Ep. 367: The Lapsed Funk 'Funkin in Japan' (Part 2)

You know, good for nothing, eggs sucking dumb. We did it our
way because we love it that way. We love it that way, and
I have this wonderful gun feeling, and I've had it all my life.
When it's time to go, I think it's now the time go. Welcome
to Lapsed Funk. We're back in the fucking saddle where we belong. As
we continue funking in Japan, it's going to be, let's say, boss,
a work rate heavy episode of the last time I'm well, hey,
I expect nothing else in Japan turned to the Rings of Japan. Of course,
we spent last time we were with you on TLF so to speak,
talking about what Terry Funk meant to Japan, how he connected to the Japanese
wrestling fans on a level a few other foreigners were able to. Now it's
time to go. I wish, I wish, I wish we were able
to go to Japan and walk around the streets and ask just random people what
did Terry Funk mean to you? And I have a feeling that we did
pretty much the same results in that wonderful country as we would in any other
country that we pretend wrestling was you know, mainstream in who exactly who are
you talking about? Like? What wrestling? Like? What is it?
What is a Terry Funk? Do you have? Like a developmental disability?
You're asking me about wrestling or puudesu. I don't care if you think you
can pronounce it. Get the fuck out of my face. Are you from
Jeff town Right, I'm too busy playing Dance Dance Revolution here, But uh,
just a suite of different matches for you. We're going to, of
course provide the underlying audio, and most of these matches that we're going to
talk about from Terry Funk's first run of Exploits in All Japan Pro Wrestling are
available on YouTube and in the broader interwebs. But it's really a time to
sort of feel the texture of the kind of things we were talking about last
week. Matches against the likes of Abdul the Butcher and the Chic, Jo
Sharuda, Giant Baba, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Austin, Steve Austin's
not quite No, we're not quite on that timetable yet, all right,
and so many others, so many matches that came to define the charm of
the funks to the Japanese wrestling public and hopefully if we soak up enough enough
of the atmosphere of these actual matches, Santas La Bisco, what's that Stanislaus
to Bisco. No, I'm sorry to disappoint here, but before we dive
in its lineup so far, then it's that an eventful week on the Boss's
side. Uh. Last time we were, of course, uh Kick of
the Jews premiering off Broadway boss Man in a feature role. And now you
premiered. Tell us about it. We we have premiered the king of the
King of the Jews is now in his throne. Uh. It's been wild,
So I will say, I'm I'm very happy to announce one thing.
My schedule is a little more, is a little leaner, so we'll be
able to get a little bit and things a little bit back on track.
I will have time to work on things as opposed to just driving back and
forth and and and trying to be uh, you know, trying to live
Innazo occupied Poland. But it was very exciting. Uh, it was a
great opening. We had a great crowd. I'm very very excited uh for
those motors to come and uh and and see what's going on. I gotta
I gotta figure out where to fucking seat you guys, because I swear to
God, it's going to be so district. You get it. Again,
it's very very intimate. It's very intimate. My my wife and parents came
to Opening night, and uh they put them in a place where I have
to do like I had to like literally squeeze by them at one point to
experience. It's it's a wild experience, that's for sure. So it's so
and I'll tell you, I'll tell you what there is. Like I said,
I I don't want to, I don't want to spoil it, but
I do. I do take, I do take take a little bump and
uh I have. I kept trying this one particular thing that I wanted to
do, and uh, no one said to me to stop doing it throughout
the entire rehearsal process. The uh, the director was fine with everything that
I did. And so there's a little there's a little I think laps treat
in there. Oh my god. I mean it's very it's very subtle.
It's very subtle. But I think you'll you'll, you'll, you'll, I
think you'll get it. When you see it and what the boss is being
referenced to. Of course, as members of our Moat tear Over on Patreon,
have gotten an exclusive VIP invite in New York City to join myself as
well as the Boss Man of course in a future role, to take it
in on behalf of the TF Solar System. It's actually a good show too
to come see because even though I don't I definitely don't have the most amount
of dialogue. But it's a It's an interesting play because the two acts are
actually two individual scenes, so everything happens in real time in each act.
There's no like fade to black and we fast forward to another place or another
time period. It's like one one thing happens in Act one, and then
we skip a year and a half and then the next scene happens, and
everything happens within that hour. So there are three of us. There are
three of us who virtually do not leave the stage, and I'm one of
those three. Oh wow, So it's full. It's a full experience.
Yeah, Like I'm I am on I am on stage. There's only one
moment I leave. I leave the stage for the only time the end very
end of act one and I go off and there's maybe a five minute section
that I'm not a part of. But other than that, the it's the
three guys too, but the three of us were on stage the absolute most.
It's unreal. I've never had an experience like this in without it being
like a a two person show. It's really terrific, and yeah, definitely
encourage anybody who you know, might not have had the chance to become a
part of the TLF contingent going out there to go check it out. It's
at the Art Center, the Here Arts Center in in Soho on on Spring
Street, not Springsteen, but Spring Street in uh In in downtown Manhattan.
It's a beautiful space. And again it's a very intimate, like it's you're
you're you really are part of the show on this particular set. It's very
small and very intimate, and it's it's it's been great so far. I've
been pleased with all the crowds, and it's a it's you know, there's
a lot of shit going on in the world, and it's this stuff is
it's it's as relevant today as the themes of it are as relevant today as
they ever have been. I can imagine. Yeah, it's really coming together
beautifully and very excited for the boss man, very excited to take you in
as part of you know, obviously your holiday ramp up here at TLF lot
going on, not to mention the Christmas show. Yes, from what we're
understanding sent to us by members of the Solar System, Boss, you might
need to make it over that po box. I'm gonna do. I'm gonna
I plan on doing that this week for sure, taking a trek over.
Now that I got my mornings back. The man Steve said, uh,
I'm pretty sure they're going to send it back because it's so fucking massive.
So now they hold them, they hold them. They don't they don't do
that. So I know I saw that. I saw that message, like,
no, it's okay, it's all right. We you know they'll they'll
hold it at least for a couple of days. I say that not out
of real concern, but out of absolute excitement as to what they're waiting is
what the fuck could possibly it's really it's it's inappropriate, is what it is.
I hope so, and I'm sure all you hope so is the unwrapping
two takes place your co Chairman sit down in real time while recording on rap
gifts from members of the Solar System. It was a smash hit last year,
so we're gonna do it again. We're gonna do it hard, and
if you want to contribute, i'd say there's probably only a couple of weeks
left, yeah, for uh, you know, to get the package here,
especially from overseas and before we sit down to record this thing. So
as a reminder, it's the lapsed fan seven to ten Main Street South seven
one zero Main Street, south PO Box one one nineteen, Southbury, Connecticut,
which is s O U T H b U r Y zero six four
eight eight. Again the lapsed fan seven ten Main Street, South PO Box
one one nine, Southbury, Connecticut, zero six four eight eight. And
we'll see you under the missiletoe. Oh you're damn right. So it's time
to do this. It's time to keep funking in Japan. It's time to
taste all Japan. Okay, I mean, listen, this is an edge.
This is again what I love about things like this, and specifically with
with with a guy like Terry funk Is. It lets us explore places that
we might not necessarily get to. Absolutely I don't know. I don't know.
I don't know if there would be a reason for us to get to
I guess Hogan. Hogan did some some tours of Japan. But nonetheless it's
like, I feel like we wouldn't necessarily have a reason to go to Japan
like this. No, not in this time period, not in this era.
It's all when you're trying to put together a holistic thesis about what Terry
f Funk meant, what we lost when we lost Terry Funk, And it's
very much a page out of the book of the old a WA Archives show
we did and journey we did and some others. It's you're eating your vegetables
here. You know, we're not doing this to serve you cotton candy and
empty calories and just give a baby Huey what he wants. We're doing this
because this is the wrestling nutrition. You need to be a worthwhile wrestling fan
for the rest of your days. And yes, the value of whatever,
whatever that means, whatever whatever, being a worthwhile wrestling fan is the closest
you can get to it exactly. And the value of what we're doing here
at the lapse Tunk will only be truly appreciated in retrospect when it's been on
the shelf and when someone comes along and says, what was Terry Funk all
about? Why is he so revered? This will be the definitive way in
terms of audience to understand that. And we're doing this with an eye towards
not only what you talked about, their boss and our own sort of fascination
with time periods we're under familiar with in terms of pro wrestling, but we're
doing it for posterity. We're doing it for the shelf. Yep, always
the shelf. The shelf is life. Jumbo Sharuda what you know about him,
doesn't Does Hogan have a story about Jumbo Sharuda? You know, It's
interesting you say that because I feel like he does, and I'm struggling to
recall it. I'm sure we've talked about him in the context of Hog we
have. I feel like we we did see him. It was a former
a w A champion. Yeah, I feel like we saw Jumbo Sharuda in
life and Death. Life and Death. I also feel like we did when
we did pan Off the Pacific. Jumbo was Giant Baba's understudy. Jumbo was
the person to whom Gihn Baba was going to pass the torch, Okay exactly.
It ended up also becoming it's ower Misawa taking that torch from Sharuda when
it became clear that Sharuda was struggling with health problems that we're going to cut
short his sort of prime run at the top of the business. But in
the seventies, just as the Funks were, as we talked about last time,
making their inroads into Japan and becoming sort of the trusted American advisors to
Giant Bob as well as the talent supplier to Giant Baba. They would send
Japanese folks to a Mailla to gain seasoning. They would send a Mariilla cowboys
to the rings of Tokyo to to sort of play off what we talked about,
that sort of undercurrent of Japanese fast fascination with American cowboys and the Funks,
and oh god, that's so bizarre, Slater, and that still has
not just it hasn't settled. It's not okay, I was so excited to
thrust upon you, to foist upon you that image of the Japanese cowboy in
the bar. Wasn't there a wrestler who also was like that didn't wasn't there
a wrestler who who more modern, who was a cowboy? Well there was
Jimmy Wang Yang's that's it. Yeah, that's it. Yea. It was
like play, you know, totally tongue in cheek and w like basically making
in front of him. He's probably I think he's I think he's a Japanese
gentleman from uh, Georgia. So they just couldn't they help themselves at that
point. Well, you see, you got to you got the total thing
there. You're Japanese, so obviously you're from Japan and you're from Georgia.
I believe we have a duality here. I believe we have we have we
have a duality of synergy. Yeah, but do we have a synergy of
duality? That's That's the one I've been waiting back for word on. We're
We're all about dual synergistic activity and if the Laps Funk is about just running
down the absolute honor roll of wrestlers that Terry Funk not only worked with but
played a pivotal role in ascending to pro wrestling superstar and then Jumber Sharuda is
way at the top of that list because has mentioned Giant Babo was beginning the
Sharuda push. Sharudas we'll get to it, was an Olympian and just had
all of the raw material that the Japanese looked for in a top star.
It turned to the Funks in a lot of ways in his earliest days to
season him in every conceivable way here in America, and Jumbo Shrua could definitely
be added to the absolute cauldron of wrestlers that Terry Funk helped make something in
pro wrestling really really from the beginning. I mean he's less than ten years
into the businesses. Our first match here is going to be from nineteen seventy
three, just about a year I think after I'm going to nail it down
here at a moment Jumber Schrud to get into the business and they're facing the
Funks, Baba and Sharuda versus Dori and Terry in Altra. Here we go.
Wow. So let's start a Dory Funk's book and get acquainted with Jumbo
Shruda Before he watched our first match here on the program in the fall of
nineteen seventy two, my father, Dori Funk Senior agreed to supply wrestling talent
for Giant Baba's new company, All Japan Pro Wrestling. Wrestling for All Japan
Pro Wrestling would be Dewuy Funk Senior, myself at the time NWA World Champion
Terry Funk, Britus Amartino, and wrestlers from the Amilla territory, which at
the time included a young upstart from West Texas State University, Stan Hansen.
More in him later Osio Cooma and mister Okuma, who had worked at Marilla
would also be working for Boba's company. For a new company in Japan,
the talent was the best in the business. In March of nineteen seventy three,
at the peak of my career, I had held the NWA World Championship
for more than four years. I had many memorable matches during that four years
with Giant Baba and Antonio and ok in Japan for its n Aeric in Texas
Stadium, Black Jack Lands at the Arene in Saint Louis and Jack Briscoe on
many occasions. Of course, bossibly took a look at that one of the
Anoche matches last week YEP Saturday, March twenty eighth of that year. This
is nineteen seventy three was the beginning of my week off. During my time
off as NBA Champion, I would wrestle as short a shot or two pardon
for the Amarilla Territory. I would not be working today, but was going
to Channel ten Television to see if I could be of help with the production
of the weekly TV show. I would meet the new wrestler mister Baba had
discovered who had competed in the Olympics in Munich in nineteen seventy two and Greco
Roman Wrestling. Mister Baba liked this kid and had sent him to Ambilla to
learn the finer points of professional wrestling. Bossa nineteen seventy two Greco Olympian was
Jumbo Sharuda. Not a joke, that's oh yeah, that's where they were
looking for him. As I entered the dressing room, I was happy to
see the familiar faces of the Amberilla Territory, Larry Lane, Dick Murdoch,
Young Stan Hansen, Ricky Romero, Scott Casey Spot, Nick Monroe, J
C. Dikes in his infernos mister Funk. I heard someone say from behind.
I turned and there he was tall, lean and wearing a crew cut,
and I had to look up to him, even though he was slightly
slumped over. He said, mister Funk, my name is Tommy too,
Sharuta. It is easier to say than my Japanese name Sharuta Tomomi. I
have never I'm sure. He said that. By the way, Dorry,
in his many words, darms Yeah. Let's hear your best jumbo Shuta impression
upon meeting Dory for the first time. Go ahead, Hello, Dorence.
You give Dori Senior from Hammond, Indiana the thickest, the thickest Texas drawl
this side of Fritz, and you give freshly train splended jumper Sharuda the fucking
that'scent of an insurance agent. Hello, Darns, Hello darn Senior, Darns
Junior. I am I am Jumbo Sharuta. Say tokay, what say?
I am Humbo Sharuta. And he also said, according to Dori, I
have never wrestled a professional match before in my life. This is my first
Listen. I want you to know something about me now. I'm an Olympian.
I've done a lot of Olympic wrestling, amateur wrestling. You know the
freestyle Greco Roman. I have never done a professional match before, so please,
I ask you, I beg of you. Yeah, exactly, take
care of me. That's Saturday. At the TV taping, Tommy Sharuda would
be wrestling El Grand Tapia, which I believe the side of free beans.
Sometimes people call me Foma Sharuta good a good wrestler in Mexico. I didn't
know that this would be his first match, but there was no changing things
now. I looked right at him and said, don't worry, Tommy,
you'll do fine. Leave it up to the rest named Jumbo Sharuda Tommy,
although he came in calling himself Tommy, but to prefer O Ma. Tommy
went into the ring scared to death, but had a great match against El
Grand Tapia and captured the victory in about eleven minutes. He went on to
become the best student of professional wrestling I have ever had, Dory fund Wow,
so that's saying something. Sharuda learned fast. He had the basic experience
in amateur wrestling with a mix of his Greco Roman wrestling, upper body throws
and great coordination from competing in basketball and swimming while still in school. Sharuda
is the only wrestler ever outside the family to master the spinning toe hold and
is the only one who can throw the same forearm blow every bit as hard
as I do. Years later he showed it to me Sawa. So when
we talk about mid ring forearm War's boss. Yes, when we talk about
Masawa hitting four forearms and then spinning around, which of course hurts more to
deliver. What are you doing right now slapping my old It's not my forearms,
he's how huh? Instead of rapid fire? Can we get one and
then another and then like the exchange. Oh yeah, ah, a Japanese
work. Great podcasting. They're hitting each other at the same time. That's
what we built it. I love it. That's what we built it is
right. Yes, his moves, Dory Funk Junior wrote were so perfect that
we did a special slow motion production of his three best suplexes belly to belly,
German Suplex and double arms suplex to use as an open for the television.
So so we've got a jumbo Boss. Not only you know, under
the learning tree of Giant Baba and wrestling the funks and learning under the funks,
but doing all the funks moves as well. That's crazy. Jumbo Shruda
is basically that's bizarre. Giant Baba looking at the funk saying this is the
perfection of American wrestler, and that's what we're gonna make Jumbo. He's going
to do all the same moves. He's going to actually be seasoned in the
same area. It's basically the the Japanese funk in so many ways. Though
his time through his time in Amilla was short through pardon me, though his
time in a Mailla was short, Tommy Sharuda made many friends who never forgot
his kindness. He learned everything by just doing it. He told me his
English was not so good and he really didn't want to do interviews. I
told him, you must. You were going to be there and the announcer
is going to ask you about your opponent, you must say something short.
His interview went like this. Why how do you think it went? Hello
everybody, Hello, Hello, I am Tommy Sharuta. I'm here to entertain
you. Please let me know if I have by writing to Wrestling Office,
Canyon, Texas. Thirty stones as the crow flies, Yes, oh fuck?
Should be The shortest interview went like this funk rights. I know my
opponent has a good heart, and I have a good heart too. Oh
well, I'm like Dory's Daddy's I say, I'm gonna do my best.
He was wrestling our top heel sput Nick Monroe, who had just said he
would whoop that puke, just like eating Bordenhouse pie. I don't know,
brother, what Bordenhouse pie is, Dorry Rights, but Sputnik was always going
to whoop somebody that way. Wow, Okay. People in Amarella love Sharudah
for his sincerity, athletic ability, and kindness. He didn't have a bad
word to say about anybody, and his skills in the ring were unmatched,
and his first year professional wrestling, Shrudo became a top star in the United
States, something accomplished by only a few Japanese wrestlers, including his boss,
Giant Baba. Yeah. We'd made reference to Tokyo Tom last week and shout
out to members of the Solar System who pointed out that that was Antonio and
Oki in a similar position to Schmoges here doing an American excursion to learn the
business in American rings and taking on a name. In that case, Tokyo
Tom But just I love the I love the notion. I love the idea
that in the seventies, a young, upstart Japanese wrestler, sort of like
you know, Earnest, somebody who just has remarkable in ring skill would get
over an American territory where we were led to believe these territories were so you
know, like blood thirsty and bias for the home team and hateful outsiders and
right. It just charms me to death that a jumbo Sharuda can come to
America and be embraced to the degree he is. It was. That's wild.
And you have you know, of course you have the funks behind him
too, so that makes a big, big difference. Come on, Junior,
let's go. Pardon me? Okay, that was come on, Junior,
let's go. We got seventeen thousand people waiting for us. It was
my brother Terry Funk. My thoughts came back quick. It was October of
nineteen ninety two. Need you shootin keenan Butkan Hall twentieth diniversary of John Bodens.
What need you to? What I need you? Oh? I said,
you got me there. I'm all over. My mind's in like four
different places. So it was October of nineteen ninety two. Need You Shunan
Keenan Buteken Hall twenty, the anniversary of John Baba's company, Aljapan Pro Wrestling
special match myself, Giant Baba, and Stan Hansen against Jumbo Sharuda, Andre
the Giant and Terry Gordy. My brother was to be on the corner.
The match was exciting, especially with seven traditional stars of Al Japan Pro Wrestling
there at the same time. I remember Terry Funk had words with Andre on
the floor and Baba tried to separate them for fear of it getting out of
hand. I was in the ring with Jumbo. About the twenty minute mark,
it was time we were in the spotlight. Baba was now with Andre,
and Hanson and Gordy were fighting on the floor. I had Jumbo down
and applied the spinning toe hold as quick as I got it. He reached
up and grabbed my head, pulled me forward and locked a front cradle on
tight my shoulders were down. I heard the referee count one two and I
reversed it. He counted one two on Jumbo. He is a strong kid
and was not to be denied. To my surprise, he pulled his shoulder
up and reversed back on me, and there was no escaping. I tried
with all I had, but the count came one, two, three.
Yep, Dory does the honors for the training of nineteen ninety two Jumbo.
Twenty years later, Dorriy writes, the student beat the teacher. I walked
over, shook his hand and said, Tommy Sharuda, I am proud of
you, Dory Funk Junior. Of course, back in the dressing room,
I did tell him that if he would give it another go this time,
maybe two out of three falls, I think I could take him k fabes
the shit out of himself in this bride. Of course, that's a Dory
Funk's love letter there, so to speak to one of his, one of
his most prized pupils, and really the most prized pupil of Terry as well,
as we're going to see. Terry also played a very big part in
sharuda shining, to the degree that he became just a completely beloved babyface in
the country of Japan. But unfortunately for Sharuda, who held his last match
in nineteen ninety eight and his six man tag, his life was cut tragically
short yep yeah, died as a result complications from a liver transplant, offering
to two thousand, just the age of forty nine. So all that could
have been was not for one Jumbo Sharuda. But we certainly certainly going to
get an idea of why the Japanese public so fond over him and the key
role that the Funks played in bringing that to reality. So we're going to
start by taking a look here at a match from nineteen seventy three, so
really just four years after Terry Funk really first started coming to Japan on a
regular basis and was becoming sort of a centerpiece, you know, on par
with his brother, His brother the NWA champion Dory. We talked last time
about how Terry was first introduced to the Japanese wrestling public. Is sort of
like this, you know, ringside cheerleader and troubleshooter for his brother as he
looked to defend the championship in the ring, even before the formation of All
Japan Pro Wrestling and New Japan for that matter, in nineteen seventy two,
back in the JWA days. But now Terry has made his way into the
ring All Japan it's its own entity, and Terry Funk is a key sort
of figure in that mosaic. So it's Dori and Terry here against Giant Baba
and Jumbo Sharuda. Boss. What do you before we before we jump in,
what do you expect to see? I mean, what do I expect
to see? I I mean, based on what we saw last time?
What's the give me the date again, like, what time period is this?
This is in nineteen and seventy three, the year of our Lord.
All right, so we're gonna see We're gonna see creepy blonde Terry Funk.
That's right, And I mean, I guess I don't really know, except
that I feel like we're anymore. Oh, he's not blonde at this point.
You can believe it. I wow. I was trying to hold it
off as a surprise. But I don't know the precise year that he stopped
going blonde, because, as we mentioned, there really isn't a whole hell
of a lot of film of Terry in his earliest days in Japan. Yeah,
but I believe it was around seventy two that he started going with the
brown, longer, curly locks, and instead of being this you know this
blonde headed, you know, American sort of almost like punk kid. He
became, you know, sort of the more rugged, free and open looking
almost like the hippie cowboy brother to Dori Funk Junior in a lot of ways.
