Match 1 – Terry Funk vs. Bill Watts (Tri States 1975) http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3efql … 1975_sport
Ok, let’s get started with one of the earliest Funk matches I have access to atm that isn’t JIP, a tag match, or a silent film lol.
Funk had the “middle aged and crazy” gimmick in the 90’s, but let’s face it, the guy was a fucking lunatic his entire life lol. Even here, in ’75, where he’s much more of a “wrestler” than what he’s turn into in later years, he still has crazy movements and mannerisms and looks like he will kill you for looking at him wrong.
Watts has more power to use to his advantage here, and any time he does Funk sells it like crazy and also has a look of complete and total surprise on his face every time 
.
Funk spot in the ropes is amazing . Then he falls back and the referee tries to grab his leg to save him, but misses and Funk just disappears off camera behind the apron and could have landed on his head for all we know.
Watts’ punches here don’t look… particularly good at times, but still, when he decks Funk you BELIEVE they fucking hurt even if they aren’t his best looking punches.
BILL WATTS WINS WITH A SLAM~! And Funk rolls around on the floor afterwards like it was the most painful move ever, so it’s all good 
. A fun, short TV match to kick things off with this TERRY FUNK project 
. No doubt I’ll end up with a couple of 30+ minute matches next, because that’s just what happens lol.
Match 2 – Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen (4/14/83) http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3efr7 … 1983_sport
Was trying to pick a match with Terry against either Brody or Hansen, and well, I just couldn’t decide. So I flipped a coin and THE LARIAT won!!!
Holy fuck, when Terry makes his entrance and is waiting in the ring for Hansen, he looked IDENTICAL to Dean Ambrose lol. Definitely a resemblance with Terry at this age!
I’m expecting this to be a brawl and nothing more. Maybe a few holds by Terry, but aside from that, I’m guessing they’ll just blast each other in the face as often as possible. Hansen slapping Terry and firing him up 
. Terry responds with forearms to the face .
Hansen clubs the shit out of Funk, so Funk gets him on the outside and… hits a snapmare and dropkick . That’s just… so fucking perfect for a crazy person like Funk!!!
A lot of stuff here reminds me of stuff I’d see from the likes of Finlay, Benoit and Regal in 15 years time, and that’s always a good thing. Both men are constantly trying to fight for control, and even when they lose it they are always looking to capitalise on an opening regardless of whether or not they are on their back on the mat or in a hold or anything. Funk gets BUSTED OPEN and refuses to give up on his efforts to lock in the spinning toe hold . And Hansen refuses to let Funk keep it locked in for too long, and boots to the face help with that .
REF BUMP~! Well, if the ref is dead, might as well take this brawl one step further!!! Hansen wraps his whip around Funk’s neck, and rather than using it to simply choke him out, he uses it to control him like a wild animal and create more openings to KICK HIM IN THE FACE .
Then when Hansen DOES use it to choke out Funk, Funk’s selling is just amazing. He rolls his eyes back like The Undertaker and just flops around in the ropes like a fish out of water. Even though Funk is half dead, Hansen STILL doesn’t give up smashing his face in.
Things are so crazy that Dory Sr (I think… unless Dory Jr aged about 100 years…) shows up to try and chase off Hansen and save his son!!!
The match is over, fuck knows the official decision because I don’t understand Japanese lol. Either way this was fucking awesome. A wonderful bloody brawl and a great performance from Funk. I think the coin make the right choice because I’m not sure how much I would have enjoyed a Brody match compared to this one, since I’ve never cared much for Brody.
Match 3 – Terry Funk vs. Hulk Hogan (Philly 12/7/85) http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3efs3 … 1985_sport
There is a super fun match between these two on the epically awesome Best of Saturday Night’s Main Event DVD that WWE released years back (seriously everyone go buy it now), so seeing that I had 2 other matches between the two on this Funk set, I figured I might have a chance of getting yet another fun match out of em.
It’s announced that the following match is the main event, and the fans explode because they know that means HOGAN.
Who the fuck thought Jimmy Hart was a good pick to be Funk’s manager?
Who the fuck thought TERRY FUNK needed a fucking manager in the first place?
Also, Funk is using the MIDDLE AGED AND CRAZY name in 1985? 30 years later and the guy is still calling himself that . Guess it means he’s gonna live for a very long time!!!
Ahhh, Funk truly is crazy right from the start. He’s just such a character, without being too silly, and still being able to come across as a dangerous bastard when he needs to.
That poor cowboy hat 
. Takes a few elbow drops from the Hulkster.
