Mick Foley’s Greatest Hits and Misses
Disc One
WWE Home Video Release: 2004
This is a collection of Mick Foley matches, personally picked out by the hardcore legend himself. Foley is hosting the show, offering insight on the matches from WCW, SMW, WWF, and ECW.
Cactus Jack vs Big Van Vader (with Harley Race)
WCW Saturday Night
April 17th 1993
Foley says that he encouraged Vader to cause swelling to his head. Also the match became rather bloody, so WCW censors were all over this.
The bell rings, and both men kick things off with some taunting and stalling. They tie up and Jack corners Vader, unleashing some aggressive punches on the intimidating larger man. Vader was clearly caught off guard. They tie up again and Vader takes the advantage this time, punching Jack into the ropes. Vader hits some sick shots to Foley’s face. Vader continues the assault to Jack’s face, busting him open in the early going. Vader whips Jack into the opposite corner and splashes him. Jack drops into the ropes and suffers some more stiff shots to the face. Vader goes for another splash, but Jack catches him in midair and slams him. Jack goes to the top rope and hits a flying clothesline! Jack knocks Vader out of the ring. Jack chases after Vader and clotheslines him into the barricade, knocking it over. There is a commercial break.
After the break, Jack is still taking it to Vader. Jack puts a sleeper and Vader, but Vader drops on his back. Vader loses his mask, and resumes the deliverance of stiff shots to Jack’s face, bloodying him up. We are informed at this point that this is the unedited footage from Foley’s personal collection, and not what aired on WCW television. Harley Race gets some shots in on Jack, avenging a clothesline from earlier. Vader hoists Jack up on his back and drops him. Vader signals for the Vader Bomb and hits the move perfectly. Foley kicks out of the cover attempt, so Vader tosses him back to Harley Race at ringside. Vader misses a clothesline and hits Race on accident. Vader doesn’t care though, and immediately goes back to attacking Jack. Vader nails Jack in the face with his boot, but Jack makes it back into the ring anyway. Vader clotheslines Jack back to ringside. Vader goes to splash Jack, but Jack moves out of the way and Vader hits the safety rail gut first! That looked like it hurt! Jack then leaps off the apron, taking Vader down! I would say business is picking up. Jack rolls back into the ring, where he gains the count-out victory at 10:44! Vader is pissed and trashes the ringside area. This was a good brawl, had some cool spots at the end, but was really slow. Still, it was worth watching, as it gains points for being so stiff, **1/2.
Winner by count-out: Cactus Jack
-Foley recalls losing his ear in a match with Vader later on in Germany. He was frustrated that WCW didn’t make an angle out of it.
Cactus Jack and Maxx Payne vs. The Nasty Boys
WCW Spring Stampede
April 17th 1994
The brawling begins on the entrance ramp, without even making it the ring. This is a “Chicago Street Fight.” Foley and Brian Knobbs go at it around the stage. The action spills into the ring, where Jack takes a pool cue to Knobbs. Jack and Knobbs spill over the top rope to ringside. Jack shoves Knobbs into the barricade, but gets taken down by both Nasty Boys. Maxx Payne makes the save, as the brawling continues. Brian Knobbs and Maxx Payne return to the entrance stage while Jerry Sags and Cactus Jack return to the ring. Each brawling duo has a referee with them as this is falls count anywhere. The camera focuses on Sags and Jack in the ring. Meanwhile, Knobbs and Payne brawl into a souvenir stand. Knobbs throws a table at Payne, while simultaneously Sags and Jack play the biting game. Sags tries to use a chair, but Jack takes it for himself and cracks it over Sag’s stupid skull. Meanwhile, Payne slams Brian Knobbs into the table and a ton of merchandise! Payne takes a t-shirt and shoves it into Knobb’s throat. Sags and Jack brawl back into the same area as the others and Jack gets whipped over the safety rail. The Nasty Boys then whip Payne into the concession stand set-up and lift up a table to drive it into Jack. Jack suffers several table shots to the face. Sags brings the table to the entrance stage. Jack chases after him and hits a neck breaker on the ramp. Jack slingshots the table into Jerry Sags! Knobbs then comes out of nowhere and hits Jack in the head with a damn shovel! Payne comes to the rescue, hitting Knobbs repeatedly with the shovel. Meanwhile, Jack gets pile drived through the table! Sags hits Jack with the shovel for good measure and pins him for the victory at 8:55! This was a crazy brawl, though the ending was anticlimactic, **1/2.