And so let me know, if that screen share is up and running
and we're going to get this thing rolling, we got it. That's terrific.
So this is from October nineteen seventy three. It's Giant Baba and his
protege, Jumbo Shruda Shruda, returning to the rings of Japan after receiving a
fair degree of season in the year before in the Marilla under the tutelage of
Dori and Terry Funk in America, coming back now to to make real the
promise of what Baba saw for him. So here we go, introductions on
the way. Yeah, so there we see Baba and shored in identical plain
red trunks. Yeah, they look those fucking high ones too, that go
like above your belly button. All right, there's Terry Funk, all right,
he looks normal. Yeah, what do you see? Let the people
know, I mean, I see I see kind of you know, the
shorter haired well it's longer haired more shaggy Terry Funk, which is funny.
He looks more like himself here than he does in fucking Paradise, Sally,
And this is before Paradise, Sally h giant the Baba at that right,
so the introduction is underway. The international tag team champions at the time were
Dori and he do fun just looks like he looks like a you know,
a guy who who works in a in a like a garage, cal Farley's
garage. Baby, Yeah, maybe cal Farley's garage, or or at least
he's he's at least a fucking chilling gas or something. So the hush townes
here as respect Indeed, Joy Funk wearing the ring jacket, Terry not referees
checking out the the see if there's any illegal activity going on in their clothing,
in their attire, or any signs of foreign objects, which is funny
because in this place both Funks are foreign objects. Terry dropping a knee pad
for the benefit of the official who inspects story of is balding at just a
light speed, like, like, how did that not happen to Terry?
What gene did he miss? Yeah, we talked about with Jean's he he
had last time. Remember the gene commercials seemsed to do. So now we're
going to see show Hey, giant Baba in action. He's gonna, oh
my god, giant Baba brown one. How old is Baba at this time?
That's a good question. Let me look because fucking skinny ass arms.
His arms are horrifying. You're part of Baba. Yeah, we just jumped
brother God Jordan's looks unfortunate, but like because because he I mean, it
wasn't a ton of moving, but he moved decently there. Yep, slap
it slap at Dorance, so Baba with the fuju are armbar Boss pointing out
that Dory was keen to slap the shoulder to releave the pressure as Baba cranks
on the canvas. Baba was born in thirty eight, so in nineteen seventy
three he would have been he would have been thirty five. That's what we're
seeing. He looks like he's about four to he looks like about seventy one.
It was interesting to see him fucking move then like he's oh yeah,
and most of what he is, because I mean, I'm used to seeing
the later ones, like from like nineteen ninety and ninety three with Andre where
he's fucking moving around at a snail's pace. Yeah, yeah, definitely with
the the knees creaking on the on the akromegle, you know, brother,
all those things. But now we have jumbashrud Our first look at him as
he enters the room. So this is a this is a jumbo that Dory
Funk Junior really trained for the rings, seasoned and I look forward to seeing
kind of shadows and see if he works American style. Oh that was nice
backdrop from Funk and the Bridge on display. Wow from fully Bridge out backslide
by Shreda puts the champ down. Don't forget these folks are watching the n
w WA Heavyweight Champion of the World, Dory Funk here. So this is
that's insane. This is really significant and Dorry looks to Terry. Terry wants
the tag, he wants out of this thing. He doesn't like what he's
uh what he's feeling from Shreda early and watch Funk. What do you see
He's he's he's jumping around like a fucking boxer, like he's you know,
he's got light feet. They're circling each other. Now, that was something
from the very beginning Terry really identified with, like that boxing stance, and
that's something Dorry Funked Jr. Never Did. Dorri was like looking to lock
up. You know, well, there's there's certainly a I'll tell you what
what I see here and this is just coming to me now, is I
feel like there's scoop slam there by Funk. But that because Dorrance had,
like, you know, had his thing, Terry's like got to be the
exact opposite to avoid comparison to his brother, right, you know, so
he's more of the showman. He's a little more you know, over the
top and stuff. And it's it's amazing because what's funny about that is he
actually just looks he's more interesting to watch than Dourrance oh by mile, and
that says so much about what pro wrestling was in the seventies. Yeah,
you know, the fans that came out to see the NWA champion. This
is before the WWF national expansion, this is before people thought of wrestlings as
showbiz. Primarily, people didn't expect the NWA champion to have a great degree
of pizzazz, right, makes sense. They really expected it's almost like if
you were the n WA champion, that's because you were good enough in that
ring that you didn't have to have a gimmick and that you know, and
it was almost like the guys that became stars in your area with a gimmick
had to really then develop the technical skills to be able to hang out a
champion. And we were all on the ride to watch this, you know,
one of a kind local attraction slowly developed the skills as a wrestler that
he could actually go with the no nonsense touring champion. It wasn't really until
Rick Flair that the champion was the person that brought the glitz. Yeah.
So now Doriake in locking up Giant Bob has re entered the phrase. So
Terry Fox shaped physique is giant Baba. What's that about Bob? It's weird.
He's just odd, like he's got this this barrel chest, but he's
got these scrawny motherfucking like he's like a living humpty dumpty. Oh yeah,
yeah, it was like you just you know, the tumor the Akromegali made
him so massive that it's almost like he didn't have to hit the weights and
so he wasn't, you know, trying to develop his muscles anymore than just
the natural course of events developed his cartoonish like size, and so the arms
weren't there. He was also a high level Japanese Major League baseball pitcher,
was show hit no shit. So I wonder maybe that that upper body was
advantageous in some way for his former sport. Look at Terry kind of taking
a breather with his hands on the eyes on the apron. It's just weird
because because Baba looks like you know, I mean, you look at Sharuda's
arms like he you think about like a skinny kid in sixth grade, right,
those kinds of arms, that's what that's what Baba has, or Sharuda,
I mean he was felt like a wrestler, which he was, Yeah,
Gihant, Baba wasn't an amateur wrestler. He was a baseball star.
Look at that. Look at how they're singing. It's sort of cutting off
funk at the pass, all all the tricks they've seen, Dori fund you
and your pulling the ring. Yep, Sharuda is the one to have answers
for it. And look at how dialed in the public is look at these
spectators. Oh, they're they're they're there's so much I mean, this almost
feels like an Olympic match. Yes, you know, the way that the
crowd is so focused, the way that the wrestlers are focused, the way
that they're like not they're not trying to do a million moves at the same
time, they're trying to win. And so the strategy then becomes about,
well, what am I if this didn't work? What am I going to
do next? That makes it work? It comes Terry. He so funk
had a Sharuda and a full Nelson, and Terry tried to get the edge
by sneaking in the ring and charging, but Sharuda had the wherewithal of the
duck, and Terry took out his own brother with a running back elbow.
And he's such a he's the problem child. He's the little son of a
bit. You know what I mean is, yeah, he's that fucking redhead
in the movie whatever his fucking name is, yep, creepy actor. It's
like, you know, Dorry is hanging around in his varsity jacket with all
his high school buddies, and Terry comes along on his bicycle and just like
won't leave him right right right zactly. It's been a big chop by Bob,
a lateral press on Dory, and Terry's in there to make the save.
Terry a rascal, but he's not, you know, it's not like
he's breaking the rules. No, but he's that little live wire, that
little like uncertain element in the corner. Who totally, there's an element,
there's an element of wow that was not to belly overhead from Sharuda to Dory
cover too. No, I you know, we know how a supplex is
done and how the participants. Terry goes right after Sharuda charges, whips him,
digs the knee, cuts him down, just going brawling, doing what
it takes. But you know, but but Sharuda actually held held Dorry off
the ground before doing the belly the overhead belly to belly. So I wonder
what what if even Dory could help Sharuda at all in that matter, because
usually, you know, you put your knees down and you jump off off
to do a supplex. Yeah, the point being that it was all shroudah
there. Yeah right, yeah, Like like Dory said in that chapter in
the book, like he came in with these moves off the amateur Matt that's
like, let's let's go with it. Let's find a way. It's not
that Dorry knew how to do it, and it's not that anybody knew how
to take it. It was just he knew how to throw people like that
from Greco and it was a great unique look. And so now they know
you overhead belly to bellies and Greco. Yeah, you can go overhead a
little bit. I mean, I'm sure coming up. As you develop your
skills and decide which which style you're going to go with, you learn to
sup plex just the same as someone who doesn't go Greco. But they're they're
so behind Jumbo kicking out of this like full on assault from the funks here.
They're just you almost feel like the fans are like so they're like holding
back the amount of enthusiasm they have because they're not sure if this guy can
do this. Yeah, but they really want him to. Whoa, Oh
my god, look the fucking funk cell. He just jumped up in the
air like he's Scott Hall at Wrestling eighteen. And then Bobby had to drop
kick and Terry jumps as high as he can on the bump. Why does
Terry do that? I wonder, Uh, well, Jesus Christ does it
again again. I really get the vibe. He's trying to differentiate himself as
much as he can from his brother German suplex. By combination on Terry gets
the three first fall streamers hit the Ringing Giant Bob and Jumboscherer to take the
first fall here back in nineteen seventy three. So, I mean, look,
it's very simple. Could you see a star in the making? Yes,
absolutely, And he kind of has like you know, he's got a
similar facial like features to to uh Bruce Lee too to Jumbo Sharuda. That's
interesting call, you know, I could I can see not as lean physically,
but like you know, his hair cut and just kind of the shape
of his face remind me a lot of Bruce Lee. This Actually there's a
series of Baba Funk's matches and some of them are two of the three falls.
I don't think this one is. I think in the confliction we have,
this is the just the earliest shrewd of Funks clash. He just fucking
whiffed on that uh dropkick though that dropkick was a disaster. What that Funk
went up for yeah, yeah, he got shrewd to got air, he
got all air, and they're doing a slow motion replay and obviously he didn't
get the memo that you only replayed the spots that hit Yeah, but we're
still going yeah, I think we're entering the second fall. Here is Dori
hits the Fireman's carry now on Sharudah, it's the tag Terry ed Now.
The silence of the crowd is deafening. This is like when it was really
the thing. But you know, the thing is, I've always been a
little bit like, how about that. They're silent because they're waiting for Jumbo
to do something inspiring and they go fucking crazy. And then what's what's the
brilliance of Terry Funk in all Japan is eventually you hear these fans. They're
just sort of sitting on their hands, observing fans work, waiting for for
the Japanese to come alive. As the years turn suddenly it's it's Terry Funk
that they want to see come alive. I mean, that's the actual progression
of wrestling. You know that, that's what happens when you've got somebody who's
that good. Eventually you're gonna wanna see what they do nice bridge by sharudas
as Terry takes into the canvas with a double knucklelock trying to register the count
that spot for the guy in the bottoms bridging the guy in the top just
jumps up on his head like they do, and you can see they can
see the size difference too, Like there's just a lot more girth on Terry
Funk than than ironically Jumbo Sharuda. Right, he's not so jumbo in this
uh in this match, and in fact he's probably the smallest guy in the
hole in the ring. Yeah, he's the rest cut off, much like
Dori senior of a guy who, if it was a heavyweight minded business,
would have to be sort of a junior heavyweight in his earliest years and grow
into heavyweight. Yeah. Ooh, fuck at giant Baba and throwing slaps on
Funk and Funk's doing his wide legged losing his balance sell. Yeah, so
you see the raw material of what the Terry Funk signature selling was was to
become. And it's just you know, you compare. There's such a stark
contrast between Terry and Dorry it's it's evident even this early in their careers,
Funk Funk seems to be a guy too, like I don't know if this
is this was his real opinion or or his just as his more character with
his brother, but his antics nice boot bare bye Baba to count, but
his his antics seemed to showcase a guy trying to trying to like stake his
claim, like to to to prove himself. So he's a little more antsy,
he's a little more aggressive, he's a little more you know, uh
of a loose cannon. Yeah. When he comes, he's someone that is
sort of like trying to get ahead of himself all the time. And it's
right, and he's like he's trying to show that he can he can hang
Yeah, yeah, little brother syndrome, Yeah, right, exactly. Sea
and Baba takes over on Terry. They come back up, Terry snatches a
side headlock, standing Baba with the push off. Terry hits the ropes center
ring and Baba hooks on the abdominal strut, so it's both him and OK
we're deploying. That's a great effect. And this time it's door Wow slipping
into the ring to break the submission of Baba refereed, momonishing Dory Funk Junior,
and now Sharuda comes in big overhand shop and there's Funk doing the the
knock needs cell job. Yeah. And just if you're wondering, no,
the people in black ties and sunglasses indoors in seventy three or not, Yakuza
come on stopping like that, you know, I mean, these questions do
go into my mind. I do wonder, I do wonder. After all,
you know, we saw the Akuza with Ricky Dozan too. Yeah,
Terry breaks free from the abdominal stretch of Sharudo, the hip toss to the
corner. Now Shooder snatches aside headlock in a running bulldog. Yes. Wow,
when I'm right in the fucking top turn buckle and Terry's head into the
buckling. This idea that, like wrestling in the seventies was so much more
methodical and slow like this is. This is just as action packed as anything
can see today. Up, I'm rolling on the floor trying to op,
trying to get that leverage. Now they're in an awkward position. Yeah,
but that's that tumble weed thing. I forget with that. Yeah. Yeah,
it's like a banana split in jiu jitsu from Terry Funk, and I'm
not sure that Jumbo had totally mastered how to hold up his end of the
bargain to roll around the ring forty times, which is what makes that move
so cool. Now Terry Funk is taking Sharuda the ground and you know,
doing the whole rub in his face and the matt thing slowing down the pace.
You know, you believe every second of this that Terry Funk, for
all is wild and crazy as he is, has as much technical skill as
anybody you know, True to the couple running start two tackles O'Connor roll though
Terry rolls up Sharuda two three got him by, He got it, He
got him. Second fall goes to the Funks as again that brilliant psychology of
bringing along a Japanese prospect. He doesn't win right out of the gate.
All the time in the public right is completely willing to watch him develop before
their eyes, and completely willing to embrace his limitations and his immaturities as much
as that, you know, the flashes of standout athleticism that he puts on
display, that is such a fascinating thing that I remember you you, I
remember I remember you showing me a match with Kenna Kobashi. It was a
big return match and Kobashi does the job, and I just it was such
a weird feeling because I'm used to you know, when you make your big
comeback after being injured or whatever. You you win your first match back.
But no, in reality, you'd have a lot of rust. Yes,
and the public rate is willing to accept that. It's not like I'll fuck
this guy. You know, he's a loser in America, that he'd be
completely buried pretty much. Yeah, people be like, Okay, they're trying
to tell us something. This isn't someone worth investing in. That's we ended
the third fall. Giant Baba was taking on the leg and watch Terry Funk
sell the leg as Shrewda comes in and stomps that knee. Terry Funk's selling
absolute agony on the canvas. Yep. Shruda now trying to turn over the
week need Terry Funk into a Boston crab and he's got it locked out.
He's been breaking that back there. This is excellent stuff. It's amazing,
how again you take for granted, how how impressive the ring work was back
then. Yeah, tell me like great stuff, Like what's great about it
for those? I mean there, it's it's fast, it's not just kick
punch. They're they're they're doing moves, they're doing reversals, they're doing counters
upon counters, you know. I mean, this might as well be an
industrial kitchen. There are so many counters, great series of reversals there between
Terry Funk and Jumbo Sharuda series of one counts. Yeah, there's just so
many spots that you know, we were exposed to as Hulka maniacs in like
the mid nineties, right that, like we assume we're being invented and innovated,
and you go back and watch Japanese wrestling in the seventies and it's all
there. But I'll tell you this, it's better here. Yeah. Why
is that? Because again, it's not being done for show, it's being
done as strategy, right, And that's always the biggest the biggest issue I
have with the even the best of modern day wrestling is the fact that it's
all done for show. It's not done to show strategy. You get the
sense that like the function in this instance in Shrewd and Baba, for that
matter, would like nothing more than to bore the public if it meant that
was the fastest way to get Yep, yep, there's nothing they're doing that
you're convinced they're doing just to show you what they can do. Right.
Series of exchanges backslide by Dory gets two on Sharuda, Shruda showing great flashes
of ability to counter the champion. Now it's story Funk locking out the abdominal
stretch Johnt Bob and trying to break it up. Referee says no, and
here comes Darry. I'm Sterry bang wow ton of mileage out of a simple
right hook to the ribs of a job Shara that trapped in Dori's abdominal stretch.
Spare ribs. Well that's after the match in China. Yes, big
flight locking it out, really testing just no Shruda showing such baby for the
fire. Look at them? Are there no Japanese spear ribs or any kind
of ribs? Actually I associate ribs more with them a Korean barbecue. I
could be wrong. Becomes Terry again. Another another shot, bringing that America
psychology referee right there and didn't do ship. That was really funny, very
small doses of American heel psychology, the fund springing to Japan. Here,
they don't overdo it. They don't make the referee look like he's incompetent necessarily,
and they don't do anything disqualifiable reverses. Look at Sharuda explodes into a
reverse. Well, now he's got the abdominal stratch and he's swimming and sweaty
hair as much as he can. And look at this Baba saying, you
know what, actually looks like Kobashi too. A little bit sure he does.
Yeah, there might have been no small part of why the public fell
in love with Kobashi was the the resemblance maybe double underhooks. This is it.
This is Funk's big suplex that sh wow and he rocks him with it.
We saw that supplex. It's a great effect. In the Antonio and
Oke match we watched last time, till the crowd was up for it.
Terry was at ringside making hand gestures to signal to the people that this is
a really big move. Push off center ring collision, double down for Dory
Funk Junior and Jembo Sharuda. What a time in wrestling. Man. You
imagine just sitting at home waiting to get a tape from Japan such as they
existed. I mean, I mean, I guess you get they. I
mean they they didn't have that kind of video recording equipment in the and play
equipment in the sixties and stuff. But it's very expensive, right, you
know, and even then you'd have it. It was actually more done like
reel to real, you know, as opposed to fake to fake. That's
exactly Terry Funk back in again, light his feet, bringing that boxing mentality,
jabs shrewd uh. Such a pure sort of appeal here, you know,
miscommunication there, but it's okay, it works. Yeah. Yeah,
they were covered nicely and made it like a struggle. No, you fucked
up chance and said, look at this, I'd like a shrewda please.
Oh yeah, what size? Well, you tell me what size he's going
to be. By the time this airplane spin from Terry Funk is over,
he turned the times. You know, he's selling it, selling being dizzy.
Oh but he still falls the lateral press ontrud to does Terry to count
Jumbo in there to break it up? One fall apiece in this tag team
encounter. Yeah, brother comes John, Bob and Dorry Junior now legal Dory
throwing that European uppercut scooping a slam on the big man Dory right to the
cover and Giant Boba gets two. Of course, Giant Baba would take a
pair of a NWA World Championships in his time from a Harley race, coming
over, dropping it quickly. These fans were taught to really revere the NWA's
World Heavyweight Championship is something truly special, something vaunted, something that if a
Japanese ever won, would be like the biggest deal in the world. Series
of knee drops by Baba gets two on Funk Jr. Who's now Funk Junior's
now reached the point that the hair is stringy. Yep, it's all sweaty
and stringy. Whipping another drop kick by Baba puts down Dory. Dory is
selling that he's on his uh at WIT's end as he kicks out it too
terry, reaching desperately for the tag from his brother. Just get the sense
of you No, it's just y yep. They're getting so much across here.
It's so simple. He wasn't a great worker, you know. He
he didn't suck, especially this age. But we're getting a lot out of
this. No wonder Boba loved him so much. I mean they came over
here and made him look like a three million bucks here, a world class
worker. Now Terry has Baba draped across the middle rope, pounding him,
hits the ropes on the charge going home. Wow, Terry bringing that old
school spots ha ha, bounce around the ropes like you're on a trampoline or
something. Your ass on the middle rope, Baba stopping the small of the
back. There, Oh, here we go on an arrow stretch on Terry
and Terry just filling the agony door. He's in a breaking up with a
huge forearm that drops Baba Jumbo evens the odds. Notice the Japanese only do
the two on one after the Americans do it. Yes, they're too honorable.
Anything less, I suppose would be uncivilized. I would imagine. So
Jumbo now legal with Terry. What a pairing here, Irish whipped Terry on
the hop, drop kick on the money from funk Is boxing sell jobs a
free Dory just fucking pulls up sharudah. Yeah, there's like an increasing desperation
in Dori's saves when Terry gets covered. Terry is the weak link after all.
Yeah, that's coming across whipping. A backdrop by Sharuda puts down Terry
Funk, lateral pressed by Sharuda just gets one. Wow. It's just it's
just like they just come to the center and they just keep locking up and
someone throws a move out there and then it's like, yep. Some say
if pro wrestling worked, if the moves in pro wrestling worked in a fight,
this is probably what it would look like, right, just keep slamming
the motherfucker. You just keep going move to move, and they do.
I just feel like action, this tight, this with this much happening.
You just I just always grew up thinking that this didn't happen in the seventies
and it was happening this tight like just all act right right, just not
not in our neck of the woods. Grabbing a hold for twenty minutes.
You know, these guys are working their asses off aerobics, you know,
if nothing else. I mean, this is yeah, the the the the
stamina needed to work a match like this. Two out of three falls.
I mean, what are we looking at here? Like twenty minutes about that?
Yeah, Jumbo comes alive. Pardon me, Baba comes alive with the
swinging neck break or Doris Oh bell sounds Terry. So we went to a
draw. On the third fall, streamers hit the ring, jump rout is
out getting the fuck out of here. There up and they are getting to
their cars. See the press swarming ringside taking photographs is Dori and Terry.
And you know, no post match history ONIX. No one attacking anybody.
It's just fair play to both sides. It's sport. But think about how
much story got across you know what I mean. It was an inconclusive finish,
but like, if I was there, I would want to come back
for more because absolutely Jumbo showed me enough that I feel like if I hitched
my wagon at this guy, I could have a lot of fun at these
wrestling shows. And look at this respectful exchange of cold ring handshakes. Ye,
even though there was some heel action going on there, as much as
the Funks were bending the rules, they're willing to acknowledge the toughness. And
I think what we're watching here is the kind of thing that caused the fans
to fall in love with Ary Funk. Yep, just spent you know those
falls, cutting corners and whatnot. And you know post match, he doesn't
disrespect his opponents. He isn't he's in anything approaching a sore loser, even
though they didn't really lose. So just yeah, i'd love your before we
move on to the next match. Just your your takeaway. Having taken in
Jumbo shru To circa seventy three, just a year after the Funks got them
ready for the I mean it was it was. I I was honestly blown
away by by what I saw. I mean, the weak link of the
whole match was Giant Baba. But even he wasn't a mess. You know,
he could have been way worse. Everyone made him look like like a
million bucks. Sharuda is amazing, and uh, the Funks they're they're contrasting
styles are such It's such a great story in its own right. You know,
there's so much going on. It's not just you know, these simplistic
matches. It's there's there's there's so much. You know, you have the
the rise of Sharuda, You've got the the the the different style you know,
styles of the of the Funk Brothers, and you have the overall story
of you know, it's like a good movie. It's a good movie where
you have your main plot line, you're overarching, you're over you know,
the the complete arch story arc. But then underneath you've got all these subplots.
