Real Name:Terry Funk
Height:6'3 Weight:240
Without a doubt Terry Funk is the most recognized name in the wrestling business.His career has spanned over 3 decades.It would take me nearly a whole website to document all of his accomplishments,legendary fueds and bloody brawls that he has had.Funk began his carrer in the 60's where he and his equally legendary big brother Dory Funk jr picked up where there daddy left off by dominating the wrestling scene in Houston Texas.The 70's seen Terry become the king of the Texas Death Match and the 2 brothers become the first and only pair of brothers to hold the NWA world title on seperate occasions and coinsideently they both beat the same man for the belt,that man being Harley Race.Dory Held the belt in 73,Terry in 75.But Terry was the better brawler of the 2 where through out the rest of the 70's and middle 80's he waged wars all over Texas and the Mid Atlantic regions with stars such as Dusty Rhodes,Dick Murdoch,Ric Flair and Jerry The King Lawler among others.And is even bigger in Japan than here where he and Dory made Japanese wrestling very big. But in 1985 After nearly 20 years of punishment Terry took his brothers advice and went into semi retirement.
From 83 to 88,the brothers took over the Double Cross Ranch in Amarilo Tx,(beleve it or not there is such a thing)Terry also done cameoes in such movies as Sylvester Stallones Over the Top and Road House With Patrick Swayze.But the wrestling bug hit Terry again in 1989,where he came out of retirment in one of the territories he made famous,Florida.After 6 months there he signed a contract with the NWA.At Wrestle War 89,Terry among other previous NWA champions were invited to watch the classic battle between Ric Flair and Ricky The Dragon Steamboat.After Flair won a nearly 2 hour battle against Steamboat Funk went into the ring to congratulate flair,or so it seemed.But the mean streak in the the Funker returned,he slapped flair in the face,and done someting that till that piont had never ever been seen, he pile drove flair through a table,nearly breaking the champs neck,putting Flair in the hospital for nearly 3 months.The Most Hated and Feared man in professional wrestling was back.
With the help of the evil Gary Hart,Funk went on a rampage injuring,maiming just about everybody insight,Not even the NWAs poster boy Sting could do anything with him.Ric Flair risking injury came out of the hospital to face funk in a brutal falls count anywhere in the building match at the Great American Bash 89,which Flair barely won.These matches were some of the greatest matches in wrestling history,these type of matches all over the country, with flair winning most of them.Funk brought Hardcore to the NWA a few times when he would do things such as tring to choke flair with a plastic bag and even tring to set flair on fire at the Great American Bash 89.But the final match between the 2 took place in December of 89 at the Clash Of Champions where they engaged in a brutal Texas Death match.Funk had never lost one of these matches, it was the legacy of the Funk Family.But due to an severe knee injury suffered during the match,funk said I QUIT.But the way he done it in would have not made his father ashamed, this match as bloddy,and brutal as it was was one of the best matches that i personaly have ever seen.
After the match Funk the 45 year old Funk went back into retirement.Only doing commentary for the NWA,but that didnt last very long as right after Ted Turner took over the NWA Funk was let go to cut costs.A year went by before The Funker would get back in the ring, he done breif stints in such independents such as USWA,where he rekindled his violent fued with Jerry Lawler by helping Eddie Gilbert beat Lawler in a Barbed Wire Match.He waverd in and out of retirement till 1994.When he started wrestling for a independent promotion out of Philidelphia called Eastern Championship Wrestling full time.Where he became a big draw for them,fueding with Shane Douglas for the ECW world title.They had some absolute 5 star matches the 3 way dance between Douglas,Funk and Sabu will be rememberd as one of the greatest matches in ECW history.Then ECW went EXTREME and Funk was damn sure ready for that.He and his brother Dory was involved in the first barbed wire match in the united states against the Public Enemy at Heatwave 94.The Funks nearly kill ed PE in that match.But The best was yet to come.
