Terry Funk has passed away

[Chris]

 

[Necro]

One of my favorite wrestlers of all time. Sad news

 

[Chris]

 

[AguileraSZN]

Bray Wyatt is gone too.

Triple H tweeted out.

From My Samsung Galaxy A13 4G

 

[TeaDrinkingLimey]

RIP Terry ❤️

 

[Chris]

 

[Chris]

During an appearance on The Bump on Wednesday, Paul Heyman paid tribute to the life and career of Terry Funk.

This week's edition of the show featured comments from members of the WWE roster talking about the passing of Funk and Bray Wyatt. Heyman appeared in studio and was asked what he feels Funk's legacy in wrestling will be.

Heyman said:

I'm always hesitant to try to encapsulate a life like Terry Funk's within a sound bite or even a portion of a program. I didn't say anything publicly. I haven't yet and one of the reasons why is because I was aware of the decline in Terry Funk's health and I had the extraordinary opportunity and pleasure of speaking with him in the last few weeks of his life.
I withheld my tributes because I got a chance to tell him while he was alive. I didn't have to explain my affinity for the man after his passing, I got a chance to let him know.
There was no, pun intended, acknowledgement of the greatness of the performers of ECW without them getting into the ring with Terry Funk. Shane Douglas was recognized as a franchise player because of his interaction with Terry Funk. The Public Enemy truly got recognized as a preeminent tag team of their time by being in the ring with Terry Funk and the Funk brothers, Terry and Dory Jr.
Sabu came out of the gates in ECW making a splash but his splash was infinitely bigger because by the end of Sabu's first weekend in ECW, he was in the ring and holding his own and sharing the spotlight with Terry Funk.
I don't know if there is anything that I can say that will match the brilliance of what Cody said. What Cody said the other night moved me. It was profound and just so eloquent in that you could be going through an airport and (hear), "You egg-sucking dog" and go, "What am I listening to? Who is screaming is that?" And here's Terry Funk coming. It's so Terry Funk for him to do and at the same time, he was the grandfather of a revolution, of an evolution in the industry, of a movement, of an extreme movement.
What I wish future generations will take from the legacy of Terry Funk is the passionate pursuit of greatness in all moments of a performance and never losing sight that it's a business.

Funk joined what was then known as Eastern Championship Wrestling in 1993 as a 49-year-old. Some of his early matches for the promotion include an I Quit match against Eddie Gilbert at ECW Battle of the Belts 93 as well as teaming with Dory Funk Jr. in a no-ropes barbed wire match against The Public Enemy at Heatwave 94.

Funk won the ECW World Championship in the main event of the company's first pay-per-view, Barely Legal in 1997. He was later inducted into the Hardcore Hall of Fame Class of 2005 in the former ECW Arena, now more commonly known as the 2300 Arena.

https://www.f4wonline.com/news/wwe/paul-heyman-terry-funk-was-the-grandfather-of-an-evolution-in-the-industry

 

[Chris]

Many wrestlers and wrestling fans consider Terry Funk to be the greatest of all time, including Jon Moxley.

Moxley spoke to Sports Illustrated in the wake of Funk's passing last week and said Funk's body of work outshines all others who have ever performed in the ring.

“If Terry Funk’s not the greatest of all time, then who the f--- is?” Moxley asked. “Terry Funk wasn’t playing a pro wrestler. He was the real thing.”

“You could put him anywhere in the world against any opponent,” Moxley continued. “He’d cut an intense promo dripping with authenticity and then go work a killer match.”

Moxley was able to work with Funk briefly in March 2016 when the two filmed a backstage skit in WWE. At the time, Moxley was building to a no-holds-barred match against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 32.



Moxley says the WWE writers were worried that Funk wouldn't be able to remember his lines. The script was changed so that Funk would only say a few words but then when the camera was on, Funk cut a promo that Moxley described as "classic."

“What we filmed wasn’t from the script, so the writer in charge wanted to do it again,” said Moxley. “I was like, ‘F--- this. We just got a Terry Funk classic. We’re not doing it again. If Vince is upset about it, I’ll talk to him myself.’ So the writers agreed, and I was pumped. We got a classic piece of Terry Funk in the flesh."

In terms of being the best of all time, Moxley conceded it depends on the criteria being used. However, he believes when you look at Funk's total body of work, it's pretty clear he's "the f------ greatest of them all.”

“There are so many different criteria that it’s impossible to pick the greatest ever,” said Moxley. “Look at Bret Hart and Ric Flair. They worked two completely different styles, and they were two completely different artists. It was like one guy played the trumpet and the other guy played a pair of bongos. They made different music. Terry Funk always gets passed over in that discussion. He was often the heel coming into a territory, putting over the babyface, and leaving to do something else."

“But look at the body of work. It’s pretty clear. You can’t tell me Terry Funk isn’t the f------ greatest of them all.”

https://www.f4wonline.com/news/aew/jon-moxley-terry-funk-was-the-greatest-pro-wrestler-of-all-time

 

[Chris]