ECW Region, Indianapolis Subregion, Second Round: (8) Dory Funk Jr. vs. (9)Terry Funk

[klunderbunker]

This is a second round match in the ECW Region, Indianapolis Subregion. It is a standard one on one match held under ECW Rules, meaning anything goes. It will be held at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. Assume one week has passed since the first round match.

#8. Dory Funk Jr.

Vs.

#9. Terry Funk

​

Polls will be open for three days following a one day period for discussion. Voting will be based on who you feel is the greater of the two competitors. Post your reasons for why your pick should win below. Remember that this is non-spam and the most votes in the poll win. Any ties will be broken by the amount of posts of support for each candidate, with one vote per poster.

Also remember that this is a non-spam forum. If you post a response without giving a reason for your selection, it will be penalized for spam and deleted.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

Why no one's commented on this match speaks volumes to the crowd we have on Wrestlezone Forums these days.

Dory Funk Jr. held the NWA title during the title's most prestigious run in wrestling. Funk also held the title during this time, but Dory's reign was longer I believe. I'm sure they've wrestled at least once in their lifetimes, and I'm sure it was a slug fest filled with piss and vinegar.

I'll give the edge to Terry here for the simple reason of Funk being one of the originators of ECW's hardcore matches and in an Extreme Rules match, Terry has a slight advantage. Doesn't mean Dory Jr. won't get his shots in. He's not about using a branding iron or a cowbell to split anyone's wig.

Terry Funk wins... in a bloody bout that'll have both shaking their heads afterward and going out for a steak dinner.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

Hmmm this one is pretty tough to figure out. Both guys are legit draws, both were NWA champion although Dory's reign was much longer and more memorable but Terry gets a nod for his longevity and number of great matches and feuds that took place long after Dory hung up his wrestling boots.

This is one I really don't know who will win. I know on paper with it being an ECW rules match that Terry will win but Dory had a number of blood baths in his day and quite a few pretty violent matches against guys like Fritz Von Erich (good ol' German Blood matches).

I could really go either way and I may just pick Terry for the sole reason he's my favorite of the 2. I can be easily persuaded into voting for Dory though.

 

[AhSpicyDrop]

Just imagine the level of intensity these two would put forth, especially with this being Extreme Rules... A lot more likely to see the two Funk brothers completely batter the shit out of the other with exchanging punches. I think Terry edges it with his knowledge of weapons, and being just a LITTLE bit tougher than Dory. I see the match end in a bloody fist fight with Dory falling and Terry staggering and falling on top of him with a draped arm for the victory.

 

[dd23beatlesfan1]

This is quite possibly the most interesting match in the second round. Brother against brother.

For me, I think Terry Funk takes this in more ways than one. First let's discuss kayfabe. Dory Funk Jr. was tough, no doubt. He was one of the finest technicians pro wrestling has ever seen. Terry was no slouch in that department either. If this were, say an Iron Man Match, I might give the edge to Dory. But this is an ECW rules match, meaning anything goes, which clearly favors Terry. Dory wrestled some brawls and hardcore matches (mostly when he was teaming with Terry though), but Terry's second half of his career was defined by hardcore and death matches. Terry even wrestled in ECW and won the ECW title when he was 53 years old. The match rules clearly favor Terry, so in kayfabe, no matter how technical Dory is, how many moves he knows, he just wouldn't be able to overcome the toughness and hardcore experience of his brother Terry.


Now when it comes to who was the greatest wrestler and had more impact on the business and who was more all-around talented, to me Terry is also the superior Funk brother. Dory has the edge in technical prowess, and his reign as NWA Champion was longer. But when it comes to every other aspect of being a great pro wrestler, Terry has him beat. Terry was more well-rounded in style. He could chain wrestle, he could brawl, he could even do high flying moves late in his career. He could be an amazing heel or babyface. He was insane on the mic (far superior to Dory). Dory will be remembered as a great old-school NWA Champion who was a classic wrestler. While great, he certainly wasn't unique. Terry on the other hand was a pioneer of modern wrestling, he was more cutting edge, he was more fit for modern times, he was ahead of his time. And that's why his career was able to last much longer than Dory's was. Terry was wrestling in the mid 1960's all the way to the Monday Night Wars of the late 1990's. That's one helluva long career. And he was a big star through most of that time. And because of his diversity and longevity he was more important to the business than Dory was.


I could see people voting for Dory, but truthfully, I say voting for Terry Funk is the way to go here. Whether you're voting kayfabe, or on who was the greater professional wrestler.

 

[PsychoBlack]

Dory Funk Jr was a superior wrestler to his younger brother in every way imaginable. Dory was a bigger draw. The fans were more invested into him. He was a stronger champion. And for whatever it's worth, no self respecting man would let their younger brother beat them in a staring contest let alone a wrestling match.

