Background: During The Sandman’s first ECW title reign, Cactus Jack stood up to defend his friend’s – Shane Douglas – loss of the ECW title to Sandman.
Hardcore Heaven ‘95
Philadelphia, PA
July 1, 1995
The Sandman vs. Cactus Jack
To counter Sandman’s Singapore canes (he had two for this match; with one being used as backup), Jack came out with his right arm wrapped in barbed wire. The champ spent several moments walking around the ring, hitting the ropes with his cane. Jack got too close to Woman – Sandman’s valet – getting some kind of liquid thrown on him. This left Jack blinded and prone to being hit by the Singapore cane-wielding Sandman. Sandman showed some incredible agility, leaping over the top whack Cactus with the cane on the way down!
Jack was finally able to avoid a cane shot in the ring, using a DDT to down the champion and take the cane. Three strikes from Jack put Sandman out of the ring. Exchanging the cane for a chair, Cactus crowned Sandman. Using Jack’s strategy of wrapping his arm in the sharp wire against him, Sandman started whacking the wrapped arm with his cane. DDT by Sandman on the chair Jack used on him left Cactus lying. A pair of leg drops from the champ was a precursor to Woman bringing a strand of barbed wire to the ring. Piledriver on the steel chair by the champion!
Sandman took the barbed wire Woman brought, wrapping it around his body for some body blocks to scar himself and Jack. Cactus recovered, back dropping Sandman to the floor to set up his running elbow drop off the apron. But this time, Jack had a chair underneath his arm for good measure. Pulling Sandman’s t-shirt over his head, the challenger exposed his bleeding abdomen. Before Jack could choke Sandman out, Woman whacked him in the back with her cane. Cactus shoved Woman, leading to a big collision between Jack, Sandman, and the referee.
Out of nowhere came Shane Douglas. After piledriving Sandman, Douglas grabbed a microphone to tell Sandman that he’d kept his promise before caning Jack. Rolling Sandman on top of Cactus, Douglas proclaimed his leaving ECW as Sandman was declared the winner.
Winner: The Sandman (12:58)
Is It A Classic: Well, there were a lot of cane shots, chair attacks, and a disappointing ending. Can’t really see how this would be considered a classic bout in any stretch of the imagination.
