Oh yes, it is that time of year again. Voices of Wrestling’s annual Secret Santa gift exchange. The brainchild of former VOW contributor JR Goldberg (@wrestlingbubble), the annual tradition of VOW Secret Santa sees all participating website contributors give their fellow contributors the greatest gift of all: professional wrestling matches! The Secret Santas are not given any direction in how or what to gift. They can either gift matches they think would fit their gift receivers tastes or they can choose to attempt to open their horizons to a new world of wrestling. Some Secret Santas opt to give gag gifts and others simply give one of their favorite matches ever.

The gift receivers are then instructed to review or write about the match however they see fit. Contributors are also encouraged to guess which current VOW contributor gifted them their particular matches.

The variety of matches is the fun part of this series and we encourage you to watch along with us. A YouTube Playlist with all matches reviewed in the series can be found at the end of each review.

VOW Secret Santa Archives: voicesofwrestling.com/category/vow-latest/columns/vow-secret-santa/

Falls Count Anywhere
Sting def. Cactus Jack
June 20, 1992
WCW Beach Blast 1992

(To the tune of jingle bells)
Watching wrestling shows
Chatting in the VOW Slack
Being quite entertained
By Sting versus Cactus Jack
Falls counted anywhere
There was no rules in sight
What a fucking match this was
Who gifted this to me is quite alright

Oh ring the bell, ring the bell
The match is underway
Cactus Jack bumps like hell
And Sting once again saves the day
Oh ring the bell, ring the bell
The match is at an end
Cactus Jack has been defeated
And Sting now wins again!

When I got a glimpse inside Santa’s sack and saw this match waiting for me, I couldn’t wait to watch it. It’s been a few years since I last put it on and I was quite giddy at watching it once more as the memories of how much I enjoyed this match flooded through me. Whoever gifted this to me understood the assignment and their target audience.

It’s a short match, all things considered, but they jam-pack as much as they can, and they never let up throughout the entire match. It’s just fantastic action throughout. Sting performs his heart out, and Cactus Jack, as he’s known to do, bumped like a madman and wrecked his body for our entertainment, and it was entertaining as all hell. The match spends the first five minutes outside of the ring before even getting in the ring, and the crowd ate it up, hell, I ate it up, and I’ve watched this match countless times.

This is potentially one of my top-five Cactus Jack matches and definitely a top-five Sting match for me. It is incredible how well both men worked with each other. Cactus Jack was clearly motivated during this time in WCW (which would eventually change) and did all he freaking could to make an impression. Sting was popular as hell and didn’t have to do much to catch the audience’s attention, but still worked hard and adapted extremely well to the match stipulation. I also appreciate that the match actually ended outside of the ring, once again taking advantage and showcasing the match stipulations.

This match holds up. It’s violent but not over the top. Nothing feels contrived or overly planned out. Cactus Jack was an incredible opponent for Sting, and this match was an excellent showcase and proof of that fact. Probably my favorite match from what was a strong show from WCW. If you’ve never watched this gem, I highly encourage you to click on the link and take some time to watch it. It won’t take up a huge chunk of your time, and you will be glad that you did, I promise you.