What's All The Hubbub: Mick Foley's Greatest Hits & Misses, Hardcore Edition, Disc 1

Posted by Aaron Hubbard on 05.16.2009

The first of three discs covering the career of Mick Foley. This covers his pre-WWE years and features matches with Sting, Sabu, Vader, Terry Funk, Tommy Dreamer, Chris Candido and the British Bulldogs. Plus, three of the best promos in wrestling history.

Mick Foley says that by purchasing this DVD and watching it, we are obviously a big wrestling fan and most likely not dating right now. He thanks us for our romantic sacrifices and hopes we enjoy some of his finest career moments.

He says the first match is with the man they call Vader, and really puts him over as a monster heel. The match has been called by some as “the most blatantly brutal” of his career, which covers quite a bit.

Cactus Jack vs. Big Van Vader w/Harley Race, WCW Saturday Night, 4.17.93
Well, if by blatantly brutal Foley meant that nobody would question whether or not Vader is really hitting him or not, then he is right on the money. Apparently, Mick told Vader to cause some swelling under his eye, but he took it a bit further and broke his nose and busted him open hardway. Blood was a big no-no in the big two at this time, so WCW painstakingly edited out almost every drop of blood. However, Mick has saved an unedited tape in his private collection, and now we get to see it. How cool is that?

A lot of this match is Vader just pummeling Cactus over and over again, but that’s certainly a spectacle in its own right. Cactus makes a few comebacks, even slamming the big man and hitting a clothesline that sends both men through the guardrail. Race gets involved a few times, first eating a clothesline from Jack and then retaliating by choking him on the ropes. His night is over when Jack ducks a clothesline from Vader and Race eats it. Vader hits the Vader Bomb, but Jack kicks out of it (keep in mind that it wasn’t a finisher yet), but Mick hits a hilo on the outside and manages to keep Vader outside long enough to score a count out victory over the World Champ. Vader gets mad and throws the guardrail around, but Mick escapes a further beatdown.
Match Rating: ***

Mick reminds us that Vader was his opponent the night he lost his ear. He says that only in the wrestling business could losing an ear be considered a good thing. However, he laments that WCW management refused to take advantage of it.

He talks about the next match, a street fight with him teaming with Maxx Payne to face The Nasty Boys, and talks about not being mentally ready for it. He says the Nastys were known to be sloppy, but that they could sure fight.

Chicago Street Fight: Cactus Jack & Maxx Payne vs. The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs & Jerry Sags), WCW Spring Stampede, 4.17.94
I don’t like the Nasty Boys. I’m not particularly fond of “garbage wrestling”. And make no mistake: that is what this match is. This is not a match where they use weapons to tell a story. It’s just four men beating the crap out of each other with their fists and various weapons. However, even I have to admit that this is entertaining. There is no downtime, and at less than ten minutes, it never wears out its welcome. Foley, not surprisingly, is the MVP of the match. He busts out his “table suplex” for a nearfall, then attempts to be piledriven through said table (the table breaks early). Foley then takes a STIFF shot with a shovel before eating the pinfall. Mostly mindless brawling, but it’s very good.
Match Rating: ***3/4

We get the first part of Foley’s infamous promo where he spit on the WCW tag belt. Foley explains that WCW was pursuing a relationship with ECW and set up this dream match of Cactus Jack vs. Sabu. He says he was trying to explain that losing his pride meant more to him than his WCW title. He maintains that if Ric Flair had seen the promo he wouldn’t have been as mad.

Foley explains that the first match with Sabu is seen as a disappointment because fans were expecting someone to be killed. He says he’s trying to recreate the battle between George and Curly from “Of Mice and Men”, where he doesn’t fight back and tries to get the fans to beg him to defend himself. He says that he didn’t think it worked but that he still views it as a good match.