Dory became world champiom almost as soon as he and his brother stepped into the NWA and went on to hold the title for over 4 years. The only other man to have a longer uninterrupted reign is the legendary Lou Thesz. Terry went onto win this same title 6 years later and went onto a 14 month reign. While this may sound impressive by todays standards it was almost common place back then to have a guy hold the world title for a little over a year so that he could get around to each of the territories and defend the world championship against their top contenders. Dory wins in the category of better champion

As far as being a draw, many have often called Dory Funk Jr the greatest drawing NWA world champion of all time even above the great Ric Flair I'm not sure how true this is,however, from everything that I have researched, Dory, Thesz, and Flair are the only guys in the conversation. Bigger draw goes to Dory.

Anytime Dory Funk went out on the road touring the territories his opponent would need an escort out of the building to make sure the fans didn't cause a riot. In the few weeks he spent in each of the terriories (We'll leave Amarillo and anything in Texas out seeing as how that's his home base) the fans grew to love him as if they had been watching him their whole life. Terry was often times the wrestler who needed someone else to get him over. Terry was a great character in his own right, but he didn't have an emotional connection with the crowd the way his brother did until much later in his career when he was well past his prime and not wrestling on the level that he once was.

The fact that this is in the ECW region plays no part in my decision. I know that Terry was an ECW champion (way out of his prime and really sucked when he was but still), however Dory has had some blood bath's in his day and often responded the same way. Grounding his opponent, Terry wont be able to use any of his hardcore shenanigans against his older brother due to the fact that Dory would not let him out of his sight long enough to get to any weapons.

Vote Dory here.

 

[Tastycles]

I think Terry is the one you go for here. The ECW nature helps it, but in all honesty I just think that Terry is the bigger name. Both have been world champions and held it well, but I think Terry is the one that people would name first. Maybe that's because he kept going longer, I'm not sure, but I think that's enough to carry him.

 

[HBsam31]

I think Terry will win this just because it is Extreme Rules, and he lasted longer. Dory held the title longer, and it seems he was the bigger draw. This one will definitely be a bloodbath. I am going to wait on picking one until I do some more research, but I think Terry will win.

 

[Brewski]

Wow how did I miss this until now? Dory Sr's kids going at it. If they ever did wrestle each other it would have been pre 1971 since thats the farthest back ProFightDB goes for either of them. They wrestled as tag team partners a lot though, thats as close as we'll get I suppose. Dory has one of the longest NWA title reigns of all time. He's an incredible wrestler and was a great champion. Terry is no slouch either. Also an NWA champion with a great line of wins, If you haven't seen his I quit match with Ric Flair then I highly recommend it. He is most famous for his deathmatch wrestling in Japan where he lost enough blood that I really have no idea how he's still wrestling, let alone alive. Dorry has had his fare share of hardcore wrestling too, even beating the great muta.

Brothers fight all the time growing up and i'm sure it was no different in the funk household. I hate to base this off a stipulation but I feel like I have to. If it was a standard wrestling match I would probably have to give it to Dory for his longevity as champion but Terry is harder than hardcore. This is a bloodbath of a match with barbed wire and japanese exploding board thingies and glass and blades and all that. At the end of it Terry wins this one.

 

[Papa Pillman]

This is clearly a case of the extreme rules allowing little brother to go over.

In a standard wrestling match I would side with Dory Jr. hands down, but that's not what we have here.

Terry is a two time ECW champ, a member of the ECW arena Hardcore Hall of Fame, like his brother he was a brass knuckles champion, he was a JCW champion, and made the finals of the IWA Japan King of the Death Match tournament in '95 before losing in an absolute classic to Mick Foley in an exploding ring barbed wire deathmatch.

Dory Jr. definitely was never out of his element in violent bloody encounters, but against his little brother he would have been in over his head.

 

[8thwotwATG]

This is probably an encounter that happened a whole bunch of times in the Funk household during their formative years. Dory was probably the better technician, though he could fight too, while Terry was probably a bit better as a brawler, though he was a sound wrestler and could match holds with most guys. I guess this just comes down to preference and instinct on my part, and I choose Terry, on the grounds of being over for a longer period of time than Dory Jr. While Dory was over to a greater degree, and drew more while he was NWA Champ, he was never quite as over once he dropped the belt. I'm not saying he wasn't over at all, just not quite to the same degree. I feel that Terry managed to stay relevant, and was able to continue to get himself over by constantly reinventing himself, and remaining entertaining for a longer period of time than Dory. Terry goes over Dory in a first class donneybrook, resulting in Terry's advance to the next round.

 

[ServantofTwilight]

You know, everyone keeps saying this is prime vs prime but yet argue Terry Funk's ECW experience, well after his prime, is what will win this.

Dory Funk Jr wrestled the likes of The Sheik, Abdullah the Butcher and Bruiser Brody. He was not afraid to mix it up with chairs and weapons, nor was he afraid to bleed.

Oh, and also they wrestled.

[YOUTUBE]ENR4AigzyiE[/YOUTUBE]

I know Dory won't win because everyone will have an ECW hard-on for Terry, but Dory was just better.

