[1990-03-23-NWA-Power Hour] Eddie Gilbert vs Cactus Jack

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

I didn't expect this to be such an excellent *wrestling* match, but it is. This is a nice showcase from both guys, and it's not the out-of-control brawl that they'd start doing on the indy scene later in the year. These two work really well together. They do some surprisingly solid chain wrestling early on, and Gilbert's strategy of disorienting Cactus by coming at him from so many unexpected directions is clearly conveyed and works very well. I think Cactus's chinlock goes a little long and takes this down a peg, but this is still a very good 15-minute draw worth checking out, and there is a surprising amount of attention to detail. I'm really curious what others will think of this. They do tease some of the higher-risk brawling stuff at the end. I like seeing the wrestling fundamentals of Cactus Jack, and I would pretty safely call this one of either guy's best matches.

[PeteF3]

Cactus isn't afraid to sit in a chinlock for awhile and the draw was telegraphed from the first time limit announcement. I didn't see this as one of Cactus' "best" but it was one of his better singles matches to this point, at least. Ross pointing out Gilbert's broken neck was a great way to justify the use of the chinlock, even if it was a post-hoc explanation, and we do get a few trademark Cactus bumps and a wrinkle I'd never seen before with a dropkick off the ring apron. Good closing stretch at least until the botched time announcements at the end.

[soup23]

May be lower on this as anyone else as I thought it was fine but didn't really start cooking until the final five minutes and thought a lot of stuff early on looked either sloppy or just killing time stuff. Ending stretch was hot though with killer bumps from Cactus and intricate sequences. Cactus dropkick from apron looked ugly as hell. Still a good match and maybe Cactus best up to that point.

[shoe]

A real fun match. Gilbert working spots around the headlock was great. The vocal battle was fun. That chinlock from Cactus did drag, but he is limited here. Overall, some good stuff.

[Kevin Ridge]

Gilbert hugging a little Stinger at ringside. Cactus does his version of the Slaughter corner bump. Cactus wrestling! And doing a pretty good job at it. Good in ring action between the two. Ross telegraphs the finish early by mentioning how much time left in the match. Cactus does a reckless dive over the railing that almost hit a couple of young fans. Time limit draw in the end. Good match though.

[Cox]

Fun TV match from these two that is different from a lot of the good Cactus Jack matches we will see later in the decade, but nonetheless a pretty fun one. Probably does not speak well for Gilbert's role in the company at this point when he's going to a 15 minute draw with Cactus at this point.

 

I kinda wish the Yearbook had the segment later in the program with Norman, Captain Mike, and the black box (who I assume was Abby) but when the Yearbook granted me Atlas vs Onita last night, that probably spoiled me a bit.

[Zenjo]

Manson was on the right path to becoming a strong character and also showed he could work here. This was a solid technical match with good fundementals and construction. Gilbert was meant to be the face here but sure didn't act like it. I've never been that keen on the guy.

[TravJ1979]

"no, no no" "yes, yes, yes" Real fun match I was glad to find during my "purchase every Foley comp that exists" phase in the late 1990's (pre-internet).

[garretta]

The purpose of this match was to show that Cactus Jack could actually wrestle and hold his own with the good workers in the NWA, and it was achieved. This is the first time I've seen Mick work a match that's mostly holds, and he acquits himself well. Gilbert's a tad bland as a face, which most of us already knew going in.

 

I liked the discussion of offensive and defensive wrestling from JR and Gordon. I know some people prefer that JR would say nothing that isn't the calling of a move, but what sports announcer doesn't digress from time to time? And this wasn't even a digression; it helped get over that Cactus Jack actually had some skills, which is the whole point of this match in the first place. Fir someone who at times didn't come across as comfortable working with a color commentator, Gordon is a superb one himself.

 

Not a contender for Match of the Month, but a solid bout that did its job well.

[drew wardlaw]

Always cool to see Cactus wrestling, and I love TV time limit draws, but it's such a bummer when the announcers and time keepers aren't consistent with calling the time. Just announce the time in every match, and it keeps GMC off that phone of his.

[Stiva]

Baby Cactus puts on a pretty damn good wrestling match. You can see that he's still a little green but this feels like someone beginning to find his feet and you even get a glimpse of the future with some nutty bumping and a nasty looking dropkick from the apron. It wasn't pretty, it wasn't clean but it looked all the better for it. Time limit draw is the obvious conclusion but it's another slice of fun tv wrestling from WCW.