Winners: The Nasty Boys
-We then are treated to a Cactus Jack promo in ECW, where he spits on the WCW Tag Team Championship. Foley was still working with WCW at the time, but was sent to ECW because WCW was interested in trading talent. Foley was put against Sabu, where they had the “ultimate battle of hardcore icons.” Foley felt that the bar for expectations for the match were too high, and disappointed since no one was actually killed.
Cactus Jack vs. Sabu
ECW Hostile City Showdown
June 24th 1994
This is the first ever match between Sabu and Cactus Jack. Sabu circles Jack like a shark and hits a series of dropkicks to the back of Jack’s head. Sabu aggressively takes the fight to Jack, who doesn’t seem too interested in defending himself. Sabu puts Jack in a front face lock. Sabu breaks the hold himself and chokes Jack on the bottom turnbuckle. Sabu hits a side suplex and Jack still does not seem to want to defend himself! Sabu hits a spinning kick on Jack, sending him tumbling to the concrete floor. Sabu goes to suicide dive Jack, but Jack bothers to move out of the way. Sabu takes a chair to Jack, working on his supposedly injured shoulder. Sabu continues the merciless assault with the chair. Sabu sits Jack on the chair, returns to the ring, and suicide dives onto the sitting Cactus Jack! Jack might not have to do anything, Sabu will take himself out. They return to the ring, where Sabu continues to drive the chair into Jack. Sabu launches himself off the chair, sandwiching Jack into the corner. Sabu tries again, but Jack knocks Sabu in midair with a back elbow! Jack is suddenly fired up and ravages Sabu’s face. Jack clotheslines himself and Sabu over the ropes to ringside. Jack takes the chair and takes some payback by cracking it over Sabu’s back and lower head. Jack hits an elbow drop off the apron onto Sabu, who was laying on the concrete floor. Sabu gets to his feet, but Jack throws a chair at him. Jack grabs a frying pan and nails Sabu with it and then hits himself with it several times. Jack tosses Sabu back into the ring and hits an elbow drop. Sabu kicks out of a cover attempt. Jack climbs to the top rope and misses a front flip. Sabu climbs to the top and splashes Jack. Jack kicks out of a cover. Sabu hits a leg drop, but not of doom. Sabu goes to the top, but Jack knocks him off the turnbuckle and hits a belly to back suplex, which Sabu turns into a splash in midair! Sabu hits a standing drop kick, but both men are exhausted. Jack blocks an Irish whip, Sabu blocks a suplex, and manages to tosses Jack through the ropes. Jack and Sabu brawl into the front row. Jack hits the floor with a thud, giving Sabu enough time to set up a table by the guard rail. Sabu leaps off the guard rail on to Jack on the table! That was cool. Sabu rolls Jack back into the ring and goes for a cover. They return to ringside, where Jack flap jacks Sabu onto the guard rail! Sabu recovers and hits a back suplex on the concrete floor. Sabu sets up a table outside the guard rail, in the front row, with an assist from 911. 911 sets Jack up on the table, giving Sabu time to hit an Asai moonsault off the ropes over the guard rail onto Jack! That spot never gets old. Jack recovers before Sabu, and drags him into the ring for a cover. Sabu kicks out, almost even after killing himself with that moonsault. Jack takes a piece of the table and nails Sabu. Paul E. Dangerously hits Jack in the head with a phone and it gives Sabu the chance to pin Jack at 13:00. Foley isn’t done and beats on 911, Sabu, and Paul E. This match was pretty good, especially for a hardcore match in 1994, ***. From here it turns into an ECW-style run-in festival.
Winner: Sabu
-Cactus Jack cuts a fun promo, promising to make Chris Candido bleed-o, and other fun rhymes. Foley comments that he can’t believe his sleazy hairdo. Foley says he had a lot of fun while working in Smoky Mountain Wrestling. Foley puts Chris Candido over as being a great technical wrestler and cowardly heel.