Cactus Jack vs. Sabu w/Paul E. Dangerously & 911, ECW Hostile City Showdown, 6.24.94
Well, Foley’s attempt to not fight back works, as it’s all Sabu for several minutes. It doesn’t take long for him to get a chair and hit Air Sabu. Foley finally gets his first offense by blocking a second Air Sabu with a back elbow. Cactus starts working over Sabu and even pummels Sabu with a frying pan from an audience member. Foley misses a swanton bomb (yes, he used to do that), and they brawl for a bit before Sabu puts Foley through a table with a legdrop off the guardrail. Sabu takes a pair of sick bumps, first into the guardrail and then through a table. Foley beats Sabu with part of the table, but when he goes to avalanche Sabu in the corner, Paul E. hits him with his phone and Sabu gets the win. Majorly disappointing finish for this dream match. Cactus fights off 911 and Paul E., but Victor Hughes and the Bruise Brothers come in to fight. Foley hits a piledriver on Sabu on the floor and they continue to brawl until Sabu hits a kick to the groin. Sabu puts Cactus through a table, puts him on the remnants of the table and moonsaults onto Foley, but Cactus suplexes the table onto Sabu. Decent match, but the shenanigans overshadowed it.
Match Rating: **3/4

We got an SMW promo where Cactus does a rhyming promo on Chris Candido, promising to make him dine on his fists like two giant cheetos. Foley expresses shock that he went through seventeen years with that hairstyle. He says he had a lot of good matches with Candido but that they all run together in his mind.

Cactus Jack vs. Chris Candido w/Tammy Sytch, Smoky Mountain Wrestling, 11.18.94
This is kind of a fun match as we see what Foley can do when the rules are in play. He still does a lot of brawling but shows shades of technical ability. It’s not too different from Randy Savage really. Candido plays a cowardly heel but hits a plancha before working over the arm. He works in a Frankensteiner but misses a headbutt and Cactus takes over again. Cactus hits a suplex on the floor and Boo Bradley shows up. Candido collides with Bradley and Cactus wins with the double-arm DDT. Sytch blasts Foley with hairspray and Candido beats Foley down. Bradley hesitates to do a splash but Brian Lee makes the save. Fun, action packed match with some clipping.
Match Rating: **3/4

Foley puts over Candido for running away from the monster face Cactus Jack, and says it got such a great pop that he stole it for his first matches with the Undertaker in WWE.

Foley then says his next opponent The Sandman had some great matches with Foley, but the one we are about to see is not one of them. How’s that for an endorsement?

Texas Death Match: Cactus Jack vs. Sandman w/Woman, ECW 2.4.95
Jack does a Pearl Harbor job and gets a couple of early pins off of legdrops, and controls the early part of the match. This match unintentionally becomes a comedy match as Sandman is out on his feet and can barely…well, do what counts for wrestling from the Sandman. He does hit a slingshot dropkick and shows surprising intelligence by attacking the knee so that Cactus can’t stand on it. Woman even gets in a shot to the knee with a Singapore Cane. However, with Sandman in the shape he is, Foley probably should have started taking over on offense. Sandman doesn’t even bother to go for covers.

Cactus shows how brave or stupid he is by allowing Sandman to piledrive him on a steel chair in the condition he’s in. Sandman finally gets a cover after a DDT on a chair, but breaks the count by attacking Jack. He is so out of it that he keeps getting up from the ten count repeatedly after Cactus hits DDTs on the concrete, but Foley finally manages to keep him down long to win. Styles makes me laugh by taking a shot at Undertaker as Sandman continues to sit up. He’s calling Sandman tougher than Undertaker. I can think of a recent match where Undertaker had a head injury and wrestled a pretty amazing match afterward, Joey. Some of the most bizarre circumstances allow for one of the most hilariously bad matches in wrestling.
Match Rating: 3/4*

Foley busts out the “November 2 Remember after the October to forget” line. Foley actually describes the incident as he hit Terry Funk with a fire chair and Terry got out of it only with third degree burns on part of his body. In the back, Funk gave Foley a verbal beatdown in the locker room. The whole incident was bad enough that Foley considered leaving the business, but Funk got back from the hospital to cut promos for the November match and comforted Foley with a phone message. That gives Foley a chance to do his awesome Funk impression. I’d like to see that footage show up someday. That all lead up to this match.

