“My generation is at least the third in a line of crazy people named “Funk.””
Terry Funk is one of the greatest wrestlers in history. He also happens to be one of the most underrated by history. Modern fans of course know the name; even casual fans, from my experience, know Terry Funk. But they know very little about him. His skill as one of the greatest talkers in wrestling history is often forgotten in lieu of his hardcore career. These days, Funk is known for King of the Death Match, for ECW, for his brief appearances in the WWE at the end of the 90s and for his run in a dying WCW’s hardcore division. He’s also known for Beyond the Mat. It makes the title of his book, “More Than Just Hardcore”, all the more fitting. Terry Funk has wrestled in the 60s, in the 70s, 80s, 90s and now in the 00s. If we didn’t get at least one Terry Funk match in the 10s, I’d be honestly surprised. He made his debut in the late 60s, by defeating Sputnik Monroe. By 1973, Funk was already winning titles from Johnny Valentine in St. Louis’ Wrestling At The Chase. Later that decade in 1976, he won the NWA world title. In the 80s he worked on top with Hulk Hogan in the then-WWF and a few years later that same decade, he worked on top of the NWA/WCW with Ric Flair. He ‘retired’ numerous times in the 90s while giving ECW their kick-start in the business and entering into a world of moonsaults on 50 year old knees and death matches with C4 explosives going off in the ring with him. These days, he wrestles sparingly around independent promotions and picks and chooses his shots but generally shows up everywhere at least once.
Along the way, Funk has left an indelible mark on professional wrestling. The birth of hardcore in Japan can be traced back to Terry Funk’s feud with Abdullah the Butcher in All Japan Pro Wrestling, in an angle where Abdullah tore apart Funk’s arm with a fork: by far the most violent angle of its time and place, and a gimmick still used in hardcore matches by wrestlers such as Homicide in Ring of Honor. Funk also takes a bit of the credit for bringing to Japan the stiff style of work it is now known for that started with him and was expanded upon further by Stan Hansen and Bruiser Brody. Funk was either around or involved in some of the most memorable moments in wrestling history, often creating them himself such as when he poured oil and dirt on his head in Florida to let the fans know he wanted to understand how they felt, the Empty Arena match with Jerry Lawler, the beginning of ECW, a classic angle with Ric Flair that ended in an I Quit match and is still remembered fondly today and more. Funk has been everywhere, wrestled almost everyone and wrestled almost every style. He’s done all of it better than all but a few.
‘More Than Just Hardcore’ begins with stories of his father and growing up and his times spent at West Texas State (with the likes of Tito Santana, Bruiser Brody, Bobby Duncum, Stan Hansen and eventually Dick Murdoch and Dusty Rhodes among others). He talks about his start in the business and the people he learned from. He also discusses his NWA world title win in 1976, where Fritz Von Erich was the swing vote that got him the belt, and how the schedule burned him out. In an effort to get his family life in order and get back his wife who had left him a few years earlier, Funk dropped the title and began working primarily in Japan, where the dates were fewer and the money greater. When he retired from Japan in an angle devised to help Baba’s AJPW, he took a couple years off but eventually returned in the United States.
Funk worked the top of the WWF with Hulk Hogan on an early edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event but didn’t last long before once again he was sick of a heavy travel schedule, and once again took a couple years off. He returned to wrestling, this time back in the NWA (WCW) as part of a booking committee that he stayed far away from, and in a feud with Ric Flair that Flair himself toned down because he felt that Funk’s promos against him were too strong with Flair himself out and unable to reply. Funk says that’s the only time someone told him his promos were too harsh on somebody and didn’t understand it since Flair would, and did, eventually beat him. Flair didn’t last in WCW, mostly because of the headaches with the booking committee and his refusal to side with the wrestler or management factions within it, although he did some announcing before leaving and taking a few years off once more. Funk of course ended up going to FMW (working for former protégé, Atsushi Onita) and working the death matches in Japan, as well as ECW and the places already mentioned. He discusses in detail these times in a way that only he can.
Toward the end of the book, Funk talks more about the things that matter to him the most. He discusses his friend John Ayers who has passed away, Mick Foley, his family, and he retorts to some things Ric Flair had said in his autobiography about Bret Hart and Mick Foley. He talks about how wrestlers need a union, which is the familiar line of all aging wrestlers, in a vicious and predictable cycle where in their prime, wrestlers are on top and don’t see the future or are too scared to say anything but in the end, say that the guys today shouldn’t make the same mistakes. He isn’t the first or last to exhibit this behavior. He talks about guys who have died and his anger at those such as Curt Hennig who did it to themselves with no concern for anybody else. Funk talks about regretting living in Texas while his brother lives in Florida. His wrestling life has come full circle for the most part; he’s back on independents where he started. Funk was never the type of guy to put the business above his family and throughout his career took extended vacations and sacrificed perhaps the possibility of greater moments in his career in order to be with his wife and daughters.
Terry Funk comes off as a good man. Considering Funk's accomplishments, longevity, and acclaim, his humility is notable. He doesn’t go out of his way to trash people and speaks mostly kind words of the people he does bring up. He shows he's above bringing up petty feuds with guys he doesn’t like, unlike many other personalities in the wrestling world. Funk's story provides a good sense of history, and informs us that many events in the modern wrestling world actually happened several years prior to public knowledge, but happened in a time where wrestling and backstage happenings were more guarded. Reading Terry Funk’s book is like sitting down with your favorite uncle for an afternoon; he’s accomplished, humble, a great storyteller and great teacher.
Going in reading the Terry Funk book, through video tapes I had been familiar with more of his career than just his hardcore accomplishments of semi-recent years and had a huge amount of respect for the man as an in-ring performer and interview. After reading it, I had respect for Terry Funk as a person and human being. I didn’t realize the sacrifices he made for his family and while I had heard of his reputation as a good man, I had no way of knowing that for myself. Terry Funk is a Jekyll and Hyde on and off screen. He is a man who is known for violence, blood and insanity in his promos and matches. But the real Terry Funk isn’t violent: he’s gentle, kind and intelligent. Terry Funk, the on screen character, is not anyone you would want to be within 100’ of. Terry Funk, the man, is someone you would be very lucky to meet, let alone to know.
Recently, Terry Funk was awarded the Mike Mazurki award from the Cauliflower Alley Club. As an example of the man Terry Funk is, I’ll leave you with a quote from his acceptance speech, “When they pick the winner of this award I don't think they are looking at the most fantastic wrestler or the guy who can dropkick the highest or anything like that. I think they are looking for someone who is like Mike, who loves the business and loves the people in the business and is loved by the people in the business, just like Mike was. I think that’s what this award is about and I do really love my business. The highest compliment I could have is that the guys at the Cauliflower Alley Club somehow came up with my name. I am possibly not deserving of it... but I am damn sure not going to give it up.”
Terry Funk’s career is among my favorites to watch. His book has been among my favorite wrestling books to read. You can pick it up at your local bookstore or by going to Amazon.com. I'd link you, but that bit of the site isn't working at the moment.
Justin T
daysworkrate@hotmail.com
