A hardcore history with Terry Funk
Part 3
'I'm really proud of Cactus. I'm proud of him for taking some of the things which I have valued and listening to me'
By CHRIS GRAMLICH -- For SLAM! Wrestling
Funk's obvious disdain for Hogan and Flair notwithstanding, when asked
about his toughest opponent or match he is reluctant to name one
wrestler or style of wrestling over another. Not wanting to play
favourites or insinuate that any one opponent stands above another.
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Terry Funk in one of his movie roles.
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However, a crazy man named Sabu, from a company known as Extreme Championship
Wrestling, and the headlining barbed wire match of a little known event
entitled "Born to Wired", stand out as one of the most extreme. Even for
a man who has been declared ECW World Heavyweight Champion for life. (
Click here for a 1.4 MB clip of Born to Wired.)
"I think that was one the most brutal matches I've ever witnessed, as
far as being in? I've had some worse things happen to me like the time I
got my arm burned-up with Cactus (Jack), over in Japan (King of the
Death Match tournament '95). But as far as brutal, bloody, hardcore
craziness that match with Sabu was the best," said Funk. "If you watch that
match you'll see at the end where I'm out on the floor wrapped in barbed
wire, that the barbed wire was stretched taut around my neck and it was a
wonder that wasn't the end of it for me right there. It was probably the
most brutal, graphic match, although the matches in Japan were pretty
graphic."
While on the topic of the King of the Death matches, let us mention Cactus Jack and
Japan. It was that final match of the tournament, which Funk ranks as
another vicious match and oddly enough, one of the most disappointing of
his career.
"Cactus and I were competing over in Japan in the Explosion - Barbed Wire - Bomb match, which
was the final match of the King of the Death Matches," said Funk. "Well, the guy (the
promoter) said he spent close to ten thousand dollars on the blow-up
system, but what no one can probably believe is that when you go in to
these matches you really don't know what is going to happen. Whether it's
going to blow you up, the ring or what it's going to do and you just take
your chances. Well, this time we were in there and it counted down, 'five,
four, three, two...one!' and I'll never forget what happened."
According to Funk what happened was Cactus Jack, afraid of the explosion,
ran into the third row while Funk stood in the centre of the ring waiting.
The explosion went off on cue but was nothing more than a little smoke not
a big bang the crowd was expecting.
VIDEO CLIP: The Outlaws take Cactus Jack and Funk for a ride. Clip: 1.6 MB.
VIDEO CLIP: Chainsaw Charlie and Cactus Jack attacked by DX and The Outlaws. Clip: 1.6 MB.
VIDEO CLIP: Mick Foley cracks Funk with a chair. Clip: 922 KB.
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"The fans just went 'Ohhhhh...' and they were all disappointed and I turned
to the people and just went 'Why? Why no bomb?'. They understood that and
Cactus and I went in there and finished the match. And even though these
people were utterly disappointed, we raised them back up. That was when I
got badly burned (being dropped arm first onto an exploding barbed wire
covered pallet) but Cactus has been through some brutal stuff too."
Ah yes, Cactus Jack (Mick Foley, Dude Love, Mankind), it is impossible
to talk to Terry Funk about Mick Foley and not notice the gleam in his
eye or the affection in his words? Cactus is a protege and surrogate son
to Funk whom he has conveyed the lessons and philosophies of his life to.
Lessons Foley has taken to heart.
"The premise that I have lived by in this business is to give the
people their money's worth and that is one thing I've tried to instill
in Cactus," said Funk in a fatherly tone. "I think Cactus has learned that
through watching me and even though I may be overstepping my boundaries,
I'm really proud of Cactus. I'm proud of him for taking some of the things
which I have valued and listening to me and he'll tell you that. But, I
love him and he has gone beyond the things which even I would do."
It is hard to imagine anything that Terry Funk wouldn't do. Here is a
man who has been wrapped and hung with barbed wire, pioneered table and
chair use, has been blown-up, bleeds like a sieve in almost all his
matches and can do a moonsault well into his fifties. But it isn't what
he does that Funk wants people to understand; it's the why? That's the
important part.
"I just hope people understand why I do these things. I think some
people would say what I do is stupid and maybe it is, maybe it is. But I
have a real love for this business and for the people and I want to make
them hate me more than they've ever hated me before and that's really
important to me."
Hating Terry Funk in this day and age isn't a popular notion, despite
his recent heel turn on Tommy Dreamer in ECW. The question everyone is
asking isn't who is the mysterious greater power the Undertaker answers
to? It is when will Terry Funk be returning to either the ECW to
finish his feud with Dreamer or when will he re-surface in the WWF for
a last dance with Mick Foley?.
"I don't know whether I'll be returning to either the ECW or the WWF.
This match for the AWF will be my first match back since I had the
hepatitis and it took a lot out of me and not for any other reason than
I'm fifty-four years old. There are some things I want to do with my
wife and I love her dearly. I think it is time for me to be back where I
need to be...Nothing is forever in the wrestling business and I'm
certainly not, but I don't mind that, I really don't. It's just really
important that the wrestlers and the fans understand that," he said.
Funk's Extreme recollections
"One time when I was hurt really bad, was when me and Cactus were in a
match with Onita over there in Japan. I did a moonsault onto the floor
and him and Cactus ran in the other direction and I landed face first on
the floor and I had a hematoma the size of a grapefruit on my head and I
didn't know where I was. That dirty bastard Onita wasn't concerned about
me at all and went to pull me back in the ring. Cactus went over and
knocked him out of the way and the attendants came up and then they took
me to a doctor. People don't realize the danger in this profession and
what the athletes are going through right now."
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Funk on the branding iron and Chainsaw Charlie
"The branding Iron was my idea and I was doing it before the WWF, kind
of like Chainsaw Charlie. I was up there running around in the WWF, it
was my first night back and they said 'what do you want to do?' and I
said, 'I don't know.' John Aires from the San Francisco 49ers is a close friend, and his son is my godson. He used to
take him to this barber who would give him a dollar and a half haircut
and we used to call him Chainsaw Charlie and that just jumped out in my
mind and I said 'Well, I'll be Chainsaw Charlie.' They said, 'What are
you going to wear?' So I got the suspenders from Howard (Finkle), took
Bruce's (Pritchard) Levi's and I had that shirt on, borrowed a pair of
pantyhose from Chyna, cut one leg out of them and there came Chainsaw
Charlie."
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Funk on WCW and WWF ripping-off the ECW
"They straight-up rip off everything. I go to church a lot and I'm not
into crucifixions and all that but where did they (WWF) get it from?
They stole it from ECW's Raven/(Tommy) Dreamer angle. The WCW does a poor
imitation and the WWF does a better imitation."
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Funk on Jimmy Jack Funk
"It didn't bother me when Vince (McMahon) brought in Jimmy Jack Funk. It's like
that old song -- 'imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.' I think
it is a little bit of an honour when someone wants to use your name and
to some extent be like you, I maybe wouldn't be pleased if they had said
he was my brother, but I saw nothing wrong with it."
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