Return of the Funker

Return of the Funker
Return of the Funker
	The ECW Arena
Promotion	Extreme Championship Wrestling
Date	February 25, 1995; (aired February 28, March 7 and March 14, 1995)
City	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Venue	ECW Arena
Attendance	1,150
Event chronology
← Previous; Double Tables	Next →; Three Way Dance

Return of the Funker was a professional wrestling supercard event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). It took place on February 25, 1995 from the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The commentator for the event was Joey Styles. Several of the bouts were broadcast on the February 28, March 7 and March 14 episodes of ECW Hardcore TV.

The event was named for Terry Funk, who returned to ECW at the end of the event.^[2]

Background

Chris Benoit had attacked Sabu after he and his partner, the Tazmaniac, had just captured the ECW Tag Team Titles from Public Enemy at Double Tables. Benoit had promised to teach both men a lesson in humility and pain with his tag team partner Dean Malenko as they challenged them for the titles.

Event

The Public Enemy are interviewed at ringside by Joey Styles before the tag team titles match. Rocco Rock is in a wheelchair and says the fans know they beat Sabu and the Tazmaniac even if the referees didn't see it. Johnny Grunge declares the belts will be coming back to the hood while Rock insults Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko.

Benoit and Malenko soon appear ringside where Grunge further agitates the situation by saying Public Enemy is coming after Benoit. This leads Malenko to spit in Grunge's face and a fight breaks out. Benoit clotheslines Rock out of the wheelchair in the aisle only to put him back in it and run him into the guardrail. After they lay out Grunge with a chair in the ring, Sabu and the Tazmaniac come to the ring and the match starts.

A springboard leg lariat on Malenko and a belly-to-belly suplex on Benoit earns a pair of two counts. After that, Benoit and Malenko attempt to isolate the Tazmaniac in the ring. When Sabu gets back in, Malenko executes two brainbusters for a nearfall. They follow that up with a Doomsday Device bulldog to take Sabu out of the match for the time being.

Tazmaniac battles back with suplexes to both men but Malenko chops the back of his leg while he has Benoit up in the electric chair. Malenko applies a leglock while Benoit keeps Sabu at bay. Tazmaniac finally manages to get free to the outside but can't stand so he is carried to the back by 911.

Alone against his two opponents, Sabu is quickly double teamed but manages to put a fight with a series of high-flying moves including a springboard moonsault onto Benoit near the guardrail and a chair-assisted dive onto both men outside the ring.

Back in the ring, Sabu sets up a table on the top turnbuckle and then puts a chair on top of it but Benoit shoves him off before he can execute whatever he was planning on Malenko. While Paul E. hits Malenko with his phone, Benoit powerbombs Sabu off the table on the top turnbuckle and pins him for the titles.

Benoit says they are now the true champions and calls out Public Enemy, who answer the challenge even with Rock showing signs of abdominal bleeding. 911 brings Tazmaniac back out to the ring as now all three teams brawl in the ring, then to the outside and finally to the back. Meanwhile, 911 chokeslams the referee twice in succession.

After Cactus Jack defeated Drake, The Sandman, Drake and Terry Funk attacked Cactus Jack until being driven off by Tommy Dreamer and Shane Douglas