And that's what this match was. And please, you know, as
we go through the lapsed funk, you know, don't don't be compelled to
say every single thing you see blew your eye. I know you never do
that, but I never I want people to believe in what we're saying here.
We are coming in yeah cold to this stuff. You know, we're
letting this kind of wash over us. We're not. I've never seen nineteen
seventies Japan ever before. This was way I mean, this could be outside
of having a couple more flips and flops, this could be comparable wrestling to
today. It really could, because there's there's so much of what is in
this style that has come back since. Yeah, it wasn't really you know,
it wasn't really in vogue through the nineties. A lot of this stuff,
but it's pardon but it's since come back in a big way. And
and you know, you think of the best workers in aw like from a
from a technical standpoint, and ANWW for that matter. I'm just thinking,
because you know, you think of aw as just like this, this different
evolution of wrestling is just totally you know, more acrobatic based, and my
god, I mean, this is like what Brian does, This is what
Claudieu Kostignoli does, This is what so many of these guys try to do,
and and sort of, you know, in a measured way. It's
not like one hundred percent this style. But as we move forward, I
do want to have you share Boss Uh, an excerpt from Terry Funk's book
that kind of talks about what is happening in the Japanese wrestling scene Visa VI
the Baba Andochi war right around the time of the match we just watched as
he provides kind of a helpful backdrop. So let's uh, let's turn to
the Funker, all right. You know, there were differences in how Baba
had a Noki promoted their products to the fans. Baba was into gradually changing
the business. He would stick with his formula and only develop and tweak it
slightly. Andnoki, on the other hand, was always trying to put out
something different. He wanted to innovate in the world of wrestling. Anoki was
more experimental. For example, he was the first one to really make good
use of the European wrestlers and their unique matt based style. That was out
of necessity because as the NWA Beck promotion we pretty much blocked him from using
any talent from the United States except for talent from New York. We were
also involved in training to Mommy Jumbo Sharuda, who would be one of Baba's
biggest stars for about twenty years. To be honest, Junior had a lot
more to do with it training him than I did. The first time I
met Sharuda, he was wearing a pair of size fourteen sneakers, a shirt,
and a pair of pants that have been worn too much. Oh,
he was wearing a shirt, Terry, tell me more. He was wearing
a shirt. Yeah, you know. The first I want to I said,
you're wearing a shirt. You know, I walked you know, the
first time mets shroud. I walked up and I said, hey, you're
wearing a shirt, pants and spitting shoes. Where are you been such a
little Uh don't you think that's a little, I don't know, a little
crazy, you know, I thought that makes me feel a little uncomfortable.
You got all that shit going on. I want to hit, I want
to head on to I said, hey, you know what I got to
go to the bathroom. Well, let's actually that's been taken care of.
And you know it was what it was is well wonderful. It was the
best stuff that he had. He was just an overgrown kid. Baba told
us he had been in the Olympics and now wanted to be a pro wrestler.
Sharuda took to pro wrestling like a duck to water, and it was
immediately obvious he was destined for big things. He picked up a lot of
junior style, including the European forearms smashed that my brother had seen Billy Robinson,
the shooter from Great Britain. Just imagine Billy Robinson walking in just with
a machine gun and just the shooter from Great Britain, Billy Robinson. That
would have been the WBF version. That's a good ball, so awful.
Sharuda also had a lot of financial sense too, which was very important.
He kept his mouth shut and learned by listening. He ended up spending his
entire career with Baba and made good money under him. Unfortunately, Sharuda died
of liver failure while undergoing a trains planting in nineteen ninety nine. I was
out of the loop with Bob at that point, So the only way I
found out Sharuda was even having help was through a couple of the boys who
called to let me know. It's a great story, Terry. It's a
fucking great story. There's a reason he said that. I don't know what
it is. He probably felt about hurt that he didn't I was out of
the loop exactly. I help book this place, and that's that's That's one
thing that's a threat in Terry Funk. It's like he he has nothing but
reverence for anyone he's ever made money with in wrestling, but he also came
to a point where he kind of felt like they didn't reciprocate the love,
and he's not He doesn't hesitate to sprinkle that in there in his commentary,
or should he for that matter. I agree, So I don't have in
front of you said it. Yeah, it's it all right. So that's
Terry Funk now reflecting on Jembo Sharuda, and we're going to take a look
at one on one Terry Funk versus Jembo Sharuda in Altiboh, all right,
it's from June eleventh, nineteen and seventy six, So three years after the
tag team match we just witnessed. Let's see what's become of Terry Funk,
what's become of Jumbo Sharuda and what it tells you? What year is it?
This is nineteen seventy six, okay, three years okay, and so
here we go. You can see the screen, I take it. Yep,
come Shruda. Yeah, much more developed, yep, filled out to
your point. Doesn't look like a junior heavyweight as much anymore. No,
no, not at all. Those and they are the cheerleaders I mentioned.
Wow, they would turn out like they were, you know, university cheerleaders
on Friday night lights in Texas. That's wild. What are they making out
over there? It's kind of number short of turning to Giant Bob on the
apron for some advice. Sixty minute time limit. And there's Terry with his
hippie headband on. Look at him. Wow, look, oh god,
he looks weird. Tell us what you see he's I see he's wearing it
again, the hippie head band and he's got a hair he kind of almost
looks like Randy Savage in nineteen eighty seven. Yeah, that's a great call.
It similar headwear. Yeah, he's is the world champion. Let's take
a look. I think he is. It looked like the world championship belt
handing off a bouquet of flowers. God, what a what a baby face?
He has a totally different hour by this point from the one we just
saw. He's not a rascal anymore, you know he's. Yeah, that's
that's the strap baby, Now, Terry not Now you're the champion. You
got a tone of down pal all right, you got you can't be that
little kid anymore. You gotta be a man, all right. Now.
We all voted you in. We didn't want to. Yeah, we'll get
to that. We did. And who's that in the ring representing the n
A in the middle. Do you see that? No? It wa Representative
Jim Crockett Junior here in Japan. Wow, see him after the bright I
do see him? Yep, Hi, guys, And don't mind me.
I'm just here. I'm here hoping to get laid, hoping to get laid.
But we'll see what happens. No, promises. Wow, there's that
tight shot of the belt. Yep, that's the ten pounds of gold,
the Brisco belt with the globe in the middle, the one that Flair retired
before taking the gold in eighty six, the only one the NWA can actually
use. Right, it's right these days to this day, it's fucking ww
somehow it's fucking weird. Howdy that one from being the nw I guess because
it was owned by Jim Jim Crockett. Was Jim Crocker? Right? Who
who who commissioned the big gold belt? Right? It's absolutely correct, yes,
right, right, So Vincent Man owns everything that Jim Crocker owned,
That's correct. Funk has just been standing there holding the world title and displayed
to the hard camera. And think about the anticipation. I mean it is
Jim Crockett UNI steps up to read a pre match you know, title declaration.
Think about the anticipation, sure, the possibility that Jumbo Shruda could become
the world's champion. Look at that was he fucking uh it's fucking Jr.
From Dallas. Jesus Christ. It looks like Larry Hagman. Look at the
neck on fucking Terry Funk's neck is wider than his head. Yeah, yeah,
that's true too. N w A didn't sing in that us. Hey
man, we signed up for that's right. Everything you just love detected,
that's right. So unforse. I couldn't hear exactly what Jim Crockett was saying,
but I could hear the twang, that's for sure. Yeah, I'm
here, guys, just celebrate the nw A. And he takes the mic
for a formal pre match world title presentation in Japan, goes, I'm here,
guys, Hello everybody, I'm here. I'm here, guys, just
to celebrate NWA and uh and then such a young kid, what a fucking
dweb. You gotta think Vince Junior is watching shit like this and just sees
up with totals. Shit, this motherfucker. Say no, Junior, I'm
gonna fuck him. I'm wanna fuck him hard. It's significant that Jim Crocketts
holding the NWA's World Heavyweight Championship because his ascendency to prominence on the board of
the NWA tells a real interesting story about the shifting of power towards mid Atlantic
as being the territory that pretty much win the world championship and particular when Rick
Flair got his hands on it. Forget about it. It was essentially the
mid Atlantic heavyweight title, right, So wacky a further down and lapsed Funk.
We'll get, of course, to Terry Funk's nineteen seventy five win of
the top prize in the industry, penning Jack Brisco As we stay in the
rings of Japan and get the flavor of the the run in that country that
cemented Terry Funk into the the memory of Japanese wrestling fans. We've got to
skip ahead a bit in the timeline Terry Funk introduced to the people Terren Schunk.
Yeah, we did get the japan pardon me the German commentary version of
this one. You have to pardon this fun, Terrance. I do have
to cap ignorance to who the baldman is on the apron, seconding Terry Funk.
Yeah, I don't yeah, I mean if you don't know, I
don't know, that's for sure. And Terry, I think is uh,
it's being seventy six, he's he's definitely established contact with Sliced alone over Paradise
Alley. Whether he shattered or not, I'm not sure of at the moment
again, whor it's the Paradise Alley episode of Under the Cinemat available for you
and the oh yeah ep tier at above patreon dot com slash the lie.
I think we I think we actually gave it to the the main feed also
available main feed. One of the things we thought to think the news of
the passing of Terry Funk. But I mean sort of a free So here's
the uh check of the hands the circling and we'll see the difference between n
w A World's Champion singles wrestler Terry Funk and the previous tag team champion.
Right the Rascal younger brother to Dorry King, Dory collar and outlow, both
Sharuda and Funk falling to their knees while enwrapped and the lock up. Funk
goes to the waist trying to ride Sharuda, but he sits out. That's
great, That's it's very lively and some time he's very free. He he
floats, Terry he does. Yeah. Yeah, he's just always off his
feet, whether it's bouncing around, pumping the jab, it's you know,
shooting on a on a low inside single or trying to chase the waist lock,
trying to hold control. He is, he's always floating. He's always
trying to cover distance in the ring, not by walking or running, but
leaving his feet both enraptured and a coloring elbow and their knees on the canvas.
You don't see this much anymore. No, two guys lock up and
bring it down like this. Look at the crowd applod yep, they're ready.
Just to them. Professional extension of Olympic wrestling. And he should look
like this. Yes, so you said this is seventy six, right,
that's correct. It's a year before he met Stillone. He met salone in
seventy seven, oh before he even met him. Well, yeah, it's
telling shift on the under over under clinch, Terry Funk putting shrewd his back
to the ropes and granting a clean break. Interesting part right at the side
of Funk's head. Dude, No, it's so weird. What about that
hair? Just bizarre. It's so bizarre. Actually, to further compare himself
to Savage, he's got the three stars on his ass. Yeah, wow,
look at that, and the Savage Savage had it on the front.
But still the three stars after the clean break, Terry absolutely exploded hitting the
ropes like he was gonna come off at one hundred miles an hour at Jembo,
but stopped. So it's just sort of like a seed planted in Shrewda's
mind that any moment he could quicken the pace. Funk grabs an armbar.
Now this is seventies NWA World title match style. This is, you know,
to Funk's point, to Funk's illustration. There you can see the bootlaces.
The bootlaces are white, yep, flash ahead, So this is a
partial version of the contest. Is now Sharuda has control with sort of a
bow and arrow standing submission on the champion. But what we saw in seventy
three was building to what we see here Sharia. That was, you know,
under the learning treat of the legend Giant Baba, showing that he could
go hold for hold with the world champion Dory Funk and his younger brother.
Three years later, Terry is actually the champion and Sharud has given him absolute
fits in the All Japan Ring. Three years worth of business here. It's
crazy when you really think about it, Like, I mean, three years
is not a long time to but at the same time, so much can
happen in three years. Same time. It's eternity these days, you know,
right you introducing a guy and then in three years he's getting a world
title shot. I can't say this is Jobbershuda's first title shot. I'm positive
it isn't. But still that that story is still alive, that Shrewd can
do it, can become the top man, can take the bet off the
top American. You know. L A. Knight right now is a perfect
example. You either but the rocket up. The guys ask so much that
he's winning the championship in six months, or the fans are like, okay,
they're not gonna wait for three years. You can't hold him there,
No, no, I mean you can, but you just forgot how to
do it. I I actually, you know, speaking of which I actually
did. I watched that La Knight, just the SmackDown stuff just on YouTube,
and it's really he's really incredible. He's really he's got such a he's
got he's he's just got the tools. Man, it's gonna be tough to
avoid spoilers on that Crown Jewel Live call coming up. I tell you you
know, I've I've said I've said it many times. I know that it
should wait for Roman, but I wonder if it's if it's the right time
to get that fucking if Roman should be WrestleMania. We're losing it WrestleMania.
But is it is? Is Saudi the right place? Fascinating, that's the
question. Now, just totally torturing the shoulder of Terry funk Is. Sharuda
goes to the hammer Lodge. By the way, Cody who by the way,
Terry turns into a hip block. Look at Sharuda just dogging chair.
He's awesome. Pulls down Terry with a backslide too. Oh. Look,
look at the fans. Look at these old ladies clapping in a mile a
minute, yep, at the prospect of young Jumbo finally becoming champion. Back
to the arm bar and it's riveting to these people that Sharuda is working the
arm Yes, tripping sweat. I mean, it's so funny. I know
there was a jump, but like still can't forget seventy six I mean,
probably two or three channels on Japanese television. This is among the things you
can watch. This is among the things that you will watch exactly, LVCRS.
This isn't stuff. What happens in Japan stays in Japan back then,
right yep, yep. And while this stuff is happening, it's only really
word of mouth and magazine coverage and still photography that tells the American wrestling fan
what guys like Terry Funk are achieving in Japan. It's so crazy. And
then come the eighties and all of a sudden, tapes tape trading becomes a
thing, and it's like there was this whole decade to discover of guys like
Funk. Yep, amber lock on the canvas now, Jumbo Shruda just torturing
Terry, who's not really Terry's not showing any of that, you know,
corner cutting rap scallion in her style. Not yet anyway, Yeah, we'll
see down the stretch, sure, just trying to convert this hammer lock into
a pin cover by looking the other arm. This it's all about. It's
all about the struggle of getting a guy's shoulders down. It's not about knocking
the guy out so you can get the three. Nope, Nope, it's
just all you gotta do. It doesn't matter if he's knocked out or not.
All you have to do is keet those shoulders down on the mat for
three seconds and then it's over. Funk putting Shrewd in the corner. Now
is the match gets back to the feet and look at that Funk taking advantage
of that small opening to drive a forearm into the gut and into the face
of Sharuda in the corner, working them over Funk with a knife, etch
chop. Fascinating to see Terry Funk in this mode. First whip off the
butcher comes, Funk into the arm drag, takeover, and Jumbo Shrewd is
right back to the arm bar. Thank you very much. So how long?
Remind me again when Funk made his debut is in ring debut in wrestling
altogether? Yeah, nineteen sixty five. Okay, so he's work so a
wow. So he took him ten years to achieve this, achieve world championship
glory? Say only ten years? Yeah? Yeah, you know, you
look at his brother doing it, and it's like that would seem, if
anything else, to greatly live it the chances that one day he would get
it, because right the brother has been chosen from the Funk family and never
before, never since the two brothers hold the championship and it was select company.
Man, you had to show all kinds of different attributes to the NWA
Board of Directors back then before they would consider you for the championship, because
you've got to you got to now. Ohh wow, he just fucking pulled
him out of the ring with his arm. He hit the floor in truer
to refuse to release the arm and pulled function refuses yanks Hm back in the
ring as well by the arm arm drag man? Is he nice ripped his
shoulder out? So what was what were they looking for? What was the
board looking for? He needed somebody that could make the towns and stay healthy
enough to not have to ice the belt because of injury. Yeah, someone
that could come in and knew how to work with enough different guys that when
they left the territory they had a bankable guy that could keep selling tickets in
the area even if he didn't beat the chain ampion. Okay, he needed
somebody that could in promos get across what was unique and special and threatening about
the local challenger, and that that pretty much was it. I mean,
what you really needed was a guy who could go in there, a guy
who could accept, you know, a traveling schedule that was just torture.
I mean sort of like a precursor to what the WWF schedule would be.
Under Vinced Junior, while you're crisscrossing the world, you got to remember,
nobody else in pro wrestling had to do that besides the world champion. It
was the worst and best job in wrestling. And that way his Funk gets
free with a big atomic drop that puts Shrewd on his seat, big elbow
drop. Man Funk knew how to miss an elbow, didn't he? Oh,
absolutely right, that's up in the area's airborne before he fucking missed.
It's great, and I ask you to Shruda take his eye off the prize
in terms of working that arm and keeping the arm drives. Not at all,
Not at all. He's got a he's got a limb that he knows
he has created a significant amount of damage. He knows that he has worn
it down. He knows that it is only a maunter of time before Terry
Funk can't take that pain anymore. It's correct, that's the reality of it.
You find, you find a weak spot, you exploit it, you
continue to work on it until the person can't handle the pain anymore. It's
over that simple yep. You can see where the developers of you know games
like No Mercy got the Oh god, the foundation the base from yep for
sure standing ring. It sounds like a rate in wrenching the arm. Now,
hey's clickening. Terry with the leapfrog almost falls on his ass and they
have a bit ring head butt collision. Funks on his feet, on his
feet, Terry with the wobbly legs sell but hooks these oh double cross Yeah,
he tosses him with the butterfly souplex sure to edging of the ropes,
get the bottom strand referee, come on, ref get in there. So
Terry would use that dory double under hooks who play as well? Rod responded
like it was a big offensive move. Side head locked Shruda, get shot
off leap frog by Funk on the hop comes Terry underneath. Look at the
pace quickening here, Holy god, Connor roll by. Sharudi's got the belt
and No. One two not enough back up Sharuda over the top of the
sunset flip pulls down Funk one two business picking up here three got him Jombo
Shruda with a sunset flip pins Terry Funk fifteen minutes fifty seconds. Is that
it? Did he win the title? No, he never had the belt.
Three two out of three, Okay, it's gonna be two out of
three then, right, I'd assume so, brother, he was non title
I don't think so. Though. That was great. You know, it's
like the match was methodical. It was based on, like you said,
trying to wrest submission from the guy, maybe force a pin. But then
when it when it quickens like that, it's not the whole match. It's
like if a pace is gonna quicken like that, somebody's gonna get the fall
pretty quickly, right, because if both guys are like so desperate to move
so fast, that must mean that they're almost afraid of running out of gas.
Yep. As we go to ringside, now, is Funk's corner man
massaging his work in that arm yep? Yep, working the arm the other
way to get it back into play. I'm screaming, Jesus the spectator,
that's what that sounds like. No mercy to me. Yep, they want
to munch on his jumbo sharuda or for the second fall, Terry Funk pacing
it at ringside taking I believe it's five to five minutes. He has to
recuperate ll sounds and shrew to waiving the champ back into the ring. We'll
see how Terry Funk writes the ship here against undoubtedly one of the most game
challengers he faced, his champion of the world re entering the fray. Now
look at Funk shaking the hand of Sharuda Fair playing for you watch this like
a sport, yep. I just find myself like I'm I'm sitting in a
different seat than I sit and watching pro wrestling today. Oh totally. I
mean, this is like the way that it's it's so simple, it's such
a like that there's there's not much While there is pomp and circumstance to it,
there's not a lot like there's so much more subtlety to the idea that
you know, again, they're they're they're they're trying to play it like they
are in a in a in a you know, Olympic setting. Very much.
So sure what I have taken the center of the ring, collar,
nailbow tie up, hauls off on the arm Funk trying to lock him up
again, and just Funks getting across a great degree of desperation you know.
Oh yeah, he's almost like a boxer that clinches up when he's on the
defensive. Yeah. Of all the things I've heard her Funks say about how
he developed his style in wrestling, and never really heard him talk about like
studying boxers, but it's clear he did that because a lot of his selling
is tann him out to what happens when a boxer gets rocked. I remember
Rookie Steamboat talking about that at length, about how he would study boxers to
get an idea of how to sell being almost half knocked out. Yeah,
I can see that too. I can see him being like that. He
kinda he kind of sold like that with a you know, trying to keep
his balance right from the knucklelock, Terry Funk finds a big swinging neck breaker,
putting Shrewda down. Lateral pressed by the champion gets too short, able
to kick out, but Terry able to pull ahead here at least momentarily.
Uh yeah, sure, to sat sitting down, He just threw his body
down across his show Shrewd to his shoulders. Turn on mat. Just think
about the Terry Funk you were first introduced to Boss as a wrestling fan.
Back, I like that that. It's that that spike pile driver re maneuver.
He grabs the trunks and plants him that Foley would pick up on.
Yeah, that's true. That's probably where they got it from. Ye,
you don't, you don't, uh, you know, cup your hands under
the stomach. You grab two handfuls of the of the title. Drill them.
You just fucking drill the guy. It's good for two. And then
Funk violently tossing Sharuda through the ropes to the concrete. It looks like some
concrete colored mats. Yes, talked about this before the Funks. You used
the floor, you know it was fair game. Oh the drop kick snapped
there and a drop kick by Terry Funk on the outside back when that actually,
you know, meant something. Sharuda is awesome. I don't think I
ever realized how awesome he is. What are you seeing? That's awesome?
I mean everything, Like the guy's just so fast. He reminds me of
Rocky steamboat Is in the way he moves. Yeah, you know a lot
of similarities there. He's great. He was a sensation. It really was
forgotten by history and absolutely a lot of ways he might have to make him
in the game. But if he you know, if he didn't have the
the health challenges he did in the mid nineties, I mean, he'd have
been right there with Kuwada, Tawei, Misawa, Kobashi, Sasaki, Nagata.
