WEBVTT

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You know, good for nothing,
egg sucking dumb. We did it our

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way because we love it that way. We love it that way. I

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have this wonderful gun feeling, and
I've had it all my life. When

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it's time to go, I think
it's now, there's time to go.

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TLF stands for the Lapsed Funk.
TLF stands for the lessons of Funk,

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and perhaps nowhere else in Terry Funk's
storied wrestling career can we learn more lessons

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about what made Terry Funk Terry Funk
and what makes pro wrestling pro wrestling than

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the feud with Jerry the King Lawler? Boss? Are you ready to go?

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Mt? Arena? I know,
I guess I know nothing about this

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feud and whatsoever. That's remarkable because
it's quintessential Funk and it illustrates all the

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things the Dusty Rhodes feud we talked
about last week did in terms of Georgia

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and Florida. This time we're talking, of course Memphis and to some degree

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Florida as well, because of just
how hot this program got. This is

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early eighties Terry, you know,
transitioning out of you know, his full

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time duties in Japan, looking at
a US career that's a bit more sporadic

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in terms of here for a little
while, here for another little while post

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selling the Emerald Territory to Dick murnauth
and black Jack Mulligan and yet another all

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time wrestling legend, a touchstone figure, you know, a giant of a

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territory, a giant of a generation. And Jerry Lawler, who will tell

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you without a hesitation that Terry Funk
among the greatest, if not the greatest,

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he ever did business with. And
that's starting to echo, is it

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not, Boss, I would say, yes, lessons of Funk from his

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book. I hate to admit it, but I really didn't think Dusty is

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a slob. Yeah, heates to
admit that, for sure. It's hard

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for me to do. It hurts
me to write this, but I really

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like him, and that's a horrible
thing to admit. I sure wouldn't want

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to be married to him, though, the fat asshole. Seriously, it

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worked because A border lined on him, I repeat, Boss, A border

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lined on him, order aligned on
him? The fuck does that even mean?

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And he borderlined me right back.
He'd rip on my family right walk

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up to the borderline. Oh,
I see my athletic background. Everything borderlining

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is cutting a promo and just coming
as hard as you can at the other

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guy. When I cut a promo
and Dusty, I would say things that

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were true to make people look at
him and think, God, that's got

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to bother him. And the same
thing with the things he said about me.

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That was key to being successful in
our business. You know, it's

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a combination of believing and the suspension
of disbelief for fans, and we have

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to say things that they can suspend
their disbelief on. You'd have to say

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things that are cutting, and you
have to be clever about it too.

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That way, you get not only
the fans who were going to buy into

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what you're saying and believe it,
but the ones who view it differently,

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who can think, you know,
that's some sharp shit they're doing there,

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mm hmm. And talk about a
creative promo man. Dusty Rhodes was sharp.

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He was one of the truly great
talkers. He could, as they

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say, talk those fans right into
those seats. And when I cut them

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up verbally, he knew that it
meant we were going to do some big

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box office and believe me, he
hit hard on me too. Our promos

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and knocking each other bordered on being
shoots from time to time, and I

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think that's why ours was such a
successful feud. For most of my career,

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we had an assortment of people watching
wrestling, from true believers to people

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watching for an entertaining show, and
we wanted to open up that whole audience

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and grab up what we could.
That was what I tried to do with

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the cleverness of my promos, but
it had to be with a grain of

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truth, a grain of truth as
it regards the King Oh Boy. August

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two Kids, two thousand and four, in Memphis, Jerry Lawler and his

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manager Jimmy Hart took on Terry Funk
and Memphis wrestling announcer in local television personality

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Corey Macklin in sort of a return
to form for the Funk Lawler feud in

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Memphis. This is, of course, post DCW collapse, post WCW collapse,

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Jerry Lawler allowed to take independent dates
despite working for WWE and going around

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the country and doing just that by
rekindling feuds with the likes of people like

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Terry Funk that he had drawn houses
with before. The damn thing drew five

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thousand fans in two thousand and four, one of the biggest crowds for a

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non WW show in years. And
how did they do it? As Serry

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said in the book, we had
no exploding cars, no fancy fireworks shows,

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no elaborate backstage SciTS. Hell,
I wasn't even in Memphis until the

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night of the show. How did
we do it with a tape a mail

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to Memphis containing four promos? We
did it with carefully crafted promos, one

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a week for a month of Memphis
TV shows leading up to our big match.

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Wow. And let's hear what he
says about Lawler Boss in the spirit

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of saying something cutting. Oh boy, oh hey, Jerry, I hate

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your ever loving juts. I hate
you with the passion Jerry Lawyer, I

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hate you. I can't believe that
a wrestling fan walked up to me out

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in the middle of Texas and Marilla, Texas and he said to me,

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do you know who my five favorite
wrestling legends are? Terry Funk And I

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said, no, who are they? And he said Hulk Hogan, Rick

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Frere, McK foley, Dusty Rhodes. And I said, don't go any

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further, don't go any further and
me Terry funk and he said, why

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no, Jerry the King Lawler,
Jerry the King Lawler. I drew back

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and I knocked his lights out.
Old Cogan. I can understand him,

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even though he's an ego maniac.
I can understand Rick Frere being in that

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group, even though he has a
banana nose. I can understand Dusty Rhodes

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even though he's an egg sucking dog. I can understand McK foley even though

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he's a satchel ass. But I
can't understand why he would put Jerry Lawler

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in there. Does he know who
he's talking about? Does he know that

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boud Berker? Look? Does he
know about the transparants? Does he know?

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Jerry Lawler is a baby banger,
a baby banger, old baby banger?

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And do you know that his partner, Jimmy Hart is nothing but a

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cheap thief. He was my manager
in New York and he insisted that we

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shared rooms. So I would share
a room with him, and in the

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middle of the night he would sneak
into my pockets and steal my change.

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Later on, he was Haulk Hogan's
manager, and Hulk Hogan said he insisted

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on staying with him, and in
the middle of the night he would sneak

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into his pockets and steal his change. And now he's back with you,

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Jerry Lawler. And I'll tell you
one thing for certain that I know and

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that you know too. Jimmy Hart
is sneaking up on you and putting his

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hands in your pockets, your front
pockets. But he's not looking for his

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change. And what's worse than that, you know what he's looking for,

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Laura. I've hated you all my
life and I'm going to continue to hate

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you until we have finlity. That's
why I am bringing this. It's years

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and I am giving it back to
you at the Memphis Colisseum. That's right.

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I'm going to give it back to
you on August at twenty eight and

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Cory mack Help is on the way. Help is on the way. I

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think I've heard that somewhere before,
shout out of the Double Cross Ranch and

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then he just wanders out a frame
after he says to himself, I think

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I heard that somewhere before. That
is spectacular, baby banger. That's horrifying

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us. He says it three times. Do you think Jerry was okay with

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that. Do you think Jerry thinks
that's business. I'm gonna say no,

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Terry Funk, the lessons of Funk
don't stop until you've said something that they

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can't react to because it's just too
true. Yes, And when it comes

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to Jerry Lawler from the hair transplants, looking like Bob Barker, due to

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the facelifts and all the other things, he would go in on on the

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king over the course of a basically
a forty year feud between Terry Funk and

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Jerry Lawler. We have all of
the forty year feuds. Isn't it so

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true? Now? Let me why
would that be? Would that be because

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he doesn't know how to get over
and stay over? Or would that be

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because once you work with Terry Funk, you can never undo that association because

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it's money. Just about every single
time I would say a little bit of

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Colum a, a little bit of
columbe, I would say a lot of

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column A. And that's from a
series of promos that again he referenced there

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in his book that he sent via
videotape over to Memphis to air on television.

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Didn't even make any appearances in the
territory before drawing that very impressive house

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for two thousand and four against the
King Jerry Lawler. All the years after

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they had a famous feud, including
the very first empty Arena match, which

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of course we're going to get to
on this edition of The Lapsed Fan.

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These promos are uploaded to a YouTube
account run by someone named Kim Walker,

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and I'm not entirely sure if that's
the originator of, you know, the

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first uploader of the clips. But
they are hard to find in terms of

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like, you know, you're you're
what you typically think to search for to

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find them. But there it is, and there you have it, and

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there you hear it. Boss,
I think it's time to cut. I'm,

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I'm, I'm please, I don't, I don't, I don't even

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know. I'm ready cut me.
We're gonna pay something in and I like

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for you to pull up the video
and toggle over to twelve thirty three.

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This is also in there in terms
of the the series of videos. So

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you can see we're on the Double
Cross Ranch. Yes, it's very rustic,

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it's very you know, it's got
wooden fences up and shit, and

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there's a sign that says Funkers Texas. Yes, just In the promo we

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just played, Terry Funk at one
point makes reference to pulling something out and

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saying, I'm gonna give this back
to you. Did you hear that?

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Yes, what he's referring to is
a little spike of wood that Jerry Lawler

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used to essentially gouge his eye Magnum
tier Tully Blanchard style and the aforementioned nineteen

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eighty one mt Arena match at the
Mid South Colisium in Memphis. This is

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before, by the way, the
equip match in which a you know,

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a shard of broken chair was used
to render Tully Blanchard incapable of responding.

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That was an eighty five in fact, so Terry played this up the entirety

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of the rest of his interactions with
Jerry Lawler. That you blinded me.

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To this day, Jerry Lawler,
I can't see well out of my right

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eye, and I see double and
I have days where I can't see it

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all, and not a day goes
by where I'm not reminded of how much

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I hate you, Jerry Lawler,
because you did this to my eye.

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H And I just the reason I
want you to see this is because he

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decides to like take on the physicality
of somebody who can't see with the eye

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and what it's almost like he forgets
unless he's cutting a promo and Jerry Lawler

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that he's supposed to sell that his
right eye doesn't work, okay, And

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so this is a tight shot of
Terry Funk's hilarious face in two thousand and

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four selling the fact that his eye
doesn't work. And I just I'm just

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gonna lay out and let you react
to it. Three two one play.

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I look. I looked through my
good eye and I see and I see

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my lovely wife and family. And
I look and I look through my bad

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eye, and I see an ugly
yellow and I look through my good eye

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and my lovely dog, and I
see the dog. I look through my

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right eye and I see the old
yellower and he's a goddamn jack allor come

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come closer, Come closer, Jerry. I want you to see that hate

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in the face. Don't get away? Yeah, yeah, m m M.

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Do you see that? Do you
see them hate? I can't.

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I can't m hm tonight at the
sad you know, I'll be in the

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ring with you, La. Where
can they have some finality to this we're

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going to have some closing scene.
We're going to close it out over and

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I don't mind if I die closing
it O. Fuck, what the fuck

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is wrong? Out? That looks
fuck fucking Walter mathout? He does so.

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I you know obviously that people can't
see it. But if you go

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on YouTube and look up Terry Funk
raw promo uploaded by Kim Walker and go

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to the twelve thirty three mark,
you can share with us in the joy.

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But for those who don't, who
can't see it obviously, and I

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want to know what was so funny? I just would wish you describe it.

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I mean, so he talks about, you know, it's going along

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fine. As he's talking about his
eye, I mean, Graham, he

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can't he can't choose which eye is
the one that actually is injured. It

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keeps which but it's fine, you
know, it's going along fine. Then

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all of a sudden and he says
to him, says, I'm gonna show

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What does he say, I'm gonna
show. I'm gonna show you the face

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of hate, the hate in my
eyes. And he just like he jerks

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into it like a he pushes up
his face like he's a like he's a

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like he's a child trying to prove
that he's angry or like, you know,

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mad at his parents for taking away
his fucking favorite toy. And he

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just keeps doing different faces over and
over again, and they are so goofy.

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It's so ridiculous. I mean,
he doesn't mean there's there, and

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also there's no anger there either.
It's just just look at my goofy facial

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expressions. He went from like serious
as a heart attack in the in the

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eighties to embracing the fact that we're
two old men sort of you know,

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we still hate each other, but
I'm just so nuts, but also kind

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of so self aware of how old
we are that I can have a little

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fun with it too. Oh my
god, what a trip. Just the

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way he stays totally silent, and
then just further, it's like he makes

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a face like he ate a very
sour piece of candy. Yeah, exactly

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exactly, and he does it over
and over again. He keeps jerking his

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head, he keeps straining his neck
veins and switching the fucking eye, like

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which one he's gonna use as his
uh as it's staying Oh, it's just

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it's hilarious, So that building a
twenty four meeting with the King in the

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most Terry Funk way possible nice to
get a first hand glimpse of just a

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very limited frame, of course,
of the double Cross ranch, which of

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course has been somewhat of a character
throughout the course of Lapsed Funk in its

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own right. And after that match
and several other matches in and around Tennessee

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against Jerry the King Lawler, Jerry
King Lawler starts up a podcast, of

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course, and on one episode with
a match coming up against Terry Funk in

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North Carolina, which proved to be
the final pair of meetings where Terry Funk

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and Jerry Lawler shared a ring.
The King gets a phone call, gets

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a surprise phone call in twenty seventeen
from the Funker. And if you don't

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think Terry's ready to do business,
if you don't think Terry's ready to immediately

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revisit the place in which these two
may very well hate each other, then

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you do not know what the fuck
you're talking about. Oh boy, he

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really did, He's really calling You
think that's him? It was supposed to

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be our surprise guest, but everybody
knows that He's a hardcore legend, a

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man, Jerry, that you have
battled with over the years for decades.

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It's been a couple of years since
you guys have been in the ring together.

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But you'll be squaring off this weekend, and Jerry, I know you're

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gonna be upset with me, but
he is probably just up there when it

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comes to guys that I enjoy watching, he is Terry Funk. Terry,

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00:17:36.960 --> 00:17:40.440
how are you today? Well,
it depends on how I do on this

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conversation with this asshole I'm talking to. Oh please, area, is that

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the way you're gonna start this conversation
like that? The only way to start.

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You gotta hate in the world and
wrestling man, oh man, And

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the first of all, Glenn,
Well, thank you. I guess I

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could say thank you for being on
our podcast. Terry. I understand you.

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You don't do many podcasts, do
you, Terry Phone? The only

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thing wrong with your podcast? No, I don't is it stinks? Really?

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Is that? I mean? Is
that your opinion? Or have you

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heard that it's got a god awful
odor? Have you looked around and smelled

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something dead? Jerry? I think
that's you. Please wait a minute,

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that's you Gary Lawler, it's your
ass. That's okay, Okay, okay,

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00:18:33.720 --> 00:18:38.279
okay to ring to Lawler. Okay, you want to start jacking around

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and talking about stuff that, Oh, what a great time we're gonna have.

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What a great ass kicking you're gonna
get? Okay, how do you

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know? I like? I like
it so far? It's you like you,

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You're gonna get an ass kicking.
Well, you're gonna get one.

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Well, let's let me say,
what do you want to talk about now?

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Okay, I want to talk a
little bit about what Glenn just said.

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It's been you say, it's been
a couple of years since he and

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I were in the Funk and I
were in the ring against each other.

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Yes, swear it was. It
was in Jackson, Tennessee. And it

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seems to me like it was just
like last week because I can remember it

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00:19:15.759 --> 00:19:18.839
so vividly. We had a huge
crowd at the Omen Arena in Jackson,

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Tennessee. Terry Funk and I squared
off for the time and I don't know

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00:19:22.160 --> 00:19:25.400
how long, and it took about
maybe. First of all, you came

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00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:30.000
out and you insulted probably the greatest
ring announcer ever in the history, Lance

246
00:19:30.079 --> 00:19:33.000
Russell, and you came out and
said terrible things about Lance. What was

247
00:19:33.079 --> 00:19:37.400
up with that? Mourn on to
moron. That's why he deserves to be

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00:19:37.680 --> 00:19:45.119
exposed. That's the same way that
you need to exposed as a chicken shit.

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00:19:45.920 --> 00:19:47.960
I guess is this language okay,
Glenn? I mean, is he

250
00:19:48.039 --> 00:19:49.279
going to be able to get away
with this kind of language the home?

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That's all I will not say an
You know, a chicken shit is chicken

252
00:19:55.720 --> 00:20:00.160
shit, wow, and your chicken
shit. But you're you're saying that Lance

253
00:20:00.240 --> 00:20:10.400
perfectly fine, Lances chicken ship on
the podcast. It's perfectly fine. Ship

254
00:20:10.720 --> 00:20:14.680
is not considered a bad word.
If you want me to tell you another

255
00:20:14.799 --> 00:20:18.519
word that begins with m F,
I'll tell you that one. And that's

256
00:20:18.599 --> 00:20:22.759
a bad word. You know what
that word is. Of course you know,

257
00:20:23.599 --> 00:20:27.440
of course you do, because that's
what you are. You are an

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00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:33.960
m F e er. Think about
that. But let me get back to

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00:20:33.000 --> 00:20:38.160
the fact that you call your praying. You're saying Lance, You're saying Lance

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Russell is a moron. I just
had I just had lunch with Lance a

261
00:20:41.680 --> 00:20:45.839
couple of weeks ago at my restaurant
here in Memphis. I didn't say I'm

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00:20:45.880 --> 00:20:52.680
not talking about Lance Russell. I'm
talking about I'm not talking about Lance Russell.

263
00:20:53.039 --> 00:20:59.319
I'm just Lance, your idiot announcer. You're idiot announcer that listens to

264
00:20:59.480 --> 00:21:03.319
you and what you tell him to
say about you, and that's all he

265
00:21:03.480 --> 00:21:08.640
says. And that's the only reason
he's your announcer. I'm not talking about

266
00:21:10.079 --> 00:21:15.079
him. I'm talking about you.
You got that right, Okay, Yeah,

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00:21:15.160 --> 00:21:18.559
well then let's talk about you and
me. In that match in Jackson.

