Terry Funk obit

Terry Funk dies at 79: Legendary pro wrestler who had stints with WWE, WCW and ECW passes away

Funk was a part of pro wrestling for nearly his entire adult life, beginning in 1965

 He was not on the list.

Legendary professional wrestler Terry Funk, whose influence was felt across multiple generations, has died at the age of 79. News broke of Funk's death on Wednesday afternoon.

During his career, which spanned more than 50 years, there was almost no meaningful wrestling promotion in which Funk did not have an impact. After starting his career in 1965 for Western States Sports, a promotion ran by his father, Dory Funk, Terry Funk often wrestled alongside his brother, Dory Funk Jr.

Funk exploded to the top of wrestling in 1975, defeating Jack Brisco to win the NWA world heavyweight championship. He held the title for more than 420 days before dropping the title to Harley Race. Race was also the man who ended Dory Jr.'s title reign in 1973.

Funk earned a reputation as a rough and rugged brawler through various rivalries, including a feud with Jerry Lawler that led to a now-iconic empty-arena match and a lengthy rivalry with Ric Flair that included a shocking moment for the time that saw Funk piledrive Flair onto a ringside table.

After stints in Japan, NWA, WWF and WCW, Funk's career found a second wind when he joined Eastern Championship Wrestling, later Extreme Championship Wrestling. Funk had appeared in Japan as a "hardcore" wrestler, participating in brutal and violent contests.

Funk utilized that hardcore style as a cornerstone of ECW, eventually winning the promotion's top title in the main event of their first-ever pay-per-view event, Barely Legal on April 13, 1997. He would go on to have more stints in WWE, WCW and ECW throughout his career, as well as time in TNA and on the independent circuit.

During that time, Funk would routinely retire, only to return to the ring again and again. He would have his final match in September 2017, finally hanging up his boots for good.

Funk also took on several acting roles, most notably appearing in the 1989 Patrick Swayze film Roadhouse.

Funk was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2009.

After the one-off appearance at the WWE produced ECW One Night Stand, Funk then returned to the independent circuit and made appearances in Japan. He claimed to be semi-retired after wrestling in his last match in September 2006 against Jerry "The King" Lawler in an Extreme Rules match at The Great Plains Coliseum in Lawton, Oklahoma, for the promotion Impact Zone Wrestling. Funk was also the special guest referee during the Raven and Johnny Webb vs. Khan Kussion and Homeless Jimmy match at "Cold Day in Hell" on May 24. On August 8, Terry made a surprise appearance for Insane Clown Posse's Juggalo Championship Wrestling at the 10th Annual Gathering of the Juggalos. He served as special guest referee for a match between Viscera and 2 Tuff Tony. Funk also appeared at the annual NJPW January 4 Dome Show in 2010, teaming with Manabu Nakanishi, Masahiro Chono and Riki Choshu to defeat Abdullah the Butcher, Takashi Iizuka, Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano. Funk was scheduled to be the special guest referee in a match between Kevin Nash and Hannibal for a Great North Wrestling event in Thunder Bay, Ontario in May 2010. During the press conference to announce his involvement, an altercation involving Funk and Hannibal damaged and possibly broke Funk's eardrum.

On September 11, 2010, at Ring of Honor's Glory By Honor IX, Funk worked as the ringside enforcer for the ROH World Championship match between Tyler Black and Roderick Strong. Funk appeared at the fifth WrestleReunion event at the LAX Hilton in Los Angeles, California, from January 28 to 30, 2011. On the second day of the event, he competed in a Legends Battle Royale on the Pro Wrestling Guerrilla show. He lasted until the end where he was eliminated by Roddy Piper. Funk wrestled Jerry Lawler unsuccessfully in a "No holds barred contest" for Northeast Wrestling on October 1, 2011. On October 15, 2011, Funk unsuccessfully faced his long-time friend and protégé Tommy Dreamer at the AWE "Night Of Legends" event. In a shoot interview conducted the next day featuring himself and Dreamer, Funk stated that he believed that would be his last match. On January 12, 2013, Funk stated that he was officially retired from professional wrestling at age 68, On October 27, 2013, he returned to All Japan Pro Wrestling with Dory in a tag team match, wrestling Masanobu Fuchi and Osamu Nishimura to a 20-minute time limit draw. On November 9, 2013, Funk appeared at House of Hardcore 3 as Tommy Dreamer's tag team partner. They defeated Sean Waltman and Lance Storm and the match was promoted as the last time Dreamer and Funk would wrestle together.

On December 11, 2014, Funk returned to Japan for a Tokyo Gurentai independent event, which saw him, Masakatsu Funaki and Mil Máscaras defeat Kaz Hayashi, Nosawa Rongai and Yoshiaki Fujiwara in a six-man tag team main event. On October 16, 2015, Funk made an appearance at AIW's Big Trouble in Little Cleveland event, where he attacked Eddie Kingston and his manager, The Duke, destroying the concession stand in the process. On October 24, 2015, Funk had his last match at USA Championship Wrestling in Jackson, Tennessee, at Oman Arena against Jerry Lawler, Lawler went on to win by DQ. On September 17, 2016, Funk announced his retirement at House of Hardcore 17. Funk made another return to the ring on September 22, 2017, for the Big Time Wrestling promotion in Raleigh, North Carolina. He teamed with The Rock N' Roll Express in a six-man tag team match, where they defeated Doug Gilbert, Jerry Lawler and Lawler's son Brian Christopher via disqualification.

In 1989, Terry Funk appeared as a bouncer in the movie Road House with Patrick Swayze. In 1999, Funk was featured in director Barry Blaustein's wrestling documentary Beyond the Mat. His legendary toughness was attested to when cameramen followed him to a medical appointment, where he was told, by the doctor, that he should not even be able to walk without intense pain. He has also appeared in other movies such as Paradise Alley, The Ringer, and Over the Top. He released an autobiography, Terry Funk: More Than Just Hardcore, in 2005. On May 11, 2010, Funk appeared on "Right After Wrestling" with Arda Ocal on SIRIUS Satellite Radio to discuss his possible retirement, to which he replied "I never really truly will retire". This was also the interview with the infamous quote, "I dislike Vince (McMahon). I'm jealous of Vince."

In 1985, Funk appeared in the short-lived western "Wildside". Only six episodes were aired. Behind the scenes, Funk choreographed the street fight between Rocky Balboa and his nemesis Tommy Gunn at the end of Rocky V. Funk's name can be seen in the end credits. Funk also had a short lived career in music. The release of the album "Great Texan" in 1984 which was a soft rock AOR oriented album. The album was met with mixed reviews and is generally considered a "cult classic" by fans. Funk has also appeared in several WWE video games, in WWE SmackDown vs Raw 2008 and WWE SmackDown vs Raw 2011 as himself and in WWE '13 as downloadable content as his Chainsaw Charlie gimmick.

In July 2022, Terry Funk released his self-titled biographical comic book through Squared Circle Comics.