I’d been traveling with my ECW tag team partner Cactus Jack (aka: Mick Foley/Mankind/Dude Love) for about a year when we were both booked to appear at a Steel City Wrestling (SCW) show in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area on November 11, 1995. Normally it would be just Cactus and I but on this trip we’d be joined by Pablo Márquez who was wrestling with us in ECW as El Puerto Riqueño.
Pablo Marquez - El Puerto Riqueño
Neither Pablo or I drove at the time. so Cactus was driving with me in the passenger seat and Pablo in the back. With the 3 of us loaded into Cactus’ late 80’s Chrysler LeBaron Convertible. I can’t say for sure this was the make and model of the car but it was definitely a convertible. Not that it really mattered because it was mid November and the roof was closed anyway. Lol
The drive from Babylon, New York to Pittsburgh is about 8 hours if you make no stops and don’t hit traffic. In reality, the trip takes closer to 9 hours. As we made our way west on Interstate 80 with Leonard Cohen playing on the radio we approached the Delaware Water Gap. This is the border from New Jersey into Pennsylvania. It was around this time it started
Sitting in the backseat must have had Pablo feeling left out of the conversation because he moved to the middle of the back seat and began sticking his head forward between the front seats. Picture a dog doing this and that’s what it was like. With his head now prominently between Cactus and I, he REALLY started getting into the conversation. HE began every sentence with “Cack Baby'', short for “Cactus Baby”, and end each sentence with a clap. Not just any clap, but a clap loud as thunder in front of his face right between the ears of Cactus and myself. Not sure why he felt the need to clap so much other than he really enjoyed his new part in the conversation.
After a while Cactus looks at Pablo and says, “I’ve been called Cactus, Jack, Cactus Jack and even Mick but have never been terribly fond of being called a “Cack” so if you don’t mind, call me Cactus. Pablo looked confused and said, “OK Cack baby”. 45 minutes of claps and Cack Baby’s later, at which point Cactus really seemed to have enough of it, Pablo said he needed to tell us something. We braced ourselves for what might come next.
Here’s the conversation:
Pablo: Cack Baby, I’m going to to the PWI Rookie of the Year (Clap)
Cactus: Congratulations, when did they tell you?
Pablo: They didn’t Cack baby (clap)
Cactus: Why do you think you’ll be the Rookie of the Year then?
Pablo: Cack Baby, because I’m the PCW Light Heavyweight Champion (double clap)
Cactus: Mikey was the ½ of the ECW Tag Team Champions with me & the ECW TV Champion last year and didn’t win rookie of the Year.
Pablo: That’s because he wasn’t the PCW Light Heavyweight Champion Cack Baby. (clap)
Cactus: Ok Pablo, How many people were in attendance the night you won the PCW Light Heavyweight Championship?
Pablo: Maybe 75 Cack Baby (clap)
Cactus: Ok, let’s say there were 100 people there and they each told 100 people you were the PCW Light Heavyweight Champion.
Pablo: OK
Cactus: That means 10,000 people know you are the PCW Light Heavyweight Champion.
Pablo: Yeah 10,000 people Cack Baby (clap)
Cactus: Which then means with 5 billion people in the world 1 out of every 500,000 people know you are the PCW Light Heavyweight Champion.
Pablo: Yeah Cack Baby but that’s not too bad (double clap).
Cactus: But Pablo, what you don’t realize is that you’ll need to find twice as many to find one who gives a shit.
Pablo:............(no clap)
Pablo sank back into the back seat and didn’t say anything for about 5 minutes. When he popped back up and said, Cack Baby, I’m still gonna win.
We all laughed and finished the drive to Pittsburgh. Stories like these are what I miss about being on the road all the time. Traveling for wrestling isn’t very glamorous but with the right groups of people you can make it fun.
Thanks for reading “Hive Baby” (clap)
-Mikey-
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Oh P.S. - Here's how the 1995 PWI Rookie of the Year results went.
1995 PWI Rookie Of The Year:
Winner: Alex Wright (26,192 votes)
1st Runner Up: Sgt. Craig Pittman (15,219 votes)
2nd Runner Up: Lawrence Taylor (12,995 votes)
3rd Runner Up: Madd Maxine (5,230 votes)
Sorry Pablo. 😞