WWE Missed Opportunities: Mankind vs. Vader at WrestleMania 13

Many WWE fans are familiar with Mick Foley's career in WWE but may not know the path he traveled to get there.

Prior to signing with WWE in 1996, Foley competed all over the world, including in WCW—where he competed as Cactus Jack.

Cactus Jack had several memorable matches while in WCW, but his battles with Vader stand out for their sheer brutality.

In April 1993 during a match on WCW Saturday Night, Vader removed the padding around ringside and powerbombed Cactus Jack on the concrete floor. Jack was clearly out, as he couldn't beat the count to return to the ring.

Cactus Jack suffered a concussion and would be absent from television for the next several months. WCW explained this away by formulating a storyline where Jack had basically gone crazy and developed amnesia.

In October 1993, the two men battled again at Halloween Havoc in a Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal match. A Texas Death Match was selected, and it only ended when Vader's manager, Harley Race, used a cattle prod on Jack.

However, it was in March 1994 when the two men had their most infamous match.

WCW was on a tour overseas when Vader and Cactus Jack squared off in Munich, Germany. During the match, Jack's head and neck became entangled in the ring ropes, and as he tried to get free, he lost the majority of his ear.

Though the above video is a bit grainy, you can see the incident happen right around the 12:07 mark.

Jack would finish the match, losing after a heavy clothesline from Vader. WCW would never capitalize on what could have been a great storyline, making a good feud even better.

Fast-forward to 1997 and both men are employed by WWE. Both men are under Paul Bearer's guidance, and Cactus Jack is now known as Mankind.

But at WrestleMania 13, Mankind and Vader are not opponents. Instead, they are challenging Owen Hart and The British Bulldog for the WWE Tag Team Championship.

The match ended in a double count-out, and many fans would probably have to go back and watch the event to remember that it even happened.

What a waste.

Instead, WWE should have built toward a big match between these two men at its signature event. According to this story on WWE.com, that could have happened.

Mankind felt like there were other motives in place for not going through with the match. Foley told WWE.com:

"

I know there was a plan for Vader and I to wrestle each other and take advantage of the real-life event that had cost me my right ear 20 years ago, because WCW opted not to capitalize. I was in the one line of business where losing an ear is not necessarily a bad thing, and yet they couldn’t find a way to take advantage of that.

I think it was intentional, because I think that the idea that me cutting an emotional interview about the loss of my ear would have overshadowed what was supposed to be on the top of the card.

"

He may have been right, too.

Taking all 30 WrestleMania events into account, WrestleMania 13 has to rank at the bottom in terms of excitement and entertainment.

Aside from Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart, the event was extremely dull.

Using the past history between Vader and Cactus Jack, WWE could have built a very strong match.

Vader got the best of all the matches they had in WCW. WWE could have used the deranged Mankind to exact revenge, saying he went into a "dark place" since his WCW days.

That would have forced WWE to acknowledge that Mankind and Cactus Jack were the same man. While many wrestling fans knew this, WWE didn't generally announce things like that on television.

Not only would this have helped Mankind but Vader as well.

Though Vader was one of the biggest names in WCW, his WWE run wasn't nearly as successful. But that's not the first time you've heard that, right?

Looking back on it, a match between Vader and Mankind at WrestleMania should have been a must.

Though Foley managed to go on to have a very decorated WWE career, it took him nearly a decade later to have a big moment at WrestleMania. That came when he faced Edge at WrestleMania 22.

A WrestleMania moment never came for Vader.

Not only did WCW botch what could have been a major storyline, WWE had a built-in angle to possibly lead into a memorable match at a very lackluster event.

They failed to take advantage of that.