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You say you're gonna give me an
ass whipping in the Carolina's coming up

269
00:21:22.960 --> 00:21:26.359
this weekend. What happened in that
match of Jackson? If I can remember,

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00:21:26.519 --> 00:21:27.880
if I can remember, if it
took about five minutes into the match

271
00:21:29.000 --> 00:21:32.559
and you're going to the back,
you're bringing out you're bringing out a garbage

272
00:21:32.599 --> 00:21:36.079
can full of brooms and shovels and
mops and all of this sort of stuff

273
00:21:36.240 --> 00:21:38.880
to use his weapons, and still
you got set on fire at the end

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00:21:38.880 --> 00:21:41.519
of the match. Do you remember
that I was going to I was gonna

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00:21:41.559 --> 00:21:55.880
clean up after the murder, your
goddamn murders. Oh right, God fucking

276
00:21:56.559 --> 00:22:02.920
what I mean. If you're Jerry
Lawler, like you've worked with this guy

277
00:22:03.519 --> 00:22:07.599
dozens of times. I don't still
think you can feel completely comfortable that he's

278
00:22:07.680 --> 00:22:12.000
not this time shooting. Do you
know what I mean? Right right,

279
00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:15.640
You've heard the lines over and over
again. You can kind of hear the

280
00:22:15.680 --> 00:22:18.960
smirk in his voice on some of
the things he says. But he goes

281
00:22:19.000 --> 00:22:22.079
to the absolute extreme. It's like
the second Tary Funk sens is that you're

282
00:22:22.119 --> 00:22:26.119
not taking this as blood seriously as
you should. Yeah, he will turn

283
00:22:26.200 --> 00:22:30.039
the dial up higher than anyone else
who's ever lived and breathed in the business,

284
00:22:30.079 --> 00:22:32.799
short of perhaps like a Brian pillman, who in his own right still

285
00:22:32.799 --> 00:22:36.720
had to work within certain parameters.
But Terry Funk, by staying of Vagamond,

286
00:22:37.279 --> 00:22:40.799
by staying untied to any let's say, set of HR policies throughout the

287
00:22:40.880 --> 00:22:44.759
course of his wrestling career, could
and did go where others could not un

288
00:22:44.799 --> 00:22:48.759
promos. And when he calls him
on a baby banger, and when he

289
00:22:48.759 --> 00:22:51.240
says he brought all that shit to
the ring to clean up after the murder

290
00:22:51.440 --> 00:22:53.480
and I don't care if I die
trying to avenge what you did to my

291
00:22:53.559 --> 00:22:57.880
eye, Jerry Lawler, that's that's
king shit. Because because he knows no

292
00:22:57.960 --> 00:23:02.079
one else can go there, and
he can go there because he's Terry Funk

293
00:23:02.319 --> 00:23:07.119
and no one else is. Right, just thoughts there because it's so unique

294
00:23:07.160 --> 00:23:08.680
to hear it in the format of
like phoning into a podcast. You know,

295
00:23:08.680 --> 00:23:11.079
it's almost like if Terry Funk were
to ambush lawl or if he was

296
00:23:11.160 --> 00:23:15.160
on like radio in the seventies or
eighties or something. Right, just masterful.

297
00:23:15.240 --> 00:23:18.839
I mean, the guy is just
he's blabbering, he's meandering, he's

298
00:23:19.519 --> 00:23:25.519
but he's also like he's also projecting
danger. Like if someone talk to me

299
00:23:25.640 --> 00:23:30.039
like that, I'd actually be a
little worried, of course. I mean,

300
00:23:30.079 --> 00:23:36.440
he just threatened to kill you know, he threatened to murder Jerry Lawley.

301
00:23:37.960 --> 00:23:47.759
He said it's gonna happen. I
I really, I don't know.

302
00:23:47.880 --> 00:23:53.640
I mean that that's it's just that's
that's incredible, absolutely incredible. Like the

303
00:23:56.799 --> 00:24:03.559
the the the amount of dedication and
the amount of it's the mindset, the

304
00:24:03.680 --> 00:24:07.960
mindset you have to put yourself in, is that you know, at some

305
00:24:08.200 --> 00:24:14.839
point you make the choice I'm not
I'm you know what, I'm not gonna

306
00:24:14.880 --> 00:24:18.200
let him think I'm fucking around,
right, that's right? And then that's

307
00:24:18.359 --> 00:24:23.440
that's really That's what's so amazing with
him is that he'll get into that and

308
00:24:23.640 --> 00:24:27.400
and that's it. It's game on
and it's game over. True. Yeah,

309
00:24:27.759 --> 00:24:33.640
yeah, two, your goddamn murder. It's gonna be your goddamn murder.

310
00:24:33.759 --> 00:24:37.039
How did it ever get to this
point between Terry Funk and Jerry the

311
00:24:37.119 --> 00:24:41.440
King Lawler. We're gonna map it
out, as you can imagine, on

312
00:24:41.519 --> 00:24:45.000
this week's episode of The Lapsed Funk
And of course we're proud to be chronicling

313
00:24:45.079 --> 00:24:49.000
the most most remarkable career in the
history of the business at the same time

314
00:24:49.359 --> 00:24:52.680
that we ring in yet another Christmas
season here at TLF Boss. It's festive

315
00:24:52.680 --> 00:24:59.599
as fuck? Is it not?
Fucking You can't even begin to talk about

316
00:24:59.680 --> 00:25:03.640
fest It's fucking crazy. Els on. So, first of all, we've

317
00:25:03.720 --> 00:25:07.680
now begun unloading on the Solar System, our series of twenty twenty three TLF

318
00:25:07.799 --> 00:25:11.359
Christmas shows. It's the Unwrappening two
as your co chairman, go gift by

319
00:25:11.400 --> 00:25:18.559
gift, pod by pod stuffing that
stalking on the daily heading into Christmas time.

320
00:25:18.359 --> 00:25:21.000
What a thrill it was just to
go back and listen to them.

321
00:25:21.000 --> 00:25:23.000
We had so much fun recording it, yep, but just remembering, like

322
00:25:23.119 --> 00:25:30.680
your reaction to the Jeff Hardy life
size cutout thoughts, I'm it was miserable.

323
00:25:30.839 --> 00:25:33.279
Miserable. Your misery was definitely the
holiday joy of the solar system when

324
00:25:33.319 --> 00:25:36.559
we put that picture up. Let
me tell you, as it should be.

325
00:25:37.039 --> 00:25:41.119
As it should be. I encourage, I encourage everyone to enjoy in

326
00:25:41.240 --> 00:25:45.799
my pain. But my god,
what a shit show. What an absolute

327
00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:53.400
fucking uh Steve does it again?
I can't. I'm looking at the picture

328
00:25:53.440 --> 00:25:59.519
right now, I mean, for
God's sake, like, look, I

329
00:25:59.559 --> 00:26:04.119
look like I'm I'm about to just
go insane. Look I'm about to go

330
00:26:04.240 --> 00:26:10.039
insane. Where is that thing?
By the way, it's still folded up.

331
00:26:10.119 --> 00:26:12.000
I keep forgetting to burn it.
You're really going to burn it.

332
00:26:12.200 --> 00:26:17.119
I'm gonna burn it. I'm gonna
film it too. I'll film it.

333
00:26:17.200 --> 00:26:19.759
I'm gonna fucking say Christmas. Maybe
maybe I'll just throw it in the fire.

334
00:26:19.839 --> 00:26:22.799
Actually, when I build my next
fire, it's all cardboard. That'd

335
00:26:22.839 --> 00:26:26.039
be very festive of you. Yeah, that's what I'm gonna do. Let

336
00:26:26.079 --> 00:26:29.799
a cardboard cut out of Jeff Hardy
in two thousand and nine burn the house

337
00:26:29.839 --> 00:26:32.279
down, Okay, please be a
little careful. That's not to but watch

338
00:26:32.319 --> 00:26:33.759
it's gonna happen. You know,
if anything, Jeff Hardy's going to ruin

339
00:26:33.839 --> 00:26:38.759
my life. As we sit a
series of a GPT scripts sent to us

340
00:26:40.960 --> 00:26:44.640
that was unbelievable, trained on tlf's
unique view of the world. Those were

341
00:26:44.680 --> 00:26:48.039
just so fun to readthrough for you. And we got that wonderful bobble from

342
00:26:48.440 --> 00:26:52.200
that sort of Japanese children's top with
Hulk Cogan's engraving on it. Just so

343
00:26:52.319 --> 00:26:55.880
much and I'm sure by the time
you listen to this, so much more

344
00:26:56.279 --> 00:27:00.839
will have been unveiled, would have
been unwrapped, and really again tremendously grateful

345
00:27:00.880 --> 00:27:03.400
to the Solar System. We continue
to record these things because, as discussed

346
00:27:03.440 --> 00:27:06.599
in the past, the Peo box
continues to get hit up, does it

347
00:27:06.680 --> 00:27:11.440
not? It does? And we
got more we have to well to record

348
00:27:11.559 --> 00:27:15.640
another one. I got four more
sitting here right now. Unbelievable, unbelievable.

349
00:27:15.640 --> 00:27:18.759
The generosity knows no bounds, and
that's why this all works because we

350
00:27:18.799 --> 00:27:23.240
can count on you to give us
reason to bring that level of joy to

351
00:27:23.279 --> 00:27:26.880
the next level. And you do
it because you know, not only does

352
00:27:26.920 --> 00:27:29.599
it feel like the right thing to
do, but because you can share in

353
00:27:30.160 --> 00:27:34.119
the joy of us reacting to being
bestowed such trinkets. So TLF Christmas s

354
00:27:34.200 --> 00:27:40.640
is in extremely underway, especially now
boss that we've checked a couple of under

355
00:27:40.640 --> 00:27:44.960
the cinemat boxes that are non holiday
the scary movie we did as well as

356
00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:48.960
a tip of the cowboy hat to
Terry Funk's nineteen eighties movies career as opposed

357
00:27:49.000 --> 00:27:53.160
to the nineteen seventies which we covered
with Paradise Alley, available now for under

358
00:27:53.200 --> 00:27:57.359
the Cinemat patrons and above on Patreon. It's Roadhouse. It is Roadhouse.

359
00:27:59.000 --> 00:28:03.160
And you know what a trip,
what a trip that was in in learning

360
00:28:03.519 --> 00:28:08.359
the the the inspiration for the movie
from just the darkest depths of Hell,

361
00:28:10.319 --> 00:28:15.440
learning about Patrick Swayzee and uh and
just kind of the just the wild ride

362
00:28:15.480 --> 00:28:22.279
of Terry Funk and uh and and
and the making of that film. It

363
00:28:22.400 --> 00:28:25.200
was. It was fun. It
was fun, for sure. A movie

364
00:28:25.279 --> 00:28:30.400
released weeks after Terry Funk attacks Ric
Flair at Russel Wolredy nine, after Flair

365
00:28:30.480 --> 00:28:33.000
makes all that to do about how
Terry isn't a contender anymore because he's been

366
00:28:33.039 --> 00:28:36.599
too busy in Hollywood. Well,
this is what he's talking about. That

367
00:28:36.759 --> 00:28:38.240
Terry Funk. I mean, and
you know what, and I mean,

368
00:28:40.200 --> 00:28:45.279
don't tell me that that that that
that we opening weekend gross wasn't uh,

369
00:28:45.319 --> 00:28:51.680
it wasn't as big as it was, you know, don't tell me that

370
00:28:51.799 --> 00:28:56.880
it was not due to that moment
at at Russell War. You know,

371
00:28:56.920 --> 00:29:00.680
we're saying that that helped Celtic.
Its absolutely, I'm sure people. I'm

372
00:29:00.720 --> 00:29:03.440
sure people were all for it.
Probably don't have the numbers at your fingertips,

373
00:29:03.480 --> 00:29:07.799
but I remember it was a successful
opening for Roadhouse. It was Yeah,

374
00:29:07.880 --> 00:29:10.960
it will open number two. That
I do. I do remember off

375
00:29:10.960 --> 00:29:12.319
the top of my head it opened
number two, and then you know it

376
00:29:12.359 --> 00:29:18.480
did pretty well. Obviously you did
better on TV. You know what else

377
00:29:18.559 --> 00:29:22.000
is number two? You, Jerry
Lawler, You're a big number two.

378
00:29:22.359 --> 00:29:29.160
Could do this all day? Oh
shit? So yeah, right exactly.

379
00:29:29.680 --> 00:29:33.960
So a lot of fun there under
the cinemat making sure that has the lapsed

380
00:29:33.000 --> 00:29:38.039
Funk on folds here as twenty twenty
three rounds third that we can pay tribute

381
00:29:38.079 --> 00:29:41.079
to the more of a fuller breadth
of Terry Funk's cinematic career. And we

382
00:29:41.119 --> 00:29:44.720
also hit the nineties with beyond the
mat, So I'd say one a decade

383
00:29:44.759 --> 00:29:47.240
makes a lot of sense. Yeah, I agree. I think that that

384
00:29:47.400 --> 00:29:49.839
that totally works. Definitely a part
of Terry Funk's life that he was extremely

385
00:29:49.880 --> 00:29:52.160
proud, proud of, and I'm
sure if he had his druthers would have

386
00:29:52.359 --> 00:29:57.000
defined his life in times just as
much a big fan. I you know,

387
00:29:57.599 --> 00:30:02.000
I'm in the sag and can I
get you all get insurance? I

388
00:30:02.039 --> 00:30:06.400
got that insurance. It's all in
there. And then at the at the

389
00:30:06.480 --> 00:30:10.759
rap party for Roadhouse, he gets
up there and starts singing about pussy pussy.

390
00:30:15.119 --> 00:30:18.000
Idiot Pat Patterson was gonna go to
the movie, but you thought it

391
00:30:18.079 --> 00:30:22.559
was called road Head. So now
you gotta check this out. Because as

392
00:30:23.359 --> 00:30:27.240
as we tip that cinematic cap to
the Funker here one last time, we

393
00:30:27.400 --> 00:30:33.680
are transitioning fully and solidly boss into
our signature UTC Christmas movie season. That

394
00:30:33.880 --> 00:30:40.200
is absolutely right. I'm very very
excited. Three wonderful, wonderful Christmas movies.

395
00:30:40.960 --> 00:30:45.160
And I will say that that the
first two, I'm just gonna say

396
00:30:45.200 --> 00:30:49.279
this, they'll all be surprises.
But I'm gonna tell you this, the

397
00:30:49.400 --> 00:30:56.759
first two are sequels. So we're
we're heading in that direction. Jesus,

398
00:30:56.119 --> 00:31:03.599
who will be sequels a lot to
handle the main event. I can't wait.

399
00:31:03.000 --> 00:31:07.880
Can't tell me either, I bet
nope, oh fuck, no way.

400
00:31:07.279 --> 00:31:11.039
I need that torture. I need
that live reaction. I understand.

401
00:31:11.240 --> 00:31:15.039
I remember when you started Under the
Cinemat you didn't need that reaction and it

402
00:31:15.119 --> 00:31:18.559
was quite nice. No, but
after, after you get after you do

403
00:31:18.599 --> 00:31:21.799
it a couple of times, you
realize, you know what, this is

404
00:31:21.920 --> 00:31:26.240
way better. It's the money,
way better. Yep. So very much

405
00:31:26.279 --> 00:31:30.559
looking forward to helping you ring in
the season appropriately here at tlf HQ with

406
00:31:30.680 --> 00:31:33.359
a little taste of Under the Cinemat
Christmas Movie Edition. Very excited about that,

407
00:31:33.440 --> 00:31:37.279
and do check out the roadhouse coverage
just dropped on your feeds. And

408
00:31:37.359 --> 00:31:40.640
when it comes to the lapsed fan
in your life, what to get them

409
00:31:40.680 --> 00:31:42.960
this holiday season or what to tell
folks to get you as a member of

410
00:31:44.000 --> 00:31:47.160
the Solar System this holiday season,
it's not really that hard. We've got

411
00:31:47.279 --> 00:31:48.960
Cameo and we've got pro wrestling teas, don't we, boss, we do?

412
00:31:49.119 --> 00:31:52.279
We have we have Cameo. Cameo
has been actually on fire lately.

413
00:31:52.440 --> 00:31:56.000
They've been I just did one for
the first time in years with you.

414
00:31:56.200 --> 00:31:59.160
Yeah, yeah, I know,
yep. It was a it was a

415
00:31:59.279 --> 00:32:02.039
you know, you bring in Pat
Patterson in there for you know, a

416
00:32:02.319 --> 00:32:12.079
a multitude of of of character requests
and and and it's a I don't mind

417
00:32:12.160 --> 00:32:22.119
spoiling this. Vince killed Jesse Ventura
in it. So and it just and

418
00:32:22.240 --> 00:32:23.319
you know, it just that just
happened on a whim. There was no

419
00:32:24.440 --> 00:32:29.160
there was no like I didn't think
about that, you know, I didn't

420
00:32:29.160 --> 00:32:31.000
think about that at all. It
was just like, you know what,

421
00:32:31.880 --> 00:32:36.079
I think, Vince is gonna kill
Jesse right now. You talk about a

422
00:32:36.119 --> 00:32:37.799
one of a kind gift. So
many people by cameos because oh, it's

423
00:32:37.880 --> 00:32:42.400
that guy you like that movie.
He's saying your name hi. Whereas if

424
00:32:42.400 --> 00:32:45.039
you're a listener of a lapsed fan, you get a custom skit. You

425
00:32:45.160 --> 00:32:51.079
get like, you know, you
basically just puppeteer your favorite characters, the

426
00:32:51.119 --> 00:32:54.039
Motley Crew, the Murderers Row and
couldn't have been more happy to participate.