I mean, he would have been on the tail end, but he
would have been you know, he probably would have found his way into a
rumble or two. Nah. Sure, sure surprised he didn't. Yeah,
and what we're seeing here the early nineties what Terry talked about there in the
chapter you read from the book where yeah, you know, Baba had established
a formula like this is what you came to see in All Japan. Two
guys locked in struggle hold for hold. Yeah, maybe one guy tried to
cut a little bit too many corners and became the heel. But it wasn't
like an attempt to you know, present cartoons in a wrestling ring. And
by that I don't mean anything to rug. I mean like the Tiger Mass
character, Like you weren't trying to appeal to children with All Japan. You
were just trying to appeal to anybody that saw beauty and wrestling. Yep,
yep. And so that's that's the battle going on in Japan right now.
I mean, you know what three four years into the battle here in seventy
six is is a Nookie's vision going on in New Japan and Bob's vision going
on here in a Japan. It's just beginning to take shape. It's just
beginning to mean something. The two products in contrast to each other up to
the corner, Funk Brok and Buckle Hard leaving his feet. As a matter
of fact, Yeah, Terry, you're right, Terry Funk leaving his feet.
That's look at that, yep, look at that shit shiver by Shrouda
with such impact, Kunk threw himself stomach first on the top rope and sprung
all the way to Jumbo. Send me over, Jumbo. I think it's
time, you know, Jumbo's time for the big bounce of Rooney and it's
wonderful. Back up to the apron. Sure is going to bring him in
the hard way to play. But by the way, that reminds me,
uh so, because of the enthusiasm that I have with the bump that I
take and King of the Jews, I was named the Fight Captain earlier this
week. So I have to watch all of the different uh you know,
for they're Oh, they're they're they're fighting for they're fighting for it. Oh
look at the Ellie ship. Rap. Here they go again, rapid reversals
of a dominal stretch. And this time it's Terry Funk getting the full Oklahoma
role. I think it's, oh my god, this is hilarious. And
and he pauses and he hooks and he's got him tight and he got the
he got it. Terry Funk taking the second fall from Sharuda in a great
Catches sketch caanic change. So there's another there's another little stage combat section where
the lead guy grabs. There's one there's one younger actor in the show,
and the lead grabs the younger actor by the collar, like just grab in
his shirt and then throws him to the ground. And so I call it
the goozle. Oh do you? And I yeah, I say, okay,
let's let's and I and every before every show I have to run a
fight call just to kind of run through the stage combat sequences. So I
say, all right, let's do the Goozle. It doesn't didn't take them
long to figure out who is in their mids. Yeah, exactly who the
right man for the job was. Who said me and a wrestling fan doesn't
pay one false spot piece here for the world title. There we go.
Terry Funk gives and instinct to out fox Jumbo in the second fall, brother,
I'll say. Speaking of which, shout out to doctor larryatto On on
Patreon, who pointed out that Hulk Hogan was also once portrayed on Kinu Kuman
the anime Jeff Wow at the name of the character. But so if I
framed it as something Terry Funk had on Hulk Cogan in terms of Japanese stardom
for Amren, No, Hulk Cogan also portrayed. He wasn't called Hulk.
Let me tell you, dude, I want to be the listen brother if
Terry, I don't want to be the only Terry left out right? All
right? Do you know we gotta understand there's Terry Funk brother, and then
there's Hulk Hogan. Well that's Terry Hulk Hogan brother. You mentioned it.
You know that nineteen seventy seven acquaintance that's to come with stallone. That would
be all the reason that Hulk Cogan ever got to know st alone through Terry
Funk and it's yep, it's sharing stardom in the rings of Japan. You
know, being big Americans in Japan that had a lot of ways caused the
bond between Terry Funk and Hulk Cogan. That even caused Hulk to give Terry
a lot of you know, leeway when they wrestled in the WWF and in
eighty five a lot of respect for Terry Coler and elbow jumbo in the third
fall. Now shooting for the abdominal stretch. They get so much mileage out
of that abdominal stretch, man, I know that, And that like the
with the neck ringer too, Yeah, pulling on it like you would the
regal stretch. Whoever Terry's cornerman is, and I'm shame to say, I
don't know who that is, gets up on the ring apron, distracting the
referee just momentarily though. Is his dad's got the same nose th he died
in seventy three, this is seventy six. Oh, maybe he's not dead.
Maybe he's not dead in Japan. Maybe just maybe didn't didn't didn't they
didn't get the news yet oh, man, I can see now why that
Terry Second jumped up on the apron shrewd has got this locked out and he's
cranking. Guys are so sweaty Yep, I know. Oh Funk not only
makes the ropes, but hip toss is shrewd up and over to the arena
floor. Tough fall for Jumbo. And then oh a little bit of a
underhanded interference there by Terry Funk Second that looks like Brute Bernard or something like
that. Definitely excuse me back in the fray now the gut wrench soup lay
and drops him in the center of the ring. Throw over pressed by Terry
Funk gets too not enough, not on this night. Oh they're going.
They're both going for gut wrenches. Oh wow. Jumba with the delayed gut
wrench suplex. He lifts, he holds, he tosses. Later, repressed
by the challenger, gets to one follow piece. Here, this is what
Terry brought to Japan. Boss, This is it? Yep, yep,
Shruda found his foil. Every great wrestler, every great upstart, every great
new star needs that foil, that defining opponent. Dare I say, at
least in terms of the early years umber Shrewd, it was one Terry Funk.
It's like it to me because when Shrewd had enough seasoning to be a
credible challenger for the strap, it was Funk holding it. And now it's
Shruda Wow with the Funk family brother rocking Funk covered by Shrewd off the soup
play gets two not enough. I like how that double arm superplex is getting
over in the matches. We're yeah that we happen to select. We're really
getting the idea of what moves back then got the crowd off their feet to
see it for sure. You throw a double arm superplex now and people just
sit there. You know. Terry answers with the big back suplex and Sharuda
is selling like crazy that he smacked the back of his head on the canvas.
Both men doubled down. Look at Terry, his eyes burning with sweat,
can barely open them. Look at that they rolled their knees at the
same time. It's a showdown. That's right there. We go to the
waistlock Funk with the O'Connor roll on Sharuda one too. Shroda reverses stacks up
Funk one two not enough. Funk kicks out, Wow, powerful, kickout
too. Can feel a fever pitch in the crowd. They're peeking them beautifully.
Now Jumbo, now take it. I was taking home terror. Tumbo.
Come on, Tommy, you know Tommy, Tommy got me in the
corner. Yeah, tom I had a bad idea for laps. Funk just
do spot calls like an alternate track into the corner. Whip me, whip
me. Tommy ducked the line, Tommy, all right, gimme give me
a boat tom Oh. Back breaker by Sharuda, slam me, Boss,
muscles cover too, Terry kicks out, slaw me for two Boss. Consider
that next spot. Please pick me up, Jordan, give me in the
get me in the dirt in the German brother. That was a bad German.
That was a very very odd Some people got hurt there. He lifted
him to Charuda, but he kind of put him off to the side.
He wasn't most of all the fans. Yeah, yeah. The one from
seventy three was much cleaner. Cover from Tarudah one not enough. He's tired,
you can tell. Sharuda looks fucking winded this battle man. They go,
what the matter? Your gas Sharuda, tell me your gas, I'll
shoot you off. Leap frog by Terry, but he sells the back on
the landing. We'll do We'll do a stun gun. That's it. He
just dropped first on the top cover. Funk scrambles and gets the three.
Terry fucker good stuff. That's great. Just when you detect a big time
fatigue in Sharuda, he makes that critical mistake yep, jumping in almost like
a thirst press motion up onto Funk who caught him, dropped his throat first
in the top and that was enough. Terry Funk lives to fight another day
as NWA World champion here in Japan. Look at the fucking chops on that
guy. Holy shit, Yep, those things, Harry those He's got these
nesting birds in their seventies mutton chops. Yep, they reached Japan, we
can confirm. Yep, Terry barely. I did it. I got the
three, Mama, I'm a wrestler now. Is Daddy proud still waiting to
hear back as they apply I water and cold compress to the neck of the
defeated Jembo Sharuda. Terry Funk barely able to stand for the post match ceremonials.
Here referee pardon me, ring announcer making the official declaration. Jim Crockett
Junior back in the ring, handing Terry Funk the ten pounds of gold.
Terry, Terry, I'm very proud of you did a good job. You
know. I feel like I was in the ring with you. I think
I can say that I was in the ring with you. Can I say
that? Well? No, you are right now. I mean I feel
like I won the match for you. Can I say that? No,
but you can claim to have created all games. We'll give you that one.
Can I Well, at least can I say I invented Japan? I
don't care what. I don't care if you say that. Terry, get
it all. Wow, massive trophy the shoulder, I mean, I mean
those trophies. Do they legit? Take those things home or that's a great
quest. They just like a prop that had to be given back after the
match was over, so that the next time they had something like this they
could give it to somebody else. We kept it in the office. I
would think that would be a bitch to throw customs or just to find a
place for in the plane. I mean it looks like a fucking missile.
Again, a sportsmanship like handshake from Sharuda towards Funk, some of the young
boys raising his hand fucking like impaled him with the with the thing. Now
after that, Yeah, the kyle he's selling the neck. Yeah, like
to be dropped the throat first across the top rope is like the worst thing
that could happen to you, and a completely acceptable reason for him to have
lost. And again Terry Funk showing sportsmanship with a strap around his waist.
Yep, it'll start to you can start to see the crowd developing a warmth
towards Terry Funk. Yeah, well, hey, all you gotta do is
respect their guys. And right I'm just kicking in the balls right now and
be amazing. Yeah, that's what we're programmed. I want to see next.
Who is this grandfather over here? No, I can't tell you.
Is it the brother? Is it his uncle that that that that is it
his uncle that that you know, supposedly adopted Billy Bob Thornton. I don't
think so. But there's a lot of jaw jacking still going on with Fox
corner Man. In the Japanese contingent, here is Terry Funk the strap around
his waist, shaking hands. I feel like that's a shoot. Yeah,
I feel like that. I feel like the cornerman is like not fucking around.
He's the last thing he wants to be is in Japan? Is the
mutton Chops Hashimoto? No, no, it's not. I mean that should
be a wrestler's name, though, Mutton Chops Hashimoto. That's a great fucking
wrestling name. Oh man, so much, so much, such a regal
Terry Funk here, Yes, yes, so much pomp and circumstance, so
much formality and ceremony. Here, they'll be back, they want to see
Sure to do it still? Yeah, yeah, but you're saying he never
would, right, he never would, He never would. Would he ever
win any Japanese championships? Oh shrewd to won the a w A world title.
Oh yeah, yeah, I took it. I think he took it
off. Did you take it off, Martel? Or did he lose it
to Martel? Yeah? There was a point in time when, you know,
the allegiances of the Japanese offices with the American territories was in a state
of flux because you know, everyone was tripping over each other trying to figure
out how to fight Vince. Yeah, and at some point an alliance was
struck. I mean Bakwinkel would go over there all the time. Backwink would
wrestle the funks in Japan, often him and Stevens, So there was a
strong A w A All japan connection. We remember from the Life and Death
of the A w A that Boba even came to some of the the Dome
shows. They did. They did the clashes right and when Masawa came up,
first time we ever talked about Massa and the Lapsed Fan was when he
wrestled as Tiger Mask in one of the super clashes for the A w A.
So Vern Gania and Giant Bob had definitely had a strong working relationship as
well. It's sure to makes his way through the adoring Japanese public to fight
another day. But that is our uh So we move forward here in the
Lapsed Funk, and we're going to take a big turn because what we just
witnessed was, you know, a terry funk, you know, really working
the matt Certainly a lot of high action, high intensity spots, but for
the most part of the guy who's out there to wrestle, and a guy
who's gonna win the Japanese public's respect because of his ability to get it done
with wrestling holds in the ring and to help elevate a young upstart the likes
of Jumbo Sharuda, who would you know, pay dividends for all japan Pro
wrestling for years and years to come. But what turned Terry Funk from somebody
that the Japanese developed a grudging and then eventually full bodied respect for was not
just that he was the NWA World's Champion going, you know, toe for
toe hold to hold with some of the best. Wasn't just you know,
the close relationship that Giant Baba and his looming presence in Japan had with with
a Marilla or the whole Texas cowboy fascination we talked about. It was Funk
discovering that the Japanese were primed for hardcore. Oh yes, And what we
mean by this is the earliest definitions of hardcore that we can imagine. We
mean the Memphis style brawl. We mean the match where suddenly from the opening
bell, everyone is conducting themselves like this is a knockdown, drag out bar
fight. Yeah, and there's no pretense about lock it up, you know,
shoot, shoot for shoot, hold for hold, there's no even pretense
about getting the pin. It's just about survival. Because there are certain wrestlers
that meet the Funks in Japan that just aren't about you try to out wrestle
them, out finesse them, and among them would be Abdullah, the Butcher
and the Sheikh. Oh boy, this these were the definitive foes of the
Funks in all Japan. And these are the matches that first associated Terry Funk
with the idea of a hardcore wrestler. No shit, These, in so
many ways are the original hardcore matches, and the legend of these matches would
travel to the United States, but again not in the form that people could
observe them. It was just sort of like Chik and Abbey were having these
huge money drawing brawls in Japan. What were they like? What were they
about? As we said, here is even more powerful. You know,
it's more powerful in terms of getting people to want it. Absolutely. You
know what I can't see I want more. So it's time now to crack
open the Funks versus Abby and chic Wow and all those wild, crazy fork
wielding brawls meant. We heard from Fumi Saido last week when we were talking
about Terry Funk's impact in Japan, yep, and these are the matches he
talks about that established Terry Funk is. You know, this this fighting spirit
guy that they fall in love with, as opposed to just you know,
the American world's champion or brother of the world's champion that's over here taking on
Japan's best and earning our respect for their ability to wrestle them strongly. This
is a guy that now they are pulling for in a knockdown, drag out
fight because of the menace that heels like Funk and K represented. We turned
to Terry Funk's first RAF video shoot interview where he's going to sort of set
the table for us as to why this feud and the matches we're about to
watch in the al Japan ring. So the very first notion of hardcore in
pro wrestling, How did how and maybe when did you you have? Did
you, I guess evolve into your hardcore style? Gosh I guess I evolved
into that. That would have been in Japan, and that would have been
in the late seventies. Probably. I was over there, and at that
time, it was a heck of a war going on between New Japan and
all of Japan, and they had just uh uh came out with uh tiger
uh Tiger mask detect and tiger mask was very hot, the maneuvers and everything
else, and our business went down. And I was over there and and
have Abdulah was over there at that time, and they said, Josh,
we gotta do something. And we went out to the ring that night and
a couple of the wrestlers, I don't want to mention their names, the
boy, this business is dead, you know, And we were on network
TV and kind of changed the whole country in one night. Yeah, was
that was that the seventy That was it was a definite point right there is
the where that I became hardcore. And it was that one particular night.
Was that the nineteen seventy nine, well Tag League seventy seven? No?
No, no, it was before the seventy six. I guess it was
whenever I first restled the abdul over there, okay, and we were on
network television and he got after me with a fork in its history, you
know. Yeah, but it was pretty definite, uh wine right there.
I mean, this was hardcore Terry funking before that, it wasn't, although
it was. I had been up there in Detroit with the Sheik, and
yeah we have. We've had a lot of crazy matches in Texas, you
know. But really the hardcore line is what we know. Hardcore day took
place in Japan with Abduas is what was you know, kind of carrying that
aura of being a hardcore wrestler. So you heard it there, yep.
It is when you know things are starting to shift. He gets a little
confused, I think, because he starts talking about New Japan using Tiger Mask
as part of the reason New Japan was pulling ahead. But that came well
after. As far as I can tell that this sort of hyper violent angle
that he took to counter that, a lot of what Terry Funk did and
innovated in Altrepan was for that exact reason, the sense that New Japan was
winning the wrestling war, and then Altrepan had to do something impactful to really
grab the audience's attention and make them feel like crazy or shit was going on
over here. And you can see Boss why that would be a great breeding
ground for hardcore. I would imagine so yes, very much the formula that
ECW followed to stand out in the crowded. I believe in hardcore. I
believe you should live your life hardcore. I believed in hardcore wrestling. I
believe in hardcore pornography, whatever takes, whatever it takes to get me a
heart on. And it was again that pushing against, you know, the
feeling that momentum is being lost in the war. Don't forget Terry's not just
a wrestler for them, Dory's not just a wrestler for them. They are
the bookers, that's insane. They are the people that Giant Bob is turning
to to put matches and programs together that keep buildings full in Japan as well
as import foreign talent too, And so they feel pressure in way more ways
than the typical and ring performer does to make sure all Japan is afloat and
is viable. And it would be this mentality and this need to do things
that stand out and grab attention that would lead to Terry Funk's very premature decision
to retire and do a retirement tour. He announced it in eighty one In
Japan and All Japan and said, you know, I'm going to go for
another however long here about a year, and then I'm, you know,
say goodbye. And that's what leads to that emotional scene and beyond the mat
where he has his final match in All Japan and screams forever. And that's
that's where we're headed to here on this episode of of the Lapsed Funk.
But I mentioned it now just because it sprouts from the same place and the
same desire and the same need and necessity that Funk was feeling to answer New
Japan's burgeoning popularity with something that truly set them apart, that made them must
see and with the arrival of a Duel the Butcher to Japan after having as
Terry Funk mentioned, kind of cut his teeth for lack of a better term,
underneath the Sheik in Detroit, one of the first territories Abdullah worked as
Abdullah the Butcher, really borrowing a lot of you know, the Sheik's trademark
heisl offense and weaponry of course, Abdullah using the spike, the Sheikh using
the fork. But still this side, you know, very few moves,
right, you just kind of saunter around the ring and bust people up in
and bring the blood. Abdullah learned under that tree and work shoulder to shoulder
with the Sheik in Japan and was able to borrow a lot of that energy
and aura of the Sheik when he came to Japan, and in many ways
became an even bigger star in Japan than the Sheik was. Was Abdullah the
Butcher and was a huge cog in the wheel, a huge chip between Japan
in All Japan and the war these two were just starting to have And so
it's best I can tell what Terry Funk is referring to there and that clip
we played from his shoot interview as far as the first time they brought the
fork out, because you heard the interviewers jump right to what is an extremely
famous match that they had these two teams in the finals of Japan's All Japan's
Real World Tag League tournament, which took place every December, and it was
a few years before that, not a few but a year or two before
that. And I think we he's talking about is Terry because he pushes back
at the notion that the fork use in that match is the first time that
they went ahead and did it. That is to say, not just using
the fork, but using it to bust the arm open. Right. We
know Dusty did this as well, Cactus did this as well. You gotta
blade the arm sometimes, don't you, Boss, Yes, you do.
So I'm trying to pull up the specifics here of what we're about to watch.
Thoughts on Abby. I mean, we know quite a bit about him
from w CW and the World Class Journey. We've seen him in action plenty
of times. But well, I'm excited to see Abdullah the Butcher kind of
more in his prime. You know, its opposed to like, I mean,
I'm not I assume he's still fat as fuck, but you know we're
talking about. My familiarity with him comes from the earliest I can think of
is eighty five Starcade. It's fascinating to see these guys when they're still fleet
of foot and moving. Yeah, you know, can especially Abdullah where he's
not so broken down around the knees that he actually can move? Hi,
how about I just wanted to kind of got a cu I'm hungry. I
can say that again? Is there can I can I just can I go
to Dick? Can I get something that's nonst shot today. Please can I
get like? Can can I get like a big mac or something? A
cup of milk? At no, no one trick. I was just getting
some massive reflex. Could I just eat something, even if it's just a
piece of paper? Ship, I just farted. That's the rapping before in
tribute to Abby wet fucking ass Crong. Now there's a cheek flapper there sh
sh he goes ship. Oh. So we're in position and we're ready to
go. This is this is the match. This is nineteen seventy seven.
This is Abdullah the Butcher and the Chikh against Dory and Terry Funk in all
Japan Pro wrestling and a mass wild Here we go that is always talked about
as definitive in Landmark and changing the perception of what Terry Funk meant in Japan
and what hardcore wrestling meant to the wrestling public. So we're about to hit
this, all right, it can there we go. Let's do it.
So you'll be team I think the team Dune a little bent, a little
little la. Look at Terry, Wow, look at these bitches marching out
in the the jumpsuit tops. Terry and Dorry, Terry anonymous Terry of course
with wow, fucking goosehow this is uh? This is uh? What's the
date again, seventy seven? What's the actual date? December seventy seven?
I think the fifteenth December seventy seven. So I'll tell you what I can
tell you right now. That key Wait it was seventy eight, you said
seventy seven, thirty seven, Okay, yeah, he was Paradise. Sally
was in the midst of production at this point. That's the Terry Funk we
see the short hair. This is the Terry Funk we see in the movie.
Yeah. This is Frankie the Thumper, isn't it yep? So we
see kind of like a spry, sporty Dory and Terry. You can tell
they're trying to project more baby faces. Here come the Sheek and Abbey.
Look that fast, wow, and look at that. Before they even get
in the ring, the funks pound pounds because it's about life or death in
this kind of attag ma. Right, look at them. Go Jesus,
tell the people what you see. This is just pure violence going on here.
Funks just beating the ship out of Grandpa Funk here and then Terry Funk.
Look at Dory feeling it. Wow, that's the most animated I've ever
seen Dory. These people are throwing things at the ring before Abby and she
can even step into the ring. The Funks pounce. Terry's got the Sheik's
robe wrapped around his punching them on the mat, and it's just chaos.
And no one had ever seen anything like this. And they're like, you
know what, this is the smallest ever seen Abdullah. I know, yeah,
he's like under four hundred for once. Yeah, and it's just chaos,
and they're just, you know, it's just what you have to do
to defeat these menacing maniacs. Yep, Terry choke the legendary chic. Yeah,
this robe around his throat, he's already got color. He looks like
the Sheik already has color. I think he got color before you even fucking
walk down the aisle. And you can't overstate how novel this was to the
Japanese wrestling public in seventy seven. They just were not used to this.
This is the kind of stuff you do when you got to you know,
pop a territory back in the States. Yep, yep. Convince people that
something is so violent and so over the top that they're actually watching or that
you're that that this thing is so you know that this thing is so you
know, personal or whatever, that it's got to happen. Abdul already with
the uh the The only way to finish this is violence. That's right,
Abby already with the divots in his forehead, so that that box has already
checked. He's been in the business long enough to carve fucking coin slots in
his head. She tries to get up in the opening door. He drives
him into the buckling. He is busted open, and now Terry throwing jabs
and forearms at Abbey on the apron referee trying to get some order, trying
to get standard tag rules to apply. And that's not gonna happen here.
