Terry Funk

Terry Funk made his World Wrestling Federation (WWF) debut in 1985 after a brief run in the AWA. In his televised debut on *Championship Wrestling*, he not only beat Aldo Marino, but he also beat on ring announcer Mel Phillips; Funk attacked Phillips, after Phillips made the mistake of putting on Funk's cowboy hat. Funk also had a gimmick of carrying a branding iron with him to ringside and using it to "brand" his fallen opponents. The attack on Phillips lead to a feud with Junkyard Dog. In the mid-1980's, Funk teamed with his brother Dory (calling himself "Hoss" Funk) and Jimmy Jack Funk, a storyline "brother." They were managed by Jimmy Hart. At the time, he had a heated rivalry with the Junkyard Dog which led to a match between Terry Funk and Hoss Funk and the team of Tito Santana and Junkyard Dog at WrestleMania 2. Terry also had a series of WWF title matches against Hulk Hogan.

Funk joined World Championship Wrestling in 1989 and became part of the J-Tex Corporation. He began feuding with Ric Flair, who had defeated Ricky Steamboat at WrestleWar for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Funk, who was one of three judges for the main event, challenged Flair to a title match. Flair refused, saying that Funk was "spending time in Hollywood" instead of focusing on wrestling. Funk then attacked, piledriving Flair on a ringside table. This put the champion, Flair, out of action until the Great American Bash, where he faced Funk. Flair won the match by reversing a small package into one of his own, but shortly after was attacked by Gary Hart and The Great Muta. Sting came to aid Flair and the two brawled with Funk and Muta to close the show. Funk got injured but returned to continue feuding with Ric Flair. The two then had an "I Quit" match at *Clash of the Champions IX:*, which Funk lost after yelling "Yes, I quit!" after Flair put on the Figure four leglock. A notable part of the feud occurred when Funk used an actual plastic shopping bag to suffocate Flair on television after Flair and Sting defeated Muta and Dick Slater at *Clash of the Champions VIII*. After losing a *Clash of Champions* match against Flair, he shook Flair's hand, and was attacked by Gary Hart's stable. Soon after he became a color commentator and the host of his own segment *Funk's Grill* where a tuxedo clad Funk would amiably interview the top stars of WCW, both face and heel.

In 1994, Funk reappeared in WCW and wrestled Tully Blanchard to a double disqualification at Slamboree 1994 and later that night, he became a member of Colonel Robert Parker's Stud Stable. Along with Bunkhouse Buck, Arn Anderson and Meng, the stable would focus their energies on Dusty and Dustin Rhodes, as well as The Nasty Boys, culminating in a WarGames match at Fall Brawl.

Later in Funk's career, his style changed from wrestling traditional southern style wrestling matches to the more violent style of hardcore wrestling. In 1993, Funk joined Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). On July 16, Terry and Dory Funk lost a barbed wire match against The Public Enemy. He had many feuds and wrestled programs with wrestlers such as Cactus Jack, "The Franchise" Shane Douglas, The Sandman, Sabu, and Terry's own protege, Tommy Dreamer.

Funk further elevated ECW by headlining their first pay-per-view, Barely Legal on April 13, 1997, winning the ECW World Heavyweight Championship from Raven. Earlier in the night, he defeated The Sandman and Stevie Richards in a Triple Threat match, thus earning him the match with Raven. He was later defeated for the title by Sabu in a barbed wire match at *Born to Be Wired*, in which the ropes of the ring were taken down and replaced with barbed wire. Both men had to be cut out of the wires at the end of the match. Sabu had his biceps visibly torn open by the barbed wire – as a result, the wound was taped up and the match continued. In September of that same year, a show was held in Funk's hometown of Amarillo. It was called "WrestleFest – 50 Years of Funk" and was both his own show and a celebration of the careers of Terry, his father, and his brother. Terry lost to then WWF World Heavyweight Champion Bret Hart in the main event, a non-title match. However, before the match, ECW owner Paul Heyman presented Terry with a belt that declared him the *Lifetime ECW World Heavyweight Champion*.

Funk returned tp the WWF on the December 29, 1997 episode of *Raw*. Funk returned to WWF as **Chainsaw Charlie**, although his true identity was soon acknowledged by the announcers, teaming with Mick Foley, who was wrestling under his Cactus Jack persona. Charlie and Jack would enter a feud with The New Age Outlaws, where they were defeated by them on the January 26, 1998 episode of *Raw* by disqualification. The following week on *Raw*, Charlie and Jack would have a match against each other, with the match ending in a no contest after the Outlaws would attack both men, placing them both in a dumpster and then pushing it off the stage. At No Way Out of Texas: In Your House, Charlie and Jack would team with Stone Cold Steve Austin and Owen Hart, defeating the team of Triple H, Savio Vega and the Outlaws. At WrestleMania XIV, Charlie and Jack would defeat the Outlaws in a Dumpster match to win the WWF Tag Team Championship. The following night, on the March 30 episode of *Raw*, Charlie and Jack would lose the titles back to the Outlaws in a Steel Cage match.

On the April 13 episode of *Raw*, Funk would begin wrestling as himself, and forming a tag team with 2 Cold Scorpio. The team would be short lived, with them defeating the likes of The Quebecers and The New Midnight Express. On the May 4 episode of *Raw*, Funk would be defeated by Foley in a Falls Count Anywhere match. On the June 1 episode of *Raw*, Funk would be defeated by Mark Henry in a King of the Ring qualifying match. Funk then formed a short lived tag team with Justin Bradshaw, with them defeating Too Much on the July 25 episode of *Shotgun Saturday Night*. At Fully Loaded: In Your House, Funk and Bradshaw would be defeated by Faarooq and Scorpio, with Bradshaw attacking Funk after the match. This would be Funk's final match in WWF, as he would once again retire from wrestling.

At ECW November to Remember in 1998, Funk was believed to have been Tommy Dreamer's mystery partner against Justin Credible and Jack Victory. However, the mystery partner turned out to be Jake Roberts. An enraged Funk attacked Dreamer at every opportunity in late 1998 and early 1999. Funk, however, came down ill before they could have a match, and Funk "retired" yet again in mid-1999.

Funk wrestled for WCW in 2000 and 2001, winning the WCW Hardcore Championship three times (which stands as the company's record) and the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship for the second time. He was also the WCW Commissioner at one time and the leader of the short-lived Old Age Outlaws that feuded with the nWo.

Funk made a brief return to WWE in 2006, when he appeared on the May 15 episode of *Raw*, confronting Mick Foley over the attack on Tommy Dreamer on the previous weeks episode of *Raw*. At ECW One Night Stand, Funk would team with Dreamer and Beulah McGillicutty in a losing effort against Foley, Edge and Lita. Midway through the match, Foley injured Funk's left eye with barbed wire, and Funk was taken backstage. He later returned to the match (with a bloody cloth tied over his eye) to hit Foley with a flaming 2x4 wrapped in barbed wire.

Funk, along with his brother Dory, was inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009 by his longtime friend Dusty Rhodes. In 2013, Funk inducted Mick Foley into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Funk made a cameo appearance on the March 21, 2016 episode of *Raw*, giving Dean Ambrose a pep-talk for his match against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 32. At the conclusion of the segment, Funk presented Ambrose with a chainsaw, in reference to his previous gimmick as Chainsaw Charlie.

Funk passed away on August 23, 2023. The August 25 episode of *SmackDown* honored him and Bray Wyatt, who had died on August 24, by airing tributes; the episode also held a namesake hardcore tag team match between The Brawling Brutes and the Street Profits.