Cactus Jack the Ripper: A Case for Wade Barrett to Find Inspiration from American Hardcore

He needs a tweak, and a good place to start would be with Foley
Photo Credit: WWE.com

Rob van Dam busted open Wade Barrett like he has been wont to do since returning to WWE. Blood poured from RED BELLY's mouth, giving him a crimson beard. I was instantly reminded of Cactus Jack, wrestling in both WCW and ECW with red flowing down to his chin. This instance was not the first time that Barrett reminded me of the hardcore icon Mick Foley, specifically in his Cactus Jack persona.

In a match against The Miz back in the post-WrestleMania aether, Barrett did Foley's trademark "Bang bang!" finger guns before diving off the apron to cave in Miz's chest with an elbow. Foley and Barrett may have two staggeringly divergent body builds, but the latter could do far worse than to pattern his character after the former. Besides, body type is probably the least important factor in wrestling success. Just don't say that around Vince McMahon though.

A change in character would do Barrett a world of good, actually. Nominally, he changed his persona when he went from rogue neophyte rabblerouser to basement fight club brawler, but aside from changing finishers from the Wasteland to the Dog Boner Bull Hammer, did anything really shift in his demeanor? He didn't change his in-ring style. I'd say his promos were grittier as leader of the Nexus.

WWE Creative gets a lot of shit for their direction, and rightfully so, but sometimes, they can't be blamed for misfiring when the guy on-screen doesn't show an iota of adaptability. Sometimes, a wrestler has to take the bull (hammer) by the horns. Where has Barrett done that outside of channeling Foley against The Miz? (I'm not going to give him credit for getting busted open, although maybe wrestling companies ought to look at RVD's track record here... but I digress)

Going back to that one moment, Barrett seems to have a clear admiration for Foley, as most wrestlers these days should, if I may editorialize. Admiration can turn into homage so easily, and in wrestling, homages seem to work well if they're done right. Thankfully for Barrett, Foley is still on good terms with the company, and I think there's a better-than-decent probability that if they asked him to mentor Barrett, he would in a heartbeat. If I were in a position of power in WWE, I would totally take Barrett off television right now - he's clearly at a nadir in his career - and have him work with Foley for a couple of months, provided Foley will do it (he is a standup comedian, and they're busy busy people).

Obviously, asking a guy to embrace being different by taking beats from another, way-more-famous performer seems counterintuitive. Again, in wrestling, the homage is a time-tested artform, and really, originality always takes a backseat to execution. I also would never suggest that Cactus Wade is a character that should exist; there's a fine line between "tribute" and "all out rip-off." Barrett has the tools to do the former. He's eloquent on the mic with great pro wrestling tempo. He possesses in-ring tools that suggest he would be a fine wrestler if he puts it all together. I actually agree wholeheartedly with Bill Bicknell when he says Barrett is a guy who'd benefit from seasoning in the territory system. Still, unless someone invents a time machine, we have to work with restraints.

I don't know if teaching a wrestler this far along in his career will do much good, but then again, stranger things have happened. There are far worse teachers to have than Foley, especially for a guy in Barrett who has shown affinity towards the American hardcore icon. I see too much raw potential in Barrett to want to see his career stall out like it is now.

Being jobber fodder for RVD is fine for a month here or a couple of weeks there, but if Barrett doesn't get some kind of spark, I'm afraid he'll stay in that role until he's future endeavored. Whether he learns directly from Foley or he just immerses himself in tape and tries to figure out by himself how to combine his own unique personality with the beats and attitudes that made Foley the legend he has become, Barrett needs to find a way out of his current morass.