427
00:32:54.279 --> 00:32:58.680
Cameo dot com slash lapsed fan or
the lapsed fan just looking up on Google

428
00:32:58.720 --> 00:33:00.960
to get straight there, and it'll
be one of a kind gift. It'll

429
00:33:01.000 --> 00:33:05.359
be give the gift of laughter.
That's one thing we can promise. Yeah,

430
00:33:05.640 --> 00:33:08.599
damn straight. I mean they just
you know, they they give us

431
00:33:08.680 --> 00:33:12.440
an you know, not that we
don't have it anyway, but those things

432
00:33:12.480 --> 00:33:19.559
give us an open forums as the
characters to just go fucking nuts. Absolutely,

433
00:33:19.799 --> 00:33:23.599
it's always and no shortage of holiday
themed teasover progrestlts dot com. Slash

434
00:33:23.640 --> 00:33:27.680
the Lapstrant. Absolutely, we get
the die Hard one, we get the

435
00:33:27.880 --> 00:33:30.599
home alone one, we got the
Christmas Story one. We got Jolly Old

436
00:33:30.640 --> 00:33:35.880
Saint Fritz. I mean you name, it's a it's a Schmorcas board of

437
00:33:36.759 --> 00:33:42.319
holiday festive. You know, desires
and needs. On the other end,

438
00:33:42.359 --> 00:33:45.880
of course, I mean get shirts
to position you appropriately for twenty twenty four.

439
00:33:45.960 --> 00:33:49.640
In wrestling, we love to see
the big pls and TLF shirts representative

440
00:33:49.680 --> 00:33:52.680
things like the Rumble. Of course, WrestleMania coming hot and heavy to the

441
00:33:52.799 --> 00:33:55.079
City of Brotherly Love. You want
to be able to represent on the ground

442
00:33:55.640 --> 00:34:00.359
in Philadelphia as well. Painia shirt, a wrestle painting a shirt. You

443
00:34:00.440 --> 00:34:04.039
say, yeah, I have my
wrestle painting. I have a wrestle painting

444
00:34:04.039 --> 00:34:07.559
a shirt that I put out there. Absolutely tremendous, absolutely worth it,

445
00:34:07.640 --> 00:34:12.199
absolutely uh necessary, So check the
box for us. And if you've got

446
00:34:12.280 --> 00:34:15.760
a person in your life this holiday
season that's really trying to kick it into

447
00:34:15.840 --> 00:34:19.159
gear from a workout and health perspective, there is a way to do that

448
00:34:20.119 --> 00:34:23.360
with TLF approved products. These are
our friends over at Tightan Nutrition. Anyone

449
00:34:23.440 --> 00:34:27.920
wanting to optimize lean muscle and recover
from a workout should be using a protein

450
00:34:27.960 --> 00:34:30.039
supplement, folks. And the problem
is many of these powdered protein rings.

451
00:34:30.079 --> 00:34:34.400
They taste like chalk. They don't
mix easily on the go. We found

452
00:34:34.440 --> 00:34:37.920
a solution with Titan Nutritions namesake protein
Titan Way. We know about the Titan

453
00:34:38.000 --> 00:34:43.440
Way, Yes, we do.
Way. I'm all about the Titan Way.

454
00:34:44.559 --> 00:34:47.800
This protein not only mixes way protein. What is the Titan Way?

455
00:34:50.280 --> 00:34:53.599
More broadly, the tight Well,
the Titan Way is uh, well,

456
00:34:53.840 --> 00:34:59.119
I mean to put it. To
put it in rather bluntly, the Titan

457
00:34:59.239 --> 00:35:07.039
Way is injecting needles into your buttocks
a little different than what we're talking about

458
00:35:07.119 --> 00:35:12.719
here. I knew I regret asking, and I feel like Catherine O'Hara,

459
00:35:12.880 --> 00:35:17.239
the in the truck. No I'm
sorry I did. Maybe we shouldn't talk

460
00:35:17.239 --> 00:35:22.039
about well you out, you asked
about it. Although you asked, you

461
00:35:22.119 --> 00:35:25.039
know you brought it up. The
problem is many of these powdered protein drinks

462
00:35:25.079 --> 00:35:29.960
folks taste like chalkol. Like we
said so the solution Tight Nutrition's namesake Titan

463
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easily, it also comes in eight amazing

464
00:35:31.920 --> 00:35:35.760
flavors to choose from, including Dutch
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465
00:35:35.800 --> 00:35:38.199
stickerdoodle so you never get bored.
You can use them after workouts, traveling,

466
00:35:38.239 --> 00:35:40.880
anytime you want a snack but don't
want to ruin your diet with unwanted

467
00:35:40.960 --> 00:35:45.320
calories. Titan Way has twenty four
grams of protein and eats serving with only

468
00:35:45.360 --> 00:35:46.920
a trace of fats and carbs.
So good. In fact, if you're

469
00:35:46.920 --> 00:35:50.920
going to feel like you're cheating,
but instead you'll actually satisfy your hunger and

470
00:35:50.960 --> 00:35:53.840
stay on track with your diet and
nutrition goals. I'll get back on track,

471
00:35:53.960 --> 00:35:57.639
dude, exactly, get back on
track with TLF and Tight Nutrition this

472
00:35:57.719 --> 00:36:00.679
holiday season. You can find these
and many other great produce by going to

473
00:36:00.719 --> 00:36:04.719
Titan nutrition dot net and using the
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474
00:36:04.800 --> 00:36:07.559
ten percent off your purchase, as
well as free shipping again. That's Titan

475
00:36:07.639 --> 00:36:12.400
Nutrition dot Net with the discount code
lapse to check them out and get that

476
00:36:12.519 --> 00:36:16.039
big fucking thumbs up from your co
chairs in response. So gratifying to see

477
00:36:16.400 --> 00:36:21.039
Spotify rapped season come around again this
year. Boss, Yeah, I love

478
00:36:21.119 --> 00:36:22.239
that. I love it. I
love it, I love it. I

479
00:36:22.280 --> 00:36:24.719
love it a lot. Where people
listen to us on Spotify get sort of

480
00:36:24.760 --> 00:36:29.880
a digestive download of the cumulative minutes
they've spent in twenty twenty three listening to

481
00:36:29.920 --> 00:36:31.480
their favorite podcasts. And you know, if you listen to this show,

482
00:36:31.559 --> 00:36:35.639
I'm not saying everyone does, but
if you do, we're probably number one

483
00:36:36.400 --> 00:36:39.239
on your Spotify playlist. And it's
just so amazing to see the tens of

484
00:36:39.320 --> 00:36:44.000
thousands, in one case, almost
one hundred thousand minutes from one member of

485
00:36:44.000 --> 00:36:46.800
the Solar System reported choice so wild. I mean, I dare not do

486
00:36:46.880 --> 00:36:52.960
the math because that basically means it's
ambient sound in their entire lives except just

487
00:36:53.079 --> 00:37:00.360
ridiculous. I'm fully accepting of that, and that's okay. And we put

488
00:37:00.360 --> 00:37:02.159
as many up on x as we
could on a retweet basis because we were

489
00:37:02.199 --> 00:37:07.119
so blown away this year in particular. But by some of the totals,

490
00:37:07.159 --> 00:37:09.519
the cumulative counts coming in from members
of the Solar System. And of course

491
00:37:09.599 --> 00:37:13.280
keep in mind, you know most
don't listen on most I don't actually know

492
00:37:13.320 --> 00:37:15.679
the percentages, but a lot don't
listen on Spotify, so that's just even

493
00:37:15.880 --> 00:37:20.199
a slice of the audience. Yeah, you know, non Apple if they

494
00:37:20.480 --> 00:37:22.559
Spotify and Apple for instance, if
they use Apple Podcasts or whatever the case

495
00:37:22.599 --> 00:37:25.320
may be. So that that's really
nice to see, and we were proud

496
00:37:25.360 --> 00:37:30.960
to rebroadcast those sentiments and deep thanks
to everybody. I mean, they are

497
00:37:30.039 --> 00:37:34.440
simply too numerous to mention. I
kind of started with this notion that will

498
00:37:34.440 --> 00:37:37.199
give some shout outs, but it
just kept going all fucking day to the

499
00:37:37.239 --> 00:37:40.440
point that they're you know, there's
no way I was going to collate all

500
00:37:40.480 --> 00:37:44.119
those names. But you know who
you are, and we love that you

501
00:37:44.239 --> 00:37:47.719
listen as passionately as you do.
And you know what everybody else knows,

502
00:37:47.840 --> 00:37:51.960
even if they don't admit it,
that when we jump on a rail,

503
00:37:52.719 --> 00:37:55.119
you have to take the ride with
us. It's it's unlike anything else that

504
00:37:55.239 --> 00:37:59.119
you really don't have a choice.
You might tell yourself that it's not for

505
00:37:59.239 --> 00:38:01.679
me, you'll be back, and
when you're back, that counts to Yes,

506
00:38:02.079 --> 00:38:06.119
we're very much in the process of
eating our vegetables here on the Lapsed

507
00:38:06.159 --> 00:38:07.800
Funk. I'm not not unmindful of
that. I know that a lot of

508
00:38:07.840 --> 00:38:15.039
this stuff is not the comfort food
that people expect when they think about tlf's

509
00:38:15.119 --> 00:38:17.280
you know, sort of a signature
show and signature approach and signature eras.

510
00:38:17.559 --> 00:38:22.119
But god damn it, if we
can't better understand why it used to be

511
00:38:22.239 --> 00:38:23.880
better by taking on what Terry Funk
allows us to take on, if we

512
00:38:23.920 --> 00:38:29.480
passed up this opportunity, you shouldn't
take us seriously as podcasters anyway, honestly

513
00:38:29.760 --> 00:38:31.039
doing it. I mean, this
is this? Is it? Like to

514
00:38:31.159 --> 00:38:35.719
me? This has always been these
things. And keep in mind too,

515
00:38:35.840 --> 00:38:38.880
with a lot of these, like
you know, non traditional lapsed things,

516
00:38:39.519 --> 00:38:44.400
a lot of them have been my
suggestion, and even I have found myself

517
00:38:44.440 --> 00:38:46.800
suffering. But you know what,
it gives you a greater appreciation of all

518
00:38:46.920 --> 00:38:52.159
the fun stuff, yeah, and
all those good moments because it's fun stuff

519
00:38:52.199 --> 00:38:55.079
better because we can draw from right, you know, a richer, more

520
00:38:55.280 --> 00:39:00.559
educated knowledge base because we know with
even more fulsome extra what actually has worked

521
00:39:00.559 --> 00:39:06.000
over the generations and pro wrestling across
generations, not just what worked when we

522
00:39:06.119 --> 00:39:10.320
were seven years old, feverishly unwrapping
you know, any s eight bit video

523
00:39:10.400 --> 00:39:14.559
game. Yep, yep, that's
what we're here to do. We're here

524
00:39:14.599 --> 00:39:16.840
to each each your vegetables and make
you glad that vegetables have been served,

525
00:39:17.320 --> 00:39:22.079
and knowing all the time that it's
never you're never too far away from that

526
00:39:22.199 --> 00:39:29.440
cheat meal, as the rockets say, Oh yes, fucking piece of ship

527
00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:32.400
and big time cheap meal. That's
I guess you could say very much.

528
00:39:34.280 --> 00:39:39.719
In the In the Oven is TLFX
twenty twenty four. It will be ten

529
00:39:39.800 --> 00:39:45.719
years since we started this fucking thing
candily or just brimming with ideas of how

530
00:39:45.760 --> 00:39:51.480
to celebrate, and you can expect
twelve months of content and programming and whatever

531
00:39:51.519 --> 00:39:54.760
word you want to use to to
to salute the day. Know that some

532
00:39:54.880 --> 00:40:00.280
of the most passionate, mobilized and
capable and industrial members of the Solar System

533
00:40:00.320 --> 00:40:05.000
are also working behind the scenes to
make sure that it feels like a ten

534
00:40:05.079 --> 00:40:08.639
year anniversary around here in twenty twenty
four. And before warned that we're going

535
00:40:08.719 --> 00:40:14.119
to be turning to you quite soon
for a very specific ask that is to

536
00:40:14.199 --> 00:40:20.119
say, a day where basically you
can, you know, collect your favorite

537
00:40:20.159 --> 00:40:28.039
TLF fan favorite moments and help us
in a mission to pull together the absolute

538
00:40:28.159 --> 00:40:30.039
top moments as voted on. I
guess you could say, by you the

539
00:40:30.119 --> 00:40:34.159
Solar System. I mean, we
always get we always hashtag them with the

540
00:40:34.199 --> 00:40:38.599
TLFX on X. You know,
great screenshots of some of our podcasts.

541
00:40:38.639 --> 00:40:40.599
I mean, I don't know about
you, boss, I never get sick

542
00:40:40.639 --> 00:40:45.159
of just re listening to like a
two minute clip that someone calls no.

543
00:40:45.559 --> 00:40:50.320
I mean, because there's you know, I've said this a million times,

544
00:40:50.360 --> 00:40:54.280
there's so much that happens that oftentimes
I don't you know, I don't remember.

545
00:40:55.559 --> 00:41:00.000
You know, we could have we
could have five moments in any episode

546
00:41:00.159 --> 00:41:07.239
that just make us go crazy absolutely
laughter. And so at that point my

547
00:41:07.320 --> 00:41:10.000
brain's gone and I don't and it's
kind of goes in, It goes in

548
00:41:10.280 --> 00:41:14.079
one ear out the other, so
to speak. And so it's great to

549
00:41:14.280 --> 00:41:19.480
hear people post stuff because I listen
to it and I start laughing again and

550
00:41:19.639 --> 00:41:22.559
wonder what the fuck were we doing? And like this is like it just

551
00:41:22.800 --> 00:41:25.760
it makes me so it always gives
me a laugh. I don't think there's

552
00:41:25.760 --> 00:41:30.519
ever been a time that someone's posted
one of those where I haven't had a

553
00:41:30.679 --> 00:41:36.840
real, a real chuckle, a
real fucking hearty, hearty laugh. To

554
00:41:36.960 --> 00:41:38.199
be who you need us to be, we need to stay on the hamster

555
00:41:38.280 --> 00:41:42.519
wheel. And a consequence of that
is we can't spend a whole lot of

556
00:41:42.559 --> 00:41:45.360
time just like, you know,
basking in our own glow and you know,

557
00:41:45.679 --> 00:41:51.480
like coming up with self congratulatory things
to say and post. We can

558
00:41:51.679 --> 00:41:57.400
barely keep up with rebroadcasting the praise
that comes our way, which we feel

559
00:41:57.440 --> 00:42:00.599
is the least we can do an
appreciation for people taking the time to express

560
00:42:00.639 --> 00:42:02.400
gratitude, let alone sit around be
like, Hey, wasn't that great?

561
00:42:02.440 --> 00:42:06.960
Wow, weren't we legends? Now, we're too fucking busy feeding the beast,

562
00:42:07.079 --> 00:42:08.840
because in this country, if you're
not feeding the beast, you're dying

563
00:42:10.079 --> 00:42:15.639
as right, And we've learned that
by the beast. In ten years doing

564
00:42:15.719 --> 00:42:19.960
this, we've certainly been acquainted with
that is podcast after podcast after podcast has

565
00:42:20.039 --> 00:42:23.519
fallen by the wayside or become so
diluted that it barely resembles what it was

566
00:42:23.599 --> 00:42:30.000
in the beginning. It is a
very very difficult tide to fight and you

567
00:42:30.119 --> 00:42:32.480
know that your co chairman are uniquely
prepared to do the best one possibly could

568
00:42:32.800 --> 00:42:37.679
to stem that tide, and we
appreciate you standing at our backs as we

569
00:42:37.800 --> 00:42:39.920
do it. So do keep that
in mind for twenty twenty four, maybe

570
00:42:39.960 --> 00:42:43.679
over the holidays and you've got some
time to yourself reflect a bit and say,

571
00:42:43.719 --> 00:42:45.960
you know, what are the moments
we talked we just did talked about

572
00:42:46.000 --> 00:42:50.599
how you know, the funny moments
are the ones that obviously surface most easily

573
00:42:50.679 --> 00:42:53.440
and are the most fun to revisit. But I don't think Boss for TLFX

574
00:42:53.480 --> 00:42:58.840
were necessarily just looking for laugh moments, not at all. That's just a

575
00:42:58.880 --> 00:43:00.159
component of what we do. We
are all things to all people. And

576
00:43:00.239 --> 00:43:02.840
if there was a poignant moment,
if there was a moment on the show

577
00:43:02.840 --> 00:43:05.760
that really made you think, if
there was a moment in the show that

578
00:43:05.840 --> 00:43:07.039
really made you mad, if there
was a moment in the show that really

579
00:43:07.079 --> 00:43:13.000
made you reconsider something, I think
those are valuable as well. I think

580
00:43:13.039 --> 00:43:16.400
they're equally valuable. I think that
they're they're also equally important. I think

581
00:43:16.440 --> 00:43:20.440
that that a lot of stuff has
been you know, the stuff that I

582
00:43:20.559 --> 00:43:24.000
remember usually actually is is is not
so much the funny stuff. It's the

583
00:43:24.039 --> 00:43:30.239
stuff that makes me, makes me
want to you know, makes me miserable,

584
00:43:30.079 --> 00:43:35.280
miserable or at least, you know, kind of cognizant of the consequences

585
00:43:35.320 --> 00:43:37.800
of being a wrestling fan, like
to have them plainly stated. Yep,

586
00:43:37.920 --> 00:43:42.400
yeah, I mean, in your
wrestling fan you sign up to sometimes like

587
00:43:42.719 --> 00:43:47.039
get invested in something that will absolutely
break your heart. I mean I can't

588
00:43:47.079 --> 00:43:51.119
even I mean the one that always
comes to my mind is is the Mike

589
00:43:51.199 --> 00:43:57.880
Van Eric thing, And yeah,
just how how awful I felt inside and

590
00:43:58.159 --> 00:44:01.440
and you know I'll be looking for
that in the Iron Claw for sure.