In December of 1994 Cactus Jack(Mick Foley)entered ECW,and guess who his first opponent was.Thats right his best freind,Terry Funk.These 2 went to new lengths of EXTREME.But after Terry had a falling out with ECW management he signed a contract with Victor Quines' IWA in Japan a sicker japanese version of ECW.They took there fued over to japan when the 2 met in the finals of the IWA King Of Death Tournament.The Tournament that took plave before over 30,000 fans in Tokyo Japans Kawasaki stadium seen Funk and Foley meet in a Barbed Wire/Explosion match that was im my opinion one of the most brutal matches in wrestling history.Cactus won the match,both men had to be hospitalized for a week,Funker with 2nd degree burns on half of his body and over 300 stitches,Cactus with a severly burned left arm and numerous stitches to his head face and body.Funk would go on to stay over 2 months after Cactus went back to the states and participate in some of the most brutal,sick and hardcore matches in history teaming with Japanese Hardcore legend Mr Pogo agaisnt Atushi Onita and Masato Tanaka.One match even had a stipulation that the loser had to be put and a cofin set on fire.The fued with foley didnt carry back over until Cactus Jack got into it with the Sandman, the 2 had a series of barbed wire matches.Sandman told Jack he had a surprise for him which ended up being D.C. Drake ,so one night at the ECW arena the Sandman brought a wrapped up box down to the ring.Cactus opend it up and Terry Funk jumped out and hit him with a branding iron,it got so bad that Cactus in retalliation for funk tring to burn him with a branding iron set a chair on fire hit funk with it, then by accident threw the chair into the crowd,nearly setting the crowd on FIRE.
But all this fighting came to and end as in febuary of 95, The Public Enemy claiming that they were the Kings of Hardcore in ECW. So Cactus and Terry teamed up agains PE in one of the most rememeberd matches in the ECW arena.At one piont in the match Funk asked the fans for a chair,in retalliation all the fans in the ECW arena threw chairs in the ring burying the Public Enemy.After this Funk But after this and a breif stint in between ECW and WCW, a bitter fued with Cactus Jack and Raven with Tommy as his partner,Funk went back into semi retirement.He bascially went back to the Double Cross Ranch and mended his wounds.Until November of 1996.When Tommy Dreamer called him wanting a partner in his fued against The Triple Threat.So at November To Remember 96, Funk was brought in as Tommy Dreamers mystery partner.The 2 abslolutely destroyed,Shane Douglas and Brian Lee.The match seen the then 51 year old Funk do a asai moonsault onto the 2 to the outside.Funk had now realized it ECW was the place to be.They Rejuvinated his carrer.
Funk wrestled to perfection in some absolute classics with Sabu, but he wanted to be left off ECWs first PPV Barely Legal.But Tommy Dreamer didnt like it so Dreamer stepped down from his 3 way dance for a shot at Ravens world Title.Funk honerably acepted.Funk battled The Sandman and Stevie Richards in a bloddy fight, after pinning Richards, Raven Flew in geting a early start on Funk,raking his face with barbed wire, hitting him with everything he got his hands on.Ravens flock tried to make sure that Funk didnt win,but Tommy Dreamer made the save, after Louie Spicoli and Chasity atacked him,Dreamer attacked Raven, Funk hit a Pile Driver on top of a chair and won the ECW world title.
Unlike Raven,Funk defended the title against anybody,he engaged in a brutal fued with Sabu.That lead to There world title Barbed Wire Match ,this match made all his previous Barbed wire matches look tame.Funk lost that match after Sabu wrapped Funk and himself in the wire and belly to bellied him to the mat, getting both me tangeld in the Razor Sharp barbed wire!!!!.In a rematch of sorts at the Hardcore Heaven PPV, a 3 way dance took place between Funk,Shane Douglas and SABU that Douglas won after SABU and funk beat the hell out each other so bad that neither man could continue.Again a beaten and batterd funk took some time off until December of 97 when the WWF and old freind Mick Foley came calling.But Funk changed his persona,to the Middle Aged and Crazy Chainsaw Charlie,but Funk and Foley both didnt like the gimmick, so funk went out as himself.The 2 had a bitter fued with Dx and the New Age Outlaws,but broke up after being attacked by DX the night after winning the WWF tag belts away from Billy Gunn and Road Dogg.Funk stayed in the WWF only a month after that.His last match was a brutal Falls Count anywhere match with his seragate son Mick Foley.Foley won.
By now it was November of 1998.And Tommy Dreamers best freind and partner The Sandman had defected to WCW.He had no back up against Justin Credible and Jack Victory.A mystery partner match was signed for The November To Remember PPV.Everyone thought that it would be Funk as Dreamers partner.But no Funk refused.But when Dreamer picked Jake The Snake Roberts as his partner,Funk went Ballistic.He turned on his protege and sided with Justin Credible.He cost Dreamer major victories against Credible,and attacked Tommy at any chance,out of love for Funk Dreamer never retaliated.But the match that was supposed to be never took place.Funk came down with a mild case of Hepitias A in January.He knew the end of his carrer was near.So he fufilled his independent and ECW dates.The now 55 year old Hardcore Legend offically retired after winning a match against SABU in Hamilton Ontario Canada on Sunday Night June 5 1999 at a independent show for the Apocolypse Wrestling Federation.
Terry Funk will always be remembered as one of the toughest men to lace up a pair of boots.Thanks for the memories Terry, I for one will miss you
