Terry Funk

[pitseleh]

Horrific news. Terry is the GOAT.

Saw this last night and it's bittersweet. The guy has had a hell of a life. Terry Funk is forever. 

[sivy]

I love Terry funk he's in my personal mount Rushmore. Just in my prayers

[Statto]

I've shared this on here before, but I'll never forget when Terry came over for FWA British Uprising 3 in Coventry, and meeting him after the show was part of the package for "ringside" tickets (must have been front three rows or something as we were in the the 3rd).

The line to meet him was understandably long and the show had started (and therefore finished) typically late, so venue security kept trying to get Terry to call it off so they could clear everyone out of the building, and he repeatedly flat out refused in the soft spoken, polite yet firm way you expect. "Hell no I'm not leaving, these people have come out to see me and I'm gonna shake every one of their hands."

What a man.

Edit: should add that he wasn't taking money for photos/autographs at that point so he wasn't refusing to go because there was a queue of people with tenners for him.

Edited July 6, 2021 by Statto
Legend of a man.

[Thunderplex]

Absolutely tragic.  I just hope for the best for him, whatever that is.

Edited July 6, 2021 by Thunderplex

[Tommy!]

I don't think there's anyone higher in my personal enjoyment than Funk. 

When I first started getting into more wrestling, digging into the vault, there were lots of things to enjoy but funk was always special to me. He was always someone who put a smile on my face. And unlike some he never tarnished or diminished his reputation or aura to me. 

Anything I watched across his mid 80s onwards work he was amazing, a genuine pleasure to watch. From mania 2 to filler raw matches in mid 98. From brawling with lawler to battling flair to leading the stud stable in 94. Be he in Japan putting on a clinic or taking part in some batshit gimmick. As the passionate old vet in ECW or the grizzled old git calling Foley a fat whore or the mad bastard screaming about what a shit hole Puerto Rico is or the lovable mentor to foley or dreamer he was my guy and he was awesome. 

I considered it a genuine highlight to have had the good fortune to meet him, and his friendly casual attitude to being surrounded by reams of uber nerds just made me love him more. 

[BomberPat]

6 minutes ago, Tommy! said:

I don't think there's anyone higher in my personal enjoyment than Funk. 

When I first started getting into more wrestling, digging into the vault, there were lots of things to enjoy but funk was always special to me. He was always someone who put a smile on my face. And unlike some he never tarnished or diminished his reputation or aura to me. 

Anything I watched across his mid 80s onwards work he was amazing, a genuine pleasure to watch. From mania 2 to filler raw matches in mid 98. From brawling with lawler to battling flair to leading the stud stable in 94. Be he in Japan putting on a clinic or taking part in some batshit gimmick. As the passionate old vet in ECW or the grizzled old git calling Foley a fat whore or the mad bastard screaming about what a shit hole Puerto Rico is or the lovable mentor to foley or dreamer he was my guy and he was awesome. 

This is it, really. Foley's first book opened my eyes to wrestling outside of the stuff I saw on TV, and Funk was a major part of that. I've been a fan of his ever since, and he's my pick for best of all time.

"A genuine pleasure to watch" is as good an explanation why as any long-winded thesis I'd come up with - there might be bad Terry Funk matches out there, but he's never bad in them. There's always a bit of business that elevates his work above everyone else, even when it's a nothing match he needn't have bothered in - it might be some great selling, a mad bump through the ropes, but there's always something.

[LSM]

From Terry's official Twitter page. Absolutely heartbreaking.

[LSM]

Hearing the news of Terry Funk is absolutely heartbreaking. I'd like to share a couple of personal experiences I've had with Terry.

I'm someone who likes going to meet & greets and comic cons. In 2007 I went to America for the first time specifically to attend a wrestling convention that was to feature Terry. In fact Terry was the main draw for me of the entire show. 