Cactus Jack vs. Chris Candido (with Tammy)
Smoky Mountain Wrestling
November 18th 1994
Candido jumps Jack and backs him into a corner in the early going. Jack gets a back elbow on Candido, to save himself from a pummeling. Jack chases Candido to ringside and clotheslines him back onto the apron. Jack bites Candido in the head and kicks him in the wound. Jack does his signature clothesline over the top rope and they spill to ringside. Jack plants Candido groin first on the guard rail and they quickly return to the ring. Jack side tackles Candido and hits a leg drop into a cover. Jack takes Candido back down into a side head lock. Candido fights to his feet and pushes Jack into the ropes, who side tackles him again. Candido sends Jack through the ropes. Candido hits a baseball slide and hits a high crossbody over the ropes onto Jack. Candido grabs Jack by the hair, and chases after the hardcore icon. Candido takes a crutch from a fan and hits Jack over the back with it. They fight back into the ring and Candido is choked out by Jack. Jack is driven into the turnbuckles and Candido is back in control. Candido uses an armbar takedown to ground the madman. Jack refuses to tap out. Candido wrenches Jack’s arm, and continues to work on the arm. Candido tries to roll Jack into a pinning position, but Jack fights out. Candido hits a nice suplex. Jack fights back with a swinging neckbreaker. Candido soon hits a frankensteiner off the tope rope (thanks to an assist from Tammy). Candido misses another top rope move and Jack is in charge again. Jack destroys Candido with a front suplex onto the concrete. Tammy returns to ringside with Boo Bradley, who accidentally causes Candido to be distracted and suffer the pinfall loss to Jack at 8:14. This was a fun little match, **3/4. After the match, Tammy sprays Jack in the eye with some mace and Candido beats down Jack. Brian Lee makes the save, and things get chaotic from here.
Winner: Cactus Jack
Cactus Jack vs. The Sandman (with Woman)
Extreme Championship Wrestling
February 4th 1995
Foley admits that this match is “not a good one.” He picked it out because it was like a “train wreck” and is important because Sandman is knocked out early in the match. This was a Texas Death match. Jack attacks Sandman during his entrance and pushes him into the guard rail, followed by a chair shot to the head. Cactus rolls Sandman into the ring and hits some more chair shots on Sandman. The bell hasn’t rung, but I’m starting the counter now. Cactus gets the first pinfall of the match, but Sandman gets right back up. Cactus hits another chair shot and follows it up with a leg drop. Cactus gets another pinfall. Sandman barely gets to his feet again. Sandman gets tied up in the ropes with his legs spread apart in the air, giving Cactus a chance to baseball slide him onto the floor. The brawling returns to ringside, and by brawling I mean that Cactus is destroying Sandman, who has been out of it since that first chair shot at the beginning of the match. Sandman finally hits some shots on Cactus, but can barely keep himself standing. Sandman tosses Cactus into the ring and foolishly slingshots himself over the ropes to kick Cactus. Cactus is doing his best to keep Sandman looking good at this point, but he is clearly frustrated. Cactus goes back on offense, as selling is basically what Sandman can do best at this point. Cactus throws Sandman back to ringside. Cactus snapmares Sandman onto the concrete, but misses on a leg drop. Cactus hobbles around for a bit before noticing that Sandman is still cowering on the floor. Cactus stands Sandman up and charges for a boot, but Sandman falls out of the way and Cactus collides with the barricade. Sandman hits some weak punches on Cactus, chasing him back into the ring. Sandman hits a vertical suplex and follows it up with a knee shot. Sandman stumbles around the ring and manages to kick Cactus in the gut before falling down again. Sandman is a real danger to himself and to Cactus at this point, but keeps on trucking. Sandman rams the “bad knee” of Cactus Jack into a steel chair. Cactus rolls into the ropes, where he suffers a kendo stick shot from Woman. Sandman takes control again, whipping Cactus into the turnbuckles. Sandman continues with his goofy, unconscious offense for a bit. Sandman almost hits the referee with a chair, but Foley interrupts. Sandman ends up back body dropping Cactus onto the chair! Sandman whips Cactus into the turnbuckle again, and the match is officially stuck in a test pattern. Cactus comes back with a head butt and a snapmare. Cactus misses on the elbow drop, and I am pleading for them to end the match. Cactus must have heard me because he hits a DDT on Sandman onto the chair, but Sandman stupidly kicks out of the pinfall attempt. Sandman comes back and hits a disgusting spike piledriver on Cactus onto the chair, injuring Cactus’s neck in the process. Sandman goes for the cover, and it only gets a two. Sandman drives his knee into the head of Cactus Jack, and hits a DDT onto the chair. Both men are really messed up now. Sandman makes the cover and gets the pinfall. Cactus gets up before the ten count, so the match continues. Sandman treats us with more crappy offense, but he is trying. Cactus grabs the Singapore cane and cracks it over Sandman’s head and shoulders. Sandman retreats to ringside, but Cactus chases him. They brawl for a bit before heading back to the ring, where Cactus hits Sandman in the head with the chair again, which was just what he needed. Sandman falls out of the ring, and Cactus leaps off the apron, driving the chair into Sandman on the concrete floor. Sandman kicks out of the cover attempt, so Cactus leaps off the apron again, this time getting the three count on the cover. Sandman gets up though! This match just will not end! Cactus goes for a piledriver on the floor, but Sandman counters. Cactus gets a move in that looks like a botched piledriver, and gets another three count, but Sandman gets up again. Cactus hits another DDT onto the concrete and gets another pinfall. If this was a normal match, this would have ended about eight times by now. Unfortunately, Sandman gets up again. Cactus hits yet another DDT and gets yet another pinfall. I am praying that Sandman stays down this time. And he does. Cactus defeated Sandman at 15:35! This match was extremely sloppy thanks to Sandman being knocked out in the early going, so Foley was more or less wrestling himself through most of it. Still, the match felt like a real fight, which props it up to *. Even if Sandman had not been knocked out, this probably still would not have been good.
