Kemo
08-23-2023, 10:20 PM
https://i.imgur.com/xaQOwYq.jpg
Wrestling legend Terry Funk, one of the most influential wrestlers of all time, passed away at age 79. The announcement of his passing was shared by his former rival and friend Ric Flair on Twitter. At this time, it is unclear what was the cause of death.
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Many wrestlers, both past and present, have credited Funk for inspiring their wrestling style, like WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley. He started his career in a tag team with his brother Dory Funk Jr., which led to a successful run as a tag team for different wrestling promotions in the 70's. While he had a great run as a tag team wrestler, Funk became more popular as a singles competitor.
He won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship from Jack Briscoe at Championship Wrestling From Florida on Dec. 10, 1975, which he held for almost two years. During his reign, he had victories over the likes of Greg Valentine, Harley Race, and Dusty Rhodes. Funk would lose the title to Race at a collaborative event between Maple Leaf Wrestling and the NWA on Feb. 6, 1977.
He had a brief run in WWE (WWF at the time), where he competed at WrestleMania 2 on April 7. 1986 in a loss teaming with his brother against Tito Santana and The Junkyard Dog.
After his stint in WWE, he would go to WCW and had a legendary rival against Flair. Some fans may remember their I Quit match at WCW: Clash of Champions on Nov. 15, 1989.
Younger wrestling fans who know of Funk are more familiar with his time in ECW and WWE. He was a significant factor in the start of ECW in the earlier 90's. One of the many highlights of Funk during that time was when he faced Foley at Hardcore Heaven in 1994. The match ended in a no-contest because Public Enemy(Rocco Rock and Johnny Grunge) interfered. Foley and Funk teamed up against Public Enemy, beat them down in the ring, and the crowd threw steel chairs at them in the ring.
Funk won the ECW World Heavyweight Championship against Raven at the company's first pay-per-view event, ECW: Barely Legal, on April 13, 1997.
After a few years with ECW, he would return to WWE during the Attitude Era as Chainsaw Charlie in late 1997. Funk had a quick run working with Foley as a tag team and feuded with The New Age Outlaws(Billy Gunn & Road Dogg). Funk and Foley famously won the WWF Tag Team Champions by defeating The New Age Outlaws in a Dumpster match at WrestleMania 14 on March 29, 1998. The next day, they would lose the titles on a WWE: Monday Night Raw episode to The New Age Outlaws in a Steel Cage match.
His time with WWE would be less than a year. He also had a brief stint in WCW between in 2000.
By the end of his WCW run, he slowed down from wrestling and would work and make appearances for different promotions, including WWE in 2006. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame with his brother on April 4, 2009.
After the news of his passing became public many of his friends and wrestlers that he influenced shared their condolences. Here are some of the posts on Twitter.
1694446031952331209
1694467007171707330
1694449994244243867
1694453323318083703
1694461557529248018
1694462942635262116
Wrestling legend Terry Funk, one of the most influential wrestlers of all time, passed away at age 79. The announcement of his passing was shared by his former rival and friend Ric Flair on Twitter. At this time, it is unclear what was the cause of death.
1694440753785696599
Many wrestlers, both past and present, have credited Funk for inspiring their wrestling style, like WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley. He started his career in a tag team with his brother Dory Funk Jr., which led to a successful run as a tag team for different wrestling promotions in the 70's. While he had a great run as a tag team wrestler, Funk became more popular as a singles competitor.
He won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship from Jack Briscoe at Championship Wrestling From Florida on Dec. 10, 1975, which he held for almost two years. During his reign, he had victories over the likes of Greg Valentine, Harley Race, and Dusty Rhodes. Funk would lose the title to Race at a collaborative event between Maple Leaf Wrestling and the NWA on Feb. 6, 1977.
He had a brief run in WWE (WWF at the time), where he competed at WrestleMania 2 on April 7. 1986 in a loss teaming with his brother against Tito Santana and The Junkyard Dog.
After his stint in WWE, he would go to WCW and had a legendary rival against Flair. Some fans may remember their I Quit match at WCW: Clash of Champions on Nov. 15, 1989.
Younger wrestling fans who know of Funk are more familiar with his time in ECW and WWE. He was a significant factor in the start of ECW in the earlier 90's. One of the many highlights of Funk during that time was when he faced Foley at Hardcore Heaven in 1994. The match ended in a no-contest because Public Enemy(Rocco Rock and Johnny Grunge) interfered. Foley and Funk teamed up against Public Enemy, beat them down in the ring, and the crowd threw steel chairs at them in the ring.
Funk won the ECW World Heavyweight Championship against Raven at the company's first pay-per-view event, ECW: Barely Legal, on April 13, 1997.
After a few years with ECW, he would return to WWE during the Attitude Era as Chainsaw Charlie in late 1997. Funk had a quick run working with Foley as a tag team and feuded with The New Age Outlaws(Billy Gunn & Road Dogg). Funk and Foley famously won the WWF Tag Team Champions by defeating The New Age Outlaws in a Dumpster match at WrestleMania 14 on March 29, 1998. The next day, they would lose the titles on a WWE: Monday Night Raw episode to The New Age Outlaws in a Steel Cage match.
His time with WWE would be less than a year. He also had a brief stint in WCW between in 2000.
By the end of his WCW run, he slowed down from wrestling and would work and make appearances for different promotions, including WWE in 2006. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame with his brother on April 4, 2009.
After the news of his passing became public many of his friends and wrestlers that he influenced shared their condolences. Here are some of the posts on Twitter.
1694446031952331209
1694467007171707330
1694449994244243867
1694453323318083703
1694461557529248018
1694462942635262116