Ladies and gentlemen, last year one of the greatest wrestlers of all time exited the tournament far too early. Sadly, Terry Funk maybe most remembered by the current generation as Middle Aged and Crazy, throwing himself into barbed wire ropes in matches against Cactus Jack.
As memorable as Terry Funk's ECW matches were, his contributions to wrestling far exceed anything he did from the 90s onward. He wrestled all around the country in the territory days, and even had tremendous success overseas in Japan. He held the NWA Championship for fourteen months, beating another legend, Jack Brisco, in order to get the belt, and had a successful title defense against another legend, Jumbo Tsuruta.
Funk also has had success in the WWF, winning a tag team match with his brother Dory at Wrestlemania 2 against two more legends, Junk Yard Dog and Tito Santana. He won another tag match at Wrestlemania 14, this time with Mick Foley and for the championship.
And while he was certainly over the hill for his ECW career, you can't take anything away from the Funker, and he helped build ECW into what it is today, headlining ECW's first PPV where he won the ECW Championship from Raven after he won a three-way-dance match against Sandman and Stevie Richards.
Terry Funk wrestles to this day and has dedicated his entire life to the business. He's one of the most legendary wrestlers of all time, has been and inspiration for many of the popular wrestlers of today, and will forever be remembered as one of the all time greats. Give your support to Terry Funk here.
Accomplishments
* All Japan Pro Wrestling
o World's Strongest Tag Team League (1977, 1979, 1982) with Dory Funk, Jr.
* Cauliflower Alley Club
o Iron Mike Mazurki Award (2005)
* Championship Wrestling from Florida
o NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
o NWA Florida Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Dory Funk, Jr.
o NWA Florida Television Championship (1 time)
o NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Florida version) (1 time) with Dory Funk, Jr.
o NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Florida version) (2 times)
o NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* Eastern Championship Wrestling / Extreme Championship Wrestling1
o ECW Television Championship (1 time)
o ECW World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)2
o Hardcore Hall of Fame (2005)[19]
* George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
o Class of 2010[20]
* Georgia Championship Wrestling
o NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Dory Funk, Jr.
o NWA Georgia Television Championship (1 time)
* International Wrestling Association of Japan
o IWA World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
* Juggalo Championship Wrestling
o JCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling / World Championship Wrestling
o WCW Hardcore Championship (2 times)
o NWA (Mid-Atlantic)/WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
o WCW Hall of Fame (Class of 1995)
* NWA Hollywood Wrestling
o NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
o NWA International Tag Team Championship (3 times) with Dory Funk, Jr.
o NWA World Tag Team Championship (Los Angeles version) (1 time) with Dory Funk, Jr.
* NWA Western States Sports
o NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (Amarillo version) (2 times)
o NWA International Tag Team Championship (2 times) with Dory Funk, Jr.
o NWA Western States Heavyweight Championship (7 times)
o NWA Western States Tag Team Championship (2 times) with Ricky Romero
o NWA World Tag Team Championship (Texas version) (2 times) with Dory Funk, Jr.
* Pro-Pain Pro Wrestling
o 3PW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[16]
* Pro Wrestling Illustrated
o PWI Feud of the Year (1989) vs. Ric Flair
o PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (1997)[21]
o PWI Wrestler of the Year (1976)
o PWI ranked him #22 in the PWI Years in 2003[22]
* Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
o Class of 2004
* Southwest Championship Wrestling
o SCW Southwest Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
o SCW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Dory Funk, Jr.
* St. Louis Wrestling Club
o NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* Stampede Wrestling
o Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame[23]
* United States Wrestling Association
o USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment
o WWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Cactus Jack
o WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2009)
* National Wrestling Alliance
o NWA Hall of Fame (Class of 2009)[24]
* Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
o 5 Star Match (1984) with Dory Funk, Jr. vs. Bruiser Brody and Stan Hansen on December 8
o 5 Star Match (1989) vs. Ric Flair on November 15
o Best Brawler (1989)
o Best Heel (1989)
o Best on Interviews (1989)
o Feud of the Year (1989) vs. Ric Flair
o Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)
* All Japan Pro Wrestling
o World's Strongest Tag Team League (1977, 1979, 1982) with Dory Funk, Jr.
* Cauliflower Alley Club
o Iron Mike Mazurki Award (2005)
* Championship Wrestling from Florida
o NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
o NWA Florida Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Dory Funk, Jr.
o NWA Florida Television Championship (1 time)
o NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Florida version) (1 time) with Dory Funk, Jr.
o NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Florida version) (2 times)
o NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* Eastern Championship Wrestling / Extreme Championship Wrestling1
o ECW Television Championship (1 time)
o ECW World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)2
o Hardcore Hall of Fame (2005)[19]
* George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
o Class of 2010[20]
* Georgia Championship Wrestling
o NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Dory Funk, Jr.
o NWA Georgia Television Championship (1 time)
* International Wrestling Association of Japan
o IWA World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
* Juggalo Championship Wrestling
o JCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling / World Championship Wrestling
o WCW Hardcore Championship (2 times)
o NWA (Mid-Atlantic)/WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
o WCW Hall of Fame (Class of 1995)
* NWA Hollywood Wrestling
o NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
o NWA International Tag Team Championship (3 times) with Dory Funk, Jr.
o NWA World Tag Team Championship (Los Angeles version) (1 time) with Dory Funk, Jr.
* NWA Western States Sports
o NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (Amarillo version) (2 times)
o NWA International Tag Team Championship (2 times) with Dory Funk, Jr.
o NWA Western States Heavyweight Championship (7 times)
o NWA Western States Tag Team Championship (2 times) with Ricky Romero
o NWA World Tag Team Championship (Texas version) (2 times) with Dory Funk, Jr.
* Pro-Pain Pro Wrestling
o 3PW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[16]
* Pro Wrestling Illustrated
o PWI Feud of the Year (1989) vs. Ric Flair
o PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (1997)[21]
o PWI Wrestler of the Year (1976)
o PWI ranked him #22 in the PWI Years in 2003[22]
* Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
o Class of 2004
* Southwest Championship Wrestling
o SCW Southwest Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
o SCW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Dory Funk, Jr.
* St. Louis Wrestling Club
o NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* Stampede Wrestling
o Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame[23]
* United States Wrestling Association
o USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment
o WWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Cactus Jack
o WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2009)
* National Wrestling Alliance
o NWA Hall of Fame (Class of 2009)[24]
* Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
o 5 Star Match (1984) with Dory Funk, Jr. vs. Bruiser Brody and Stan Hansen on December 8
o 5 Star Match (1989) vs. Ric Flair on November 15
o Best Brawler (1989)
o Best Heel (1989)
o Best on Interviews (1989)
o Feud of the Year (1989) vs. Ric Flair
o Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)