90s | TV | Pop Culture | Celebrities
Jean-Claude Van Damme Got In A Fight With The Green Power Ranger Because It's 2017 And This Is Just What Happens Now
In a match-up that can only be described as every violence-loving 90s kid's dream come true, fists have begun flying between an action star and a Power Ranger.
A little backstory first. For starters, any connoisseur of cheesy action films almost definitely knows who Jean-Claude Van Damme is. The man famously called "The Muscles From Brussels" has never quite hit the cinematic big-time as some of his peers like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone, but he's built a pretty respectable following thanks to awesome movies like Bloodsport and Kickboxer.
Jason David Frank, on the other hand, is a name that not everybody might recognize. An avid martial artist, he came into the lives of 90s kids everywhere when he joined the cast of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as Tommy Oliver, AKA The Green Ranger. He stuck around on the show for several seasons, and aside from a few other small acting roles, has established a solid career for himself as a professional MMA fighter.
So, you might naturally be asking, what kind of problem do these two have with each other? Well it turns out it's a feud that's been going on for decades now, and it finally came to a head this past week...
Frank had apparently been very excited to meet Van Damme when the action star showed up to the premiere of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie back in 1995, but apparently Van Damme brushed him off completely, something which has left a bad taste in Frank's mouth ever since.
The MMA fighter has exchanged words with Van Damme via social media over the last few years, even once challenging him to settle their score in a fight back in 2010. Nothing ever came of this, but things apparently got heated to the breaking point in the green room of La Mole Comic Con in Mexico City.
According to Frank, Van Damme's handler requested he join the star for a photo, which the former Ranger presumed meant he was extending an olive branch to end the feud. Apparently this was "all a setup," as the Muscles From Brussels showed up with cameras rolling and demanded an apology for Frank's remarks in 2010, adding "Let's throw down."
The two sized each other up and got into a staredown, during which Frank even name-dropped his friend and fellow martial-artist Chuck Zito, who famously knocked Van Damme out at a topless bar in the 90s. Ultimately the two agreed to a brawl, at which point Frank put Van Damme in a headlock against the green room wall. Much of the altercation was captured on video: Van Damme has yet to comment.