Winner: Cactus Jack
Cactus Jack and Raven (with Stevie Richards) vs. Terry Funk and Tommy Dreamer
ECW November 2 Remember
November 18th 1995
This match was on the heels of the prior month where Cactus accidentally set Terry Funk on fire. The match starts off hot, with Cactus and Raven keeping Funk and Dreamer from getting into the ring. Dreamer and Funk finally storm into the ring, and a brawl follows. Foley takes on Funk while Dreamer and Raven go at it, continuing their classic feud. Foley and Funk brawl into the ringside area, Raven tries to break it up, but Funk takes on both men. Dreamer makes the save, as all hell breaks loose! Funk breaks a chair over Cactus, who had fallen over the barricade. In the ring, Dreamer and Funk have Raven all to their selves. They remove Raven from the ring, as Funk gets a garbage bucket full of weapons. Stevie Richards had initially brought the weapons, and gets himself dumped into a shopping cart by Funk and Dreamer and rammed into the ring post. In the ring, Cactus has returned to the action, but Funk is cleaning house with a shovel. Funk then takes a dust pan and nails Cactus with it. Funk then takes a golf club to the sensitive man area of Raven. The momentum shifts quickly, as Raven and Cactus come back with weapon shots on their opponents. Raven takes a chain to Dreamer, and gets some help from Cactus to almost decapitate him with it! Raven has been busted open big time by this point, and is bleeding heavily. Meanwhile, Cactus takes some shots at Funk’s previously burnt arm. The action is all over the place, as it is hard to keep track of all the chaos! The action returns to ringside. Raven sends Dreamer crashing into the barricade, and then back into the ring. Raven spits on Dreamer, making this even more personal. Foley and Funk are back in the ring now, and Funk is bleeding quite heavily by now too. Cactus and Raven try to decapitate Dreamer with the chain again, but this time Dreamer counters and knocks both Cactus and Raven into each other in a really innovative spot. The comeback is short lived, as Cactus takes Dreamer down. At ringside, Raven and Funk are doing battle. In the ring, Cactus is trying to start a “WCW” chant. Dreamer and Cactus then exchange some hard punches, with Dreamer taking the advantage. Dreamer pulls up Foley’s shirt (which has Eric Bischoff on it) so that Bischoff’s face is where Foley’s face should be, prompting Dreamer to up the violence in his attack. That was awesome. Dreamer tosses the garbage can at Cactus, but gets cut off before taking the long term advantage. Funk comes back to the ring, and gets DDTed onto a chair by Cactus for his troubles. Raven is back and leaps over the ropes onto Dreamer on the floor. Raven covers Funk, and Cactus does the count himself, which is pretty worthless, though it did sound like a bell rang. The violence continues as Cactus uses a crutch to further hurt Dreamer. Alfonso and Taz come in as officials and nearly costs Funk and Dreamer the match. Dreamer comes back with a beautiful DDT on Raven, follows it up with another DDT, and drapes Raven over a chair for a piledriver! Funk ends up pinning Raven at 14:45! This was a really great brawl, filled with creative spots and innovative action, ***3/4. The brawling continues after the match, with Raven hitting some offense and getting something of a moral victory on Dreamer. Meanwhile, Cactus beats down Funk in the entrance aisle.
