10 Wrestlers Who Refused To Give Fans What They Came For

4. Cactus Jack

Cactus Jack ECW
WWE.com

This was sheer genius.

In 1995, after spotting a sign in the crowd that said "Cane Dewey" (Mick Foley's real-life son), Cactus Jack turned his back on long-established tropes and became anti-hardcore. He cut several promos that criticised ECW's bloodthirsty audience and blamed them for how far Paul Heyman's roster was willing to go to entertain.

Those fans, who had lived vicariously through Jack's willingness to punish his own body in violent deathmatches, instantly recoiled at the suggestion they were terrible people for enjoying it. Then, they were further outraged when Foley ditched weapon shots and other big spots in favour of mat work and technical wrestling. How dare he!

This was 'E-C-Dubya'. It was the land of hardcore, counter-culture and everything those corporate hacks from the WWF and WCW turned their stupid noses up at. Cactus was one of them, but he suddenly decided he didn't want to be, and that was so clever.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.