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Terry Funk is, without a doubt, one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. The legendary Texan has had a historic run inside the squared circle and faced off against some other all-time greats like Ric Flair, Atsushi Onita, Bret Hart, and more.
A former NWA and ECW World Champion, Funk is also known as one of the most hardcore wrestlers to ever be torn up by barbed wire. The man turned hardcore and deathmatches into art, and his career that spans five decades is full of legendary match-ups.
It's impossible to say what his five best matches are, as it all really depends on your opinions regarding classic wrestling and the more extreme variety. But we'll be looking at five matches from his career that you definitely need to see.
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Unfortunately, news broke recently that Terry Funk was dealing with, among other health issues, dementia. Funk's official Twitter account confirmed this today.
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We're starting with Terry Funk in the late 90s when he went up against a fellow WWE Hall of Famer.
#5 Terry Funk vs Bret Hart- Terry Funk's WrestleFest
In 1997, Funk put a special event together known as Terry Funk's WrestleFest: 50 Years of Funk. It was a show that had some stellar bouts on it, like Taz vs Chris Candido and Shane Douglas taking on Tommy Dreamer. However, its main event was worth the price of admission alone.
This was a retirement match for Terry Funk, and this was around the time WWF and ECW had a secret working relationship. Funk requested that his final opponent be then WWF Champion Bret Hart, and The Hitman happily obliged. The match was featured in Beyond The Mat and is available on the WWE Network.
Bret Hart started it off by turning boos from the audience into rounds of applause for his opponent, as he said it was an honor to face the greatest to ever do it. While Terry Funk had, at this point, made a huge name as a hardcore wrestler, he's also widely regarded as a fantastic in-ring worker.
Pairing him up with Bret Hart was a stroke of genius, as the two had a stellar 25-minute match. While nowhere near his prime, Terry Funk was still able to go toe-to-toe with the Hitman in an excellent main event. Funk nearly caught Bret in the spinning toe-hold, forcing the WWF Champion to rush to the floor for an escape.
Hart could only gain control when he went after the leg, taking out the knee with a series of kicks. After various knee-breaking attacks, Hart grabbed a chair and wrapped it around Terry Funk's knee, causing severe damage to the legend.
Terry Funk fought back to an eruption from the crowd. Lefts and rights floored Hart, and with each shot, the crowd only grew louder. Funk had Hart nearly beaten several times, and the end saw Funk take Hart down with a belly-to-back suplex with a bridge.
However, Hart got his shoulder up at the last second, leading to Terry Funk being pinned by his own move. Hart won the match and would shake Funk's hand to wrap things up.
While it's definitely not either man's best match, it's a must-watch for several reasons. First off, the WWF Champion was wrestling with ECW talent. Secondly, you had two legends from completely different eras in Bret Hart and Terry Funk in a nearly half an hour main event.
Of course, it was all made better by a loud Texas crowd at the Tri-State Fairgrounds Coliseum rooting for their hometown legend.
#4 Terry Funk vs Ricky Steamboat- Clash of Champions VII
Terry Funk was working on his movie career ahead of his feud with Ric Flair, which led to him injuring the then WCW World Champion. He took on Ricky Steamboat at Clash of Champions VII, hoping to defeat the No.1 contender and shoot right to the front of the line. He'd already sent a message to the rest of the company when he broke Flair's neck before this event.
Terry Funk and Ricky Steamboat started hot, brawling in and around the ring. Steamboat's vicious chops were able to keep up with the Texan's punches. The Dragon teased a dive, and Funk thought he was out of harm's way when he walked across to the other side of the ring. Well, he wasn't!
A great diving chop to the floor connected, and Steamboat marched him around the ring for a massive slam. Funk would take over, taking shortcuts whenever necessary and battering the former champion.
When Steamboat countered a dive from Funk, the crowd erupted. The Dragon was, without a doubt, one of the greatest babyfaces of all time, and this match is a great example to prove that statement.
Funk was unable to best Steamboat, eventually attacking him with a microphone to end it in a DQ. Lex Luger would make the save to prevent another attack, though he'd end up attacking Steamboat as well.
#3 Terry Funk vs Mick Foley- Monday Night RAW 1998: No Holds Barred Match
Before this match, Mick Foley rid WWF of the Cactus Jack persona, claiming that the fans didn't care about him. Vince McMahon fired him up ahead of a No Holds Barred Match against Foley's longtime rival and best friend, Terry Funk.