Winners: Terry Funk and Tommy Dreamer
Cactus Jack vs. Mikey Whipwreck
ECW Big Ass Extreme Bash
March 9th 1996
This was Foley’s farewell match in ECW. Foley says that his favorite moment of his career takes place in this match, as the ECW crowd gives Foley a respectful and heartfelt goodbye. In the actual match, Whipwreck is wearing a neck brace and looks quite foolish. In the opening announcements, Whipwreck is booed and Cactus Jack gets a standing ovation. The bell rings, but Cactus takes a microphone first. He tells Whipwreck that someday he will be able to look at his kids and say that he had Cactus Jack’s last match, but he’ll be damned if he can say that he beat Cactus Jack. They finally tie up about a minute into the match, and Cactus pushes Whipwreck down. They tie up again, and once again Cactus pushes Whipwreck down on the back of his head, to capitalize on the neck injury. Honestly, it is hard to not feel bad for Whipwreck at times. Cactus finally unleashes some kicks and clubs to knock Whipwreck back down. Cactus remains in control and pounds Whipwreck into the corners, which earns him a huge ovation from the crowd. Cactus charges his knee into Whipwreck and then throws him out to ringside. Cactus grabs a chair and misses three chair shots. Whipwreck tries to come back with some punches, but gets grounded again. Cactus rams Whipwreck into the steel barricade and kicks poor Mikey’s head into it as well. Cactus throws Mikey back into the ring. Whipwreck makes a come back, hitting a standing drop kick and uses a Cactus clothesline to dump Cactus onto the floor. Mikey hits a fallaway suplex on Cactus onto the concrete floor, then throws a chair into the ring. Whipwreck hits a side Russian leg sweeper on Cactus into the chair. Whipwreck then tries to take down Cactus, but is thrown over the ropes and onto the timekeeper’s table. Cactus props up the table against the ring post and back suplexes Whipwreck right into it! That looked painful. Cactus then climbs to the top turnbuckle and drops an elbow onto Whipwreck, on the concrete floor! Cactus then grabs a crutch and rams it into Whipwreck’s head. Cactus takes the chair again, but Whipwreck super kicks it into his face! Whipwreck dumps Cactus into the first row and hits a double axe handle. Whipwreck whips Cactus back into the steel and quickly runs into the ring. Whipwreck leaps off the ropes onto Cactus, who is still in the first row, in a classic ECW moment. Cactus gets his head back together and clotheslines Mikey over the steel barricade. Cactus then suplexes Whipwreck onto the concrete and rakes his back. Cactus tosses Whipwreck back into the ring, and goes for the mandible claw! Cactus transitions the mandible claw into a spike piledriver. Cactus goes for a cover, but it only gets a two count. Cactus then viciously removes the neck brace from Mikey and hits the double arm DDT. Cactus goes for another cover, but it is only a two count again! Cactus sets Mikey on the bottom rope by the throat and drops a leg drop in a rather unpleasant spot. Cactus goes for a piledriver on the floor, but Mikey fights back by driving Cactus into the barricade and tossing him over. Cactus immediately comes back with a neckbreaker, right on to the barricade! Cactus leaps off the ring ropes back first towards Mikey, but misses and hits the barricade. Whipwreck tosses Cactus back into the ring and finds himself a chair. Whipwreck connects with a series of chair shots! Whipwreck goes for the cover, but it only gets two. Whipwreck returns to bashing Cactus with the chair, forcing him out of the ring. Cactus is grasping a Leonard Cohen album, by the way. Whipwreck chases Cactus back into the crowd towards the bleachers. Whipwreck hits a suplex on the concrete and climbs up to a lower and then to an upper stage. Whipwreck leaps off the stage with a flying crossbody, colliding with Cactus about 10 feet below! That was really cool. Whipwreck continues to drag Cactus around the building, trying to make it back to the ring. Whipwreck rolls Cactus into the ring and heads to the top rope. Whipwreck goes for a flying move, but Cactus drives his elbow into him in mid-air. Cactus takes the chair himself and cracks it over Whipwreck’s back in a series of devastating blows. Cactus then hits the piledriver on Whipwreck right into the chair for the victory at 17:19! This was a surprisingly great match. The atmosphere in the building was special and Foley really used a lot of psychology in his attacks on Whipwreck’s injured neck. Cactus and Whipwreck both performed courageously, ****. After the match, Cactus embraces Whipwreck and receives another ovation from the crowd.
Winner: Cactus Jack
Final Thoughts: Watching so many Mick Foley matches in a row sort of gets a bit tedious, as most of his matches involved garbage brawling and clotheslines onto the floor, but Foley showed that he was capable of having entertaining matches with a wide series of opponents. The match against Whipwreck was surprisingly good, and the tag team match with Raven against Funk and Dreamer was a showcase of ECW at its very best. The rest of the compilation is good for historic purposes, but were exactly classics. The fun is watching Foley become more creative in the matches as time goes by.
Thumbs up.