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Terry Funk

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Terry Funk
BornJune 30, 1944
Amarillo, Texas
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Terry Funk
Chainsaw Charlie
Billed height6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Billed weight247 lb (112 kg)
Trained byDory Funk
DebutDecember 9, 1965

Terrence (Terry) Funk (born June 30, 1944 in Amarillo, Texas) is an American professional wrestler, known chiefly for the hardcore wrestling style he adopted in the later part of his career that inspired many later wrestlers, most notably Mick Foley. He is affectionately known as "The Funker".

Career

Funk started out his career in his father Dory Funk, Sr.'s promotion in Amarillo, Texas. He and his brother Dory Funk, Jr. quickly rose the ranks and became big money wrestlers by the end of the decade. In his tenth year as a pro, Terry defeated Jack Brisco for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, then the most important wrestling championship in the business, and began a grueling fourteen-month title reign which ended in Toronto when he was defeated by "Handsome" Harley Race who won the title for the second time. Terry Funk took some time off after his world title reign but he and his brother traveled around the country (mostly in Texas, Florida and Detroit) looking for a fight. Terry and Dory, Jr. also made a name for themselves in Japan where they became one of the top drawing foreign acts in the history of Japan. (The Funks were the first gaijins to be considered faces in Japan.) He made a name for himself with his over the top mannerisms and sometimes colorful get-ups as well as his brawling ability.

In in the mid 1980s, Funk teamed with Dory and Jimmy Jack Funk, a storyline "brother." They were managed by Jimmy Hart.

In 1994, Funk promised to help the fledgling Eastern Championship Wrestling (later renamed Extreme Championship Wrestling) by lending his talent and notoriety to the promotion, which had just split from the National Wrestling Alliance. Funk maintained a regular schedule of wrestling for ECW in its early days while also competing in Japan and had many feuds and programs with wrestlers such as Mick Foley (as Cactus Jack), "The Franchise" Shane Douglas, the Sandman, Sabu and Terry's own protege, Tommy Dreamer.

Terry Funk further elevated ECW by headlining their first Pay-Per-View, Barely Legal, on April 13, 1997 and winning the ECW World Heavyweight Championship from Raven. He was later defeated for the title by Sabu in a much talked about barbed wire match, in which the ropes of the ring were taken down and replaced with barbed wire.

Chainsaw Charlie was the name used by Terry Funk in WWE for a short period in 1998. As Chainsaw Charlie, Funk won the WWE's World Tag Team Championship with Mick Foley (using the name Cactus Jack) at WrestleMania XIV, when they beat the New Age Outlaws in a Dumpster Match.

File:Cbryant-tfunk.jpg
Terry Funk at the Utah Special_Olympics, April 2005

Funk wrestled for World Championship Wrestling in 1999 and 2000 and won the WCW Hardcore Championship and the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship. He was also the WCW Commissioner at one time and the leader of the short-lived Old Age Outlaws that feuded with the nWo.

In 1999 Funk was featured in director Barry Blaustein's wrestling documentary, Beyond the Mat. He has also appeared in notable movies Roadhouse, Over the Top, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre as well as other film credits. His legendary toughness was attested to in the wrestling documentary when cameramen followed him to a doctor's visit where he was told he shouldn't even be able to walk without intense pain.

Currently Funk is semi-retired (although he has claimed to be retired many times, he always seems to come back, which has become a recurring joke among wrestling fans) working some dates on the independent circuit and in Japan.

In wrestling

Nicknames

  • "Terrible" Terry Funk
  • "The Texan"
  • "Middle Aged and Crazy"

Finishing and signature moves

Championships and accomplishments

File:Terry Funk NWA.jpg
Terry Funk as NWA World Heavyweight Champion
  • Hall of Fame
World
National
Regional
  • 1-time NWA Americas Heavyweight Champion
  • 1-time NWA Georgia Tag Team Champion (with Dory Funk, Jr.)
  • 1-time NWA Missouri Heavyweight Champion
  • 5-time NWA Western States Heavyweight Champion
  • 2-time NWA Western States Tag Team Champion (with Ricky Romero)
  • Pro-Pain-Pro-Wrestling
  • 1-time 3PW Heavyweight Champion
  • PWI ranked him # 22 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003.
  • PWI ranked him # 9 of the best tag teams of the PWI Years, with Dory Funk, Jr..
  • PWI Feud of the Year, versus Ric Flair (1989)
  • PWI Wrestler of the Year Award (1976)
  • PWI Most Inspirational Award (1997)
  • Southwest Championship Wrestling
  • 2-time SCW Heavyweight Champion
  • 2-time SCW Tag Team Champion (1-time with Dory Funk, Jr., 1-time with Wahoo McDaniel)



Preceded by:
Jack Brisco 		NWA World Heavyweight Champions Succeeded by:
Harley Race


Trivia

The Japanese manga series Kinnikuman has a Texan wrestler named Terryman, who is loosely based on Terry Funk. A main and popular character, a few of his signature moves are Calf Branding and Spinning Toe Hold.

Acting career

  • He has also appeared in several television series:
    • Wildside (1985)
    • Swamp Thing (1991)
    • Quantum Leap (1991)
    • Tequila and Bonetti (1992)
    • The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. (1993)
    • Thunder in Paradise (1994)
    • Beyond Belief - Fact or Fiction (1998)

Books

Autobiography: Terry Funk: More Than Just Hardcore 2005

References

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