591
00:44:01.639 --> 00:44:07.480
People can never forget the heart of
this whole thing TLF over ten years.

592
00:44:08.039 --> 00:44:14.679
It came from those days where we
would get together, when we first got

593
00:44:14.719 --> 00:44:16.880
to know each other and first got
to realize that we had a shared interest

594
00:44:16.960 --> 00:44:21.199
in deep trivia of the business,
not just you know, a surface level.

595
00:44:21.199 --> 00:44:23.599
Do you remember Hulk Coogan? But
actually it interest in saying you remember

596
00:44:23.639 --> 00:44:29.239
that, Yeah, well here's the
story behind that, right right, That's

597
00:44:29.280 --> 00:44:34.119
where the fucking rub is. That's
where the permanent bond comes from between any

598
00:44:34.159 --> 00:44:37.840
wrestling fan, not just us.
And this is just that over ten years.

599
00:44:38.239 --> 00:44:40.320
This is just the boss Man and
to me too, I mean,

600
00:44:40.559 --> 00:44:45.239
I certainly didn't know anywhere near what
I know about pro wrestling starting the lapsed

601
00:44:45.280 --> 00:44:49.719
fan as I do now, but
to take each other along for the ride,

602
00:44:50.119 --> 00:44:52.760
as the boss Man has showed me
the halls of Hollywood in ways I

603
00:44:52.840 --> 00:44:57.559
never would have known to think about
her or look for myself, and vice

604
00:44:57.679 --> 00:45:00.599
versa. On the pro wrestling side. That's the that's what that's what's at

605
00:45:00.639 --> 00:45:06.239
the heart of the engine, or
even the weird bizarre things that you know,

606
00:45:06.360 --> 00:45:12.199
we both remember from you know,
I mean, I mean I didn't

607
00:45:12.199 --> 00:45:16.639
think of it when you were talking. Is when we were uh that you

608
00:45:16.760 --> 00:45:22.519
brought it up at when we were
interviewing Knobs in LA in April and it

609
00:45:22.599 --> 00:45:25.239
was getting to a weird point where
because he was upset that were kept asking

610
00:45:25.239 --> 00:45:29.599
about Hult Cogan. Yeah, and
I brought it up something I don't even

611
00:45:29.599 --> 00:45:34.599
know where I brought up so maybe
seven rust many nine restmen no rest me

612
00:45:34.840 --> 00:45:36.840
nine yeah, yeah, yeah,
yah yeah, And I brought up yeah,

613
00:45:36.880 --> 00:45:39.639
how I was excited for them to
be tag team champions even though they

614
00:45:39.719 --> 00:45:43.639
never were yep. And it was
like, oh yeah, yeah, that

615
00:45:43.760 --> 00:45:45.519
was a, that was a tough
one, and then save my ass on

616
00:45:45.599 --> 00:45:50.519
that one. But I'm trying to
keep my own horn. I'm just trying

617
00:45:50.559 --> 00:45:52.599
to think about those are the kind
of moments where we can have these these

618
00:45:52.679 --> 00:45:58.440
weird memories of of of wrestling that's
stick in our minds. And that's what

619
00:45:58.599 --> 00:46:02.679
one of the just in a you
know, just compartmentalizing the part of my

620
00:46:02.760 --> 00:46:07.039
life that is this wrestling thing.
There's never going to be anything close to

621
00:46:07.119 --> 00:46:12.480
that Silver Dumb Journey, No,
never where we go to Pontiac and enter

622
00:46:12.599 --> 00:46:15.400
the ruins of the Silver Dome and
come to terms with what it means that

623
00:46:15.559 --> 00:46:17.320
thirty years have passed and now it's
not even there anymore. And how poetic

624
00:46:17.440 --> 00:46:22.119
is that? I mean that that's
kind of it That to me is is

625
00:46:22.239 --> 00:46:28.199
the is the real significance is that
it's all it's gone now And that is

626
00:46:28.239 --> 00:46:31.679
the kind of shit that was willed
into existence because of this, because of

627
00:46:31.800 --> 00:46:36.360
tlf X, because of what the
lapsed fan has become. And we can

628
00:46:36.400 --> 00:46:39.320
celebrate that too, is my point. As we look back on signature moments,

629
00:46:40.320 --> 00:46:44.199
you know, relevatory moments after which
it can never be the same,

630
00:46:44.719 --> 00:46:46.760
you know, things we came to
realize that will be reference to time and

631
00:46:46.880 --> 00:46:50.920
time and time again as the years
ago, because it's just too consequential.

632
00:46:51.599 --> 00:46:57.960
What we discovered and what we realized
was just too the kind the ramifications of

633
00:46:58.000 --> 00:47:00.599
it were just too far, far
far read for us to just not mention

634
00:47:00.719 --> 00:47:05.159
it again. It just keeps coming
up. That's the kind of thing that

635
00:47:05.239 --> 00:47:09.800
I think we're equally looking for in
TLFX recollections is moments that keep reverberating as

636
00:47:09.840 --> 00:47:14.119
we cast and as you think about
wrestling, you know, through our lens.

637
00:47:14.840 --> 00:47:17.480
So just very excited about what that
can mean for twenty twenty four and

638
00:47:19.079 --> 00:47:22.880
again, do give some thought this
holiday season to what really are those one

639
00:47:22.000 --> 00:47:25.760
or two precious moments, because you'll
have an opportunity to submit them, I

640
00:47:25.800 --> 00:47:30.679
think in some rather formal process as
we determine, you know, what it

641
00:47:30.760 --> 00:47:35.159
means to be lapsed once and for
all ten years on from the beginning of

642
00:47:35.199 --> 00:47:39.239
the experiment. What it means to
be lapsed is to understand what Terry Funk

643
00:47:39.280 --> 00:47:44.519
brought to wrestling. Yes, probably
just to ruminate on the fact that it's

644
00:47:44.519 --> 00:47:47.920
pretty much gone now. We talked
about how Funk talked about how he brought

645
00:47:47.960 --> 00:47:52.280
those weapons to the ring against Jerry
Lawler to clean up after your goddamn murder.

646
00:47:53.079 --> 00:47:57.880
Jesus, how did it get to
that point? Well, let's take

647
00:47:57.920 --> 00:48:01.000
you back to when Terry Funk was
reigning NWA World Heavyweight Champion. When we

648
00:48:01.039 --> 00:48:04.280
did our coverage of his title reign, we kind of decried the fact that

649
00:48:04.320 --> 00:48:07.960
there's limited availability of footage of title
defenses, not realizing, at least in

650
00:48:07.000 --> 00:48:12.079
my case, not realizing that actually
the title defenses that are on tape fit

651
00:48:12.199 --> 00:48:15.519
more into our story of these feuds
with the likes of Dusty Roads and Jumber

652
00:48:15.519 --> 00:48:20.840
Sharuda really yes, and Jerry Lawler
as a matter of fact than anything else.

653
00:48:22.679 --> 00:48:24.920
We saw a title defense of Terry
Funk's against Dusty Rhodes as he was

654
00:48:25.119 --> 00:48:29.599
just beginning to break out as a
babyface sensation under the tutelage of Eddy Graham

655
00:48:29.639 --> 00:48:32.400
in Florida in seventy six, And
it was much the same for Jerry the

656
00:48:32.480 --> 00:48:37.159
King Lawler, who in his own
right, then talent of nineteen seventy four,

657
00:48:37.639 --> 00:48:42.760
having just recently broke into the business
and feuded with the absolute legend of

658
00:48:42.880 --> 00:48:46.400
Memphis wrestling, Jackie Fargo and working
a program with him As a matter of

659
00:48:46.519 --> 00:48:52.079
fact, Lawler turns babyface, abandoning
his a stable of heels that he was

660
00:48:52.119 --> 00:48:55.960
associated with managed by Sam Bass,
who was a close friend of Jerry Lawlers

661
00:48:55.960 --> 00:49:00.559
and in fact was killed in a
tragic fiery car wreck. Well, making

662
00:49:00.599 --> 00:49:04.760
the towns back in the old Memphis
circuit. This is before Jerry Jarrett kind

663
00:49:04.800 --> 00:49:07.599
of took the area by the horns, and Jarrett was sort of, you

664
00:49:07.639 --> 00:49:09.719
know, via his mother, Christine
Jarrett, you know, just a wrestler

665
00:49:09.760 --> 00:49:14.360
but also kind of office but not
really. Nick Goulis very much was the

666
00:49:14.440 --> 00:49:17.719
guy cracking whip and running the Memphis
territory at the time. And what happens

667
00:49:17.800 --> 00:49:22.480
is is Lawler becomes this absolute sensation
as he defeats Jackie flowergo to take the

668
00:49:22.519 --> 00:49:25.639
title of the King of Memphis and
becomes a baby face. Pretty soon he

669
00:49:25.920 --> 00:49:30.599
is the franchise of Memphis Wrestling.
Jerry Lawler is Memphis Wrestling, and he

670
00:49:30.760 --> 00:49:37.079
and Jerry Jarrett leave Fargo, pardon
not Fargo, leave Goulis and get a

671
00:49:37.159 --> 00:49:43.079
very prominent television clearance in Memphis and
Saturday mornings which would become the institutional Channel

672
00:49:43.239 --> 00:49:46.519
five I think WMC, and take
all the talent in the lance, Russell

673
00:49:46.559 --> 00:49:50.440
gets involved and a lot of the
key talent goes with him, a lot

674
00:49:50.440 --> 00:49:52.880
of the people that were, you
know, selling the tickets for Memphis Wrestling

675
00:49:52.880 --> 00:49:55.119
at the time, and it's a
full on it's it's warfare, it's it's

676
00:49:55.119 --> 00:50:00.400
a classic seventies territorial breakup. Like
like we talked about a uncle on the

677
00:50:00.400 --> 00:50:04.159
Black Saturday thing, remember that whole
saga I do after rag Uncle died,

678
00:50:04.559 --> 00:50:07.400
that exact thing felt facing off against
the Fullers, That's what we had here.

679
00:50:07.760 --> 00:50:12.039
And of course in this case,
Lawler and Jared are very much the

680
00:50:12.079 --> 00:50:15.559
ones left standing. As Nicholas,
who has had a reputation for being quite

681
00:50:15.719 --> 00:50:21.679
a stingy motherfucker on the payoffs and
not really caring if he kept friendships up

682
00:50:21.719 --> 00:50:24.440
in the business, but would much
rather underpay you than care if you never

683
00:50:24.480 --> 00:50:28.480
talked to him again, eventually loses
in this battle, and there are some

684
00:50:28.599 --> 00:50:31.519
tough deals. The tales from the
Territory's episode that wevice put together where there's

685
00:50:31.519 --> 00:50:36.960
an incident where wrestler tries to race
the ring and stab and attack Jerry Jarrett

686
00:50:37.239 --> 00:50:39.639
and Jerry Lawler by the name of
Mario Galento. You might remember that name.

687
00:50:40.639 --> 00:50:45.360
That's an outgrowth of that promotional war
that broke out in Memphis in the

688
00:50:45.400 --> 00:50:47.400
mid seventies. And so all of
it is a way of saying that by

689
00:50:47.440 --> 00:50:52.199
the time Jerry Jarrett gets the territory
set up, he cuts Jerry Lawler in

690
00:50:52.320 --> 00:50:54.199
in the action, Lawler becomes part
owners and not only is he making the

691
00:50:54.239 --> 00:50:58.440
most money as talent, he's also
getting paid on all the profits the company

692
00:50:58.480 --> 00:51:00.400
makes at the gate and everything else. And that's the secret to why Jerry

693
00:51:00.480 --> 00:51:04.239
Lawler stayed in Memphis as long as
he did is because he had ownership in

694
00:51:04.280 --> 00:51:07.519
the territory, just like Fritz and
Dallas, just like Dorry Funk Senior in

695
00:51:07.599 --> 00:51:10.679
Amarilla. When you become ownership and
also the top star, doesn't make a

696
00:51:10.719 --> 00:51:14.280
lot of sense for you to go
anywhere else for any length of time,

697
00:51:14.719 --> 00:51:19.000
right, because it's impossible to match
the economics of getting paid on every single

698
00:51:19.119 --> 00:51:22.880
ticket the whole promotion sells, as
opposed to just the tickets that can be

699
00:51:22.880 --> 00:51:25.480
attributed to you on the cards you
work. So Lawler has now died in

700
00:51:25.519 --> 00:51:29.599
the world Memphis. He couldn't hear
his mister Memphis. And with that,

701
00:51:29.760 --> 00:51:32.000
of course, you know what that
means the NWA World champion comes through and

702
00:51:32.119 --> 00:51:36.320
tries to make the local guy seem
like somebody that one day could be world

703
00:51:36.400 --> 00:51:39.039
champion, to keep the fans coming
back in the respective area. And do

704
00:51:39.119 --> 00:51:44.320
you think in nineteen seventy six,
Boss, it was time for Terry Funk

705
00:51:44.400 --> 00:51:49.079
to do that? For Jerry the
King Lawler, would I would say yes,

706
00:51:49.360 --> 00:51:54.840
I mean, that's remarkable. Let's
open the link here. It's a

707
00:51:55.039 --> 00:52:00.679
Lawler in studio with Lance Russell as
you know, as was the custom back

708
00:52:00.719 --> 00:52:06.159
then in the territorial days, and
voicing over footage of a match that took

709
00:52:06.199 --> 00:52:09.280
place at the Arenas and didn't err
on television where Jerry Lawler challenges NWA World

710
00:52:09.320 --> 00:52:13.119
Have you Been Champion? Terry Funk
coming through the territory. One of the

711
00:52:13.159 --> 00:52:16.079
many matches that we read off in
the litany of NWA title defenses, we

712
00:52:16.320 --> 00:52:20.440
did touch on him facing Lawler and
here's what it looked like. And they

713
00:52:20.519 --> 00:52:23.599
pulled an old Jack Brisco trick out
in terms of while Funk's gonna leave Memphis

714
00:52:23.639 --> 00:52:28.840
with the championship, he also leaves
the Memphis fans with plenty of reason to

715
00:52:28.880 --> 00:52:31.199
hope that one day Lawler can pull
it off. So let's configure ourselves here,

716
00:52:31.280 --> 00:52:44.320
give me one moment, yep,
let's play the soccer in three two

717
00:52:44.599 --> 00:52:51.119
one play. This from the YouTube
account of the Jerry the King Lawler podcast.

718
00:52:51.159 --> 00:52:52.360
By the way, oh wow,
no kidding. Not sure if this

719
00:52:52.440 --> 00:52:58.400
is footage King had or look at
that? Look at that. Starts with

720
00:52:58.480 --> 00:53:02.280
the screen grab of a poster for
the Funk the Lawler Match two O three

721
00:53:02.320 --> 00:53:07.719
falls Terry Funk versus Jerry King Waller, final seconds of their first battle.

722
00:53:07.679 --> 00:53:14.679
Funk. There's Funk with a rolling
reverse cradle on Lawler. They counter twice.

723
00:53:15.079 --> 00:53:16.039
Lalla unds up on top. Two
now he kicks out. Look at

724
00:53:16.079 --> 00:53:32.840
Funk. They are so sixty Jerry
Lawler is going fifty nine minutes with Terry

725
00:53:32.880 --> 00:53:42.639
Funk in nineteen straps are down.
Funk is absolutely obliterated on the canvas.

726
00:53:43.599 --> 00:53:55.960
It rolls him over lateral press too
fun sheer rad kicks Funk to his knees,

727
00:53:55.960 --> 00:54:01.960
finding her way at the guy of
Lawler. Right, big Irish whip.

