20 True Stories Behind Famous Wrestling Names
10. Cactus Jack
Mick Foley’s first serious ring gimmick was named after the Wile E. Coyote/Dick Dastardly style villain of Hollywood western parody ‘The Villain’, played with gleeful menace by Kirk Douglas. It was a Foley family favourite, and when Foley and his father Jack would play wrestling board games with one another, Jack Foley would always be Cactus Jack.
As far as Saint Mick’s concerned, his dad will always be the real Cactus Jack… at the time, he was only using the name until he became proficient and infamous enough to be able to pull off the ‘Dude Love’ gimmick for a company like the WWF, which was the young Mick’s dream. Hopefully the way The Dude finally debuted on WWF television lived up to the hype for him.