched with the sound off but that looks like it might be for the best here.

Cactus gets the best of Vader early which sets up a nice bit of camera work where Vader is slumped in the corner, shaking his head saying "nuh uh, I'm gonna smash this guy." And damn does he ever. Brutal potatoing of Cactus's face, really gruesome stuff, uncomfortably so at this point for me. The camera in the corner is really good for that action because you totally see Vader lay it in, no doubts about the punishment he's putting on Cactus. Problem is that Cactus catching Vader gets lost, but you get the slam and follow up at a better angle. Vader taking back over by splatting Cactus looks awesome, pancakes him good. Cactus bleeds later on after more of Vader's clubbing shots, I'm guessing it's hard way? Man Vader's offense looks so good. I mean, it's easier to look good when you legit pop a guy over and over, but Vader just looks like he has heavy hands. Big splash from Vader looks like it could have been the end if it was a nothing TV match (I mean no build, no future match planned, etc), but Vader not going for the pin confused me. Vader eating it on the railing looked okay, decent ending to the match to get over that Cactus can take a licking and keep on ticking. Or at least keep on hurling himself at a monster like Vader. Vader screaming and writhing like he's got a hernia then losing his shit after added a bit. Haven't rated anything in forever but... sub ***s. Not a knock, just didn't love it. Entertaining ten minutes of action, worth a watch.