728
00:54:02.199 --> 00:54:05.880
Jerry Roller drops the champ with the
back elbow and as Funk bumper does

729
00:54:05.920 --> 00:54:09.039
he bump he bumps another elbow drop. Lawler scores this is it he's got

730
00:54:09.119 --> 00:54:15.519
to cover one. Two. Oh
boy, wow, what did he just

731
00:54:15.639 --> 00:54:19.760
do? He put his foot on
the ropes the last second, like Dory

732
00:54:19.880 --> 00:54:22.159
did before him, like Jack did
before him, and the bell sounds the

733
00:54:22.239 --> 00:54:34.199
time limit has elapsed. But you'll
see that, I love you know,

734
00:54:35.400 --> 00:54:37.559
when you really, when you really
kind of you look at it in a

735
00:54:37.639 --> 00:54:44.960
different way and you see how important
it is for the champion to make other

736
00:54:45.039 --> 00:54:50.519
guys look good and look credible,
you know. And the idea is he

737
00:54:50.679 --> 00:54:53.239
just barely got away with it.
Yes, you know, Like that's that's

738
00:54:53.239 --> 00:54:57.760
where the money is. It's not
looking strong, it's not being dominant,

739
00:54:57.840 --> 00:55:01.880
it's not like killing guys. It's
it's making it, making you, making

740
00:55:01.960 --> 00:55:06.320
other people, making the fans feel
that you could have lost it, but

741
00:55:06.440 --> 00:55:10.079
you still savvy enough to not lose
it. Absolutely, and that that is

742
00:55:10.199 --> 00:55:15.719
the art of wrestling. That's what
like, that's what you come to appreciate

743
00:55:15.800 --> 00:55:19.199
most about wrestling when you watch it. Your whole life is those moments where

744
00:55:19.239 --> 00:55:22.639
you actually realize this guy is making
the other guy and it's being done in

745
00:55:22.679 --> 00:55:25.000
the way the fans don't even realize. Here's Jerry Lawler talking about the state

746
00:55:25.039 --> 00:55:32.400
of things heavyweight champion. Well,
I did an interview with Terry Funk,

747
00:55:32.519 --> 00:55:37.519
and it was a tough bout.
It was one of those things that went

748
00:55:37.599 --> 00:55:39.760
against you. But it was his
toughest bout that he's ever had in his

749
00:55:39.840 --> 00:55:45.079
wrestling career because it was the one
where he finally lost the belt. He

750
00:55:45.239 --> 00:55:50.400
lost a title. I'll let me
rephrase that. Jesus looks like a purpose.

751
00:55:51.400 --> 00:55:55.119
It's got that anchor goatee. Come
on, Jerry, and you're just

752
00:55:55.199 --> 00:55:59.800
claim him that you are the World's
heavyweight champion. The belt we have?

753
00:56:00.360 --> 00:56:02.559
Do you have the slide? I
brought with you the picture that I had

754
00:56:02.639 --> 00:56:06.400
made after the after the matches?
There? Can you show that? And

755
00:56:06.719 --> 00:56:10.000
this may wipe out any doubt in
your mind? What is this now?

756
00:56:10.079 --> 00:56:14.280
We haven't seen this one? Well, it's just an official photograph that I'm

757
00:56:14.320 --> 00:56:17.559
gonna that will be disturbed all over
the country. That's exactly what it is.

758
00:56:17.679 --> 00:56:20.960
There it is. Can you can
you get it down there and see

759
00:56:21.000 --> 00:56:25.000
what belt that is I'm wearing.
No, that was taken immediately after the

760
00:56:25.119 --> 00:56:30.039
match Monday night, and around my
waist is the World's Heavyweight Championship belt.

761
00:56:30.440 --> 00:56:35.000
I left the ring with it.
I had it around my waist. I

762
00:56:35.199 --> 00:56:38.199
beat Terry Funk, and what more
can you say? I am the World's

763
00:56:38.239 --> 00:56:42.679
heavyweight Champion. So from now on, when you refer to me, you

764
00:56:42.840 --> 00:56:46.679
say the King, the World's heavyweight
Champion, and also the Southern Heavyweight Champion.

765
00:56:46.760 --> 00:56:50.760
There you go, well, there
you go. The fact of the

766
00:56:50.840 --> 00:56:53.679
matter is that mister Lawler has just
stated that he is the world heavyweight Champion,

767
00:56:53.760 --> 00:56:58.639
and that makes him a claimant to
the world heavyweight Champion. I would

768
00:56:58.719 --> 00:57:01.480
remind the folks that that belt that
you were talking about still remains in the

769
00:57:02.199 --> 00:57:07.559
belt is merely a trinket, just
exactly like this one right here, is

770
00:57:07.599 --> 00:57:12.880
merely a symbol. The title is
what is important, and that's what mister

771
00:57:13.000 --> 00:57:16.400
Terry Funk lost. He lost the
title of World's heavyweight champions. O,

772
00:57:16.559 --> 00:57:21.079
guy, possess that. Now you
possess that? Now? All right?

773
00:57:21.159 --> 00:57:29.000
I know you possessed the NWAS Southern
Heavyweight saman that. Yeah, we're doing

774
00:57:29.039 --> 00:57:31.679
business here, you know that.
That's why you made the big Bucks champion

775
00:57:31.800 --> 00:57:36.679
because the NWA is saying you're good
enough to go around and keep all of

776
00:57:36.719 --> 00:57:39.960
our areas and all of our member
promoters happy and healthy, right because you

777
00:57:40.039 --> 00:57:44.400
know how to get into a building
and leave there, creating enough of a

778
00:57:44.440 --> 00:57:46.239
stern buzz that people have someone they
can believe in and keep coming to the

779
00:57:46.320 --> 00:57:51.079
arenas to see for years on end. It's not that hard, not at

780
00:57:51.079 --> 00:57:53.039
all. It's hard to pull off, but it's not hard to conceive of

781
00:57:53.119 --> 00:57:57.239
how to structure the whole thing.
And Terry Funk was the man to do

782
00:57:57.400 --> 00:58:00.440
that for so many Dusty Rhodes,
Jerry Lawler and others included in nineteen seventy

783
00:58:00.480 --> 00:58:05.000
six allowing Cherry Lawler to go on
Memphis television as we just heard and lay

784
00:58:05.039 --> 00:58:07.960
claimed the title. That was another
thing. Not only do you do the

785
00:58:07.000 --> 00:58:09.119
foot in the rope like he had
him, you know, and he had

786
00:58:09.159 --> 00:58:13.639
to push his foot his way out, Yeah, but also you do a

787
00:58:13.679 --> 00:58:16.280
thing where like there's a false finish, the ref reverses where for a moment

788
00:58:16.599 --> 00:58:20.840
those people get the jubilation of thinking
the local boy actually won the title and

789
00:58:20.920 --> 00:58:23.519
he hoists the belt and as Lawler
was discussing one night and Monday night in

790
00:58:23.559 --> 00:58:28.159
the Mid South Coliseum, he actually
leaves the ring with the NWA World title

791
00:58:28.239 --> 00:58:30.559
belt, the ten pounds of gold, and there were magazine photos and that

792
00:58:30.679 --> 00:58:34.679
was a big game is can you
get yourself photographed with the belt in that

793
00:58:34.840 --> 00:58:37.880
moment before it's taken away? Right? Not unlike Ted Dibiassi in that Boston

794
00:58:37.920 --> 00:58:42.360
Garden show with the WWF championship.
Absolutely, and we obsess about that.

795
00:58:42.480 --> 00:58:45.079
We obsess about it. We pbsess
about pictures of Lex Luger with the winged

796
00:58:45.119 --> 00:58:50.320
egle belt, remember that whole thing. Indeed, so Lawler gets that courtesy

797
00:58:50.360 --> 00:58:54.159
of a Terry Funk as well as
what appeared to be can't call it a

798
00:58:54.239 --> 00:58:58.760
star making performance because Lawler was clearly
already enough of a star in Memphis to

799
00:58:58.920 --> 00:59:01.760
justify the world title, but definitely
a star heightening performance, and Funk is

800
00:59:01.840 --> 00:59:06.639
just doing this for generations of people
that we would consider sort of like his

801
00:59:06.760 --> 00:59:10.039
contemporaries. But the reality is he
was ready to make them. He was

802
00:59:10.079 --> 00:59:15.360
a generation before Dusty Rhads. He
was a generation before Jumbo Sharudah and Jerry

803
00:59:15.400 --> 00:59:17.159
the King Lawler and Hulk Cogan and
Rick Flair in a lot of ways,

804
00:59:17.159 --> 00:59:22.519
even he was ten years in when
they were just becoming greenhorns in the business.

805
00:59:23.280 --> 00:59:28.320
And you better fucking believe you better
fucking believe that when they cross paths

806
00:59:28.320 --> 00:59:32.480
with Terry Funk. In those early
parts of their career, they emerged with

807
00:59:32.599 --> 00:59:37.280
a sort of sense about them that
they were actually top men in the business,

808
00:59:37.559 --> 00:59:39.679
that they were actually hyper capable.
And you put your finger on it,

809
00:59:39.719 --> 00:59:44.800
you know, Luthas kind of set
this notion of world champion. But

810
00:59:45.320 --> 00:59:49.199
the art, again, Boss,
is the ability to make people as you

811
00:59:49.320 --> 00:59:54.239
go, and the ability to get
people to invest in someone other than yourself

812
00:59:54.400 --> 01:00:00.920
by knowing your own worth and knowing
your personal ability to make them believe in

813
01:00:00.960 --> 01:00:04.559
someone else. I mean, you're
that's the thing. Like, the more

814
01:00:04.599 --> 01:00:07.440
people you make look good, the
more people you can make money with,

815
01:00:09.000 --> 01:00:12.639
you know. And isn't that always
what it's all about. It's about it's

816
01:00:12.639 --> 01:00:16.639
about having a program that sells and
makes money. And the only way you're

817
01:00:16.639 --> 01:00:22.079
going to do that is if you
make people credible contenders. That's right,

818
01:00:22.480 --> 01:00:28.239
make people wonder, wait a minute, could this happen? Could the guy

819
01:00:29.960 --> 01:00:34.159
you know? Could my guy win? Could my guy lose? That's it?

820
01:00:36.280 --> 01:00:38.440
And how when I come back,
can I work this match in such

821
01:00:38.440 --> 01:00:40.840
a way that the people will come
again? Even though the last time they

822
01:00:40.880 --> 01:00:45.039
didn't get the title change they wanted, how do they not give up on

823
01:00:45.119 --> 01:00:47.840
the person who will not come out
the winner in this scenario. And I

824
01:00:47.960 --> 01:00:52.639
and I know it's different now.
I know that that's a very you know

825
01:00:52.880 --> 01:00:58.480
that that's a very territory type mentality
it is, is to think ahead and

826
01:00:58.639 --> 01:01:00.719
stuff like that. But at the
same time, you know, it doesn't

827
01:01:00.800 --> 01:01:06.599
hurt, It wouldn't even hurt to
do that occasionally in the modern day,

828
01:01:06.719 --> 01:01:09.400
like make people seem like they can
they could have won. I mean,

829
01:01:09.599 --> 01:01:13.599
I think Roman does a pretty good
job with that on occasion. You know,

830
01:01:13.840 --> 01:01:19.320
like people, some guys get very
very close, it seems I think

831
01:01:19.800 --> 01:01:23.719
I think elle Knight could have gotten
a little closer in my personal opinions.

832
01:01:23.760 --> 01:01:29.559
But that's a good example right there. Elle Knight and that Crown Jewel match

833
01:01:30.039 --> 01:01:35.000
was very similarly positioned in the card
as Jerry Lawler was back in seventy six.

834
01:01:35.079 --> 01:01:37.000
I mean, it might be an
awkward sort of comparison, but because

835
01:01:37.039 --> 01:01:40.079
you don't have that territorial setup,
it's hard to say that, you know,

836
01:01:40.199 --> 01:01:45.119
anybody could fill the exact shoes that
Lawler was filling as part owner as

837
01:01:45.159 --> 01:01:47.639
well back then. But still it's
kind of like, you know, he's

838
01:01:47.679 --> 01:01:52.239
on the calm, like he's doing
so well so fast that you actually can

839
01:01:52.480 --> 01:01:57.239
convince people that even at this young
age, he could actually pull off the

840
01:01:57.239 --> 01:02:00.320
big upset and win the belt right
without a ton of tea. Isn't a

841
01:02:00.360 --> 01:02:04.280
ton of false headfakes. So how
do we, you know, utilize that

842
01:02:04.360 --> 01:02:06.800
moment well? And the problem is
in the modern structure. Yeah, you

843
01:02:06.880 --> 01:02:08.960
can have someone come close, but
the champion's still there. The champion doesn't

844
01:02:09.000 --> 01:02:13.119
leave the area for a year.
The champion doesn't you know what I mean.

845
01:02:13.159 --> 01:02:15.400
It's not this fleeting opportunity. The
champion is still the champion of the

846
01:02:15.440 --> 01:02:21.360
same company, and you can't stop
being reminded that he came up short.

847
01:02:21.519 --> 01:02:23.079
And then the next guy comes along
and then they get the attention. Whereas

848
01:02:23.079 --> 01:02:27.920
in Memphis, you know, Lawler
failed to win the world championship, Funk

849
01:02:28.000 --> 01:02:30.840
left the territory and then it was
you know, feuds against Memphis guys for

850
01:02:30.920 --> 01:02:34.559
the Southern title, the local belt, or the Missouri title in the Saint

851
01:02:34.599 --> 01:02:37.719
Louis territory for example, or the
Texas Heavyweight championship down there. Yeah,

852
01:02:37.800 --> 01:02:42.000
and that's what you're sort of left
with when the champion is isn't here.

853
01:02:42.159 --> 01:02:45.039
It isn't like the champion still here. Now there's another challenger, and we've

854
01:02:45.559 --> 01:02:49.119
got somebody else to get excited about
possibly beating the champion. There was really

855
01:02:49.199 --> 01:02:52.280
only like two or three guys in
a territory, really, just one probably

856
01:02:52.440 --> 01:02:55.360
that you could credibly say, all
right, this is our best local shot

857
01:02:55.400 --> 01:02:59.159
at winning the championship. It's not
like there are a whole lot of other

858
01:02:59.199 --> 01:03:00.519
guys going after Terry Funk from Memphis
for the title. At the time,

859
01:03:00.599 --> 01:03:04.400
no one else would have seen anybody
as capable or worthy of that of that

860
01:03:04.480 --> 01:03:07.840
opportunity it was. It was such
a great structure. Yeah, just because

861
01:03:07.840 --> 01:03:10.360
it's not like that anymore doesn't mean
this wasn't better. And just because you

862
01:03:10.360 --> 01:03:14.800
couldn't do it like this again doesn't
mean this isn't better. I think that's

863
01:03:14.800 --> 01:03:16.920
a key thing we've been pointing out
for years now. Yep, when we

864
01:03:17.000 --> 01:03:21.920
say it was better, we're not
saying that it's a mark against how people

865
01:03:22.000 --> 01:03:23.920
do things today. We're saying the
fact that they couldn't do things like that

866
01:03:24.039 --> 01:03:28.119
today, even if they wanted to, is what means it used to be.

867
01:03:28.280 --> 01:03:31.320
Is what makes it better in the
past, because it's the whole conceit,

868
01:03:31.400 --> 01:03:36.320
the whole structure of the whole notion
of how to organize wrestling matches and

869
01:03:36.400 --> 01:03:38.360
present them in the psychology of the
whole thing. It's just a it's bygone.

870
01:03:38.360 --> 01:03:40.760
It wouldn't work today, and it
was superior to the way it does

871
01:03:40.840 --> 01:03:44.440
work today. Yep, that's not
I don't know what the problem is.

872
01:03:45.039 --> 01:03:52.039
So let's pull up Disc six Boss
okayout two feast On is what is regarded

873
01:03:52.280 --> 01:03:59.280
as the very first match to ever
receive five stars from Dave Meltzer. Aw

874
01:04:00.000 --> 01:04:03.880
woh going and look at a March
twenty three, nineteen eighty one clash between

875
01:04:03.960 --> 01:04:08.760
Terry Funk and Jerry the King Lawler
and the famous Mid South Colisseum in Memphis,

876
01:04:08.800 --> 01:04:12.440
Tennessee. You'll recognize the building and
the environs the second you see it.

877
01:04:12.480 --> 01:04:15.400
It had a very unique look this
building and again, Monday nights at

878
01:04:15.400 --> 01:04:18.039
the Coliseum for years and years and
years sold out houses. This is where

879
01:04:18.039 --> 01:04:21.039
all the legend of Jerry Lawler and
Memphis Wrestling was made and where the tickets

880
01:04:21.079 --> 01:04:26.960
were sold. And this is after, of course, years after that world

881
01:04:27.000 --> 01:04:30.000
title opportunity that slipped through Lawler's fingers. Funk comes back through, but he's

882
01:04:30.000 --> 01:04:33.400
not world champion anymore. He's now
just a hell raiser. Funk isn't here

883
01:04:33.480 --> 01:04:36.400
to defend the glory and honor of
the National Wrestling a Lines anymore. He's

884
01:04:36.440 --> 01:04:42.159
in your town to burn the motherfucker
down to the frame. Okay, he's

885
01:04:42.199 --> 01:04:44.599
here to murder somebody. I think
it's exactly correct. And if you get

886
01:04:44.679 --> 01:04:47.440
us to one hour, forty minutes
and fifty two seconds, we can enjoy

887
01:04:48.480 --> 01:04:55.159
this no die qualification battle. As
the feud, the tensions, the personal

888
01:04:55.199 --> 01:05:00.280
animosity between Jerry the King Lawler and
Terry Funk and Memphis reaches a boiling point

889
01:05:00.440 --> 01:05:03.079
on the same level, if not
even higher than the boiling points we observed

890
01:05:03.480 --> 01:05:06.760
between Terry Funk and Dusty Roads and
places like Georgia and Florida last week.

891
01:05:09.679 --> 01:05:12.039
Are you ready, my friend?
I am ready. There we go.

