[1996-03-09-ECW-Big Ass Extreme Bash] Cactus Jack vs Mikey Whipwreck

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

This was the first time I had actually seen all of this.

 

Wow. Great match (Really) and great post-match.

 

Of course, the post-match is legendary with the "New York, New York" sendoff, but the Whipwreck respect moment really worked well also.

 

As an overall presentation, this was incredible, and each piece stood out in a positive way on its own. I will eventually come back to this and talk about it in more detail.

[Tim Evans]

Some of the bumps cactus took were just brutal looking. Especially the back and head first dive into the barricade. I agree with Loss about it being a good match and great post-match.

[KB8]

I had never heard the actual match being talked about before, which is weird, because I also thought it was really good. Some of the bumps, especially from Foley, really looked nasty as all Hell.

 

Post-match bit was good, too.

[Guest aceman]

this match was a lot of fun. action never dragged & foley & mikey bring big spots. wild, sustained brawl.

[PeteF3]

Pretty good action but I thought this went on too long, though I grant that it's late. The standing O before and after the match are legitimately nice moments.

[soup23]

Really violent match that ended just at the right amount of time when I was getting sick of it. This seemed to be more about the viciiouness of the spots instead of the spectacle, blood and variety of weapons that can plague some other ECW brawls. The post match stuff was awesome and note-perfect for Cactus. "Give it up for John" was a sincere touching moment. ***1/ 2

[tim]

Well I guess I'm the high vote here. I thought this was damn great; it's my second favorite match of the year, and decidedly so. It's definitely an ECW match with weapons, crazy bumps and lots of time spent outside, but it's every bit of a competitive wrestling match with a real storyline and clearly worked roles. Cactus is great working on top, all of his stuff looks about as good as it ever had. Great double arm DDT, great piledriver, great elbow to the outside. Mikey is great as the underdog and whenever he finds an opening for some offense he makes the most of it. I love his dives -- not fancy or 'impressive' at all, just a guy who doesn't have many attributes other than his courage and resilience doing anything he can to take it to a much more formidable opponent. Man, Cactus takes two crazy looking bumps against the guardrail. I found every bit of this match compelling. This would be pretty damn high on my list of best ECW matches.

 

Post-match is awesome. Crowd is super-appreciative and the whole thing is really well done. A Philly crowd chanting "New York sucks" is gonna do a lot for me too!

[JKWebb]

I’m with Tim - I thought this was great!  It might be my favorite ECW Cactus match overall... The ending was super entertaining as well! 

[Superstar Sleeze]

Cactus Jack vs Mikey Whipwreck- ECW Big Ass Extreme Bash 1996

In a rare moment in 2020, I actually had to go to my WWE DVD collection to watch this match in full because the version on the Network is clipped. I am glad the investment is still paying off. In the lead-up to the match on the DVD, Cactus says this is his favorite moment in his ECW career of course in a very WWE move they edit out the ending which I guess is the best part, but this is a very good match. 

It has been advertised that this is Cactus's last  match but there is not nary a "You Sold Out". It is all "Cactus!".  Cactus lets Whipwreck know he can tell his kids that he had Cactus's last match but he wont be able to tell him he won. Mikey has a neckbreak on for reasons I dont know. 

Cactus goes right into the heat segment working on the neck. This is a great mid-tempo groove brawl with Cactus working the neck and Mikey takin' a lickin' keep on tickin'. Mikey has great hope spots and Cactus has great cutoffs. The best cutoff is when Mikey dumps Cactus over the railing but Cactus immediately responds with a Hangsman Neckbreaker on the railing. 

I liked Mikey's first hope spot being avoiding all those chair shots which could have been curtains for him with the bad neck. Even though he avoided the chairshots, he didnt get in any offense. His first offense was the Cactus Clothesline and then Cactus takes the Nestea Plunge. Cactus was working his Greatest Hits one last time. Cactus dumped Mikey on his ass to the floor. He back suplexes him hard on the table. CACTUS ELBOW! This is not just Cactus' Masochistic Theatre of Pain, he is dishing it out too. At one point, he does an early version of Mandible Claw which I think is the first of its kind. Double Arm DDT and a piledriver. Cactus looked good. Cactus does a Bottom Rope Spingboard Back Elbow for a really nasty Nestea Plunge into the railing. Mikey got a big time dive into a crowd to trigger the E-C-DUB chant. Mikey's big comeback is hitting about 5 wicked chairshots to the head and then some arena touring to the Eagle's Nest and Mikey leaps off it. Didnt look as good as the dive into the crowd. Once back in the ring, Cactus makes short work of Mikey with a piledriver on a chair. 

This is a great grinding brawl with lots of focus on Mikey's neck right up to the finish being a piledriver. I am surprised Cactus didnt go out on his back but Mikey is the type of babyface that can absorb a loss, but he did have a pretty mediocre 1996 after a stellar 1996. The Mikey hope spots were the most exciting parts. It was a very sound brawl, but missed that energy to really put it over the top. ***3/4