Terry Funk's epigraph in the In the Blood and Fire book for for the Shek
says, people say that wrestling is in rail while somebody forgot to tell that,
son of a bet so true. So glad you mentioned that because they
knew this work, because they had come to Detroit and worked against the Sheik
and magic like this. Look, this is nineteen seventy seven and Abby's fucking
the top of his head is already a just a crevice filled canyon, God
it is. And he's bleeding and Dorry's on the hop. Dorry with a
big elbow drop on Abby. Abby went over for a snapmare. By the
way, that was something to see. Look at the sheek with his pointed
boots. Sheeke's a mess yep. Dorry with a series of elbows one after
the other, like Hogan used to do as a matter of fact. Yeah,
yeah, until eventually the sheet cuts him off with a boot and it's
a pure four brawl once again, Terry, we're not there's no tags here.
This is Tornado style apparently, Jesus, I'll just keep fighting. Refere're
trying to get between Dorry Funk and the Shek. I think the Shek's got
the fork out. I can't tell. Really, it's funny. She gets
a fork out and Abby gets hungry. Yeah I know. Yeah. Abby
always carried a fork with him even when it wasn't a match. And look
at that. Look at how nuts the people are going for Dorry choking the
Shek with the wrist tape so much, I mean, just like violently.
Harry looks a lot bigger too than he did in the previous match. What's
that. I don't know if it's the shorter hair or not, but Terry
looks way bigger. Who's huge? Yeah, definitely Abby now going to work
with his taped fist. Just Pierre four. I mean it looks like Dorry.
Yeah, Dorry's driving the point of his elbow into the bloodied forehead of
the Shek. This is just chaos, spinning toe hold by Dory on the
Sheic. Flashbulbs go off. Abby, Terry idiotically gets out to the fucking
apron. I guess I guess order will be restored. Yeah, because this
is a tag team tournament, so they want to advance here and keep going.
It's not just like a one off, you know, let's settle the
ground attraction. Good Funk, Look at Terry, Funk. What are you
seeing? He's just like prancing around. He's he's fascinating. He's now cut
the long flowing hippie locks. He's got a buzz cut. It's not blonde,
it's brunette. But all the monasta fucking sheet so full. Twelve years
after Funk to the business area is pursuing the Sheek from center ring, carrying
that boxing stance, backing chic out of the corner sheet looking for the lock
up, gets it, and here goes Terry with the right the left hands
oom right, jabbing the shit out of the sheet in the corner. Look
at Terry cooking. People love that. And one of these two be it
Abby or the Sheik always menacing behind, you know, always, yes,
coming out of the shadows with some kind of gimmick. I agree, Abby
does have a menacing behind. Double whip by the funks on the sheet,
double forearm drops. The sheet wasn't big on flat back bumps, Let's put
it that way. Yep. Look at Abby, Look at this man him.
You think the people of Japan had ever seen a thing like this,
a creature like this walking around? No, No, this boldest fucking bar
of soap, this like, I mean, at least not outside of sumo,
right, not in irregular wrestling ring. There's the damnedest thing they ever
saw. Walk up. Abbey takes Dory to the corner and shoots him off
the ropes, double throat thrust catches the door. Who sells the throat big
and another he's got the martial arts is Larry. Look at Look at this
fucking guy move. He's got the fucking quickness like a cat. Yeah,
he got to that corner quick, didn't He did Abby ever work New York
Ever, that's the left territory. He never worked in. Wow, my
choice, or they just never brought him. They never brought him in.
He he would, he would have liked to, but I don't think they.
I think with Abby is when he comes in, he's going to do
stuff that makes every other match on the card seem kind of tame, which
is great if you want to pop an area for a minute. Look at
it. Look at him suck all the blood out of his head. He
yep, he's doing the thing. The floor goes door, he's still selling
the throat. Funny. You know, most most professions they want you to
stop the bleeding, but in wrestling, they want the bleeding. They want
more blood, more blood loss. Please talk about the different sense you're getting
from the Funks here in seventy seven verses, when we first saw them in
Sharuda, and this is this is true babyface Funks. I mean they're they
they have the crowd on their side, whereas before they were they were more
or less peels for lack of a better term. Where the Japanese crowd was
definitely on the side of Baba and Sharuda, this is the opposite. Yeah,
because she can Abbey are so menacing yep. And of course they're going
to take the side of folks that have been, you know, familiar to
them and who have competed hard against wrestlers they deeply respect and shook their hands
afterward. Right, they've already established that. Watch this door, he's gonna
suit plex Abby. Bullshit, Wow, I'll take it off to the side,
goes Abby. He's taking suit plays. It's like the supplex that uh
that Honre gave Hogan to win the title in eighty eight. It really is
off to the side. Yep. Yep. Chic is definitely fishing in his
trunks for the fork and using it when the referees and you know, any
of the wiser What if what if he fucking like wasn't what if he was
literally fishing around just to fucking jerk off competency standing standing. Yeah, he's
just like fucking all of a sudden, he's got his hands down his pants
and he's just going back and forth, and he's like jerking off waiting for
the tag. Did you see how quickly Abby got back to his feet after
flat back into the drop. Here listen, I'm i am very very takes
a double atomic drop by the Funk brothers. It's very nerving for to see
him move this fast. Terry in now gets the two on Abby. He's
supposed to be the opposite of athletic. Yeah, now watch this, watch
the sheik. I think they're about to do it. This is the spot
that Terry talked about and the clip he played that changed everything. Look at
Chief with the fork. He's digging into the arm. Oh Jesus Christ.
Referee's not looking because he's grabbing Abby, trying to pull him free. Oh,
the chef was raking and and if you saw there, Funk bladed the
arm. Oh my god, look at the blood run down, his run
down. Terry Funk's armed him. Sell, he looks fucking bricked up.
Does Terry Funk? Holy shit? Cheke's in there like double fist in the
fork and driving it repeatedly into the arm of Terry Funk. Ref can't do
it? Why not? Why can't you disqualify him? I know it's a
great question. Its seems like he's afraid to. Oh, now Abby's got
the fork. Look at the blood on Funk's arm. Jesus, this is
what Terry Funk decided had to be done to look at the nice tight shot.
Ye imagine blading the skin on your sweaty arm. Oh, I cannot
even like the you know, the the sting, the salt of the sweat
going into the fresh wound. Forget it. Think about seeing this in nineteen
seventy seven, though, I mean the announcer is calling something. Terry's doing
a great job putting that bloody arm on display for all to see in the
building. Yep. And they are just cheek and Abby are just taking turns
stabbing his fucking arm. Oh and again, ah God, and look at
the ring fill up with paper cups and debris. So much for the dispassionate
Japanese wrestling public. If you start stabbing Terry Funk in the arm, break
it across Wow, referee war. That's hilarious. They're fucking stabbing Abdullah,
the butcher and the Sheikh are are taking turns stabbing the bloodied injured arm of
of Terry Funk, and Dory comes into help and the reference like no,
no, no, no, you can't do that. I heard store order.
This is Terry trying to reverse the momentum in the war. This is
the amout of Night Wars. This is why Terry saw everything coming, because
he fought the war. That's right. He did what it took to you
know, in a weird way. This was like this was World War One,
that's right. Yeah, only one ring, right, set of three?
Yeah, right, because Abby's still holding the gimmick. But what now?
This is where they find Terry because despite this inhumane, fucking bloody he's
fighting back. Listen to them, Hey, fine, butts, look at
Abby like a fucking Abby. He makes the tag. Abby's like a movie
monster. They're just emerged from the ocean. Yeah, he's like Godzilla.
Dorry now in taking on both Sheik and Abby, throwing forearms to anything that
moves. This is war Tory, Jesus Christ. Dory is like fucking I've
never seen him move this we this fast before, never seen him. Yeah,
he's a man on fire. Both funks to the floor now while Abby
and Sheik standing, the ring menacing over them, referee administering the count.
The blooded arm of Terry Funk is the story here. Let's give him something
to talk about. Boss. Yeah, the business, brother, I'm matter
how far back we turn the clock in the different styles and expectations. When
it comes down to it, if you want the people to show an outweighted
interest in what you're doing, you you open your skin for real. That's
wrestling. That's right, listen, that's that's exactly. Abby drops a massive
elbow one Dory for two, and the crowd's with it. They are applauding
wholeheartedly that the Funks are still in the fight. Oh wow, that was
a boot to the chest. Oh ship, Abby drops another elbow. What's
the crowd doing? The crowd wants it, The crowd needs it. The
crowd is here for Funk. But now it's oh Ship, it's Dorry's turn.
He got stabbed by the fork of the sheek door, fighting the sheet
from his knees in the fork. Those flying lads of Dorri's heads and that's
face is wrestling, that's what that's. These people on their feet get him.
They're telling the swing of Dorris going downtown. It's the lapsed Funk.
Wow, let's draw some money, boys, The crowd must draw some blood
to Dory swinging the fork. You want to swing a fork. Wow,
ain't the Dory we've seen to date on the show, not at all.
What a moment that was. The fork comes loose, and look at this.
Terry's on the floor getting all wrapped up with with a tape. It's
almost like Terry is out of the match and Dory's fighting. Oh now,
now they've got Dory and they're fish hooking him with the fork. They're putting
it in his mouth. Public is horrified. Terry in the ring with the
taped arm and he's throwing Listen to the people. Wow, this is as
animated as they got back then. Man, they didn't come to the wrestling
the areen expecting to express this kind of bloodlust. But you know what,
the funks are going to bring it out of him, especially Terry. Look
at Terry. He's got Abby and Chic on their seat in the corner his
head. What a war. People are not even used to a quarter of
this violence. You're making a quantum leap here. She hits the floor as
Dory avoids the camel clutch, side headlocked by Funk on Abby push off,
Abby smacks Funk in the face and sends him through the ropes to the floor.
Terry. That is this is a war. This is hardcore YEP in
its most nascent embryonic form YEP. The kind of match would be the gold
That was crazy. Oh dude, she just dropped the ref You know,
I think about the Slaughter Patterson boot camp match, You think about the empty
arena match, You think about the bell sounds. Referee calls it off and
the crowd responds positively and raises Story's hand, the victors by disqualification of the
Funks, and the she takes to the stab in the chest streamers fly.
So whatdy tell this guy? It's all fake? I know. Oh,
now, Dory holding the sheic for Terry's left abby back in with his bloody
foreheadhead buddy, look at this battle non stop. This is nuts imatine.
If you saw something like this in seventy seven, look at that throwing huge
icons into the room. Crazy that they're throwing the pads from their chairs before
Hogan turn heel in ninety six. All right o, the wrestlers now in
their jumpsuits, hitting the ring, trying to restore some order as the bell
sounds over and over again. Look at this, Dory's even throwing wrestlers out
of the way to get to Abby. They want to fucking guys. Is
he massa Sato? I just saw him. Wow Funk with a bloody tape
dangling from the wounded arm, stumbling on. Dory gets an arm dragon.
Yeah, please let me get one fucking wrestling move, and please, for
the love of Christ, I think Terry had the fork and was stabbing she
repeatedly in the forehead. They're throwing young boys out of the ring. I
mean, Dory's going back to fucking boys ranch style right now. Jesus,
look at that as chikh an Abby, bloodied and defeated. Run to the
back. Look at them, Look at them, run because the ship that's
been thrown and showered down on them in the aisleway. Jesus get killed.
This is heat, This is hardcore. This is a war both in the
ring and behind the scenes in Japan, and right at the center of the
cauldron, right at the center of the storm, who else but Terry Funk
yep. As wrestlers tend to the funks in the ring, deserving the caring
for the wound, and they're actually going to brace Terry's arm. They're going
to create a brace by wrapping tape around his neck and propping the arm up.
What do you think, boss, I mean, this is just it's
the kind of violence you expect in the eighties, you know, it's it's
it's and in America, not in Japan. Yeah, in America, not
in Japan. You know, like, this is the kind of stuff that
we'd see at Star Blade Scar Blade. Right, I'm amazed by this.
They imported that to Japan, they brought it there. Yeah, I mean,
it's what I'm One of the things that I'm realizing is how much how
much? Really? You know, we we always talked about stuff about how
they would emulate Japan, but we'd ovation from the people Terry almost taking a
bow with this arm, and it's like, look at that, lifts the
hand and the crowd goes nuts for the Funker. What a scene, I'd
say, it's his game. Now, Wow, how you fucking said it?
Pause? You electrify me. We're here for a reason, folks,
uncovering origins and Terry Funk is the vessel exhausted. But what what a standing
out and that, like you said, that's what baby faced him. That
reaction you just saw right there to the that's the song. By down it's
spinning, toe hold, hit, a bow, funk arm and a sling.
Given the high sign of the people, an emotional bond being formed on
a level heretofore unseen in a foreign wrestler. Tori is such an oath dance
around. He knows he's got the people. This design says fiery, the
funks it and now Japan is funk country. Look what they've done. Yep,
and just the space of four or five years. Wow, they're clapping
along to the signature all Japan theme song of Dory and Terry Funk. Also,
by the way, to look at the look at the production quality of
the u of of the footage, you know, like compare this to nineteen
seventy seven w W and Madison Square Garden where you can't see faces at all.
Some post match history onics here. I don't know what they're anouncing to
the people, but they're going nuts. Blos reiterate that point you were making
about WWF there. Well, what I was saying was that the production quality
here is amazing, Like you can see all the faces, the lighting is
spectacular. There's a much better presentation. Think about nineteen seventy seven WWE and
Madison Square Garden and you can't see shit, but you can see the crowd
here. You can see faces. This is an excellent, excellent presentation.
That's a great point. Seventy seven are right, yeah, yep again,
you can see the crowd like nobody. It doesn't seem it seems it doesn't
seem like it's somebody's private home video, you know, right, or like
a studio setup. Right. And that's the thing too, is high quality,
first generation versions of this stuff survived. Well, it's not even that,
it's it's literally the lighting and stuff. It's it's the you know,
if we were watching an MSG show right now from nineteen seventy seven, everyone's
face would be in shadow because they only use that one overhead light. So
what happened here is as a result of a disqualification, Terry and Dorry Funk
have won the nineteen seventy seven Real World Tag League tournament. And so that's
why there's all this post match history onics they're being presented with with sigtificates and
the trophy and whatnot. Wow. That was also part of the auction of
the crowd responding so positively to the bell sound you can win by we can
win by disqualification. Yes, you can win the whole tournament by DQ.
These people just standing just taking in the ceremonials. Here, they're hungry,
being presented with huge blow up images of key moments during the tournament that the
Funks had, and they're presenting them to the people. Crowd love look at
that? Wowowes, how do they have the fucking foot? What it went
over several days? Oh? Oh, I say, I see the the
uh uh? How many? How many Americans had become had gotten this kind
of reaction and been this popular with Japanese athletes or with Japanese crowds rather,
uh Like, was there any other before them? Was there any other?
What was another American that really was so popular in Japan? I'm gonna be
so bold as to say zero. Yeah, in terms of saying something right
there becoming pure baby faces to the Japanese offices. Yes, I'm not saying
there weren't Americans like a blassier Rathees or mister Wrestling or others the destroyer who
didn't come through and draw huge crowds. No, but That's what I'm talking
about. But to fall in love with them, to the degree they fell
in love with Terry Funk on this night. No, yeah, because I'm
thinking about you know, here we are now, we're only we're only thirty
two years after the end of World War Two and fucking dropping the bomb on
Japan. Right, Yeah, let's not loose that there was you know,
granted, a whole generation or two of people have now been separated from that,
from from that experience of living it in person. But it's pretty amazing
that here we are and we're able to get a reaction for two Americans like
that in this in this time period, because I mean, it's a universal
language, fighting off you know, looming, cheating, maniacal menaces like the
Chikan, Abdulla, the butcher. That's why they were such money draws their
entire careers, is because that's the foil you need to create heroes in the
wrestling business. You need heels that intimidate everybody out of the room except the
boldest among them that step forward and fight them. Yep, that's what we
just saw. Just magnificent stuff for the time period especially, oh yeah,
but even for today. Honestly, it's totally fair. So what is the
legacy of what we just witnessed from the uh perspective of the Funks, We'll
talk about it, particularly Terry because that match that we just witnessed had long
standing consequences and long standing impact. Funk says in his book. We were
almost always over his baby faces in Japan. But the match that really pushed
us over the top with the nineteen seventy seven tag match against the she Can
Abdul the Butcher. That match was really hot, and both the Shek and
Abdullah were excellent. The Sheik truly could convince you he was the meanest bastard
in the world. Hell, when he'd come to Amarilla to wrestle and I
was a teenager, I'd run like hell from him. He scared me to
death. That's a huge point we should emphasize. Boss. The Sheik was
big money, yes for Dory's dad, terrifying. He'd come to Amarillo.
That was pretty much outside of Detroit, which of course was his fiefdom.
I mean, the Sheik not only was the top attraction in Detroit big time
wrestling, he also owned the territory and basically ran it, and for a
certain period of time in the sixties against Bobo Brazil in the early seventies,
one of the hottest, biggest money territories in the country. But Sheikh's fortune
slid rather quickly and precipitously. However, it wasn't before the Funks came through.
Got a taste as a payback or as a thank you for the amount
of money that Dory Funk Senior put in the Sheik's pocket, because we talked
a lot about Fritz von Erict coming through in wrestling Dorriyfunk. We talked about
Iron Mike DiBiase wrestling Dorriy Funk Senior. Yep, we talked about Frankie Hill
Murdock, Dick Murdock' stepfather wrestling Dory Funk Senior and Amarillo over the years to
big, big houses. The Sheik coming through was huge. Shek and Texas
really helped establish ed Farhat Sheikh's real name, and of course Uncle Saboo,
who let's just say well, play a role in Terry Funk's future as it
unfolds before us. To say the very least, I think anyone who's heard
our coverage of past ECW shows know where I'm going with that. But the
Sheik had a lot to owe to the Funks and Dorry Senior in particular,
and so it made it even more sort of collegial to do this kind of
thing to boost interest in all Japan because she had a lot of respect for
the Funks, and wasn't you know, I wasn't looking to get over on
them like he did everybody else to the same degree. So, as Funk
wrote, the Shek truly could convince you he was the meanest bastard in the
world. Hell, when he'd come to Amarilla to wrestle and I was a
teenager, I'd run like hell from him. He scared me to death.
The Sheik was one of the reasons Lubbock became the best drawing city in Texas
for a short period of time. Years later, when I wrestled the Sheik
and Amarilla, those were the only matches where my wife and kids didn't want
to be anywhere near ringside. If he made a move in their direction,
they were gone. The funny thing is when I'd sit and talk to him
in the locker room, he was really a sweet guy, but you'd still
be thinking of the insane chic. If still be thinking he's going to fucking
kill you, you'd be scared to death of him even as he spoke.
Yep, that's right. We heard in the SoundBite that we played from the
shoot interview that Terry said, I don't want to mention names, but people
were saying the territory was going down well. In his book, he does
mention names. Killer Carl Cox, he writes, had been working for US
in Japan, and I met him at the airport. I was heading to
Japan and he was coming back. I said to Carl, how's business,
Terry, I'll tell you the truth. He said, I don't think we
can keep going the other side. New Japan is really hot, and we're
just dying out there. We had TV the first night, and I thought,
damn, I'm not gonna let us die. I've got to do something.
As soon as I got to the hotel the night before our scheduled match,
I got together with Abdullah and I told Mabby, we have to do
something, something extreme and different tonight, something that'll get the people off their
asses. I know he's been nipping at our heels and he's got us damn
near dead. We swapped some ideas, and between us we came up with
the you had to do something in our match that the people hadn't seen before.
I went ahead and had my singles match with Abdula and during the match,
he took a fork to my arm, making it bleed heavily. So
here in the book, Terry refers to it as a singles match with Abdullah
the Butcher where they first used the fork to the arm. Okay, and
the SoundBite it sound like it was a tag team match that he was referenced.
Yep. So I can't tell you right here when the first time Abby
took a fork to the arm of Terry Funk was. Again, it wasn't
something that was well documented in the United States because of how long it took
back then for word to travel, let alone videotape, which basically didn't happen.
But he's saying that either way it happened in Japan, whether it was
oh, it happened because all Japan was losing ground in the war with the
New Japan. He remembers that as being the impetus to sit down and come
up with something this crazy, and during the match he took a fork to
my arm and making it bleed heavily. To this day, Funk writes,
I don't think they've had four thousand people at the hotel to see the wrestlers
who were staying there. But I had that many trying to find out where
I was and how I was doing. That angle really captured the imagination of
the Japanese fans. It might not sound very historic now, but at the
time, and in nineteen eighty one he writes, he's so wrong. We
just saw it happen in seventy seven. Yeah right, Nothing like that had
ever been seen in Japan, and I never heard about anyone doing it in
the States either. Doing this angle wasn't exactly a pleasure, but I did
it out of absolute necessity for the company. It wasn't done to help me,
but to help the company by giving the fans there something to buzz about.
It was meant as an act by a good soldier. That's something that's
going to be the legacy of Terry Funk that we're going to take away from
this by the time it's over. This is a guy who refused to do
low impact stuff. He's just like, can't look at himself in the mirror
if he doesn't, no matter how small the crowd or how small the outfit
he's working for, do the thing that people talk about. They can talk
about other things too, but his shit better have a moment in there where
he transcended, where he did something that left people talking about him when he
left the building. That's the gift of the wrestler of Terry Funk's generation,
and that's something like now they just sort of my impression is wait, they
wait for the bookers to tell them that now you can make that impression.
But to make that impression before it's your turn is actually bad form. It's
like actually not encouraged and not the best thing in the world. It's very,
very strange. But for Terry Funk, he just felt like he was
losing momentum all the time, and so he'd overdo crazy shit like this.
My bleeding arm was also the birth of hardcore wrestling to a degree, he
writes, and Amarilla, we always had the occasional gimmick match, chain matches,
death matches and the rest, and they were always violent matches. We
never killed the territory with them. A chain match was only used as a
blow off to a feud, the climactic match between two longtime foes. So
I was always in violent matches, but the more hardcore brawling style grew out
of this angle. Japan didn't transform into hardcore matches. It stuck to the
physical style of wrestling. Full fledged hardcore wrestling wouldn't hitch a pan for about
another decade when Onneita formed Frontier Martial arts shows. But Baba was smart enough
to ride the brutality of that fork angle for years, Boss for years.