892
01:05:12.159 --> 01:05:21.519
We will hit play hold on and
said yep and three two one play any

893
01:05:21.559 --> 01:05:31.119
week can here and you're like wind
even Bumber and Valley, break Time Dime

894
01:05:31.280 --> 01:05:46.000
and land Y y n Wow,
And Jerry Lawler comes out to the rocky

895
01:05:46.119 --> 01:06:08.280
music not really mhm. This is
like the Hull Coca andheie the Tiger entrances

896
01:06:08.320 --> 01:06:43.599
in early w WS, A somewhat
edited down version of the match. Funk

897
01:06:43.679 --> 01:06:46.000
is on the move cat and mouse
game. Here comes Lawler closing into the

898
01:06:46.039 --> 01:06:53.039
right and bright White is the King
upside down taking the corner bump, hanging

899
01:06:53.320 --> 01:06:55.960
by a thread. Funkers on the
floor, swinging on the concrete to the

900
01:06:56.159 --> 01:07:04.360
of the Mid South Coliseum's he trips
over a fucking table, try to render

901
01:07:04.360 --> 01:07:08.079
the ring and took a bump and
out. Jerry Lawler giving chase on the

902
01:07:08.119 --> 01:07:15.880
outside. Funk rolls in and out. Just the intensity of this battle,

903
01:07:15.960 --> 01:07:21.880
man, Yeah, the only things
slowed down after that opening yelling. She's

904
01:07:23.000 --> 01:07:26.199
yelling something. I wish I had
a microphone on her. Oh my god.

905
01:07:26.280 --> 01:07:28.480
That the women at the Mid South
Colosseum in these days, man,

906
01:07:28.960 --> 01:07:32.119
Unlike any other fans in wrestling,
Jim Cornett's talked about the baby throwing effect.

907
01:07:32.159 --> 01:07:34.119
We're like, well, the baby
face makes it come back. It

908
01:07:34.119 --> 01:07:38.320
seems like babies are being tossed into
the air. That's how jubilant. And

909
01:07:40.039 --> 01:07:43.719
oh Lawler tasks tossed in a nasty
angle through the ropes. Lawler never that

910
01:07:43.800 --> 01:07:46.159
great at getting thrown through the ropes
to the floor. Yeah, kicked over

911
01:07:46.239 --> 01:07:50.360
the timekeeper's table. Oh and now
Funkers going after him with See how rabid

912
01:07:50.400 --> 01:07:54.719
Funk seems. Yeah, he's an
animal. This is it like the All

913
01:07:54.800 --> 01:07:59.119
Japan against a little butcher Terry in
America. That woman in the front row

914
01:07:59.159 --> 01:08:03.480
then and there the striped shirt.
She's screaming, screaming at Lawler and Funk

915
01:08:04.039 --> 01:08:06.800
off to the left corner. I
think, Jim Cornett said one of the

916
01:08:08.079 --> 01:08:13.679
fans. There were Sherry Martel really
and now I wounded. Jerry Lawler re

917
01:08:13.800 --> 01:08:15.479
enters the fray and Terry Funk is
unloading with boxing at the corner. Get

918
01:08:15.520 --> 01:08:19.239
that Holy shit, tell him what
you're seeing. These are fucking like he

919
01:08:19.439 --> 01:08:23.960
is jabbing him and it's like,
I mean, wow, I mean,

920
01:08:24.079 --> 01:08:28.640
big left hook. It looks like
real contact as much. You know,

921
01:08:29.920 --> 01:08:33.079
that's unbelievable, like real fucking potatoes
going right to the head. To Jimmy

922
01:08:33.119 --> 01:08:38.479
Hard at ringside, as a Funk's
manager Sidestep, Funk tried to rain down

923
01:08:38.600 --> 01:08:42.000
a fist and it was just it
was about throwing fists in Memphis, man,

924
01:08:42.199 --> 01:08:45.520
there were holes, but it was
about fists. Here comes the king.

925
01:08:45.960 --> 01:08:50.479
Look at that Funks swinging at Ghost. Just Lawler lands with big jabs

926
01:08:50.520 --> 01:08:55.399
down the pike. Fu Funk's putting
dukes up and he keeps getting rocked,

927
01:08:57.279 --> 01:09:00.479
stumbles with the ropes to the floor. Oh my god, he took down

928
01:09:00.520 --> 01:09:04.960
the fucking the you know, the
very very thin, very very safe rope

929
01:09:05.640 --> 01:09:11.159
around in the ring. Lawler getting
chased. Now, Jimmy Hart just run

930
01:09:11.319 --> 01:09:13.680
under the ring. Oh he went
under the ring. What a bit sort

931
01:09:13.720 --> 01:09:16.439
of little weasel. He was pretty
new in the business back then. He

932
01:09:16.600 --> 01:09:19.720
just fucking rolled under the under the
ring. That was hilarious. One of

933
01:09:19.760 --> 01:09:25.079
those fans of Sherry Martell, one
of them. No ring apron there you

934
01:09:25.159 --> 01:09:29.079
see that like this, you can
see right under the ring. Yeah.

935
01:09:29.279 --> 01:09:31.079
So Lawla brought Terry over to the
timekeeper's table, rammed him into the table,

936
01:09:31.119 --> 01:09:36.640
and I think Funk got color.
Terry Funk convulsing with his shoulders on

937
01:09:36.720 --> 01:09:41.800
his ass as Lawler lays into him
on the arena floor. This is this

938
01:09:41.960 --> 01:09:45.680
is chaos, This is getting come
up and this is what Oh yeah,

939
01:09:45.960 --> 01:09:48.159
this is The fans are gritting their
teeth as the next heel comes through saying

940
01:09:48.159 --> 01:09:50.319
he's going to be the one to
put down Jerry Lawler, because they know

941
01:09:50.399 --> 01:09:54.920
a moment like this is coming on
a Monday night at the coliseum. Who

942
01:09:54.960 --> 01:09:58.399
did commentary for this This would be
Lance Russell, the voice of Memphis Wrestling.

943
01:09:58.399 --> 01:10:00.920
He was also doing the ring announcing. As the Principles made their way

944
01:10:00.920 --> 01:10:03.560
to the ring. It sounds like, uh, it sounds like rod tron

945
01:10:03.600 --> 01:10:06.479
guard. Yeah, touch of that, touch of that. Oh see how

946
01:10:06.560 --> 01:10:11.840
Funk fucking fell face first. He's
humping the matin. Yeah, he's that

947
01:10:11.960 --> 01:10:16.640
out. Lawler to the second rope. Oh, stumps the back of Funk's

948
01:10:16.680 --> 01:10:21.680
head off the middle rope. Fist
drop by the cane cover Terry Funk's lake

949
01:10:21.760 --> 01:10:27.279
convulsing too. Oh wow, look
at look at Jimmy Hart sneaks in with

950
01:10:27.399 --> 01:10:33.479
a uh little runt a cane and
Lawler gives chase. Got under the ring

951
01:10:33.520 --> 01:10:38.399
again. Right back under the ring
goes Jimmy Hart. It's where Jimmy Hart

952
01:10:38.439 --> 01:10:45.479
became Jimmy Hart, by the way. Folks comes out the other end as

953
01:10:45.640 --> 01:10:47.359
Jerry Lawla re enters the fray,
taking the right hands back to the funker.

954
01:10:47.399 --> 01:10:55.840
Funk goes to the gut. Head
butt by the funker. Terry busted

955
01:10:55.920 --> 01:10:59.359
open, crawling on all fours,
now trying to regain his his senses.

956
01:10:59.399 --> 01:11:05.760
The cream color canvas of the mid
South Colisseum stage for this battle of wills.

957
01:11:08.199 --> 01:11:15.000
Hey Funk with a jyd head button
on all fours. That's tremendous.

958
01:11:15.359 --> 01:11:19.119
I love that you noticed right away
that this felt like shoot contact Yeah,

959
01:11:19.199 --> 01:11:24.720
oh yeah, I mean there is
an I don't know, I don't know.

960
01:11:25.079 --> 01:11:27.600
You know, I know that some
of these guys are fucking crazy and

961
01:11:27.680 --> 01:11:31.600
are like, you know, just
fucking hit me. But Terry Funk just

962
01:11:31.640 --> 01:11:35.000
bit Jerry Lawler's forehead, which is
now bleeding, and spit the blood into

963
01:11:35.039 --> 01:11:39.479
the air. I don't see what
the problem is. And when Adam Page

964
01:11:39.479 --> 01:11:41.920
did that in the most recent AW
pay per view, people were like,

965
01:11:42.000 --> 01:11:45.439
oh my god, this is the
craziest shit I've ever saw. Again twenty

966
01:11:45.520 --> 01:11:48.399
twenty three and pro wrestling is just
everybody rewatching Terry Funk stuff after he died

967
01:11:48.439 --> 01:11:53.720
and then doing it again. Funk
are going upside. Look at how Lawler

968
01:11:53.760 --> 01:11:57.439
sells to bouncing around those ropes,
trying his best to stay on his feet,

969
01:11:57.520 --> 01:12:00.640
using anything he can to stay upright. Terry had Low with those lefts

970
01:12:00.680 --> 01:12:03.560
and head butts. Jesus, this
is a battle. This is what you

971
01:12:03.600 --> 01:12:09.079
want to come to their readA to
see. Oh fucking Mayhem. It's the

972
01:12:09.159 --> 01:12:11.600
perfect fan base for it too.
I mean, this isn't Saint Louis.

973
01:12:11.640 --> 01:12:18.840
This is exactly what Memphis wrestling fans
want. Fisticuffs, rabid hungry with a

974
01:12:18.920 --> 01:12:23.640
voracious appetite. Yes, and the
voracious Terry Funks staggering around the ring,

975
01:12:23.920 --> 01:12:26.600
planting a double X handle on the
bloody forehead of the King in the corner.

976
01:12:26.760 --> 01:12:30.520
Of course, King wearing the white
singlett shows that blood off beautifully.

977
01:12:32.640 --> 01:12:35.000
I could funk just slapping him in
the face for real in the corner,

978
01:12:35.640 --> 01:12:44.560
yep, calling him a pig,
no doubt, Jesus. And you got

979
01:12:44.640 --> 01:12:48.000
to realize every single person in this
building knows the comeback is coming. When

980
01:12:48.119 --> 01:12:51.760
is the moment going to come when
Lawler starts fighting back? Yep? Oh,

981
01:12:51.880 --> 01:12:57.119
Jimmy Hart blind signs blind sides Lawler
again with that cane on the outside

982
01:12:57.119 --> 01:13:02.640
while the referee Jerry Calloun was distracted
back in. Now left hand Lawler barely

983
01:13:02.680 --> 01:13:06.000
able to stand up thanks to the
ropes seated on the bottom strand. Now

984
01:13:06.119 --> 01:13:13.039
is the funker with that tape left
fist, looks to the people first and

985
01:13:13.119 --> 01:13:18.560
then plants the left hand. Yes, fucking someone's selling peanuts over there.

986
01:13:19.239 --> 01:13:23.359
Yeah, they would sell concessions during
the matches back then, just like in

987
01:13:23.399 --> 01:13:26.720
a baseball game. I mean like, I mean, hello, come on,

988
01:13:26.880 --> 01:13:29.039
like people are going to eat during
this one. This is the get

989
01:13:29.039 --> 01:13:35.039
out of my fucking way man,
Terry serving potatoes. I'll tell you that.

990
01:13:36.520 --> 01:13:40.279
Here we go. Look at Lawler's
lawyer's not responding. Look at these

991
01:13:40.319 --> 01:13:46.560
people when they realize the comebacks coming. Look at them adults standing yep.

992
01:13:47.520 --> 01:13:51.279
I mean also fucking the fact that
Jerry Lawler also like that. He was

993
01:13:51.399 --> 01:13:58.199
never like really, wow, here
we go, like he's still got a

994
01:13:58.239 --> 01:14:00.159
belly, like he's got a belly
back then. Yeah they didn't. Yeah,

995
01:14:00.199 --> 01:14:04.159
they had no. They wanted the
guy to look like your local tough

996
01:14:04.199 --> 01:14:06.840
guy, not like a bodybuilding What
sense of that make? Here we go,

997
01:14:08.720 --> 01:14:14.479
Wow, look at them fucking trade
blows. Jesus, it's the lapsed

998
01:14:14.560 --> 01:14:21.680
funk bitch fuck left his feet curd
heading style on that right, turned inside

999
01:14:21.720 --> 01:14:28.079
out on that big Ryan hand off
the ropes and funk again, turned inside

1000
01:14:28.119 --> 01:14:31.560
out. Fucking woman right there,
that grandma fucking standing up on her feet,

1001
01:14:32.840 --> 01:14:39.840
cheering it'll rope get rid of this
fucking scoundrel. Drops the fist cover

1002
01:14:39.960 --> 01:14:43.880
this has gotta be it one two
No Chippy Hard in with the chair,

1003
01:14:43.920 --> 01:14:48.239
but Loller cuts him off right hand
down goes Jimmy. Jesus, the funk

1004
01:14:48.279 --> 01:14:54.199
has got the chair. Uh oh, Lawler working over Jimmy Hart in the

1005
01:14:54.239 --> 01:14:58.840
corner and from behind in a no
DQ environment, Terry Funk jabs the knee

1006
01:14:59.359 --> 01:15:01.920
with the steel. Referee trying to
take it from Funk refusing to relinquish the

1007
01:15:01.960 --> 01:15:04.920
steal. Did you say, is
this no DQ? No DQ? Yes?

1008
01:15:05.560 --> 01:15:14.000
Okay, and Jerry Lawler just come
off a very bad leg injury suffered

1009
01:15:14.039 --> 01:15:18.520
for real paint playing football. It
totally derailed the Memphis Offices booking plans for

1010
01:15:18.560 --> 01:15:25.039
a while because he couldn't help him
play like a intramural fucking football. So

1011
01:15:25.159 --> 01:15:27.680
yeah, the referee takes the chair
away from Funk, but not before the

1012
01:15:27.760 --> 01:15:30.279
damage is done. Jim Cornett made
a great point reviewing this match in his

1013
01:15:30.359 --> 01:15:32.960
podcast. He said, now the
guy would hold the chair for three hours

1014
01:15:33.000 --> 01:15:35.640
and no one would do anything about
it, and he would just personally decide

1015
01:15:35.680 --> 01:15:40.760
to stop using it. Terry Funk
appearing now to try to tear at the

1016
01:15:40.880 --> 01:15:49.399
pant leg of Jerry Lawler to further
expose that knee, No doubt, it's

1017
01:15:49.560 --> 01:15:54.720
rolling around on the ground like two
fucking steam laughed. At this point,

1018
01:15:55.079 --> 01:16:01.560
Lance Russell, ladies and gentlemen trying
to extract himself desperately from the clutches,

1019
01:16:01.640 --> 01:16:05.319
the pit bull like clutches of Terry
Funk as Jerry Lawler back up. Now

1020
01:16:06.279 --> 01:16:12.079
is the Funker standing hovering over the
king, cheering on at ringside as Jimmy

1021
01:16:12.119 --> 01:16:15.640
Hart. The fans saw the comeback, come and go from Lawler. That's

1022
01:16:15.680 --> 01:16:18.399
a new position to be in.
Usually he takes it all the way to

1023
01:16:18.399 --> 01:16:23.119
the finish biting toe hold, and
he's got a handful of the trunks too.

1024
01:16:23.119 --> 01:16:32.000
When twenty toe holds see Lawler's knee
exposed there, Well, it's not

1025
01:16:32.079 --> 01:16:36.399
the first time he exposed something that's
exactly correct. All are with his hand

1026
01:16:36.439 --> 01:16:41.279
to the sky trying to fight the
paint off of the patented Funk family spinning

1027
01:16:41.359 --> 01:16:45.159
toe hold. Terry is really cranking
on that bad wheel damaged by the steel

1028
01:16:45.239 --> 01:16:49.680
chair. Lawler throws off his back. Funk has to get rid of the

1029
01:16:49.760 --> 01:17:00.000
hold. Look at him stomping.
Oh, look at Jimmy. Hearts giving

1030
01:17:00.039 --> 01:17:03.159
Funk the chair the chair again,
that's right, Jesus as soon as Lalla

1031
01:17:03.239 --> 01:17:06.680
finds a way to free himself from
the clutches of this what's the problem,

1032
01:17:06.760 --> 01:17:11.399
Oh, referee shoved down by the
Funker. Nody Hugh comes a chair again.

1033
01:17:12.760 --> 01:17:15.079
No, Lawler moves out of the
way. Here we go, get

1034
01:17:15.119 --> 01:17:21.439
ready, Cherry's got the chair.
Listen to the people. Oh, look

1035
01:17:21.520 --> 01:17:25.560
at them fucking go nuts. Kurt
headg bump off the back of the leg.

1036
01:17:27.159 --> 01:17:30.760
Now it's Jerry Lawler's term. Baby, all these people up on the

1037
01:17:30.920 --> 01:17:36.399
fur fucking feet alas Oh smashing the
leg of Terry Funk with that chair.

1038
01:17:36.560 --> 01:17:40.199
It's so fair because he just did
it to him. I want to,

1039
01:17:40.479 --> 01:17:44.720
you know, I really I would
love to just be at a holiday get

1040
01:17:44.760 --> 01:17:46.359
together with some of these people who
are going nuts, some of these like

1041
01:17:46.520 --> 01:17:50.479
normal looking people, and just see
what their lives are like. These women

1042
01:17:50.600 --> 01:17:55.439
reacted debsolute horrors. Jerry Lawler wears
out Funk right in front of them with

1043
01:17:55.479 --> 01:17:59.600
a chair on the floor. That
one woman is horrified. That's like my

1044
01:17:59.720 --> 01:18:01.359
mom. I think the one of
the blue top is Sherry. I think

1045
01:18:01.520 --> 01:18:05.399
I think it looks like it kind
of looks like Sherry. So after four

1046
01:18:05.479 --> 01:18:09.560
or five cheer shots, Jerry Lawler
covers Funk in the chair in the outside,

1047
01:18:09.640 --> 01:18:13.000
leaves him for count out though our
count outs, and in fact,

1048
01:18:14.000 --> 01:18:20.960
that's lame. Jerry the King Lawler
wins by count out and pause that just

1049
01:18:21.039 --> 01:18:30.760
for a moment. So, uh
yeah, yeah, complicated. No,

1050
01:18:30.800 --> 01:18:36.560
it's never complicated, you know that. I know that it's always simple.