Terry Funk lit up Mick Foley with a series of punches before breaking a chair over his head. Foley's head was opened early, but it only fmade him angry. They fought around the arena as Stone Cold Steve Austin, on commentary, put over the toughness of both of these competitors.
Mick Foley was hit with a moonsault from a lower balcony in the arena, with Terry Funk hitting him and several other bystanders. Funk, however, claimed that his neck was injured and begged for the match to be stopped.
Foley refused, instead spiking him with a piledriver through a table onto concrete. Mick continued to punish the hardcore legend, and by the time they made it back to the ring Funk was barely able to stand.
The Cactus Clothesline took Terry Funk over the ropes, and Foley placed him on the announcer's desk. Stone Cold egged him on, and Foley grabbed a chair, hitting an elbow drop onto Funk. Finally, a piledriver on a steel chair put the legend away for good.
It was always interesting to see Terry Funk on this side of things, as a lot of his best matches saw him as the evil, brutal villain. However, on this night, that role was played by Mick Foley.
#2 Terry Funk vs Atsushi Onita- FMW 4th Anniversary Show: Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match
Terry Funk and Atsushi Onita had what many consider the greatest match to have this kind of stipulation. While rare, there have been some pretty stellar Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatches, many of which involved Onita.
This was also a match mentioned several times during AEW's build-up to the showdown between Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley earlier this year. They'd even use the ending, with Eddie Kingston playing the part of Onita.
The two locked up and tried their best to shove one another into the barbed wire and explosives. Atsushi Onita was the first one to take that pain, as a series of punches from Funk sent him into the exploding barbed wire.
In no time, Atsushi Onita was a bloody mess. However, it wouldn't take long for Terry Funk to be drenched as well. It was gruesome in the best way. Another important note was that it was a timed explosive match, meaning that at the end of the fifteen-minute period, the ring would explode.
Once ten minutes were up, tensions were high. Both men began hitting each other with heavier punches, hoping to find a knock-out blow and save their own skin from the oncoming devastation. Onita escaped the Spinning Toe Hold and sent Funk into the barbed wire once again.
With a little under three minutes to spare, Atsushi Onita hit a DDT for the three-count. However, Terry Funk wouldn't let him leave, attacking him with a strand of barbed wire.
Onita planted him with two powerbombs to finally put him away. However, even though he'd made it out of the ring in time, Onita couldn't let Funk suffer the gruesome fate of the exploding ring.
Atsushi Onita tried to save Terry Funk but ultimately had to cover his body to save him. In the end, both were able to walk away somehow. It was a legendary spectacle and one that is a must-watch for those wanting to dive into Funk's greatest matches.
#1 Terry Funk vs Ric Flair- WCW Clash of Champions IX: I Quit Match
A few years prior, Terry Funk broke the neck of Ric Flair, leading to one of the greatest main events in WCW. Funk gave Flair a chance to quit right at the start of the match before he punished the Nature Boy.
Ric Flair, of course, refused and delivered a severe serving of chops to Funk. When Terry Funk took over he, again, gave Flair a chance to quit early. Again, Flair refused and caught Funk with an inverted atomic drop.
Every chop put the crowd on their feet, and each time Terry Funk cut him off it drained the life out of the arena. They were white-hot for this one, with good reason. Add to that the great team of Jim Ross and Gordon Solie on commentary, and everything about this was perfect.
Terry Funk took the microphone and promised that he'd break Ric Flair's neck again if he wouldn't quit. "Remember your neck, Flair?" Still, The Nature Boy refused.
The piledriver spiked Flair, but he still didn't quit. Funk zeroed in on that neck for the rest of the match, but Flair soon found a target to attack when he went after Funk's left leg.
A series of shin breakers and kicks to the knee left Funk trying to run away from the ring. Flair refused to let him leave, and he knew that Funk was close to calling it quits.
When Terry Funk was locked in Ric Flair's Figure-Four Leglock with nowhere to go, he told the referee that he'll never quit. He would never give in to the likes of Ric Flair. However, after agonizing minutes in the hold, he began to scream that Flair was breaking his leg. With nowhere to go, he ultimately quit, giving Flair some much-needed revenge.
After the match, Terry Funk shook Ric Flair's hand out of respect. There was a major angle set up after the bout with Sting, Lex Luger, and The Great Muta that I won't reveal. You'll want to follow up on that once you've checked out this match.
This is, for what my opinion's worth, the greatest match of Terry Funk's career. He and Ric Flair were on fire in this one, and it's something that every wrestling fan needs to watch.
