Terry Funk o verdadeiro!!!!
Recentemente tive oportunidade de ler um artigo na SlamWrestling sobre Terry Funk. Para muitos, um lunático pelo hardcore, para outros um simples senhor que já se reformou mais de uma dúzia de vezes, mas no geral tenho a opinião que para muitos é um mero desconhecido.
Terry é uma pessoa muito particular no mundo do wrestling, pois é uma pessoa frontal e diz tudo que tem a dizer na cara e simplesmente não é mais um que por lá anda. Relembro as opiniões de muitos fãs das independentes que dizem que Terry é diferente de muitas lendas do wrestling, pois este quando vai a um show, está lá de corpo e alma e não como muitos que só lá vão buscar o seu. Aqui fica o texto que li esta semana, infelizmente não está traduzido, mas acho que não haverá muitas dificuldades a entender a mensagem de Terry.
There will never be another quite like Terry Funk.
"I don't want to die in the ring," says the 65-year-old Funk, who has pulled up stakes in Amarillo, Texas. "I want to die on my back porch, drinking beer.
"It gets tougher and tougher in the morning. Hell, I used to jump out of bed, then I rolled out, now I crawl out. I know why I did it, but when I saw the end result, I'd get up the next morning and I couldn't walk, sometimes it was, 'What the hell am I doing?' I've got a tremendous amount of pride in what I do.
"I'll go up to Thunder Bay and when that bell rings, it does something to me. That thrill is back."
Over the years, there have been plenty of obstacles thrown his way.
"All the things I've done in my life, I have no regrets," he says. "My knees have been operated on four times. I don't know how many stitches. I had a broken sacrum (lower back) where I couldn't sit down. On the airplane, I had to get on my knees and kneel down in my seat, leaning over the back side of it. But I just kept wrestling.
"It's the dressing room, the trip, that moment ... It's an addiction.
"I don't need any enhancing drugs. Wrestling is my drug. It's what I love. I grew up in the backseat of a car. I didn't want to be a cowboy. I wanted to wrestle. I went to college and played football. I was with the Kansas City Chiefs. But I had an opportunity to wrestle. And it's been the love of my life.
"Many times in ECW or over in Japan, you're doing things in the ring that you know are going to take their toll ... but you do them anyway.
"You'd see a guy like Dynamite Kid wrestle and he'd come back to the dressing room with a bump the size of a grapefruit on his back. He's just been out there killing himself in a match. In that goofy British accent of his, he'd ask, 'How was my match?'
"I'd say, 'It was great.'
"You watch The Undertaker or Shawn Michaels walk into the ring. They're physically hurt, but they do it. It's the rush you get. It's the same for a lot of guys in the business. They're the true wrestlers. It's in their hearts. For a guy like Hulk Hogan, I think it's the money for him. It's about the bucks."
The times are different for Funk, who has appeared in all the major wrestling associations during his 45 years in the business.
"Hardcore to me is getting out there and busting your ass, going 110%," says Funk. "Hardcore is giving everything you've got whether there are 50 or 50,000 people paying money to watch you.
"Even before my father started wrestling, it was pure. Now, in 2010, it's pure entertainment. You have to create an interest in yourself. But how do you do that if you don't have TV or pay-per-view. You have to create the best match you can, but all you have is word of mouth. You have to have a tremendous athletic match or you have to do a double flip off the top rope and disappear up your ass.
"Wrestling has become what the fans want it to be. The people running UFC, football and basketball have to watch it or the fans will take over those, too. The fans will dictate what's best for them.
Funk is happy to be his own boss these days.
"If I was to work for WWE, I'd be at Vince McMahon's beckoning. I'm not kneeling in front of Vince McMahon. He's made millionaires in the wrestling business. But I'm of a different era, a different time.
"I love the part of the country I'm from. Amarillo, Texas. I believe in keeping my world small. I think it's the same way with the Hart family. I'm a bit of a Bolshevik. I wouldn't be anything else."
He looks back fondly at his time in wrestling. Feud after feud. Sold-out arenas. Matches that will never be forgotten ... including an epic I Quit slobberknocker against "Nature Boy" Ric Flair.
"Ric Flair definitely hated me for all the things I said about him," says Funk. "I said he kind of looked like Barbara Bush. And I said he had a banana nose. He really does. What they didn't tell me about I Quit match was if you say I quit, you had to retire. They didn't announce that anywhere until the last night and on a microphone where I couldn't hear it."I wouldn't have quit. I'd like to have him in the ring again. Maybe UFC or MMA. I'd straighten him out. I guess if I don't like him, it doesn't make him a bad person."
Talvez o melhor I Quit Match de sempre!!!!
His status in the wrestling world was recognized a year ago when he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
"The WWE Hall of Fame was a wonderful moment. There are a great bunch of guys in it. I'm not trying to run anybody down, but it's about what turns the turnstiles is what it's become. Really, if one person doesn't want you in, you're not in. Is that really a true Hall of Fame?"
Funk closes off the interview with: "I want to be remembered as a good man. I hope everybody can say: 'I got my money's worth when Terry Funk wrestled.'"
