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Mick Foley and Terry Funk bled buckets of blood all over the world and in some instances, against each other in Japan, ECW, and even WWE. Roddy Piper and Ace Cowboy Bob Orton came together during the early days of the Rock 'N' Wrestling Connection to wreak havoc on anyone and everyone in the WWE. Despite all four of these men being part of the same generation of superstars more or less, they seldom if ever collided in one epic match.
That changed in 2011. Sure, all four men were a little older and out of their prime, but nonetheless, it was still a sight to see. Of all places for the dream tag team match to happen, it happened courtesy of Juggalo Championship Wrestling and the annual Gathering Of Juggalos, Legends and Icons show. The epic match closed out the show.
Juggalo Championship Wrestling Is The Longest Running Indie Promotion
In case you were wondering, and you’re not in the know, Juggalo Championship Wrestling has been around for nearly 25 years. It's owned and operated by The Insane Clown Posse, the rap duo from Michigan that were part of both The Oddites in WWE and The Deadpool in WCW.
They’ve always worn their wrestling fandom on their sleeves. They have an album called “The Great Malenko” for instance. JCW hs been running shows since 1999 and even have their own wrestling school, run by hardcore wrestler, Mad Man Pondo. It might seem like a parody, but it’s heavily influenced by ECW, and it is an entirely real promotion. The Juggalos, ICP’s fan base, can’t get enough.
Legends From Several Eras Participated At JCW's The Gathering
The Gathering isn’t just the tagline of Starrcade ‘85, it is the name of an event fans of The Insane Clown Posse look forward to all year. While it’s mostly a music festival, ICP puts on a wrestling show too in the form of their own promotion, JCW. It might be a small-time indie, but thanks to the ICP’s name value, all sorts of big names have come out over the years. The 2011 event was dubbed “Legends And Icons,” and that’s exactly who participated. Feuds from decades ago reignited at this show right from the opening bell between Tito Santana and Greg Valentine in a cage. The Express Tag Teams reignited their blood feud as well. Meanwhile, Terry Funk cut a strange but interesting promo against his opponent for the evening, Roddy Piper. Two territories were celebrated as well in separate Philly and Memphis matches, starring legends of those two territories. In the evening’s co-main event, The New Age Outlaws took on Kevin Nash and X-Pac.
Mick Foley Saved Terry Funk From Being Beat Down By Roddy Piper And Bob Orton
No matter how old the man from The Double Cross Ranch gets, he always gives all he can to make sure the fans go home happy, as did his opponent for the evening, the legendary mouth that roared, Rowdy Roddy Piper, who was accompanied by his longtime associate, Cowboy Ace Bob Orton. Funk had taken a lot of umbrage with Piper’s acting career being heralded as opposed to his own. The Funker went off on Piper, calling him a fake and phony, perhaps the worst thing you could call Hot Rod. The brawl started with both men pounding on The Funker. Piper and Funk brawled on the outside of the ring, but it didn’t take long for the double team to continue.
Foley, who had been on commentary all night stood all he could when he headed to the ring to help out his friend, making the match a fair fight of two on two. It definitely wasn’t pretty, but it was still fun to see the four legends trade a few blows for a few minutes.
After some chicanery, Piper and Ace were able to get the victory and immediately headed off to the back. It wasn’t quite the big returns that Mick Foley was accustomed to, but he paid homage to the Funker as the two legends walked off to thank the fans.
Depending on how you feel about these legends types of shows, this was a fun few hours or a sad sight to see. Watching the legends during these shows is almost like seeing your favorite rock bands - they’re older, but still know how to put on a great show.