By pure coincidence Terry was staying at the same hotel as me and I noticed him in front of me in the breakfast line. Just out of politeness I said good morning to him and he said hello back, and asked if I was going to the convention later that day. When I said I was he invited me over to his table for breakfast. For about 15 minutes it was just the two of us chatting about where I had travelled from, British wrestling, UFC and the convention. Terry asked who I was planning on meeting and I was honest and said it was him. He laughed thinking I was just saying that because he was there but I said it was genuine and he appreciated it. By that time some other wrestlers had come over to the table and I knew at that point it was time to move on, so I thanked him for his time and left his table.

Fast forward to 2010 and the Wrestleslam Convention in Manchester. Through a friend of a friend I was able to work the event and I was paired up with Terry and his wife. I got the chance to spend the whole day with them and they were absolutely lovely. I was in charge of helping with merchandise and taking photos of Terry with fans. Terry was ribbing me the whole day saying I was taking bad photos and the fans needed to check them. He was smiling the whole time and the day just flew by, it was such a laugh.

The main thing I noticed with Terry was just how nice, kind and genuine he was. Not just with all the interactions he had with me but with every fan that he met.

Apologies for the long post.

Edited July 6, 2021 by LSM

[Tim Healys Chutney Spoon]

Old school entertainer that is - send the fans home happy and they'll keep coming back for more.

 

Hoping for the best for the crazy old bastard, whatever form that takes..

[LaGoosh]

Tommy Dreamer says he just spoke to him and he's doing ok and we all need to calm down.

[Chris B]

1 hour ago, LaGoosh said:

Tommy Dreamer says he just spoke to him and he's doing ok and we all need to calm down.

As his family says, he'll have good days and bad days. 

I have a grandmother who has had to go into residential care, and it's been heartbreaking seeing my mum deal with it. The thing is that the good days are enough for you to keep hoping they'll improve. But it's a constant progression downwards. There's a point where each good day is the last day they've had that's that good. And once the decline seriously starts, it can become pretty rapid. It's a fucking horrible, horrible thing for family to deal with (although it may not always be as distressing at times for the person themselves).

Dreamer's not wrong in the sense of 'don't write him off', but it's as good a time as any to celebrate his career.

All that said, I'm not convinced he's fully retired yet. The nuclear bombs could go off and cockroaches being the only thing left alive, and I still wouldn't entirely believe Terry Funk was done.

[Guest]

If anyone is looking for a way to support Terry, pro wrestling Tees has a bloodied micro brawler that is on presale for this week. I’d not normally have picked one up of him, but with this news I think  I will 

[wandshogun09]

Really sad to hear this. Always loved Funk. Pat put it best with the ‘he might’ve had some bad matches but he wasn’t bad in them’ line. I’ve never thought of it like that but I honestly can’t remember a time I didn’t enjoy his stuff, even when he was in rotten 2000 WCW or having matches that were positioned as throwaway or filler in the WWF in 98. He always entertained in one way or another. I can’t think of many (or really any) other wrestlers who were so good at everything as well. He could do serious stuff, more traditional style matches, hardcore matches right through to the mad deathmatch stuff, comedy etc.

Don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone - wrestler, promoter or fan - have a bad word to say about him either. And when you think about the scope of how many years and generations and different promotions that covers it really is a testament to what a genuinely good man he must be. He always seemed to have a staggering lack of ego for someone as great as he was. That shone through any time I saw him interviewed. Just seemed genuinely happy to be doing what he loved. 

Edited July 7, 2021 by wandshogun09

[Chili]

Seems appropriate here to post the sometimes forgotten debut of Chainsaw Charlie, which is absolutely brilliantly mad. Yeah, give him a chainsaw, why not. 

 

Edited July 7, 2021 by Chili

[Tamura]

1 hour ago, Chili said:

 Yeah, give him a chainsaw, why not.

He actually debuted the chainsaw in 1989.

Not sure if it's still available on the Network, but it was released as the A Lesson from Funk University in Hidden Gems back in 2018. That version was first made available by me on XWT Classics back in January 2017, before being uploaded to Youtube. I like to think its appearance online encouraged WWE to release it in better quality...

Edited July 7, 2021 by Tamura