When that's wild now we have actually before laid our eyes on footage of the
Funks tangling with the Sheik and Abdullah the Butcher in Detroit. Do you know
why that will hung any recollection of Boy that was it? Whatevering I can
think of it, if it was part of the cinemat the thing we did
the I like to hurt people. Why is is Sheep wrestling today? I'll
tell you why is wrestling today? It's real simple. It's because of the
no good, rotten, goddamn the notors that you got running around. They
want to make a buck and they'll use anything, no matter how obnoxious or
how overbearing they are, are, how crazy they might be. Well,
does sheep knows that that's whereas money come from? If you can go ahead
and run around and ring and jump up like an idiot with a like a
chicken with his legs cut off. Well, that's what he's gonna do because
he realizes that the promoters will pay him for this. And then he'll go
into the ring and he'll take advantage of somebody, especially a young fellow in
professional wrestling, and completely go ahead and destroy his career, ruin his attitude
about wrestling instead of developing young athletes. Well, he's chasing him out a
professional wrestling. He's what gives professional wrestling. Or a bad maid is an
idiot and a goof like this now that Heber's turned in this bout, Harry
Ponk now taking a terrific pounding hoping about this take put away after all,
life him or not? Your month of methic peas is one of the toughest
mening prof correcting anyway, the word sorry fo justin w'chair he glanced off Harry
Funk almost with somebody in the crowd, Terry punk all the moost ponomously how
long can you hang in there? Boy? I'll tell you Terry's father Dorry
Funks here at sa PuF a shoe letter means a rabble snake, and he's
proven to night because he's come back from sheer defte by the hands of the
sheet. He's finally back here with the high of stems avaway, changing worry
he has where he's pulled up this second effort from this, the second first
of energy. I'll never know. You nailed it, boss. I like
to hurt people. I like to hurt people. At promo from Terry Funk
Towards the Shek was cut in the Detroit territory and was filmed by the crew
behind I Like to Hurt People. And for those who aren't familiar with the
film and didn't catch that episode of Under the Cinemat, what do you recall?
What can you tell us about why that was such a time capsule that
film? Well, because it was. It was, uh really, I
mean it's a time capsule of that of that dying promotion at that period.
It was such a unique thing because I mean for us, like you know,
there wasn't much out there for it for us to watch. Absolutely it
was. And what was the story of the film like that, well,
I mean the story there was no story of the film. It was such
a weird such a weird thing because remember it was supposed to be a horror
movie and then that change because it was done by the guy I remember,
it was directed by the guy who directed Piper in Hell Comes to Frogtown.
So it and then it just kind of changed as they lost because they didn't
have the money to uh to to to to make a an actual a horror
movie, right, and it becomes basically like almost a documentary about the Detroit
territory, right right, exactly exactly, with promos from all kinds of greats
that came through the area at the time when Detroit was hot, like Dusty
Rhoades, like Ernie Roth, the Future Grand Wizard cuts a promo and he's
sort of hugging the Sheik's nuts through the course of the documentary. And Terry
Funk. Terry Funk was among the folks that came through detwiss. Yeah.
Here, I'm actually looking through my notes from the episode of because we talk
about the Donald Jackson and Brian Greenberg with the guys who made the movie,
and they they wanted to make a movie about the Sheik, and yeah,
it was it was falling. Yeah, it was that. It's it's on
its last legs because the the economic collapse and in Detroit as well as your
typical a promoter booking himself on top, you know, booking himself on top
to be the to be the main event, and it's like the whole thing
is going to hell. Yeah, it was, you know, wonderfully chronicled
in the Brian Solomon book. You mentioned the biography of the sheet, I
know. Yeah, always bummed that came out just after we did that episode.
Yeah, it was serendipity, as it turned out. But he's got
great detail in there about the creation of I Like to hurt people. But
our advantage that they were there not only shooting, but that shot of Terry
Funk promo that I'm sure otherwise never would have ever resurfaced to it. Yeah,
yep, literally shot for television. But a lot of those tapes don't
exist as far as I know. I've seen a lot of stuff from Detroit,
but I've never seen Terry Funk in Detroit before, he writes in his
book. Throughout the seventies, Junior and I were hated heels in much of
the country. But in nineteen seventy seven we popped the Detroit territory. As
baby Face is in a feud with the Sheik and Abdullah the Butcher. The
night of our big final match. We had the biggest crowd Detroit had drawn
in a long time. However, that night we also got and he says
something else, but that was I don't know the way he framed it,
and I believe it's pretty much the last big drawing program. The last thing
that they that the Sheik was able to do to pop a house was bringing
the funk here. Here here, here's a I got, I got a
I got some This is from the posting courier here. I don't know it's
from more recent but I got I got some stuff about the funks here.
Excellent. Dory Funk Junior, who held the NWA world title from ninety sixty
nine to nineteen seventy three, said the Sheik had all the ingredients of a
star quote. He hadn't exception, had exceptional timing in the business. He
knew how to excite the fans, get the heat, and most importantly,
when he was the hottest, he knew. He knew a climax that's I'm
sorry, but when you're at your hottest, he knew how to climax that
store, I'll be sorry about that one and take those people home. He
would step out from underneath them and make them hungry for more. He was
our top heel for the better part of two years down here in the Amarillo
Territory, and he led Lubbock to being the number one town in Texas for
drawing money. We had a state commission down here. Down there, Lubbock
by far wasn't the biggest town in Texas, but it was the number one
draw for us. We packed it every week. Terry Funk says, the
Sheikh was always good to his word. He made lots of money in the
wrestling business and spent it when where he wanted to, mostly in regards to
his family and home. He paid those who were putting people in the house
for him very well. He was a first class guy there. When you
when you hired the chic, you hired someone who was going to come in
do a hell of a job and put your put people in your house.
Well that sounds horrifying house. So there we go. Oh that's why I
got some stuff there. Yeah, crazy, Yeah, that was That was
a great episode of Under the cinemat It was such a curiosity of hours because
we had come across it was did I come across the VHS of it?
In a Well, No, I I had always seen, you know,
since I had become a wrestling fan. You it was one of those tapes
that you'd see every time you went into a video store and you wanted to
get a wrestling tape. But it was one of those ones that it just
you never even thought once about renting it. It just it did. It
was too intimidating. Yeah, it was so fun. It was too old,
right, it felt too old, It felt too like, I can't
go there. I was. I was too young. I was too petrified
to touch that ship, as you know, as would be justified considering the
reputation that she had. But yeah, I mean that was the same year
that promo, we heard that program through Detroit, the same that Wild That
is Wild. So that was just you know, that was that was the
match that sort of established that the Funks versus Abby and Cheek was going to
be, you know, in the real world tag league, that that was
going to be a definitive all Japan feud. But they brawled and they spilled
blood for many many more matches after that, and many for many years after
that. And we've got another match from them here for you in just a
moment. All right, are we ready? Ready? There we go.
It's again Dory and Terry Funk and there's the music. Nuts for it,
man, man, Man, I think we've talked about this enough. Japanese
wrestling is about the crowd clapping and like belong to the music. I look
at them. Is that Jumbo? I think that was Jumbo? Yeah,
and that's that's definitely Giant Baba. We've got a shot of the Funks in
the locker room, wow, zipping up the Redidas jumpsuits. Terry and Dorry.
Uh, Terry Funk looking like uh, Gene Hackman and Superman in the
movie. He doesn't like Gene Hackman. I can't believe that's never been said
before. Seventies. Terry Funk looks like Gene Hackman. Look at these people
clapping. To me, that's Japanese dressing. Like the sound, the rhythmic
clapping. Nice behind the scenes glimpse here of what it looked like to make
the walk. Yeah, I like that. I always love that. So
this is from the summer nineteen seventy nine. Listen to him Terry Yeah,
no, Dory, no Dori uh chant just Terry pretty much brother because he
was the one with the bloodied arm. He was the one. Yeah,
that's true. Dory is just the bitch. This is great because we can
see the entry. The track is spinning. Toe hold and look at these
people standing waiting for the entrance of the Funk Brothers, the Great Texans.
And here look at the look at the the adoration is they love the look.
They might as well be the van Erex for fox sake. It looks
just like the van ericson in this bortatorium. It does, yep, yep,
because they're making their way through the people. There's no barrier between the
people and the Funks. And look at them hugging them, grabbing them,
grabbing them around the neck. Were at their very presence. Who knew?
You know what I mean? Seriously, Eric and wrestling fans are watching their
local territory in seventy eight, seventy nine, and that's the wrestling world to
them. Meanwhile, in Japan, they're holding up banners for Terry Funk,
flashing the smile. Look at this guy. Look at what he's meant to
these people in just a short amount of time. Jesus Phumi Saido talked in
the last week's episode, or we played a clip of him talking last week's
episode about how at a certain time, for a certain generation of wrestling fans
in Japan, it was like the Summer of funk, right, the summertime
meant the funks were coming to town. You could see these cowboys in person.
And Herery are in July of nineteen seventy nine. Look at the response.
They're going crazy as Terry and Dorry hit the ring and the streamers come
from all corners. Terry pumping a fist in the air. You can tell
he's enlivened by the energy of the crowd. Yep hopping on both feet,
and you got to think the adrenaline is pumping when they know they're looking across
the ring at Abbey and Chic again and have to live up to the uh
the reputation in the aura of that nineteen seventy seven classic so friendly and here
we go, look at this fucking this? What do you see as I
see people going bonkers in the opposite way, Although there was one guy who's
pretty happy. God does the Sheik look like Saboo? Yep? That head
sat on address on Sorry, yep, I do think this one's gonna go
catches catch can uh No, I'm gonna say that catches catch, can't.
You gotta be right about that? Fucking Dorry looks like a guy named Stan
What Stan Hansen? Not Stan Hansen, just a guy, a guy named
Stan who sells insurance. Dorian funk hoisting bouquets of flowers handed to them by
the adoring Japanese public as Abdullah the Butcher and the Sheik enter the ring,
and shit gets real one more time. Look at the pacing, the violence.
These guys know they're going to be spilling plasma. Yep, yep.
Cherry with tape fists, light on his feet, bouncing around one knee pad.
Dorry, of course, calm composed, flat footed yep yep. Abby
grabs the ref and tosses him out of the ring. And here we go
like a fucking cape, like a pouncing lion. Look at Terry, he's
ready, he's hungry. Abby pounced like a lion would if he threw a
small animal in his cage at the zo. What are we seeing, boss?
Well, we got both men now, both funks on the on the
apron. They're waiting for some some ruling to be Oh, I guess they're
checking. Yeah, they're they're they're cut away to the refue. The referee
refrae down there. Yeah, the sheek absolutely refusing to let the referee check
his boot for fourn objects. It makes all the sense in the world.
He's got a full cutlery set in his in his underwear. He's got a
whole fucking he's got he's got a whole uh uh, a whole truckload of
immigrants in his fucking up immigrant uh uh uh uh flatware. It's contraband,
that's right. Look at Terry keep a low base pumped. The jab is
the menacing sheek has to close the distance. Look at this body language from
the sheek. What's he trying to convey here by shaking his arms like that?
It looks like a gorilla. Unlike the first match, it doesn't start
as pure four brawl. These guys are taking their respective corners. Oh,
I saw the sheek reach into his boot. He's got the fork already.
Whoa Terry bales smart? What a great way to sell How dangerous that is?
I agree? Oh, they get a nice tight shot of Sheet putting
the fork back in his boot without the referee seeing it. What a way
to make a living the Chican abbey. Huh, fly around the world and
stab people there with a fork? What about Terry's Look now, what do
you mean in what way have you noticed any differences? Or pretty much?
Oh my god. Listen to screaming. Look at Terry run to sell the
fort yep. Oh Jesus. He ran around the full circumference of the ring
and then popped the sheet with a jab in the face, and the crowds
rejoicing at Terry Funk's his wily ability to avoid the weapon. Listen to him.
That's over, brother, Yes, it is, pointing out to the
rat that weapon is very much in play. It's one thing to sell the
weapon when it's stabbing you in the head, right, But what Terry Funk
is doing there is selling it before it even touches him, absolutely, by
flying around the ring like it's gonna go. Oh, Abby locks up with
Dorry and stabs him in the back with a fork. He was he was
packing heat too. Listen to the screams from the crowd. Man going crazy.
That must be the sample they use when you bust somebody open. And
no mercy, who's that Gene Hackman, Superman? I mean, I'm thinking
because you know in no mercy, when you bust somebody open, you hear
a screaming girl. Yep, yep, you'll and I swear when Abby just
stabbed Dorry with the fork, it was that exact sound that must be with
it properly. Look at him guy walking around. This guy's are wrestling star
kids. Yep, yea, look like it either. Chanton Dory too.
They are uh collar and elbow. She grabs the headlocking ooh, he's got
something yep, right in the face. Tucks in another fork shot. Abby's
bleeding. I don't know how. He's barely been touched. Abby breathed,
and look at Dory do the honors, look at him, slice his forehead
for the business. I don't on if I if I walk too fast,
or I'm bleed Larry Shrieve, Ladies and gentlemen, Victoria, British Columbia.
If I breathe too fast, I bleed. Sometimes the double team, Terry
flies across the ring, vaults over to grab the sheet on the outside.
It drives him into the post to save his brother from the double team.
Still Abby digging the fork in a Dory's forehead. Terry and ready to swing
and Abby gets the fuck out of dodge these guys. I mean, this
is a new level of intensity. Look at this. Look at that bust
it open Terrence fork sheet going to the foreheaded door. It works. Man,
he's stabbing him. I mean, how how much of Jesus in between
his fucking fingers there? How much impact are they actually dealing with these weapons?
No, man, you tell me, I don't know. It looks
it looks brutal. I mean, clearly you draw the blood from the blade.
It's not like they're right hard way, But I don't know, give
it a little bit of a poke. Look at Tory fight back, and
they do a spot again and again. I like, that's a great spot.
Dory uppercuts. She throws the fork in the air to sell. It
lands in Dory's hands. Crowd goes nuts. Dory tags Terry. He hands
the fork to the funker. Terry funk. Here he goes the fork and
Funker she goes down running that razor. Man, you see him, yep,
yep, oh yeah, Tory toss Terry tosses the fork, double whip,
double clothes line. Shee knocked loopy. It's the canvas drop down.
Terry with the cover and it's Abdullah the Butcher with the same Abdulla the Butcher
and getting quick as a cat, and it's just not acceptable in my friendly
moving that fast. She getting worked over now from Dory. Dorry showing great
fire in these tag matches too. Is he absolutely is? I mean,
babyface Dory is a different cat for sure. He's you know, he's he's
he's got a little he's a little more animated. Also, non world champion
Dory is a little more animated. Yeah, right, he doesn't have to
for sure portray that straight laced you know, take on all comers, grappler,
portray athleticism. Right, he's allowing things to get personal. So sheik
knocked around the ring by the funks. He eventually makes his way over to
his corner and tagging Abdullah the Butcher, who's locking horns now with Dorry on
the collar and elbow. So yeah, two years later, man, the
people going just as nuts. Oh it's wild. Oh nice European uppercut there,
Dorry digging in. Look at this, Look at Abdulla's selling losing his
balance. Look at this he's gonna go timber single like pickup by Dory drops
the butcher and there on their feet stood mending tall flash bulbs going nuts.
Put the sheet there to stop it. Look at the emotion they're getting out
of these people. The sheet can barely walk around. He really, it's
very true. Terry in with the left hands exchanging with Abdullah the butcher.
Abby tosses Terry violently over the top rope to the floor. And watch this.
Watch how crazy it gets when these teams to the floor. We didn't
see any of this in seventy seven, No, we did not. Now
they're in the people. What about the mob boss? Look at what do
you see in the public eye. I can't I mean, I'm just seeing
people who are absolutely just I don't know. I can't even describe it.
They're just they're so aggressive and needy. What do they need? They need?
They need carnage? Right clear here? All right? Back at the
ring, Funk with a seated dry kick, dropping the sheet cover too.
Dorry pins the show who streamers slowed? The worrying is Dory? Funk's hand
is raised. Yeah, I wonder how often that happens in uh in America?
Right, Terry's loaded down. Oh, Terry has done a big gig
job. Wow, we get him try to squeeze the blood out. Yep.
So the battle has been won by Dorry and Terry Funk here in nineteen
seventy nine. But I don't know about the war because Terry, that's some
of the sickest color we've seen from him yet here on the lapsed Funk.
And that's what it was about, man. You had to keep the people
coming back, and this was working. It's two years now, they're getting
out of this program and it's gonna go. Even after the bell, they're
still killing each other. This might even be the second fall. I don't
know, Abby going back to work on the forehead of Terry Funk with the
fork. Jeez, some of the ring attendants trying to clear the streamers out
of the ring. Listen to the crowd. I can't going off for Terry.
As we reached the second fall here, Terry, Terry, won't you
forget it? So now it's the Chek and Dory. You look at she
punch his forehead to try to drop blood. The Sheik shows up to smack
his already fucking sensitive forehead with the tip of a blade. And why does
he puncture himself like that? Why does he do it? Oh, because
he knows that fans need it. He knows that that that's the story he
needs to tell. He knows that there's no other option for him. That's
correct. He has no choice. That's correct if he's gonna keep blowing it
all out the fucking race tracks. Yep, you know that's right. Dorry
with another series of spinning toe holes on the sheet. But the sheet with
the for an object in his hand, was able to work some punches and
break free. And now he's choking Dorry with the wrist tape that's gonna leave
a ligature mark. Terry can barely stand, bleeding like crazy. Oh,
it looks like Dory's gonna be strangled to death. Their boss, look at
him, convulse look yeah, fuck, I don't know, man, This
is just not what you thought was going on in the Rings of Al Japan
in the seventies. Not at all. Oh, Abbey's gonna climb the middle
rope the bottom rope. Oh oh both both, by the way, have
the fucking uh hooked shoes? Yes, they do get good observation. And
what a pop as Dory kicked out of the bottom rope flying that elbow,
Holy ship, what an elbow drop, simple but effective, and the way
they pop for Dory kicking out of Abby's elbow drop is something else. Oh,
Abby going to the ropes again from the mat drops another Eldo cover too
very quick. You know, look at that? What do you see?
Tell the people, don't he is a mess, Terry Terry Funk. He
just got the hot tag and he is. He is running hot. He's
pouring hot. A mess. The wild eyes through the bloodied face. Come
mind, we're starting to see crazy Terry Funk come through. Now. I'm
looking at you. Get that boxing stance again. Look at these left jabs.
Look at him, go, Terry fucking Funk. I think that's accurate.
Peppering animal. It's an animal. He's a animal. He's got a
switch in him. And when the crimson is flowing, few did it better.
He came in like a fucking wild man. That was an iconic shot.
There, yep, rush off the tackle. Look at that he would
look at over the cheek was like, uh nope, I'm wow. Funk
goes sailing with a backdrop form Abby over the top of the floor, even
spilling over the guardrail looks like on a one announced table. The chic in
hot pursuit people everywhere. You can't even see the wrestlers. That's how crowdbrawl
should be. I hate when the fucking you know, I understand why they
do it, but the security you know, parts the red Sea for the
guys now and it's like, why are you then fighting in the crowd.
It looks so contrived that like none of the fans can get anywhere near the
wrestlers. A bloody damage. Terry Funk has now rolled back in the ring
after that vicious backdrop and Abby drops the elbow man? Did he get mileage
out of that one spot? Terry kicks out and they explode? So true.
I'm not gonna forget that. Terry Funk comeback for a long time.
No, not at all. That was that is that was incredibly exciting.
Chi can abbey again? Send Terry Funk violently over the top of the floor.
He did not come down with full control of his body. Dory Funk
over to check on his brother. Now legendary. Shit. It's a kind
of match you go home and describe to other people, you know, yeah,
oh yeah, I believed this is the one. This is the one
you tell people about and like, listen, this is wrestling. This is
wrestling at its best. This is this is uh uh uh, this is
the what did what did? What's his butt on? Beyond the mat?
The director there, Garry Blaustein. Barry Blaustein, said that there was that
like eighty percent of the time he's embarrassed by wrestling. Twenty percent of the
time. He doesn't understand why people don't watch all this shit. Here's part
of the twenty percent truly amazing right here, the bruise on Funk's nose too
yep, yep, Oh God, his nose like doubled in size. Jesus,
look at his nose is purple. So the second fall has gone to
Abby and the Sheik as Terry. Funk being backdropped so violently with such an
awkward landing over the top of the floor led to a count out. Dorry
hovering over Terry as well as a lot of the uniformed All Japan crew members
referee checking on him as well. I'm not sure he can answer the third
fall, Abby lurking hovering, It's like he fucking sees a turkey in the
oven. Abby only strikes this post lot only one other day of the year,
Abby strikes that pouncing pose and that is yeah, exactly right. And
look at this now they're taking the fight to the floor. Chik Abby swinging
wildly amongst the peep officials ring side Attende. He's trying to break this thing
up. Terry Funk has been badly hurt. You think they give a fuck
the Shekh and Abdullah. Look look at Terry convultse on the floor selling that
he hurt his neck or something, and you can believe it because he is
this man can sell his nose though someone his nose is broken. Look at
Sheic, Look at him, Look at him. What a fucking what was
he doing? Tell him, tell him, let him know. In the
so the shot is focused on Abby, but but in the background you got
Sheiky out there. It's like he's looking up to the ceiling and he's like
saying, come here, come here, come down, come down from the
ceiling. Please. You can see that like he can see his God,
you know, like exactly come help me. Guildy Funks almost a loan to
take the Funks to death almost there to be under the third fall dory basically
dragging Terry across the ring floor. Come on, brother, come on Terry.
We can do this Jesus Christ story. Can you can you maybe give
them something they can react to? Can you show that you give a damn
I'll Terry, Terry, I'm doing the best that I can right now.
I got the whole ball game. Pick you up. That's the whole ball
game. I'm gonna pick you up. Try to get you in there.
Wow, they're going nuts for Terry, Jennifer, Terry, not Dorry,
even though Dory is the one doing all the work. Wow, what a
brilliant move. Terry rolled in the ring and rolls out of the way of
Abdulla the butcher's elbow, dropping tag's Dory. And they set up the idea
that the fucking elbow was a killer, and he didn't. He never missed.
