Remember Vader: Five of his top matches to watch

Photo from WWE.com

Versus Cactus Jack at Halloween Havoc – October 24, 1993

When it comes to brutality, Vader’s match against Cactus Jack stands out as an example as to how brutal professional wrestling can get. Their Texas Death match headlined this Pay Per View event and after watching what these two men did to each other for nearly 20 minutes, it’s easy to understand why nothing should have occurred after it. From the moment the match type was announced, it was clear that these two were going to beat up each to a point beyond frequently seen in the sport.

The finish of the match involved Jack taking a cattle prod from Harley Race so Vader could get the win. But before that it was amazing to see what these two wrestlers were willing to do to each other. If you’re a young wrestling fan who enjoyed watching Johnny Gargano and Tomaso Chiampa beating each other up at NXT Takeover Chicago II, then do yourself a favor and go back to watch this match between Jack and Vader. It’s the precursor to not only that, but the types of matches that would occur across ECW in the years to follow.

If being thrown off of the Hell in the Cell launched the career of Mankind in the WWE, this this match helped build Cactus Jack into another babyface that fans could get behind. Vader’s ability to be believable as a monster heel helped build another wrestling star that would garner fans across the industy in Cactus Jack.