RIPbossman
Occasional Pre-Show
Cactus Jack vs. Triple H In 2015
And they battled atop the fifteen foot high cage. For Triple H, his WWF Championship was at stake. For Cactus Jack, his seventeen year career hung in the balance. Despite his vision impaired by his own blood, he desperately struck Triple H with flaming barbed wire. Victory was close, and a pile driver into the fire appeared to be his coup de gras. But a reversal later, Mick’s body, and Championship dreams, free falled through the cage, sinking the mat. The spoiler button on WWE Network reads “Triple H Finishes Cactus Jack With A Pedigree”. But that doesn’t convey the whole story of what transpired as that match, and rivalry (seemingly) concluded.
Triple H and Mick Foley rang in 2000 with one of WWE’s most memorable programs. Three times they squared off that year: Royal Rumble (Street Fight), No Way Out (Hell In A Cell), and WrestleMania (Fatal Fourway w/ Big Show and The Rock). On a mainstream level, it’s a challenge to find many programs as violent as this one. The usage of thumb tacks, fire and barbed wire were prevalent here. And for a few reasons, some clear, some subtle, these three matches had enduring ramifications that effect the two participants, and the WWE product, in 2015.
The first is the obvious one: Triple H was legitimized as main event material. That summer saw Stone Cold, The Rock, Mankind and Undertaker in the main event scene. Triple H had a lot to prove to be considered more than just the leader of a mid-card stable. Despite beating Mankind for the WWF Championship and successful title defenses against Austin and Rock, not everyone was buying into “The Game”.
Cactus Jack, Foley's more twisted alter ego, put Triple H over 3 times, and gave him extra credibility when he sorely needed it. From there Triple H was the favorite against Kurt Angle, Big Show and Chris Jericho, and a realistic threat to The Rock and Stone Cold. Triple H belonged in any main event he was advertised for.
Most wrestling fans cite this as the major, lasting result of this feud. However, there is another I’d like to add; Triple H helped put an exclamation point on Foley’s career. That’s right, Triple H did something special for Foley here. It was a two way street, and while I agree Foley did more for HHH, he offered something in return.
Since WWF became a steam rolling force in 1998, Foley had mostly been the light hearted, likable Mankind. The guy who cheered up Vince McMahon with a sock puppet at the hospital, brought a clown with balloons to the ring to celebrate The Rock, and did numerous other fun spirited acts. The beatings he took, especially from The Rock, were usually one sided. Through his selflessness of wanting other wrestlers to look strong, he didn’t dish out what he suffered through.
“…I started thinking a little bit about what Mankind was. Now, Mankind is an entertaining son of a gun. Mankind is a pretty damn good author. Mankind is one tough SOB… one thing Mankind is not, is ready to face you (Triple H) at the Royal Rumble in a Street Fight at Madison Square Garden…as you said, in some ways, Mankind is nothing more than a beaten up pathetic fool. But I think the WWF fans deserve a substitute in that match, what I’m going to do, Triple H, is I’m going to name him right now. As a matter of fact, I think you know the guy, I think you know him pretty damn well. His name is Cactus Jack!”
For most of Foley’s pre-WWE career, he was Cactus Jack. He competed in matches with C-4 explosives, beds of nails, thumb tacks, barbed wire, and dove onto countless concrete floors. While he had a reputation for taking beatings, he also had a reputation for wanting to dish them out. And while Mick admits he’s very proud of the good natured version of Mankind, he also wanted to end his career as the sadistic bad ass he was for so long. To paraphrase Mick, the 97-98 WWF run of Cactus Jack wasn’t that memorable. He didn’t want the Attitude Era’s new wave of fans to only remember him for Mr. Socko.
Triple H sold Cactus Jack as a legit threat, someone he was deathly afraid of. Everything Mick wanted Cactus to be, Triple H acted like he was. A warped individual who wasn’t afraid to set you, or himself, on fire. The extreme violence Foley was known for taking, he was dishing out on Triple H at the Royal Rumble, No Way Out, and (to an extent) at WrestleMania.
By 1999, the dives onto concrete floors were catching up to Mick, and his body was clearly breaking down. His status as an attraction had never been better, but in ring he was lacking. For the Royal Rumble and No Way Out matches, he took time off to train and lose weight, and while he says he was at his very best for these matches, Triple H still performed at a higher level. Triple H was arguably the best worker in the company. While Mick wasn’t carried here, those matches wouldn’t have been as special without Triple H being as skilled as he was.
But there is one more lasting effect from this feud. Triple H pinned Foley three times on three consecutive pay per views. As you know, Triple H was the heel and Foley the face. In the WWF’s modern history, no heel held a clean win over a main event face. The win had to be tainted somehow, whether by interference, a distraction, a foreign object, or some shenanigan. But with these matches (all no holds barred, so weapons were legal) Triple H’s wins (and the fall at WM 2000) were clean.
This opened the door for main event heels to get clean wins over main event faces. Villains could gain a sense of credibility they couldn’t before, and could become a steeper mountain for future opponents. The main event scene has become more unpredictable because of it. We’ve seen Kurt Angle make Shawn Michaels and Chris Benoit tap out to the ankle lock, Brock Lesnar break the Undertaker’s undefeated streak, and Kevin Owens upset John Cena. All clean wins by villains over main event heroes.
It’s easy to say “It would have happened anyway”, but we don’t know for sure how history would be different. Jackie Robinson wasn’t the first African American in Major League Baseball, but that doesn’t negate his impact. Had he not been as talented as he was (a top 30 all time on quality of play alone) and had undeniable talent, maybe racist managers would have made excuses not to bring in more players from the Negro Leagues, slowing down integration. Had Mick Foley not done the favors for Triple H, and Triple H not made the most of it down the line, maybe heels getting clean wins wouldn’t be as prevalent today. Would Brock have squashed Cena last year, or would Paul Heyman have interfered somehow?
Mick Foley and Triple H’s series of matches in 2000 stand the test of time from more than just a quality standpoint. We see lasting effects of these matches today. Triple H’s dominance, Foley’s lasting impression as a full time performer, and bad guys outright beating good guys. The program ended after WrestleMania 2000, but the influence can be felt in 2015.