Cactus Jack & Raven vs. Terry Funk & Tommy Dreamer, ECW November 2 Remember, 11.18.95
Foley is wearing a Dungeon of Doom tye-dye shirt. Yeah, that’ll get you over. Dreamer takes a moment to calm Funk down before the match devolves into a brawl, and not two minutes into the match he pours out a garbage can of fun. Stevie Richards comes in and gets put into a shopping cart and rammed into the post. The referee takes an early bump as well. A speed limit sign, a snow shovel, a VCR, a dustpan, a golf club, a cheese grater, a crutch, and a toilet seat all make an appearance. Raven and Foley finally take over by clotheslining Dreamer with a chain. The heels get an extended heat segment, with Raven bloody and Foley cutting into Funk’s arm with an unidentified object. A smart spot sees Raven and Foley try the chain clothesline again, only for Dreamer to dive into the chain causing the bad guys to bang heads. Dreamer hits a DDT but gets clocked by Foley.

Foley proves he’s as adept at cheap heat as he is at cheap pops by revealing a shirt with a picture of Eric Bischoff and “Forgive me, Uncle Eric!” on the back. A bloody Dreamer fights back and hits “Eric” with a steel chair. Funk gets drilled with Foley’s double arm DDT into a chair but kicks out. Cactus counts a pinfall for Raven, but of course that doesn’t count. Bill Alfonso and Taz come in but Funk kicks out at 2 from a Fonzy count. All four heels take shots at the babyfaces, but they make a comeback. Dreamer hits two DDTs and a Piledriver on Raven, but Funk makes the cover, so Dreamer still hasn’t beat Raven. Foley attacks after the bell, and Richards eats a superkick from Dreamer. Dreamer wraps barbwire around Raven but eats a DDT and a kneedrop to the groin while Cactus continues to pummel Funk. Fun match and appropriately violent.
Match Rating: ***1/4

We get a brief look at Foley’s farewell speech, and I’ll cover that in a while. Foley calls out for Vince before asking us to a keep a secret and Foley says his favorite moment in his career moment was the fans cheering him in his last match after being a heel by supporting the big two. He says it gave him goosebumps and brought tears to his eyes.

Cactus Jack vs. Mikey Whipwreck, ECW Big Ass Extreme Bash, 3.9.96
Crowd gives him a standing ovation and chants “Cactus”. Foley says to Mikey, “Someday you’ll get to tell your kids you had Cactus Jack’s last match, but I’ll be damned if you’re gonna be able to tell ‘em you beat Cactus Jack!” Mikey actually manages to keep pace, busting out the Cactus Clothesline, suplexing him on the floor, and hitting the Russian Legsweep on a chair, but when he tries a victory roll, Cactus dumps him onto a table and then suplexes him into said table. Cactus busts out his elbow off of the second turnbuckle to floor, but Mikey responds with a tope. A Cactus Clothesline over the guardrail sets up a series of Foley’s greatest hits. He even busts out the Mandible Claw.

Foley then takes a sick bump by springboarding before falling into the rail. Cactus survives a series of chair shots and they go through the crowd. Mikey hits a big dive off of a platform. Back in the ring, Foley hits a few chairshots and finishes with a piledriver on a chair. Foley worked his butt off, probably as much a “look at me Vince” as it was a thank you to ECW and its fans. Those fans give another standing ovation and chant “Cactus” once more. Cactus looks like he’s going to attack Mikey some more, but instead raises his hand. As good of a sendoff as we could have hoped for.
Match Rating: ***1/2

And now for some extras.

Post-Vader Match Interview – WCW Saturday Night 4.24.93
Vader has challenged Foley to a rematch. Cactus says that he got the biggest win of his career, but the worst beating. He talks about his family and how they didn’t want him back in the ring with Vader. Foley says that he will, but tells Vader that if he is going to try to destroy Cactus Jack, he should remember that Jack has been trying to do the same thing and hasn’t succeeded yet. Very strong and captivating interview. ****

Falls Count Anywhere, Non-Title: Cactus Jack vs. Sting, WCW Beach Blast, 6.20.92
And this is why these guys would be feuding again seventeen years later. This would be the best match Foley had until his match with Shawn Michaels in 1996. The match is nonstop action. Mick is really smart here, making sure most of his offense targets Sting’s injured midsection. Sting starts making a comeback and takes out Jack’s legs with a chair, but Cactus rolls through the Scorpion Deathlock. Cactus gets a believable nearfall off of a double arm DDT on the ramp, but Sting hits a clothesline and then one off of the top rope for the somewhat surprising ending.