1051
01:18:36.880 --> 01:18:41.760
They just think that it needs to
be complicated because they're telling stories in there,

1052
01:18:42.079 --> 01:18:45.640
stories that don't elicit anywhere near that
kind of bloodlust from the crowd,

1053
01:18:45.720 --> 01:18:50.920
that kind of passion, that kind
of Yeah, I don't want to get

1054
01:18:50.920 --> 01:18:56.319
depressed here, so I'll leave it
at that. It's depressing ringside for that

1055
01:18:56.439 --> 01:18:59.600
match, not only with Sherry and
Jimmy Hart and Lance Russell and others we

1056
01:18:59.640 --> 01:19:02.800
were talking about, but also Jim
Cornett, because Jim Cornett was working the

1057
01:19:02.840 --> 01:19:06.520
country as a wrestling magazine photographer at
this point in time in nineteen eighty one,

1058
01:19:08.039 --> 01:19:10.479
in fact, would break into the
business in Memphis as a manager,

1059
01:19:10.560 --> 01:19:14.600
because he became known as I believe
he certainly in Memphis. He definitely did

1060
01:19:14.640 --> 01:19:16.640
a tour in Memphis, and one
time Terry Funk chased him around the television

1061
01:19:16.640 --> 01:19:19.479
studio without telling him he was going
to do it on the air as well,

1062
01:19:19.479 --> 01:19:24.720
and I think ripped some of his
clothes off. But Jim Cornett was

1063
01:19:24.760 --> 01:19:27.600
a big part of the reason that
this match won so much acclaim it got

1064
01:19:27.640 --> 01:19:29.840
the rating it did for Meltzer.
I mean, it's not like it was

1065
01:19:29.880 --> 01:19:32.560
easy to get your hands on a
you know, you could not see this

1066
01:19:32.640 --> 01:19:35.439
match live as it happened on television
anywhere, and to get tape wasn't the

1067
01:19:35.439 --> 01:19:39.920
easiest thing either. But were traveled
fast. Traveled fast in large part because

1068
01:19:40.000 --> 01:19:43.439
Jim Cornett had, you know,
an eagle's eye for great wrestling, and

1069
01:19:43.560 --> 01:19:46.239
he, by virtue of being a
photographer, would have the ability to start

1070
01:19:46.319 --> 01:19:50.960
the buzz about a great match before
the tape was well distributed. Even in

1071
01:19:51.079 --> 01:19:55.920
eighty one VCRs. You know,
they certainly existed, but they weren't in

1072
01:19:55.920 --> 01:19:59.039
every household, that's for sure,
not every close was the time when you

1073
01:19:59.119 --> 01:20:05.239
rented one, right and they loaded
up on top probably yep. But Cornette

1074
01:20:05.319 --> 01:20:09.600
and Meltzer would communicate all the time
about like, what are you seeing that's

1075
01:20:09.600 --> 01:20:12.720
like out of control? Like he'd
say, you know what, when Terry

1076
01:20:12.720 --> 01:20:15.399
Funk and Jerry Lawler are going to
mix it up, you simply have to

1077
01:20:15.479 --> 01:20:18.720
see it yourself, because the what
it evokes and elicits out of the crowd

1078
01:20:18.880 --> 01:20:23.640
is on a different level than what
you're accustomed to seeing and sort of workaday

1079
01:20:23.680 --> 01:20:28.640
pro wrestling and man absolute truth.
So it earns the five star distinction from

1080
01:20:28.680 --> 01:20:30.880
the observer at a time when that
was just so much more of like an

1081
01:20:30.960 --> 01:20:34.960
informal just thing you threw out there. It wasn't like anyone expected everybody to

1082
01:20:35.079 --> 01:20:39.880
rate every match because nobody could see
every match. It was just a way

1083
01:20:39.920 --> 01:20:43.000
of like signposting to people that of
all the matches that are happening all over

1084
01:20:43.039 --> 01:20:45.720
the world, a lot of people
are talking about this one as something that

1085
01:20:45.800 --> 01:20:48.039
was a special nine in that building, you know, And there was no

1086
01:20:48.560 --> 01:20:53.079
frame by frame analysis. It was
just when you came away from watching that

1087
01:20:53.159 --> 01:20:57.079
match in person, you knew you
saw something extremely special just based on the

1088
01:20:57.239 --> 01:20:59.600
energy it created. And that's what
these guys were out to do, and

1089
01:20:59.680 --> 01:21:03.279
that's what Harry Funk was an absolute
expert at achieving. And so because Jim

1090
01:21:03.319 --> 01:21:08.720
Cornette was there, he was in
a unique position to talk about a lot

1091
01:21:08.760 --> 01:21:11.319
of the color and the detail of
the match and get a nice response from

1092
01:21:11.359 --> 01:21:15.079
Terry Funk when they sat down for
the KFP commentaries Back to the Territory series

1093
01:21:15.119 --> 01:21:18.520
as Jim Cornett sat with Terry Funk. We've excerpted this interview several times so

1094
01:21:18.640 --> 01:21:23.119
far in the lapsed Funk talking about
this match and the Lawlor feud. Let's

1095
01:21:23.159 --> 01:21:28.319
listen in the first match that night, March twenty third, nineteen eighty one,

1096
01:21:28.439 --> 01:21:30.399
Memphis, Smith South Coliseum. I'm
down there to shoot picture because if

1097
01:21:30.399 --> 01:21:32.359
you're going to be working with Lawler, I had to be here. You

1098
01:21:32.520 --> 01:21:38.760
caused me a fortune in gas money. That's springing summer. But that was

1099
01:21:39.560 --> 01:21:46.000
the single most exciting fight that I've
ever seen live in wrestling that I used

1100
01:21:46.000 --> 01:21:49.479
to take that tape and show it
to the guys in OVW the training classes.

1101
01:21:49.720 --> 01:21:54.079
I'd give them notes on it.
I know I wasn't there in the

1102
01:21:54.159 --> 01:21:56.800
locker room at night. I was
ringing side taking pictures. I guarantee you,

1103
01:21:56.960 --> 01:22:00.720
knowing you and known Lawler, you
spent less than three minutes talking about

1104
01:22:00.800 --> 01:22:03.760
anything that you were gonna do.
Well, we didn't, probably and probably

1105
01:22:03.800 --> 01:22:09.720
less snackus. Lawler was playing cards, you know, and it was just

1106
01:22:09.880 --> 01:22:12.720
it was insane, and the best
part I liked about it was you tweaked

1107
01:22:12.800 --> 01:22:16.479
the pattern that Lawler was getting into
at that point just enough where he dropped

1108
01:22:16.520 --> 01:22:20.920
the strap to make the comeback in
the middle of the match, and instead

1109
01:22:20.920 --> 01:22:24.960
of just making the comeback and you
flying right there and going home, he

1110
01:22:25.079 --> 01:22:28.079
drops the strap and you go,
okay, let's go, and he's rubbing

1111
01:22:28.119 --> 01:22:32.159
his fist together and he makes the
comeback slowly, and finally you're rocking and

1112
01:22:32.239 --> 01:22:35.079
rocking, and you take the big
bump and then just as you think there's

1113
01:22:35.119 --> 01:22:39.039
the finished, heart distracts him and
you lower the boom and you go the

1114
01:22:39.199 --> 01:22:42.439
second half of the match, and
then you go for the leg and tear

1115
01:22:42.520 --> 01:22:45.760
the tights off, and there's the
blood and you're screaming pig and he's wearing

1116
01:22:45.880 --> 01:22:48.439
white. And that's where I coined
the term the babies in the air,

1117
01:22:48.560 --> 01:22:54.119
because finally, when he got the
second comeback, the people you see him,

1118
01:22:54.119 --> 01:22:58.039
they're literally throwing babies in the air
and he's beating you with the chair

1119
01:22:58.199 --> 01:23:01.520
on the floor. And all the
girls in the front row that had seen

1120
01:23:01.560 --> 01:23:04.800
everything, and I do mean everything
that related to the boys, they said

1121
01:23:04.800 --> 01:23:09.800
they are climbing up backwards over the
chairs with horrified looks and you can see

1122
01:23:09.840 --> 01:23:13.479
them and they're running and they're scared
because they were into that thing. It

1123
01:23:13.720 --> 01:23:16.279
was it was a riot and it
was just you know, it was just

1124
01:23:16.800 --> 01:23:20.840
right there. What's it a matter
of Terry, It's just a matter of

1125
01:23:21.520 --> 01:23:29.600
again, you know? Is that
do we even understand in this day and

1126
01:23:29.760 --> 01:23:35.800
age? You know? Is what
we are supposed to do as professional performers,

1127
01:23:38.359 --> 01:23:42.920
whether it be you know, I
mean, whether it be a movie,

1128
01:23:43.199 --> 01:23:47.600
or whether it be a play,
or whether it be wrestling, or

1129
01:23:47.680 --> 01:23:54.800
whether whatever it might be, you
know, is uh, it's the story

1130
01:23:54.920 --> 01:24:00.880
that you tell, and it's the
uh suspension that you put into it that

1131
01:24:01.039 --> 01:24:09.039
you have to have. It's a
necessity more than anything else. Is believability.

1132
01:24:09.159 --> 01:24:13.279
If you do not believe, it
does not work, it doesn't have

1133
01:24:13.479 --> 01:24:23.880
the stardust on it. You've got
to be able and anymore it is Jerry

1134
01:24:23.960 --> 01:24:30.239
Lawer. He's gonna look, he's
got a presence. He's got to weigh

1135
01:24:31.079 --> 01:24:41.600
everything that he does is Jerry Lawler
and it's what he believes. And he

1136
01:24:41.880 --> 01:24:47.680
has suspended himself. He is not
only is there a suspension of disbelief to

1137
01:24:47.760 --> 01:24:55.239
the fans, he has to suspend
his own disbelieve he's got to believe himself.

1138
01:24:55.359 --> 01:24:59.039
He's gonna believe that he is doing
it, and I am. I

1139
01:24:59.279 --> 01:25:04.720
am suspended belief too, and myself
I am everything that I am doing I

1140
01:25:04.880 --> 01:25:12.079
am truly doing to you, and
everything that Jerry is doing to me or

1141
01:25:12.199 --> 01:25:16.600
whatever you are doing to me,
you are truly doing to me. That's

1142
01:25:16.680 --> 01:25:27.960
what really makes the performer lessons of
funk Boss. I'll say anything there that

1143
01:25:28.079 --> 01:25:31.399
other Funkers had to say that stood
out to you or resonated, I mean,

1144
01:25:32.239 --> 01:25:36.800
all of it. Yeah, it's
it's it's all, it's all just

1145
01:25:36.920 --> 01:25:43.079
amazing. I mean hearing him,
you know, you you you hear him

1146
01:25:43.159 --> 01:25:46.479
break things down and you realize that's
what wrestling is supposed to be. Yeah,

1147
01:25:46.560 --> 01:25:51.680
these aren't accidents that his stuff comes
off like this, right you know,

1148
01:25:51.840 --> 01:25:57.239
and and that you know and that
you are I mean, it all

1149
01:25:57.319 --> 01:26:00.279
comes you know, it all comes
down to what did you see said he

1150
01:26:00.399 --> 01:26:03.680
was talking about kind of like what
I was saying, and how you know,

1151
01:26:03.920 --> 01:26:09.720
the mindset just kicks in and you
just start doing it and believing it.

1152
01:26:09.920 --> 01:26:14.199
And you know, if you believe
you hate the guy, then you

1153
01:26:14.279 --> 01:26:16.920
can fucking hate the guy and convince
others. Yeah, to the point that

1154
01:26:17.000 --> 01:26:19.920
they're not sure if you actually hate
them or not. Right. I think

1155
01:26:19.960 --> 01:26:21.760
you put it really well when he
said, you know, you have to

1156
01:26:21.920 --> 01:26:27.680
realize not only did Jerry Lawler need
the people to suspend their disbelief, Jerry

1157
01:26:27.920 --> 01:26:30.960
Lawler had to suspend his own disbelief. Right. That's it. Yeah,

1158
01:26:31.000 --> 01:26:38.600
that's that's what I was talking about. That's it. Spend some time with

1159
01:26:38.720 --> 01:26:41.920
that, think about it. Like, you know, it's method acting in

1160
01:26:42.000 --> 01:26:45.960
a way. Right, It's kind
of what he's saying. But the best

1161
01:26:45.000 --> 01:26:49.720
way to convince people that something is
real is to convince yourself that you're really

1162
01:26:49.760 --> 01:26:54.159
doing it to this person. Yeah, and you better believe that means landing

1163
01:26:54.279 --> 01:26:59.920
hard. Yeah, It's like that's
that's where wrestling is so unique. If

1164
01:27:00.479 --> 01:27:03.920
two actors step onto a movie set
and tell themselves that we are embodying these

1165
01:27:04.039 --> 01:27:06.600
characters and we hate each other,
and we're about to have a fight scene

1166
01:27:06.720 --> 01:27:11.319
and we are going to be those
people. Still when they're fighting, they're

1167
01:27:11.399 --> 01:27:17.479
not fighting. They they lack the
ability to to to go that much further

1168
01:27:17.720 --> 01:27:23.039
in perpetuating the myth between them,
because you know, you simply just can't

1169
01:27:23.119 --> 01:27:26.000
land. There's no tolerance to be
landing real blows in a film set.

1170
01:27:26.079 --> 01:27:27.760
As far as I know, I
mean, I know, it's happened,

1171
01:27:27.800 --> 01:27:31.199
but it's almost always an accident.
It's it or or it's it's rare too.

1172
01:27:31.319 --> 01:27:34.319
I mean, you know, I
know, I know, like for

1173
01:27:34.479 --> 01:27:39.079
some of the some of the of
the fights and in like the Rocky movies,

1174
01:27:40.159 --> 01:27:45.119
you know, Stallone wanted real contact
to happen and stuff. But it's

1175
01:27:45.159 --> 01:27:48.000
a rarity. It's not it's not
commonplace. It's certainly not the way to

1176
01:27:48.039 --> 01:27:51.279
do the job. It's not what's
expected, or at least it's not considered

1177
01:27:51.359 --> 01:27:56.000
like the highest form of the art
to to come close to hitting somebody that's

1178
01:27:56.039 --> 01:28:01.439
actually hitting somebody. But but here
and wrestling you actually can not only suspend

1179
01:28:01.479 --> 01:28:04.720
your own disbelief and become the person
that hates this other person who, if

1180
01:28:04.720 --> 01:28:08.720
they're doing their job, is become
that person as well. But then you

1181
01:28:08.760 --> 01:28:12.720
can actually go in the ring and
fight them like you would fight them if

1182
01:28:12.720 --> 01:28:17.000
you really hated them, with this
sort of like very soft exception that you

1183
01:28:17.079 --> 01:28:21.520
don't expect return fire except within a
certain cadence, because this is, after

1184
01:28:21.560 --> 01:28:25.960
all, the performance that we're doing. Yep, it's like this wild like

1185
01:28:26.479 --> 01:28:30.119
thing about pro wrestling, where yeah, at its absolute best, both guys

1186
01:28:30.199 --> 01:28:33.319
believe who they are and act that
way and are good enough athletes to make

1187
01:28:33.359 --> 01:28:39.520
it look like a wild athletic spectacle
or or a deeply engaging athletic exhibition,

1188
01:28:40.319 --> 01:28:45.199
but at the same time having just
that foot light light enough on the gas,

1189
01:28:45.960 --> 01:28:48.119
yep, that when the time comes
to give, just enough so that

1190
01:28:48.239 --> 01:28:50.840
the other guy can shine because the
crowd's calling for it, you do that.

1191
01:28:51.560 --> 01:28:56.039
That's not what you would do,
of course, if you were one

1192
01:28:56.159 --> 01:28:59.079
hundred percent in the shoes of someone
that wanted to kill this motherfucker, there

1193
01:28:59.079 --> 01:29:01.600
would be no moment where you stepped
just back a bit and let the other

1194
01:29:01.680 --> 01:29:04.960
guy take the lead. There would
be no moment where you let him lead

1195
01:29:05.000 --> 01:29:09.560
the dance. You would just keep
fucking fighting and you would be exhausted eventually

1196
01:29:09.640 --> 01:29:12.399
and left for dead, or you
would leave the other You have the other

1197
01:29:12.439 --> 01:29:14.960
guy left for dead, dead to
rights because you landed more punches or whatever

1198
01:29:15.039 --> 01:29:16.920
the case might be, you came
ahead in the fight. But that's what's

1199
01:29:16.920 --> 01:29:21.439
so beautiful about pro wrestling is you
can go three times further than you can

1200
01:29:21.479 --> 01:29:26.319
as an actor to get across hatred
to get across contact, to get across

1201
01:29:26.359 --> 01:29:32.600
competition. But you also have that
that instinct that's only drilled into the pro

1202
01:29:32.640 --> 01:29:35.800
wrestler. It's not drilled into boxers, that's for sure. It's not drilled

1203
01:29:35.840 --> 01:29:40.039
in actors in the same way to
say, Okay, even though I've been

1204
01:29:40.079 --> 01:29:42.520
coming at you in a way where
you can believe I'm Terry Funk, the

1205
01:29:42.560 --> 01:29:45.880
guy in the microphone trying to kill
you for fifteen minutes, now you're starting

1206
01:29:45.960 --> 01:29:50.880
to get that moment of I'm giving
to you mm hm. And that's wrestling

1207
01:29:51.800 --> 01:29:57.640
moment, that moment where you let
up just a little bit on the facade

1208
01:29:58.079 --> 01:30:00.279
because it's in service to the people. Because the moment, now, that's

1209
01:30:00.359 --> 01:30:05.359
pro wrestling. Yep, agreed.
The Funker gets it done here with Lawler,

1210
01:30:05.399 --> 01:30:09.000
who in his own right and master
of psychology in that way. So

1211
01:30:10.039 --> 01:30:17.520
staying on Dick's disc six, Oh
do where did you pause after the match?