 

[deem]

Ok so before the first round had ended I started doing research for this. I've come to a decision that is 100% solid in my head.

I watched that match that ServantofTwilight just posted - it made a few things very clear. The first being something that I thought before I started looking at stuff - Dory has the advantage if the match stays clean. That's not to say that Terry isn't a bad scientific wrestler, because he's clearly underrated in that sense. Just, Dory is incredible.

So any region other than ECW and I'd be telling you to vote Dory. It's not though, it's in ECW and it's extreme rules. Dory is a hardcore bastard, but Terry is a different level. Similar to Terry being great but Dory having the advantage if it stays clean, Dory is great but Terry has the advantage if it gets extreme.

So now the question for me is - how would this match be worked in kayfabe? Would they keep it hold for hold, or go batshit insane in an extreme rules match.

That match that's been posted above me is their only one together - both guys were over, there was a ton of interest in a feud between them, but it never happened. They don't like fighting each other, that much is clear. The only reason that match ever happened is because Brody was unavailable so Terry made the tournament final in his stead.

So that leads me to believe it might be kept clean. But then I thought some more - imagine the ECW crowds reaction if this was booked, in the ECW arena, without it turning into a brawl. That's not to say they wouldn't appreciate the hold for hold stuff, it'd just be expected that these two double hard bastards would put in a hell of a brawl.

What's more, Terry has shown he's willing to get hardcore with people he likes. Foley around the world and in WWF while they were still a tag team etc. He's certainly not against brutalising someone he loves.

You can argue that Terry's prime was before ECW and therefore he didn't have the hardcore side to his game yet - the fact he became a hardcore legend is testament to the fact he had it dormant in his locker however. Even his early feud with Flair for the title had him turning the violence up several notches from the norm.

In WCW, WWE or international region I give this to Dory. It's not, and I can't imagine this not turning into a bloodbath, so Terry is your winner.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Brother v Brother!!!

This would have been a sight to see, a Funk brothers War under ECW rules, amazing!

I am going to have to give this one to Terry though. As others have pointed out, Dory had a more memorable NWA title reign and is no stranger to bloodbaths himself, but Terry is that much crazier, that I don't think he would have a problem beating his brother to a bloody pulp to proceed to the next round. He is sicker, more at home in this kind of match and arguably more of a legend.

Terry Funk advances after a piledriver on a steel chair

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Blood, blood blood all over the place. This is an interesting match and would be another old school bloodbath between two highly decorated brothers.

In terms of toughness & physical capability, it's a toss up. Both men were tough as nails and neither seemed, from my eyes, to have any huge advantage over the other. Both men were major stars in numerous territories. Championship Wrestling from Florida, All Japan Pro Wrestling, Georgia Championship Wrestling, Mid-Atlantic, the California NWA territories, St. Louis, etc. Both men were also NWA World Heavyweight Champion, the only two brothers in history to be NWA WHC I believe.

For me though, I think I'm going with Terry Funk because, overall, he's probably the bigger star. Terry continued to be a well known and pretty relevant star in wrestling long after his brother, including runs in WCW, ECW and WWF.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

You know, everyone keeps saying this is prime vs prime but yet argue Terry Funk's ECW experience, well after his prime, is what will win this.

Dory Funk Jr wrestled the likes of The Sheik, Abdullah the Butcher and Bruiser Brody. He was not afraid to mix it up with chairs and weapons, nor was he afraid to bleed.

Oh, and also they wrestled.

[YOUTUBE]ENR4AigzyiE[/YOUTUBE]

I know Dory won't win because everyone will have an ECW hard-on for Terry, but Dory was just better.

The thing here is that it was a long drawn out battle that Dory just edges, it isn't conclusive of Dory's superiority.

While Terry's prime wasn't his ECW years, we do know how well he adapted to this style and wrestling history tells us that a younger brother will shaft his older brother when it comes to benefiting themselves (Owen and Bret, Scott and Rick) and it has already been discussed how Terry has no issues decimating loved ones. I literally see this going very similar to SoT's video but Terry resorting to legal but backstabbing tactics when he cannot pin his brother clean (and with the memory of Japan clear in his mind) that ultimately level him up with Dory.

 

[The Brain]

An absolutely fantastic match here. I see it starting as a scientific match as the brothers respect each other and want to prove to each other who is the better wrestler. It's back and forth but Dory has the advantage. As Dory controls the match frustration gets the best of Terry and he turns it into a brawl to try to get the upper hand. Dory is no stranger to a fight though and even though Terry is ruthless Dory takes the punishment and is able to deliver plenty of his own. By the end the match has turned from a scientific clinic to a bloody brawl and ends with the most basic of moves as Dory catches Terry in something like a backslide or small package. Tough decision but Dory was the more consistent winner throughout his career and deserves to move on. I'm not surprised to see Terry winning but for Dory to have only twelve percent of the vote is just wrong.