It'll be hard for any wrestling fan to dispute that about Funk, a true
He is a former NWA World champion, and has lived one of the most fascinating lives in the history of pro wrestling. A second generation wrestler -- whose brother, Dory Jr., also reached the pinnacle of the sport as NWA World champion -- Funk has done it all. He's wrestled clean, wild and dirty, pioneered the hardcore style, delivered unforgettable interviews, promoted shows, earned huge laurels for his work in Japan, and been inducted into every hall of fame that counts -- The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame (Class of 2004), The George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (Class of 2010), The Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame (1996), and even the WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2009).
The Funkster is heading north of the border for a massive show under the Great North Wrestling banner. It's on May 15th at the Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The main event is Kevin Nash vs. Scott Steiner, and Terry Funk will be a special guest referee in a no holds barred match between Hannibal and Vampiro, who is from Thunder Bay and will be making his first-ever wresting appearance there. Other famous names appearing on the card include "The Genius" Lanny Poffo and The Honky Tonk Man.
Q: I remember how excited I was when Terry Funk came to the WWF in '85, and the first match I saw of his was against Lanny Poffo at the Boston Gardens. It was a great match and I'm wondering what Terry remembers about wrestling Lanny Poffo (who will be on the card in Thunder Bay) back in '85?
A: Lanny as a wonderful wrestler. That character that they had for him up there in New York, I didn't think it suited Lanny. He can do a great deal of wrestling and a lot of moves but they got him into the handsprings and cartwheels. I thought Lanny was a heck of a wrestler and he knew all the moves and he was trained by the greatest, by his dad. I think they had him in the wrong character his whole career. But you know, he entertained and did it well and made a good living up there in New York and otherwise, what's he gonna do? Tell Vince what he wants to do? When you went into the Boston Gardens and you'd hear the people roar and you knew that they really hated ya, and before the matches were over you saw 15 fights in the stands, and you knew that you were in Boston. They were a bunch of brats up there, and I'm telling ya, when they loved ya they loved ya and when hated ya they hated ya. Oh, it was a classic (laughs).
Q: What was it like working with Junkyard Dog? I understand he was no Lou Thesz, but what do you attribute to his success in the 80's time period?
A: Absolutely. And Lou Thesz wasn't a Junkyard Dog, either. With JYD, it was a long night, every night for me. And I think it was a pleasure for him and it was a long night for me. And I don't mean that to be critical either.
A: Absolutely. 100%
Q: Is there a rivalry between you and Dusty Rhodes outside of the ring?
A: (Long pause) I'd like to have a rivalry with the fat bastard.
Q: What convinced you to join the NWA in 1989?
A: M-O-N-E-Y.
Q: Did Terry ever regret calling for chairs to be tossed into the ring? He got nailed in the back of the head pretty good one time at the ECW Arena -- they used to play it on the TV show intro.
A: Of course (laughs). It takes an idiot to lead idiots and I was the lead idiot.
Q: What was it like to wrestle CM Punk at Ring of Honor? What's his opinion on Punk?
A: (Long pause). Talented guy.
Q: Do you see yourself doing commentary for an ROH or Dragon Gate USA?
A: Not unless somebody asks, y'know, and I'm not sure if I wanna do that. What the hell do I wanna do? Keep on going the rest of my life? I'm gonna sit on my back porch one day and drink a Pilsner.
Q: During the infamous Hell in a Cell match with the Undertaker and Mick Foley, what communication did you have with Foley immediately after his fall from the cell?
A: There was no dialogue. I looked down at him and his eyes were just glazed over. There was no communication, and I was just happy to see him get back up.
Q: When the Undertaker choke slammed you during that match, how did your shoes go flying off?
A: Quickly.
Q: When was the best time for you to wrestle in: the 70’s, the 80’s or 90’s?
A: Two decades: I would say the '70s, '80s...and mid-'90s
Q: Is there a title that you wished you had have won in your prime?
A: Titles never meant anything to me. Not even the world championship. It meant money to me and I was proud to wear the thing, but I never thought of myself as being able to beat up every wrestler or anything. I never thought of myself as the greatest worker in the world. I thought of myself as someone goin' out there to do a job and get the best response I could from the fans.
Q: I'd like to know if Terry watched WrestlemMnia this year and keeps up on WWE these days?
A: Hell no! I don't want to spend the 50 bucks or whatever it is. But I do keep up on it.
Q: I read that Terry wrestled in an 8-man tag match in January of this year at the annual NJPW Dome Show, teaming with Manabu Nakanishi, Masahiro Chono, and Riki Choshu to defeat Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii, Takashi Lizuka, and Abdullah the Butcher. I remember those crazy bloodbaths between Terry and Abdullah in Japan going all the way back to '70s. Could Terry please share some thoughts on Abdullah the Butcher -- one of my favourite heels of all time?
A: Oh gosh, Abdullah was a great in ring performer. Now there was a guy who could draw a buck. He was a tremendous heel, the Butcher was. People believed in him and were afraid of him. Like The Sheik, he terrified you. I was afraid of him (laughs). I was scared to death of him. He and the Sheik both. At that Japan show earlier this year, that was last time I was in a wrestling match back in January.
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