And so it's brilliant that that Dorry would do that. Uh oh abby
front face locking Dory Funk. Dorry hooks him up. After the no she
can, throws a chair at Dory. Dorry catches and attacks. Wow,
she covered up In the corner story, Funk halls off, referee does not
give a ship. Terry is out on the canvas. Dory Funk dropping elbow
after elbow to the carcass of Abdullah. The butchet do still come on,
Dorrance kept the crowd going. It's a hot tag now, Dorry, Now,
come on, hot tag, hot tag Dornce. You know he does
not call him Dorry. No chance he dropping one two for Dorry is She
drags Dorry off the pin cover and Abbey business more than picking up here in
all Japan going for another should play on Abby? Up and he scores a
second time. Wow, the bulbous stomach of Abby poking up towards the ceiling
of Buddhakhan cover too. Not enough, as Sheik is up. The Shek
is there to break it up. Wow. Up funks down on the ground
again now and booted Terry out of the ring, playing Shawn Michaels in the
nineteen ninety Summer Slam. Wow, come on, Daurrnce. She's pointing the
ceiling again and whipping a sleeper by Dori on Abbey Abdullah fading like Muhammed A
Sons. That's the chic baby. Where's Terry going? Terry's in the audience,
Terry's what Terry's gripping the doriance doesn't even know what the fuck is going
on. I'm out, I'm going home. What a disaster, bloody mess,
just wandering amongst the people. Cradling his neck. Dory left a fend
for himself as he scores with a European upper cut, putting Abdullah on dream
Street center ring He's gonna slam him now straight scoop Wow. Dory slams Abby
cover Abby barely kicking out the sweat under Abbey's tits. Oh my god,
can you imagine? Oh you know it? Also it like smells like onions
and darling to under the boss. Jesus, I didn't need that drop elbow
drop by Dory cover another kickout by Abby barely though I have uh before we
came out stay with onions on top. I might here's Chikh back, I'm
not odor. I might have odor. I might have odor. Larry,
you know, I think we can come up with better titles for your memoirs.
Honestly, so, Sheik is now choking Dorry again with a tape around
his neck, and now Abby's on his knees, just headbutting Dorry repeatedly,
even biting the cut on Dorry. Double team here by the heels as Terry,
come on, Dorms, get the heat. Oh look at Terry struggled
to his feet. He's there, He's ready on the ring, apron walking
the apron is. Abdullah continues to maul Dorry and tries to pin him kick
out it too by funk Terry reaching bloody, exhaustic and damn war torn.
Oh, Dorry being choked around the throat by the tape and hitting the stomach.
Look at Terry step Barry's coming in. Terry's in. He's got the
game face. Look at the people go nuts. Yep, he's chopping.
He's chopping away. Terry throwing chops on Chik and Abbey turning to free his
brother from their clutches, and he does. Sheek answers with the right flesh
to the face of Terry. Funked. What's she cut in his mouth?
He's at a fork. Oh, Terry struck by Abby and collides with the
ref And it's getting even crazier now it's Pier four brawl. Jesus. Oh,
he's calling for the bell. That's it. Bell sounds in fall free
bell. I'm pretty sure that'll be a I don't know if that'll be disqualification
win for who because it was fine. I think it's a double I think
it's a double dq Funk even accidentally single like the referee there Terry and his
stupor and now stomping the Funk's just kicking ass. Now Jesus, as the
bell sounds repeatedly, Terry going nuts, stomping the prone carcass have abduled the
butcher. This is business. You could believe in this fight. You can.
Yeah, they're not doing anything hyper violent, but they're fighting in a
way where like this is what you think great wrestling technicians would do if forced
to fight this way. It looks like or if you're trying to keep Terry
Funk off abdueled the butcher, and Terry is not hesitating to strike and swipe
at the official. As this brawl continues well after the bell, so wild
streamers hitting the ring. It's such a mess, that's the thing. It's
such a fucking mess. Shit everywhere camera's going off. This is a wild
night. Man. Do you imagine going out watching this shit? No,
not at all. Like it's the lap spot, folks. All we can
tell you Dori and Terry Vershika Abbe find what you can on on YouTube because
it's all like exhibits in the same museum. Bell continues to sound and now
it looks to be Terry Funk choking Abdull the butcher on the canvas while Dorry
puts the boots to him. Ring filling with other wrestlers and officials. Cheke's
on the floor and Dories out there to brawl with him, still going,
this is all Japan. This is the lapsed funk that you're damn right.
I mean, Bell sounding repeatedly complete mania. Now we have Yep, Cheek
choking Terry on the canvas. The wrestler's trying to peel him off. We
got Terry choking Terry on the mattress on the up there, Jesus. I
mean we can see hardcore being birthed here, can we not? Yes,
I there's no question about it. Jabbing in each other's eyes. They're just
laying on the mat, grabbing each other's eyes and throats. But it's better
because they're not like, you know, they're not just battling. They're not
doing crazy shit like it's very realistic. I mean, they're using small weapons,
they're fighting like exhausted people would, right. That's what I love about
wrestling brawls is like it can still look real if you factor in that these
guys are just tired, they're spent. Oh, look at that some of
the Al Japan guys are swinging on Chic. They've had enough and trying to
stop this thing. They're now swinging on Abbey as well, doing what they
have to do to separate these guys, including punch them in the fucking head.
That's separating Terry and Abdullah. Yeah, Bell continuing to sound this is
just completely looney. Let me ask you, boss, do you think this
splits the appetite in any way for a Terry Funk Abdulla the Butcher singles match?
Yes? How might that play out? You wonder? Ah? Well,
I feel like maybe we're gonna find out in the position to answer that
question here in the lapsed mom Yes, yes I am. It's finally a
long last the Chi can have Abdula the Butcher forced from the ring, Dory
and Terry Funk in the ring, Terry crawling around the ring on all fours
like a disoriented dog just knows he's undersea. Kind of accurate, but other
than that, so beaten, so bloodied that he's not even sure whose friend
and whose foe. It would appear Abby's still stalking around ringside, still attacking
Terry. They just don't stop. Jesus like the matches of no consequence of
these guys. Yeah, yeah, that's about right. Wow what look at
this chaos? I just look at all look at the humanity there can't match
these visuals that they used to pull off the people in the wrestlers. No,
no, look at the Look at the old lady with her with her
purse like she looks she is ready, all right, she is gonna hammer
away. Terry's being held up under the armpits, in the arms by all
these other wrestlers, and he's still trying to kick at Abdullah's best. He
can. I think any of these people that you see in the background,
any of these kids, are ever gonna forget this. No, I'm sure
there are people to this day who are still alive who like, yeah,
I remember that I was there and this when Terry Funk passed. But all
these people are gonna fall over like it's gonna be a mass casualty event.
It starts to resemble like you know, like a like a burning nightclub where
like people trample each other, you know what I mean. Ye, Terry
Funk passed away. This is this is where people's memories flash to in the
land of the Rising Sun. Yeah, so here we go again, promised
Terry making his way to the ring to that spinning toe hold theme. Apparent
little that'll just uh what I'm what I have here? Four days after the
match we just saw. Four days after that, four days incredible tag team
battle, Terry Funk, bandaged forehead and all steps into the ring for singles
competition against Abdullah the Butcher. Oh boy, So no chance that this one
becomes about Dory, you know. Yeah, that's that's good. We don't
want we don't want any more Dory. I don't know the venue here,
but it's a much more intimate setting, more dorns. There comes Abby walking
through the people this way, you know, show open the summertime to three
week tour, and you just do this every night in different common nations,
different mixes and matches, but the mission is the same, The expectation of
the audience is the same. Here, the chance of Terry breakout is Terry
waiting pensively, one leg over the ropes for Abdullah and enter the ring.
Got some geisha girls in there presenting bouquets of flowers. But they better get
the fuck out because you better get out. Now what a look, what
a menacing kind of environment. Yeah, in the ring, very low to
the ground. Yeah, that's interesting. Terry presented with a bouquet punkaet to
enter the ring as Terry Funk introduced. Oh oh, what's he doing,
boss? Terry's ready, Terry's ready, He's he's he's hungry, trying to
pass pounds on Abbey as soon as he steps in the ring, pounds on
Abbey before Abbey can pounce on him. Look at him, go, let
him go. He's running around. How different is this Terry Funk than the
one we saw defend the NBA title against Jumbo Sharuda earlier. It's it's it's
night and day difference again, it's non champion. Here's a guy that that's
just expressing himself. Yeah, that's well put feeling free. It's letting his
his id show. Just the wild child. He's just in there like yeah,
flowing, you know, and realizing that how much he can do with
the body language that his brother never did. You know. Oh yeah,
Abby here, less less menacing, more like conservative like hesitating to lock up
collar and elbow to the corner. So this isn't going to be one of
those right out of the gates, we start swinging each other's foreheads. I'm
sure it'll be wild, but it's a nice glimpse of how Abby would structure
a singles match differently. Sure, as a Terry Funk lands an elbow to
the crown of the head and Abdullah immediately retreats to the corner. It's a
little bit of cowardice of Abdullah display when he doesn't have his his butt buddy
within the Sheikh Hi Hi, how are you evolution of Terry Funk Man go?
If you want to see it, go to Japan. I mean,
we're also seeing a guy coming into his own as as a wrestler in a
different way. Like I feel like, I feel like now Terry Funk has
broken out of the shadow of his brother and his father in what way.
I just you know, we watched those earlier matches and it just seemed like
he was trying to prove himself. I know that might have been more character
based, but it feels like it feels like he's taking the lead, yes
in his family, you know, like now Terry Funk is the Funk Terry
Funk's gonna get everybody else's second, right, look at that fucking cell job
assif whipped at the corner by the Abdullah and Terry took the buckle and then
basically splayed his body hung upside down on the ropes on the cell and just
got tangled up like a fucking you know not on a ship and now hanging
upside down, which is a oh right in his head, right in his
head, clastic funk spot as he's spilling out of the ring to hook the
instep of his foot in the ropes and hang upside down for a minute and
then drop build the butcher taking the driver's seat. Yah. Absolutely, you
can see a Terry Funk now where it's like, Wow, this is a
Terry Funk that every single wrestling promoter in the world could use. Not to
say they couldn't use Storyfunk Junior, but they wouldn't be able to get nearly
as much out of Dory as they can Terry because Terry's showing so much range.
Now, Terry's just a phenomenal He's proving himself to be a phenomenal talent.
And I'm sure you know he's doing promos in Japan, but you know
they don't really understand English. I mean, he's establishing this bond, this
connection with this audience without the benefit of doing promos. We haven't even really
dipped our toe on the well of you know, most of what made Terry
Funk incredibly brilliant the promo game. He's managing to do all this without speaking
the language. Yeah, just a ton of charisma in this guy. It's
really insane, isn't it that him and Dorry came out of the same exact
upbringing in household. They don't even look alike. Yep, yep, Abby
digging in the fucking eye now of that. Yeah, no one could sell
the eye better than Terry Funk over his years. No Funk comes in with
a bandaged up ear lobe, a bandaged up forehead. Better believe abduled.
The butcher's exploiting every single signal of weakness, stomping the head with those pointed
boots. Remember how much heat it was when Slaughter brought up the pointed boots
looking seventy nine, nothing's new, There's nothing new under the sun in pro
wrestling. When we learned about stuff these young fans had been done for twenty
years already, Abby's ripping at the ear, the taped ear of Terry Funk.
It was digging in the ear, trying to find what he can boom
closed fist. So, needless to say, Abdullah Butcher developing into an absolutely
huge attraction for all japan progress following the Funks from the Detroit circuit where he
learned under the tutelage of the Sheik and adopted so many of his mannerisms and
stylings. Abdullah would tell you that he took it to another level than the
Sheik. I won the trust of the Sheik. The Sheikh, I think
saw Abdullah that while he was doing a lot of deplicative things, copying a
lot of his stuff, that he extended the Sheik's life quite a bit.
Is the Sheik, I don't think gets booked as aggressively in Japan in these
days without Abdullah's partner. And so now we've got blood in the ear.
I think Funk has bladed his ear. Boss. Oh God, he came
in with white tape. Is there anything Funk he won't blade? I mean,
it's like Abdullah's grabbing a handful of Terry Funk's ear and just ripping at
it, and these people are sitting here watching it studiously. This is not
the kind of heat that we saw in those tag matches in the Buddhicon or
the correct one. No, no, very different. But Abby is doing
equally vicious stuff. Referee keeps laying in the five count. Abby's not using
weapons though, that's the thing. He's ripping and tearing. But he's not
using weapons. I know I should use weapons. Funk scrambling in the corner,
trying to find the ropes, trying to buy himself some time, dancing
around the ring. It's a terry chance start to develop here as Abby goes
to work with head butts and Funk does that sell job like He's like there's
an earthquake under his feet, screaming in agony in his Texas drawl as Abby
bites the head. Yeah, I think like the Japanese public has never seen
a human being like Abdula Butcher ever walking the streets. Yeah, ever seen
sounding like this before? No? No, no, no, no,
no, no fucking they ever? Did they run the other way? Oh?
For sure? He stands out as a total anomaly to you know,
the American wrestling eye. I mean, there's very few people walking around looking
like him anyway, let alone in a country you know that's kind of his
insular as Japan. That's been a huge part of the story. Why so
many foreigners and it will be such big draws in Japan as the people just
don't have a lot of don Japanese living amongst them. There's there's just an
automatic mystique, and as I think the Funk showed, you can just sort
of run away with whatever whatever qualities the Japanese public assigned to these sort of
exotic characters. You can just be that over the embodiment of the Texas cowboy.
Yep, Funk has now found method of attack on Abby, attacking the
left arm, driving his knee down onto it, spinning around, spinning,
spinning, A lot of spinning in the Funk repertoire, Yes, a lot
of twirling around the body. Abby stands back up and lands a right to
get his arm free from the clutches of Terry, who fires off a head
butt. Terry going tit for tat with Abdullah. Here, Oh headbutt headbut
brother Abby's going tit fro t that's right, Ah, Abby used the bottom.
I'm gonna eat you funk bunch. That's what I thought. They were
trying to use the the head butts the hard way Abbey, and he's he's
he's bleeding. It's not hard. It's not hard to hardway Abby. I
actually am I'm alarmed. I am, I am alarmed at how easy uh
it is to like how how fucking carved up his head is at this point
like it's actually, uh, it's it's disturbing. Well, you know,
the parlor trick he does is he can take a quarter and put it in
the divit in his head and it sits there, doesn't fall. I was
gonna do that. No, I don't want to. I mean, he's
only at this point, he's he's not even forty and his head is already
that fucked up, just committed to like this is how I'm gonna get anybody
to care about me. Look at him. Oh, it's just like this
like mass of pulsating. Oh now, Terry is ripping open the cut with
his fingers. Terry Funk getting just as big as vicious as Abdullah the butcher
here ripping wound. I wonder what the psychology was around one that's clearly watching
just now from Terry oh, looking to take a bit of a bloody forehead,
No fucking reservation about putting his lips on the open cuss so gross.
Just saying something because years later, you know Hannibal, the guy that does
the shoots, Yeah, Canadian wrestler, he shoed Abby for giving him hepatitis
for blood yeah wow or bloodshed in the match. So uh, look at
Terry wearing a fucking complete face of Abby's blood right now, like a you're
like the clown red around the lips, disgusting. Imagine that. Imagine the
iron he's tasting the Oh I can't it's so vile. It's so vile.
Terry feels like he's got a mouthful of pennies right now. Oh, Abby
just lay there like a fucking the whale. Okay, right now, you
see if you see the match, where what the ah ah ah? How
many more minutes were you guy? Uh ship? Because he's got that mid
section, it looks like he spit. He turns over like a what do
you call those like Russian dolls that like never fall over. Oh yeah,
yeah, I remember they. Ah, they had those punching bags when were
a kid. You can inflate him and you put sand in the bottom.
Yeah, what he looks like one of those Oh give me the lay,
give me the ball. Oh go hey, Terry signaling for the spinning toe.
They're going nuts. That's like a jake signaling for the d d T
reaction. There Boss Terry twirling going around, putting that pressure on Funk on
Abdullah's leg, his right leg. Ah, Terry Funk, the Terry chance
breaking out as Terry keeps twisting and ripping and tearing. Abby stabs Terry funks
fucking need to break the spinning toeld Look at how like a hamburger. Look
at the head. I can't that's disgusting. It's so great a pig.
He's such a like exactly, he's such you know, he's just he has
a lower mental capacity than most people. And the forks out he stabbed being
Terry Funk in the leg on the mat, on the canvas. Terry convuls
convulse the leg. I think he bladed his leg or no, maybe Abby
just let his own blood flow onto Ah could fule. Abby's got the leg
like a bear, you know, like a like a shark. Ah,
Ah, Terry trying to get free. Jesus, Oh, co fork me
Abbey. Fork me, Abbey, he's stabbing fork. He stabbing Abbey,
fork me foruk me. You got it? Boss. You know one thing
I can't figure out for the life of me. It's one of the great
mysteries of wrestling. How the adul the butcher gets so good with a fork.
I just can't imagine how he learned this. I know, I I'm
you know, he just doesn't seem like a guy who really knows how to
use a fork very well. I mean, he definitely seems like a guy
who eats more with his hands than us. Well, that's what he would
say in separating himself from the Sheek. He said the Sheek was great,
but she never ate raw chicken on TV. I'm thinking, well, Jesus
Christ, I mean, you'd have done that if the cameras weren't even on
Larry right, right, So the bell is sound that I like it.
Raw, that's interesting. I like the SmackDown. I'm a raw. This
feud will always continue, this never ending violent struggle. Another chapter written here
is a dual the Butcher disqualified for repeatedly stabbing Terry Funk and the fucking thigh
with a fork. It's the lapsed Funk and Terry he is trying to extract
himself as the ring fills with l Japan personnel. I like that it took
the It was the fork that did it, not the previous violence. Look
at the blood on Abdullah. The butcher's face absolutely disgusting, just like heaving
mass of sweat and flesh and pork grind and beef. A man, He's
the gristle. Abby is the gristle. You see the problem? Ah,
I gotta eat so I can pass out. Can I eat so I can
pass out? Please? Still biting at the leg of Terry Funk, who's
trying to extract himself. This is insanity. And Terry does a great job
selling in a singles environment. Yeah, totally Like this is a lot more
sympathetic baby face like come back to see him get his revenge kind of psychology
than just like it. You don't have any expectation that Terry Funk is gonna
fire up and fight back. Yeah, he bladed his leg, he did
what else can we blade tonight? Abby? We need to Hey, you
know, Abby, we gonna find new places for me to gig. And
I'm not just talking about working gigs, you know. And I'm not talking
about territories. Oh here comes story with a chair. Finally, to his
brother, and the fuck have you been Dorance getting your dick sucked back there?
What the fuck he's get getting a blowjob? Finally, Abdua the Butcher
exits the ring and makes his way through the people with some go home.
All of a sudden, he decides it's dinner time. Bah Ah Abdulla exits
in the carnage. The bloodied carnage he's left in the ring tells us all
we need to know about the animating energy of Altrapan pro wrestling in the late
seventies. Snack time for Abdullah the Butcher again. Terry Funk, left ailing
on the canvas, clutching his leg as personnel attend to him, can barely
stand show that wound off as much as he can. Look at that.
It's his hand raised and disqualification signaling to Dory that he stabbed me. He
stabbed me, Dorians, he stabbed me, Doris, Did you see that
he stabbed me with a damn foor? Look at that. Look how he's
positioning himself to make sure all the press gets the picture. See that he's
very good at that Wrestling magazine. He's such a big deal. He's very
good at that without making it seem very obvious. Right, Yeah, he's
making it seem like he doesn't see the cameras, like he's not casting his
gaze in that direction. But he's clearly just sitting there until the flashbulb stopped
going off. That's fun for a wild butcher. We've got to taste that
tag team violence one more time. I would submit to you bos all right,
all right, but before we do, we're going to turn to Abdullah
the Butcher in a shoot interview that he did, a rare one that he
did, talking about the Terry Funk feud and sort of what's going through his
mind during this rather wild chapter in his history. Terry Funk, you know
he's still going at it, and you know he's a legend. Yeah,
yeah, he's a parole. Yeah, and he still gets to the he's
doing more things now, diving off the top of ropes, doing doing flips,
doing this here. And the guy's up there. But I give him
power to give him credit. Do you think he'd still be around as long
as he has Terry place? But I've got a lot of good ideas.
Yeah, a lot of good ideas, a lot of good ideals. Yep.
Do you expect him to sound like that? No? I like mine
better. It's that's I'm calling him a straight up legend basically and acknowledging that
was probably I'm trying to think probably two thousand and one ish or so.
I'm not sure when when he's you know, because obviously he's he's still doing
an elbow drop in the fork and Terry's out there doing moon salts and you
know, hardcore brawling to keep up with the current generation. So he's Terry
Funk steps up, Abby, he steps down. So what do you say,
Boss? One last taste of this signature Abby chich Dory, Terry violence.
I think it's imperative that we do this. One more exhibit in this
wing of the Terry Funk Hall of Fame, one more test case, one
more proof point of Terry Funk's unique bond with the Japanese wrestling public, as
realized by these incredibly colorful and violent and memorable and resonant days going on and
relative inimenity to the US wrestling fan in the seventies and Tokyo. The decade
is about to turn and the state of the wrestling. War between New Japan
and All Japan is about to turn, but not before Dori and Terry Funk
take the ring one more time against Abdullah the Butcher and the Sheikh. This
one from nineteen and seventy nine, Boss, December thirteenth to be exact,
Real World Tag League. Let's do it one more time, and let's explain
to people one more time by this few is so vividly remembered, It's about
to get wild once again in Buda Khan whose music is that? That would
be some funky music wow for the cheerleaders. Boss, I can't handle it.
I cannot handle it. The white and red and blue pom poms,
the banners being unfurled and held high with the American flag on them here in
Tokyo. As the spotlight hits the people and Dori and Terry Funk enter through
the adoring public one more time, it says Texas Bronco Terry Funk, the
Texan Dori Funk, the best of the something. It's it's almost like a
mirror weish seeing behind the banner, but the fans pointing it at Dori and
Terry Funk as they enter one more time. This has just been Now it's
becoming a tradition in Japan. The December Real World Tag League, Dori and
Terry Funk going close to the finals and tussling and some of the most violent
matches in the industry against the Hikin that bulled the Butcher. It's nineteen seventy
nine Real World Tag League, and it's all the explanation you need in so
many ways. The best of what does that say, boss, the best
of the Funk, the best of the what the the best of the tag
team? Wow, look at this ship. Where are they? They're being
devoured? What's that again? They're being devoured? I can't see him.