I’ve heard somewhere that when you present something to a critic and they have nothing to say, they did something right. The fact that I really can’t find anything wrong with this match speaks volumes about its quality. Wild brawl with nonstop action and a good amount of psychology thrown in. Mick was sill doing different things at this point, so it made for a more entertaining match. Definitely the best match on this disc.
Match Rating: ****1/4

Cactus Spits on the WCW Tag Team Belt – ECW Hostile City Showdown, 6.24.93
Off the chart intensity for this one. Mick says that he may still be WCW Tag Team Champion, but he’s lost the titles of most suicidal wrestler, ugliest wrestler, and Jack Kevorkian’s favorite wrestler. He says he has nothing against Sabu except that he’s just that much better than him. He says he can’t outdo Sabu and refuses to concede these titles, so he will eliminate the competition. Outstanding promo. ****3/4

Sadly, Paul Heyman follows it up with a poor promo, where he threatens Cactus that Sabu will kill him. That really didn’t need to be on here. -**

”Cane Dewey” Promo – Mick’s all-time favorite promo
Mick talks about his novel (Tietam Brown, which you should check out sometime), and how a woman asks how someone so nice could write something so dark. Foley points to his ECW promos and this one in particular. He says that his negative emotions were largely due to WWE’s ignoring him and says that he could never go back to this sort of interview because he didn’t feel that way anymore.

As for the promo, it’s absolutely captivating and in my opinion is the best promo in the history of wrestling. *****

“Anti-Hardcore” Promo – Cactus Jack denounces the ECW fans
And while that may be the “best”, this is my favorite. As a wrestling fan and a guy who once considered going into the business, this connects with me. In fact, I base my entire fandom around NOT being the type of fan that Foley is describing here. *****

Cactus Jack vs. Sabu – Hamburg, PA 9.30.94
This is the return match after the first one. Early in the match, Sabu misses a moonsault and hits the guardrail, and 911 and Cactus brawl to get him some time. After that small problem, they have a pretty good brawl all over the small arena. Technically, it’s a better match than the first one, but it lacks that “special” feeling that the first one had. The most notable thing that happens is that they bring in a REAL beer bottle, which Sabu tries repeatedly to break over Jack’s head before getting it on the fourth try. Exciting match, but kind of “house show main event” exciting as opposed to “big match” exciting.
Match Rating: ***

ECW Farewell Speech – ECW Big Ass Extreme Bash, 3.9.96
Mick says that the fan’s reaction here made his time in ECW worth it. He puts over the rest of the talent in a total classy move. No need to rate this sort of thing.

Jack Foley & Les Thornton vs. The British Bulldogs (The Dynamite Kid & Davey Boy Smith, 9.13.86
This is Mick’s second ever match. Thornton does some nice technical wrestling with the Bulldogs before tagging Foley in, and the Bulldogs dismantle him with suplexes. Dynamite hits a clothesline that breaks Foley’s jaw, and finishes him with a backdrop superplex. Fun squash courtesy of the Bulldogs.
Match Rating: 1/2*

WWE Confidential Feature – Mick’s long absence is explained
Foley talks about his work with Operation Smile, leaving WWE after the invasion, and coming back to be honored in MSG. Cool little featurette.

The 411: For those wondering, the full rating is for all three discs, not just this disc. Here we get to see some of the early years of Cactus Jack. While the main feature has some fun stuff, it's the extras that make this disc vital. "Cane Dewey" and "Anti Hardcore" are two promos that everybody should see, and the Falls Count Anywhere match with Sting has aged incredibly well. We're off to a good start.

Final Score:  10.0   [ Virtually Perfect ]