Was there ever a Dick Murdoch Vs Hulk Hogan match? Because around this time, Hogan could get the fans to react to fucking ANYTHING, and Murdoch is great at milking the shit out of a single punch etc. Mix these two guys together and they could have a 30 minute match with the fans on their feet the entire time and only do about 6 moves the entire time lol . Just thought of that because Funk does a bit of drunk selling and shit and the fans just eat it up while Hogan stands about doing very little lol.
Funk drops down during an Irish Whip, and Hogan, instead of jumping over Funk and letting Funk get back up and whatnot like the spot would normally go, he steps on Funk a couple of times as he runs past him . Awesome.
Hogan is making Funk look like an absolute fool and it’s awesome . I can only imagine the shit Murdoch would have done with Hogan too. Great shit.
ILLEGAL TACTICS~! That’ll teach the Hulkster to make a fool of old Terry Funk!
SLEEPER HOLD~! Hogan is fading away!!!
HULK UP~!
at one point it looks like Hogan is setting Funk up for the legdrop, but Funk doesn’t stay down for it. So Hogan hits the big boot and… Funk goes through the ropes instead lol.
In the end, Jimmy Hart tries to get involved and his shoe ends up in the Hulk’s possession and helps Hogan get the win!
Well, this was just what I was hoping for; a ton of fun .
Match 4 – Terry Funk vs. Chris Benoit (NWA 4/23/94) http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3efss … 1994_sport
It’s Funk Vs Benoit. Do I need say any more as to why I wanted to watch this? I do? FUCK YOU.
I think Funk hits Benoit with a chair on the outside at one point but… I can’t see shit because all the fans are in the way . This is a… very low production wrestling show . I think ECW had a bigger budget than this 
.
*sigh* about 90% of the first 7 minutes of this match happen on the outside and the cameras get none of it.
They get back in the ring, Benoit chops Funk a couple of times and then… back to the outside and I see nothing again. Hmmm… has someone told me about this match before? Because… I seem to possibly remember someone telling me about it, specifically the part in the ring with the chops and that being most of what you see for the first half of the match lol.
Back in the ring… can they fucking STAY IN THERE now? Maybe? Please?
OH MY FUCKING GOD THE CAMERA MAN MISSED A FUCKING FLYING HEADBUTT. IN THE RING. BENOIT JUMPS AND… WE DON’T SEE HIM LAND . And then they go back to the outside . I guess I should have picked another match .
THE MATCH JUST ENDED IN A DOUBLE COUNTOUT . Fucking bullshit .
Match 5 – Terry Funk vs. CM Punk (ROH 9/20/03) http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3eft8 … 2003_sport
Always hear mixed opinions on this match, but dammit, it’s TERRY FUCKING FUNK Vs CM PUNK and I really wanna see how it turns out regardless.
Funk stretching Punk and rubbing his forearm into his face at the same time . Even in 03, Terry can school this young uns!!!
Lol, Punk has Terry against the guard rail, grabs a mic and says this is now a hardcore match… and immediately runs at Funk and gets back body dropped into the crowd. Ya shouldn’ta did that, Punk .
Looking back and stuff like this, is it any wonder that Punk ended up being so good? I mean, he was wrestling in the indies and shit making not much money in front of not many people etc… but he was so damn lucky that he got to work with the likes of FUNK, Raven (not so much for wrestling, in this case lol), Steamboat (not a match) and Foley (live back and forth in ring promo). He seemed to get so many great opportunities to learn from such smart guys in the business.
Funk suplexes Punk off the apron through a table . Punk REALLY shouldn’t have made this a hardcore match .
Speaking of Punk learning things from veterans like Funk… I wonder if he learnt the moonsault from Terry .
a “please don’t die” chant for Terry with the moonsault.
Punk moves and Funk’s knee gets fucked so of course Punk decides to rip it apart!
YOU PRICK. YOU BASTARD. Funk trash talking Punk WHILE GETTING BEAT UP is amazing .
STUNNER~! STUNNER BY FUNK~! STUNNER BY FUNK~!
what the fuck, Punk? Teases the spinning toe hold… but kind morphs it into a figure four attempt, and doesn’t do either .
Then he DOES do the spinning toe hold and THEN locks in a figure four . Second time in the charm, I guess.
Seems that Punk is determined to destroy the knee of Terry Funk. He must be a secret Shane Douglas fan or something, trying to finish the job from 1994 
.
Urgh, Gabe on commentary is awful. He tries to really add drama and shit to the match but… it comes off so damn forced it ends up sucking .
A few minutes are dedicated to the figure four, before the referee DQ’s Punk for not letting go of the hold while Funk is in the ropes.
Well, I’m glad I finally saw it, but yeah, it isn’t too great. Funk is Funk and Punk is Punk, but it wasn’t an all time classic like it could have been if Funk was 20 years younger and Punk was a few years older.
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