I know it's Confetti's flying fists. They're being devoured and fucking help Abdulla the
Butcher's not even there. Help belove that, Help belove these these guys are
Look at the people follow them through the hordes, pumping their fists, glabbing
their shoulders. It's exactly Texas Bronco. Look at the back slaps. It's
exactly like you said, the New Ricks and Sportatorium. It's it's a look
at Jerry finally makes it. In the now, Dorris is looking like Ole
Anderson, Like, what the fuck? This guy just cannot settle, just
looks like an I see Jim Barnett and the hard camera there near the white
coat. I'm hard. I'll tell you that. I heard you guys are
over. I had to see it from a sale. There's not There's not
a day that I go about where I'm not hard, at least for twenty
five minutes. Okay, Jim, thanks for letting me know. Sometimes it
just need a cock, absolutely true, get shit done. Speaking of the
Texas Bronco, as Terry Funk hoists a bouquet presented to him by again the
adoring public. Here as they're introduced to the people The Real World Tag League
nineteen seventy nine, Dorry Funk is gone with the beard now, doriy Is
it's a kind of rough ridge looking at his own right. Yeah, they
stop that, and here come the opposition. Uh oh, now in black
pants instead of white. Abdullah, the Butcher and the Sheikh. She's gonna
attack a fan. He's an attack a fan. Fan threw something in his
leg. He's gonna attack him. They're just as up for it as they
ever have been. This again, The Real World Tag League, December nineteen
seventy nine, if you're looking for it out in the interwebs. Sheik and
Abbey versus Dory and Terry one more time here in the lapsed Funk. What
do you think of the streamers? Boss? I've never asked you, what
would you think about that? It's a little I mean, my my,
it's funny. I like this the idea of the celebrate, but my initial
instinct is, but god, that's so fucking messy for the guys in the
ring, Like, oh, you know, I would be kind of annoyed
by that. After a while, it's kind of part of the fun.
I guess going to wrestling in Japan as you brought by those and I'm sure,
I'm sure it is toilet paper the venue like bloom. But are we
really there? Are we really going to have fun? I know you're going
to survive, all right, Islence is in the air one more time,
as Sheik and Abby step in, cutting the ring in half. Both teams
in the Blue Trunks or the Funk Brothers, this time Terry rocking two knee
pads, Thank you very much. Brother learned his lesson, leaving one knee
exposed and Abby fucking stabbed it. Oh. Abby attacks the ref and here
we go. Uh oh, Abby pouncing ducked underneath Dory, taking the rights
to him. She tries to grab Dory. Terry pounces on, she can
throws elbows, and we are underway. This is what they them to see.
That's right, lapsed funk. Terry sends Chic to the floor. They're
looking at them. They're dodging and pushing the streamers out of their own face
adds to the chaos. Look at Terry climb the ropes like a fucking maniac.
What are you gonna do? Jump off? Baby? Fucking She was
looking like the actor who played the soup Nazi a far Hat coming off losing
five grand at Preakness stakes. Yea Eddie far Hat playing this one close to
the chest. That's so as Abby. For that matter, far had kind
of fly home to Detroit by way of Saratoga Spring. Something tells you,
right is Japan Hall. Here we go, she can Terry funk get us
started formally here in the real world. Tag League out hot for Terry.
Terry pop pops at jab in Abby's face. He's spinning on the ground.
He's so fucking nuts. Total energy in there creating a cyclone of activity.
It's hyperactive. If we saw that, remember we watched that clip from Houston
Black and White and his dad. Yeah, yeah, all the way back
then he was flailing about with the body language, showing how much how much
hay you can make just moving around the ring. Yes, yep, she
grabs a side headlock on Terry, over to Abdullah, now tucks a shot
in from the ring apron and gets the tag. She can abbey playing it
straight relatively here so far in terms of adhering to the tag rules. Yeah,
so we'll see how long that lasts. Absolutely, oh man martial arts
strike to the throat by Abdulla the butcher who's striking poses from all different versions
of karate, and certainly Terry Funk screaming that his esophagus is being compromised.
I'd say Abdul the Butcher's thirsting, but sometimes I don't want to state the
obvious noye. Terry on his knees, shaking, convulsing on the cell.
They're screaming for Terry. They loved Terry. Oh, they really do.
I'm really amazed at how I mean, I guess it's not it shouldn't be
that surprising, but Funk dropped Abbey out of the corner, Missus the elbow
and they can look at the cheerleaders the pom poms. Wow. Terry applies
a spinning told to Abby, cheeking to break, Terry relinquishes the hold.
Yeah. I felt like if I was going to establish here on the lapsed
Funk that Terry Funk was beloved like pretty much no other by the Japanese wrestling
public in terms of a foreigner, that I was gonna have to lay it
on real thick. And I think by watching this much Funks versus Abby and
Chic. Yeah, the point is made. Yes, right hand and Dorry
ricochets off the strands and throws the big forearm, knocking Abdullah back. European
uppercuts now by the former champion Dorry. Here we go classic spot. No,
Nope, can't suplex Abdullah. Guess you can. And that wasn't even
off to the side. Really, wow, Abby suplex by Funk cover Shekin
to break it up. Hasn't evolved into a peer four brawl yet, though
both men observing still time respective positions on the apron waiting the tag as Dorry
goes to work on the forehead of Abby stomping repeatedly, the Dory Chance,
Dorry, Dorry, Dori. That's definitely Garnett. See him there hard camera
side, see him right next to photography move now right there? Oh,
I see him, Yeah, I see him. I mean you can't miss
that fucking face. Jesus came back from Hong Kong, bought two hundred suits
for twe Yeah, yep, I just bought my my ma, I bought
what exactly. So, Uh, business has been done. Abby is bleeding.
All is right with the world. Why does Abby bleed? I probably
have asked you this already, ask you again. Uh. He bleeds because
he has to. He bleeds because because you know, if you want,
if you want to, if you want to distinguish yourself in a way so
that crowds remember you, you need to. You need to just cut yourself.
I love that too much. Double whip, the Funk Brothers working together,
double clothesline of Abby goes timber in the center of the ring. This
is kind of the most animated I've seen Abdullah. Yeah, no shit,
And usually it's like getting over here. I just cuts you pretty much heat
through the fork until I can go home. She breaks up the cover of
biting door in the forehead. Terry over to stop the mad man big left
cheek through the ropes of the floor. It's kind of wild that they just
imported this feud from Detroit to Japan and made so much money, Like,
who would have known that it would cross over? And that's all you had
to fucking do. We get these four goofballs, series of rights. Abdullah
collapses, Dory Funk drops an elbow to the back of the head, series
of rights, and a series of wrongs with Abdullah the butcher. You wait.
Abdullah continues to convulse on the canvas as Dory repeated the elbow drop after
elbow drop after elbow drop. If the real world Tag League gets the lapsed
Funk collateral press gets two not enough. Abby kicks out by rolling over yes
Al and Sheek grabbing Dorry from the apron while the ref inspects the cut on
Abbey stabbing Dorry as many times as you can. Oh my god, he's
got something in his eye. Ref breaks it up. Terry funk in now
with Abby peppering him with left hands again. The referee turn direct his attention
and listen to the screams as she goes to work again on the forehead of
Dory Funk. God, they fucking the women add so much atmosphere when they
scream like that, It really is. I mean, it adds a whole
different level of of of Oh look at him Abby stomping around such a fucking
horror movie. Look at the fork, drives the fork down? What's the
problem? They're screaming in horror? Abbey hits the ropes and drops the elbow.
They're screaming the stories covered four two? How many times can Dorry kick
out? And the people act like they've never seen anything so amazing exactly beautiful
thing. That's that's the beauty of it. Dori is busted open and she
going to work with the fork again and ref trying to create a plausible reason
to be distracted. Terry Funk now has bladed his ear again. It looks
like he's bleeding from the side of his head. Afraid moonishing the sheik who
could give a fuck, And that just creates an opening for Abby to start
digging the fork into Terry's head. I mean he got him in the eye
here. Terry Funk's appears to be screaming my eye yeap harem. He's squealing.
That's unbelievable. Oh how does he manage to squeal like that? Oh?
Oh ah, it's like a Halloween slash. Yeah it is, Jimmy
Barnett, what's going on here? We're eating ham sandwiches. I love seeing
men put each other in their mouths. I'll tell you, I do love
seeing an all male orgy. What do you think about the blood though here?
Jimmy, Well, sometimes he got a bleed. Oh shit, it
sounds like I've never bled. Dorry fighting back badly. Terry's just stumbling on
ringside. Funk funk, funk fun. I think I think you're starting to
get the point, boss, Yeah, yeah, I think it's starting to
come into relief. Why this was called for and highly necessary. These guys
are animals attacked to Sheik who comes in held open by Abdullah. Dorry ricochets
off the ropes and there it is. The fork goes up, but this
time the Sheik recovered it. Terry gets the tag. He comes stumbling in
the ring, looking barely stand. He yanks the fork out of Sike's hand.
It goes to work and she running the razors for the fucking business.
No matter how many years and decades, caught your forehead open, you piece
of shit. Give me a reason to care, and look at Terry.
Go to work on the forehead of Abby. I mean that they're fighting fire
with fire or the funks. These boys are learning a swing of fork with
the best of them. And there's been an evolution. I mean, we
saw Terry completely and thoroughly victimized in the first meeting in seventy seven. By
the fourth, yes, and now look at him. I mean there's a
lot that repeats in the matches, Boss, but it's not They don't resemble
each other too much, No, not at all. The overall is very
different. Abby on the floor biting Kerry's forehead is Dory throwing punches from the
outside, trying to break up the two one one again. Abbey with the
fork, Ah right, I ain't got enough of those Jesus, those spectators.
Oh oh, he got to stab him in the hand and the arm
Jesus, Abby gets those eyes and he goes with the blood coming out,
and it's like, you ain't got nothing on me, motherfucker channing Terry.
Now he's stabbing him in the hand. He's just like hack hacking away at
his fucking extremities. Is Abdullah the butcher? Yeah he got her. Look
at he cut his for he cut the back of his hand for the industry
to Terry Funk, look at him. Well, he bladed at the back
of his hand. I see that's right, that's what you gotta do.
Oh no, I'll be menacing with the fork comes down again. Terry's showing
off that bloodied hand as best he can to the the horrified spectators on hand.
Some objects, flying objects trying to hit the ring. Look at it,
Look at his arm. Look at he did to himself. Ah,
it is shredded, shredded again. The screams avvy rains down another shot with
the fork and Terry con falses. Look at how African falses like. You
broke some of the damnedest stuff I ever saw. And it's so simple,
fucking general. These people care. These people really fucking care. That's that's
that's half the battle right there. Really, you know, you get them,
if you get him to care, then that's it. That the games,
the Games already in a winning position. Abby back in Terry Funk,
who's on his knees, bleeding profusely from his wrist, in the back of
his hand. Of all places, Terry Chance ringing loudly as Abby lifts him
up into essentially a fireman's carry and drop crushes Terry Funk. Never seen Abby
do that, drapes the cover as Abby gets too and Funk lifts the shoulder
and the people rejoice. Here in Japan, you're better. Abby hits the
ropes in another elbow, drop crushes Terry Cover. Two. Not enough aboms
take so long to say that money in the bunque a fume k has habbens.
The butcher happens dagging out of the sheet, looking over Cherry Funk,
who's very much Oh yes about the chek first one we've seen it. Oh
he's putting look at that, putting the arms up. He's such like a
There's something about about the sheep where he's like he just looks like a dad.
Absolutely, he does get the salt and pepper hair. Yeah. Remember
Sheik's son is and I like to hurt people doing promos, trying to matter,
trying to belong to the business. Ed Ed George captain what is it
captain ed George or something? He fails. He fails. He did nothing
in the business. How about family legacies and the water ricks and the funks,
the far huts. Not much there, I guess you can if you
want to tie a saboo to it as a nephew, which is appropriate.
There comes Dory it is, but it's still not cut and sheet flying into
the corner. He tags in Abdulla the butcher. Now Dory Funk back in
Dorins and as at that right, Tory is such a fucking oaf sleeper hold
on Abdullah by Dorry, both men bleeding. Dory is gushing, he is.
Abby's always in a state of selling, like he's about to tip backwards.
Yep. Abby drops to a knee. Looks like the sleeperhole of Doroty
Funk Junior is really working. Nineteen seventy nine Real World Tag League signature occasion
on the All Japan calendar. Chance of Dorry ringing out loud and proud.
Here Terry still recovering on the aprons ll down. Referee I believe has raised
the arm of Abby twice. Third time. Here Abby holds it up.
What do we got that dropped again? Then Dorry relinquishes the wold. Abby
out a cover by Dorry, which is also smart. Always wonder why they
don't cover him if you're to knock him out? This with a submission right
back to the sleeper after the pin cover didn't work, and she gets in
there to break the hold up. Ship flying at the ring, Terry shouting
for the tag and gets it. Terry Funk to a rousing response, re
enters the fray and steps on Abby's face and not a very dramatic, h
very dramatic hot tag. No, not really, No, Dorry was in
control. Dorry wasn't I guess, yeah that's true. A good point,
ye, Terry just straight up choking Abby on the canvas. Now a warfare
between these two man eat the candy, motherfucker A happy Halloween. Well right,
ah, Terry barely able to stand still, thinking spitting toe hold and
he goes in emotion and they explode. He goes around the world. Here
look at that he goes again. What a weird move. I don't get
it. Abby again from his back, swings with a fork for you,
fuck, catching Funk and dropping and breaking the hole. Look at the look
at the ring. The ring is just a disaster of carnage. Terry able
to attack Dory and now against the sheet cheek holding open Dory. Let's see
if Abby can attack running start by the butcher, hit the sheake, cover
due Funks take it thy that's it. Look at the ring side is not
done all position. The projectiles are coming. Look at him face the ring,
face the crowd rather instead of the ring. Oh, she throws a
fireball in the face of Abdul the butcher. She throws a fireball in the
face of Updull. With the butcher scrambling, and this is where they launch
warfare Boss between the Sheik and Abbey. That's crazy. Ringside personnel scrambling to
cover Abdull the butcher up and try to treat the burn wound. Everybody standing
in this building as Dory and Terry Funk finally get some respite in the corner
from this and look at this, Look at Chic continue to head on finding
him. He's going to counterize those those those wounds. I'll say. Dori
and Terry Funk's hands raised in triumph as confetti and streamers rained down on the
ring. These legendary brothers are the Rings of Japan, once again victorious in
the Al Japan Real World Tag League. Excellent. What contributions over these years
through the seventies. Jesus, look at these people flood the ring, jump
up in the apron, hopes to backslap one Terry Funk. Look at the
membring side. Look how crazy do they are? Yeah, they're nuts.
I mean they're reaching for this guy like he's a beatle. This is what
I was talking about. It's unreal. Look at that people up on the
thing like it's this is real for this ugly motherfucker. I know, like
these these are the worst examples of America you could possibly get. It just
says so much about the gap, you know, like who we think has
international appeal versus who actually has charisma? Yep, Oh my god. People
are everywhere. They're being allowed to jump up on the apron. Here's the
music plan there. Spring is gonna collapse. Man, seriously, get Jimmy
Barnett in there. Look at them. The declaration representing the National Wrestling Alliance,
no doubt pass Jim Crockett Unior did in the prior bout we saw show
Hey Giant Bob on the apron as well. There's the trophy to be presented
of the winners. Well they got two trophies. Look at these people,
just describe what you're seeing, please, I mean, it's it's it's it's
everyone is going crazy for these guys like I can't, I can't describe.
I've never seen anything like it before. They were referneling a sign that says
the invincible funks out in the audience. The ring is like falling apart almost.
Look at that. It's as real as wrestling gets. I'll tell you
that. I'll seriously. Jimmy Barnett takes the mic. We can't hear them,
but look at them. Look at that. I got a thing in
my hand, and what's going on here is I believe these men have won
something, and I just want to make sure I can bring both men home.
I like men that are bigger than me. Look at the Look at
the dandy, look at the fucking comb over, look at that carnation.
For the love of Christ. Jimmy Barnett, my boy, I like eating
cock presenting the declarations of victory to Tory and Dory and Terry funk Is Jim
Barnett, Dorens and Terrence Funky Certificates of victory post match ceremonials. This is
what they came out for back in the A J p W of the seventies,
no question about it. More formalities and uh plaudits being showered upon the
funks. Look at the people, look it down to their legs, look
at it. Look at the people trying to duck their head under the bottom
rope. They're trying to get any glimpse of these motherfuckers. Look at him.
Terry looks rather amost tears he does, listening on as they're being serenaded.
The funks clearly meaning so much to these folks. And it may appear,
at least for the time being, that the the ever present threat of
abduled the butcher in the Sheikh is behind them. Jeez. Maybe that's part
of the heightened emotion from the crowd here as they hoist the World Tag League
trophy high. At least Dory does above the heads of this adoring throngs.
And yeah, Terry looking really kind of in his feelings right now, Yeah,
for sure, A couple of brothers man something else, what a story?
Jeez, Dory looks like the kind of guy who would definitely buy a
like mail order bride. Uh huh, looking like arn Anderson right now,
No, he really does, or like a substitute shop Teacher Lars and Dos
Karus. The other tag teams in the Real World Tag League would also take
the ring at the conclusion of the tournament, at least the babyface ones would.
That's why I have never seen such a clear picture of Jimmy Barnett before.
Now Ever, they got a real tight shot of him there when he
was addressing up Dori and Terry. So the other teams and Meal Mascottis and
others being presented with some hardware, some trophies for their per anticipation in the
tournament. They know it's fake, right, there's predetermined. Bill still didn't
do the job. So that's a big thing too that the Funks brought to
not entirely by themselves, but you know, with the connection to Laredo and
the border towns and understanding Ricky Ramiro's appeal to Mexican Americans, the Funks were
a unique position to appreciate what lucha libre was and not dismiss it as some
kind of like, you know, exotic wrestling style that didn't have commercial viability
elsewhere besides Mexico and yeah, prominent luchadors like Dos Karus and Mil Mascaris.
Following the funks into the rings of all Japan in the seventies, Wow wild.
Of course, once Tiger Master took off in the country, mass wrestlers
were all the rage. Look at Terry. Yeah, he's really he's very
emotional. There's something legit here. Babies can cussed. Yeah, maybe he's
kind of staring off in a space. You see him selling the arm.
Look at their hand. Look we did to his hand. Yeah, dried
blood in the back. I don't even know where I am. Do you
know where I am? Do you know where you are? Do you know
where the pants are? It's got to be such a strange thing, you
know, to leave your house in Amarilla or Canyon, get on a plane,
fly twelve hours or whatever it is to Japan and this awaits you.
You're just some guy in Texas. That's Wahoo McDaniel as well, I think
in the ring. Yeah, that's Wahu right there in the blue suit,
Giant Baba shaking hands. That's Jumbo right there right yeh, says Jumbo,
sharda on his shirt. A ton of respect for the funks, for reasons
outlined on this episode of Colapsed Funk A little bit. Yeah, while we've
talked about the Wahoo Dori, the Wahoo Terry connection. Wahoo working for Dory
Funk Senior in his early years and in fact patterning Terry's transition off the college
gridiron into the pro ring is tantamount to what Wahoo was doing. The vision
towards maybe balancing a pro football and pro wrestling career. Of course, for
Terry Funk it would be one focus and perhaps is evidenced by just how much
adulation he's being showered with here in the rings of Japan. Quite a thing
as they posed for photographs with the trophy on two knees, with the rest
of the field on the baby face side. In the real world tag league,
it's Dory and Terry Funk one more time, and this is really poignant
for Funk, but Terry in particular. They keep catching him in moments of
what appeared to be inner monologue. You know, see how they get out
of here? I don't know how they can possibly nothing. See Terry is
shouting pleasantries after the people as he prepares to exit, trying to clear a
path here the the orange jackets of all Japan Pro Wrestling ringside personnel. I
was trying to I was going the other way. How you get to get
out of here? Man? I just want to go someplace. Can I
go one way and then decide to go the other way? Can I go
home? Can I go away? It doesn't appear a sandwich? Can I
have a pie? What are those pom poms? Boom boom boom. It
might not be the worst idea to pull up. Oh, Terry, whoa
brother? It's the left champion the Funks. Look at the signs they brought
out, man on sticks with the American flag and the Japanese flag both on
them. It's a beautiful thing. Is Terry and Dorry look out on all
of the tributes being paid to them here in al Japan Pro Wrestling. Well,
Boss, it's been quite a tour. I think we've gotten a real
flavor. To say the very least, I'm gonna say, I agree.
I concur this has been an enlightening Funk experience because I've never I've never,
I mean I have never seen people react like that to Terry Funk before.
This is unreal. It's why we're doing it the way we're doing it.
It's why history will smile upon and regard well the dedication of a tribute to
somebody like a Terry Funk. I mean, the entire world is in this
guy, the entire wrestling world, the full range of what wrestling can be
and has been is in his career, and so now we've become acquainted with
thanks to him, the very development of the Japanese wrestling scene as we came
to know it through the eighties and nineties in the New Japan Wars, and
the elevation underneath the tutelage of a giant Baba of Jambo Sharuda with no small
help from the Funks as we've seen, and importing a hyper violent style that
used to pop territories in the United States exporting that to Japan, and the
form of the match with of course the Sheikh and Abdullah the Butcher, who
I think we got to know a lot better than we counted on as well
on this episode. I was not expecting that at all. So it's clear
now that the lynch pin of all japan Pro wrestling, booked from day one
by Terry and Dori Funk from the heel side, is Abdullah the Butcher.
We just saw him take the fireball from the Sheik, thus ending the long
rain, the long standing rather feud with Dori and Terry in this you know,
years long, two years long tag team feud that took so many twists
and turns. As we talked about, it's now about Abdullah and how Abdullah
is going to respond to the heel turn of the Sheik and the new programs
and matches that that opens up for All Japan Pro Wrestling. But here's a
question, boss, mm hmm. What do the Funks do? What do
the Funks do when that's not possible? What do the Funks do as bookers
of All Japan Pro Wrestling when Abdullah the Butcher leaves All Japan Pro Wrestling to
jump to New Japan add and much more on the next episode of The Lapsed
Funk you know good for nothing eggs second dumb. We did it our way
because we love it that way. We love it that way, and I
have this wonderful gut feeling that I've had it all my life. When it's
time to go, I take us. Now, there's time to go. Sh