RIP Terry Funk

[Snitsky's back acne]

Ric Flair has confirmed Terry Funk has died aged 79.

A true legend Funk was a total one of a kind and truly made you believe what he was doing.

I remember first seeing him on German channel DSF at Halloween Havoc 1994. He was going after people in the crowd and made 12 year old me believe he was legitimately out of his mind. He also got piledriven on a pumpkin. 

RIP to the Funker. 

Edited August 23, 2023 by Snitsky's back acne

[Thunderplex]

This is such sad news.  True legend of the sport, never saw a boring Terry Funk match.  Always elevated any match or promotion he was involved with, and never heard a single negative thing about him.  RIP.

[mim731]

Fuck that's sad. RIP.

One of the best to ever do it, and seemed like a great person too. Best working punch of all time. 

Forever. 

[TheScarlettChad]

I mainly remember him from clips as Chainsaw Charlie and that utterly bonkers ONS 2006 match. 

"MY EYE MICK!" "MY EYE!"

 

RIP Funk.

[Tommy!]

Just saw foley say funk had gone.

After Foley funk was the man who got me into wrestling, and in truth he's what I see as wrestling in his late 80's to late 90s run, no one beats the Funker.

[Statto]

A story I've shared here a dozen times over the years, probably. Once more for the Funker.

FWA British Uprising 3. Part of our "ringside" package (must've been front 3 rows at least as we were in the 3rd) was to meet Terry post show.

Typical FWA late start/finish. From basically the moment we were gathered to meet Terry, Skydome staff were trying to get everyone out of the building.

Terry, politely but firmly, absolutely refused to let that happen until he'd met/signed for everyone. "These folks have come out to see me and I'm damn sure gonna shake every one of their hands".

Proper legend.

Edit: and I always forget to add, no money changing hands here so there was no financial incentive for Terry to not just let it get called off.

Edited August 23, 2023 by Statto
Extra praise for the Funker.

[FLips]

Seemed like he was going to live forever until suddenly it didn’t. It was like one day he was Terry Funk and the next all that age and damage caught up to him.

Truly sad to see him pass. I never saw any of what most would consider his prime, and instead he was the crazy old legend on the ECW/WWF/WCW tapes I’d borrow and buy. I’m sure his matches with Flair are all time greats but for me it was the Dumpster Match at Wrestlemania 14, or him spinning around with a ladder round his neck on a grainy ECW VHS. 

Farewell Funker.

[DavidB6937]

One of those guys like Dusty and Flair that I never really saw in their prime at the time but enjoyed what I did see, then over the years caught their earlier stuff and was just amazed by how hot the crowds were. Genuinely special.

[HarmonicGenerator]

One of the greatest of all time. I first heard of him through Foley’s first book, where he was portrayed as an absolute hero to Mick. One of the first ECW branded videos I managed to get hold of was his “retirement” match against Bret Hart, and I bought that for Terry rather than Bret. I can’t pretend to have seen loads of his matches, but every time I did - whether it was against Lawler or Flair, or Sabu or Cactus - whoever really, he was a joy to watch. He got wrestling in a way very few others ever have. Such sad news. RIP Funker.

[wandshogun09]

Ah shit. Kind of been expecting this one but it still somehow feels like a shock. The man seemed indestructible for so long it’s hard to believe he’s gone.

2 minutes ago, Thunderplex said:

never heard a single negative thing about him.  RIP.

One of the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Funk. It’s truly amazing when you consider the ground it covers given his tenure in wrestling and the amount of different eras and different places he worked. To not have anyone speak ill of him tells you what kind of man he was. And as a pro wrestler he was just brilliant. Could do everything from classic old school matches to mad death match stuff to comedy. And from everything I’ve ever read and heard about him he might’ve been the most selfless of all the proper legends. I remember watching one of his shoot interviews years ago and I went in already a big fan and somehow came out even more of a fan. What struck me was how little ego he seemed to have considering how great he was. Loved him. 

[Kane]

Getting to 79 for Terry is quite a feat, considering the punishment he put his body through over the years. Such sad news.

RIP Terry.

[Snitsky's back acne]

25 minutes ago, Statto said:

Terry, politely but firmly, absolutely refused to let that happen until he'd met/signed for everyone. "These folks have come out to see me and I'm damn sure gonna shake every one of their hands".

Proper legend.

Edit: and I always forget to add, no money changing hands here so there was no financial incentive for Terry to not just let it get called off.

Never heard that before. What an awesome guy. We've lost one of the good ones. 

[SuperBacon]

 

[DEF]

I knew he was unwell but it still sucks. I was lucky enough to meet him at FWA British Uprising 3 and see him wrestle which is quite incredible now I'm thinking about it. What an absolute legend. As has been said I've never heard a bad word said against him either. Definitely going to dig out some of his classics tonight.

[Loki]

Well, shit.