1212
01:30:17.760 --> 01:30:23.880
YEA, one fifty fifty six?
How long? I'm all right,

1213
01:30:23.880 --> 01:30:28.680
I'm there too. Now this is
after the aforementioned no d Q battle in

1214
01:30:28.800 --> 01:30:32.319
early eighty one. This is Jerry
Lawler now with Lance Russell as well as

1215
01:30:32.520 --> 01:30:35.239
they're gonna get get some words from
the Funker as well. This is going

1216
01:30:35.279 --> 01:30:40.600
to further color in the landmark nineteen
eighty one Memphis uit between Jerry Lawler and

1217
01:30:40.760 --> 01:30:46.439
Terry Funk. Here we go three
two one play Listen, Jerry, I

1218
01:30:46.640 --> 01:30:50.279
was contacted by Terry Funk, and
Funk wanted to have a little time.

1219
01:30:50.680 --> 01:30:57.439
Don't get that look on your face. Yeah, Terry Funk had a challenge

1220
01:30:57.479 --> 01:31:00.479
in some comments. We accommodated him, and if you would, I like

1221
01:31:00.560 --> 01:31:10.640
you to stand here and listen to
this wild man, Terry Funk, World

1222
01:31:10.680 --> 01:31:14.800
heavyweight Champion. Terry Funk has something
that he wants to explain about, and

1223
01:31:14.920 --> 01:31:20.680
we cowboy. First of all,
I'd like to say that Jerry Lawler is

1224
01:31:20.760 --> 01:31:28.199
the son of a jackass. He's
a lover of chickens. Yes, he

1225
01:31:28.319 --> 01:31:32.239
has a one track mine, the
same way a hog does at supper time

1226
01:31:32.439 --> 01:31:38.039
or slop time. He's got a
one track mind just as that hog does.

1227
01:31:38.119 --> 01:31:42.560
But he's not concerned about slop.
I want to tell you Lance what

1228
01:31:42.680 --> 01:31:48.960
he's concerned about. The man is
concerned about money, and money alone and

1229
01:31:49.119 --> 01:31:56.960
within this area right here, he
has got the fans on his side.

1230
01:31:57.760 --> 01:32:02.720
And besides having the fans on him, Oh, my god. Wow,

1231
01:32:05.479 --> 01:32:11.119
he's got the police on his side. And besides the police being on his

1232
01:32:11.439 --> 01:32:16.159
side, he's got the officials on
his side. And I would like to

1233
01:32:16.279 --> 01:32:21.760
say this, he's got you on
his side. This is a completely one

1234
01:32:23.159 --> 01:32:30.279
sided thing where Jerry Lawler is involved. Now I am telling you people that

1235
01:32:30.479 --> 01:32:33.840
he has got one thing on his
mind, and that's money. And I'm

1236
01:32:33.840 --> 01:32:40.640
going to prove to you Lance that
he doesn't have any guts. And you

1237
01:32:40.760 --> 01:32:47.279
see right here is I have got
a date, I have got a time,

1238
01:32:48.199 --> 01:32:55.359
and I have got a place.
This is a personal invitation sealed right

1239
01:32:55.479 --> 01:33:03.479
here to Jerry Lawler to ask him
to meet me by himself, with nobody

1240
01:33:03.640 --> 01:33:11.319
else involved at an area that I
know he knows and you will know.

1241
01:33:11.920 --> 01:33:15.159
And I want you to bring the
camera down there. But I don't want

1242
01:33:15.319 --> 01:33:19.560
a referee. I don't want the
police, I don't want the fans.

1243
01:33:20.000 --> 01:33:26.840
I don't want money for this.
What I want is I want to compete

1244
01:33:27.119 --> 01:33:30.359
against Jerry Lawler and I want to
get him down and hold him down,

1245
01:33:30.439 --> 01:33:36.880
and I want to make him say
to me personally, Terry funk you are

1246
01:33:38.159 --> 01:33:43.920
the better man. Terry funk Oh, Terry FUNKO, Please let me up

1247
01:33:44.039 --> 01:33:46.640
and let me go. That's what
I want to make him holler. I

1248
01:33:46.720 --> 01:33:51.840
want to see if he's got the
guts to come down here, the guts

1249
01:33:53.880 --> 01:33:56.520
like I don't think a lot of
people have around here. And I'm talking

1250
01:33:56.560 --> 01:34:00.199
about the fans, Lance, I'm
talking about you. I'm talking about a

1251
01:34:00.239 --> 01:34:05.119
lot of different people. But Lawler
does not have this thinking guts to come

1252
01:34:05.199 --> 01:34:12.439
down there where no money is involved, where nothing is involved except personal pride,

1253
01:34:12.760 --> 01:34:17.560
and I do have Texas pride,
believe me. Yeah, there it

1254
01:34:17.720 --> 01:34:21.760
is. Okay, I will take
it and I will deliver it to Lawler

1255
01:34:21.880 --> 01:34:26.840
in there, no money, no
fans. He's crying, Homer and all

1256
01:34:26.880 --> 01:34:29.880
that. Well, there's the challenge
from Terry Funk to Jerry Lawler, and

1257
01:34:30.000 --> 01:34:32.600
we'll deliver it to him. Well
that's what we're here today for it.

1258
01:34:33.239 --> 01:34:36.640
While he wants no fans, nobody
else wishould take a look at it.

1259
01:34:36.720 --> 01:34:40.920
I've already looked for. Yeah,
I look for the challenge, you know,

1260
01:34:41.520 --> 01:34:45.039
sharing the information. Right, then
take a look at that from Terry

1261
01:34:45.159 --> 01:34:56.880
Funk. M Okay, I said
no that. I just want a reaction

1262
01:34:57.039 --> 01:35:02.560
to it. What do you want
me to say? Okay, yeah,

1263
01:35:02.760 --> 01:35:11.479
okay, Well okay, we'll be
back in just a minute. Let's pause

1264
01:35:11.520 --> 01:35:19.399
after this funk music ends. Well, I think all the fucking you know,

1265
01:35:20.640 --> 01:35:24.159
all the all the kids come to
the TV tapings, but not the

1266
01:35:24.720 --> 01:35:28.880
Bengo. All the kids come to
TV tapings, but fucking grandma comes to

1267
01:35:28.960 --> 01:35:32.880
the arena shows. The kids could
even be banned from right big show because

1268
01:35:32.880 --> 01:35:38.399
of violent it gets. So that's
uh, that's how it all got set

1269
01:35:38.479 --> 01:35:42.760
down because you mentioned right, you
had that sour reaction when Jerry Lawler wins

1270
01:35:42.880 --> 01:35:46.720
the account out. Yeah, Funk
dives into this whole idea that like that

1271
01:35:46.960 --> 01:35:50.840
is just part and parcel of Jerry
Lawler's home cooking advantage. When he comes

1272
01:35:50.840 --> 01:35:53.880
to Memphis, he's gone to the
cops on his side, He's got the

1273
01:35:53.920 --> 01:35:56.479
officials on his side. Of course, he didn't say this in as many

1274
01:35:56.520 --> 01:36:00.119
words, but I interpolate, extrapolate
rather that he means, of course,

1275
01:36:00.159 --> 01:36:03.600
the referee was as quick as lightning
to count me out of the ring if

1276
01:36:03.640 --> 01:36:06.279
it meant Jerry Lawler could get his
hand raised on that night, even if

1277
01:36:06.319 --> 01:36:11.039
it was bullshit. Yes, yes, yes, And so if everywhere I

1278
01:36:11.159 --> 01:36:15.319
go in the Memphis wrestling circuit,
I'm surrounded by Jerry Lawler sick of fans

1279
01:36:15.359 --> 01:36:19.680
and people who are interested in keeping
Jerry Lawler's pockets lined, which again is

1280
01:36:19.760 --> 01:36:24.520
Funk very much cutting close right,
because that's something I don't think the fans

1281
01:36:24.560 --> 01:36:29.239
would necessarily think a flattering thing about
the King, is that he's mister money

1282
01:36:29.239 --> 01:36:34.720
bags as well, our cultural hero, just like us. Right. But

1283
01:36:35.119 --> 01:36:38.880
if it's going to be like this
everywhere I go when I fight Jerry Lawlard,

1284
01:36:38.920 --> 01:36:41.800
then there can be only one solution. I have to fight him in

1285
01:36:41.840 --> 01:36:45.960
a place where none of that advantage
is conferred. And it's not like you

1286
01:36:45.000 --> 01:36:50.760
can have an away game in eighties, late seventies early eighties territorial wrestling.

1287
01:36:51.039 --> 01:36:56.920
Why don't we meet up yep at
the Mid South Coliseum before any of the

1288
01:36:57.000 --> 01:37:00.720
fans are invited into the building on
a Monday night. And you know,

1289
01:37:00.760 --> 01:37:03.079
we think Raw was the Monday night
tradition. In fact, no month is

1290
01:37:03.159 --> 01:37:09.399
Wrestling was the original Monday night wrestling
tradition. And let's have an empty arena

1291
01:37:09.520 --> 01:37:13.399
match, a first of its kind, of course, copied at halftime heat

1292
01:37:13.439 --> 01:37:15.840
by the WWF in nineteen ninety nine, right, boss, we know this,

1293
01:37:15.359 --> 01:37:21.920
Yes we do, And then and
then copied at the Belean COVID absolutely

1294
01:37:24.039 --> 01:37:29.239
a lot of people remarking on how
similar it felt those empty arena matches of

1295
01:37:29.279 --> 01:37:31.319
the early COVID era. So we're
about to see it now. This is

1296
01:37:31.359 --> 01:37:35.159
something the match we just saw that's
the one that was critically acclaimed at the

1297
01:37:35.199 --> 01:37:38.399
time and that the guys take the
most pride in because it was just,

1298
01:37:38.680 --> 01:37:42.479
you know, a smashing, fucking
wild affair. This one is one where

1299
01:37:42.560 --> 01:37:45.439
history is fascinated with it, and
the guys involved don't think it's all that

1300
01:37:45.520 --> 01:37:47.479
great, or at least you know
how that goes not as great as it

1301
01:37:47.520 --> 01:37:49.800
could have been. You know,
like you can never tell Steve Austin that

1302
01:37:49.840 --> 01:37:54.560
is matched with Undertaker SummerSlam ninety eight
is any good. You can never tell

1303
01:37:54.600 --> 01:37:56.960
him that the First War Games that
he was in is any good, even

1304
01:37:57.000 --> 01:38:00.680
though they're both great. Yep,
it's similar between Jerry Lawler and Terry Funk

1305
01:38:00.760 --> 01:38:03.479
on this one. It's like almost
they wouldn't prefer that this one be the

1306
01:38:03.520 --> 01:38:06.279
one that's immortalized. But you don't
get to pick in this world, especially

1307
01:38:06.319 --> 01:38:10.640
if you're an entertainer of any stripe, what you get immortalized for, right?

1308
01:38:11.239 --> 01:38:15.520
What what exhibition of your work gets
to be remembered most fondly because this

1309
01:38:15.720 --> 01:38:17.680
just has such a unique dynamic to
it, and we just heard the promo

1310
01:38:17.760 --> 01:38:21.159
that laid the groundwork. We understand
the mentality of Terry Funk and requesting a

1311
01:38:21.199 --> 01:38:25.960
match like this, considering his past
experiences with Jerry Lawler and Memphis. We're

1312
01:38:26.000 --> 01:38:29.760
now about to watch it the April
sixth, nineteen eighty one empty arena match

1313
01:38:29.800 --> 01:38:32.159
in the mid South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee. It's the epitome in so

1314
01:38:32.239 --> 01:38:35.560
many ways of the Terry Funk Jerry
Lawler feud. What's your time code?

1315
01:38:35.600 --> 01:38:44.039
Boss? I am at one one
fifty eight thirty one, absolutely perfect and

1316
01:38:44.239 --> 01:38:49.800
hit play on my one three two
one Funk and a challenge to Jerry Lawler

1317
01:38:51.439 --> 01:38:58.680
what took place? Not you can
hear audio on your side right ultimately Lawler.

1318
01:38:59.479 --> 01:39:01.279
So we have Ance Russell and Dave
Brown at the announced desk in the

1319
01:39:01.439 --> 01:39:05.520
w MC television studios talking about this
empty arena match, which is you know,

1320
01:39:05.600 --> 01:39:09.640
always being presented as on tape,
it's not being presented as happening live.

1321
01:39:12.760 --> 01:39:15.319
Lance Russell explaining that you have not
seen this tape yet. We weren't

1322
01:39:15.319 --> 01:39:19.159
really told we made arrangements. How
we're even going to get copy of the

1323
01:39:19.199 --> 01:39:25.039
tape. I think I think the
tape may be a self explanatory. Let's

1324
01:39:25.039 --> 01:39:30.960
take a look at what I want
to do. It's just sure, look

1325
01:39:31.000 --> 01:39:36.479
at this, I just I just
want to Lance Russell standing around in an

1326
01:39:36.479 --> 01:39:40.560
empty Good South colosseum with the stick
mic, making small talk with the crew,

1327
01:39:40.640 --> 01:39:43.840
the production crew, the only other
people in the building. They're including

1328
01:39:44.239 --> 01:39:48.039
Lance, talking about how he's going
to do the introduction. Is he waiting

1329
01:39:48.279 --> 01:39:50.399
our law and Funk going to show
up? Is this match going to happen?

1330
01:39:53.000 --> 01:40:00.319
That's tremendous. Lance Russell scoping out
the lighting situation, and he's let

1331
01:40:00.319 --> 01:40:06.039
a cigarette, damn right? He
is a yeah, okay, let me

1332
01:40:06.079 --> 01:40:11.199
give you a cigarette. Give me
a count that way, give me a

1333
01:40:11.279 --> 01:40:17.319
countdown, will you missus? Lance
Russell standing in the middle of an empty

1334
01:40:17.720 --> 01:40:23.640
Mid South coliseum. I think most
wrestling fans know that Terry Funk, the

1335
01:40:23.840 --> 01:40:29.000
former n w A World Heavyweight Champion, he should have challenged to Jerry Lawler

1336
01:40:29.359 --> 01:40:33.479
to meet man to man. Of
course, Funk could accuse Lawler of having

1337
01:40:33.600 --> 01:40:41.119
Homer decisions in his battles with Terry
Funk Previously and with brother Dorry Funk Junior

1338
01:40:41.239 --> 01:40:45.640
and so forth. Uh. He
said, no fans, no officials,

1339
01:40:46.079 --> 01:40:50.560
no police, nobody, You and
me and I guess you just have to

1340
01:40:50.600 --> 01:40:54.399
call it. What he's looking for
is a shootout. He made the challenge,

1341
01:40:54.920 --> 01:40:58.319
asked me to deliver the challenge publicly
so that it would be on a

1342
01:40:58.399 --> 01:41:03.439
record that he had challenge Lawler.
Uh. Jerry Lawler Uh later said set

1343
01:41:03.520 --> 01:41:06.840
it up, And so here we
are. We're in the midst of Colisseum

1344
01:41:06.880 --> 01:41:13.119
eleven thousand, three hundred empty seats
right setting. The scene is link less.

1345
01:41:13.359 --> 01:41:16.600
That's all it will be here to
witness this particular about with the exception

1346
01:41:17.560 --> 01:41:23.520
of myself and cameraman Randy West if
i'm uh. Funk ask that there be

1347
01:41:23.640 --> 01:41:27.760
a camera and a tape crew here
so that we would be able uh to

1348
01:41:27.840 --> 01:41:30.600
have a record of his demolishing Lawler
in the event that it takes place.

1349
01:41:30.640 --> 01:41:34.920
It's right now ten minutes to one. The time that was set on it

1350
01:41:35.079 --> 01:41:40.119
was one o'clock. Neither of the
participants are here at this time. We

1351
01:41:40.239 --> 01:41:43.680
will just have to wait and see
if it takes place, you'll have a

1352
01:41:43.760 --> 01:41:45.880
record of it. If it doesn't, Uh, then you will never see

1353
01:41:45.960 --> 01:41:53.239
this. J Let's just cut the
cut the camera off now, Rannie,

1354
01:41:53.279 --> 01:41:58.600
we'll wait to show up. We'll
do it, okay, so masterfully produced.

1355
01:41:59.000 --> 01:42:04.399
Yes, camerason came back on here? Who comes? Who coming into

1356
01:42:04.479 --> 01:42:09.960
the Mid South Colosseum. Now it
is now a couple of minutes past one

1357
01:42:10.000 --> 01:42:16.119
o'clock. Terry Funk, who initially
his challenge, is coming into the Colosseum.

1358
01:42:19.000 --> 01:42:24.760
Hey, I'm here. I'm ready
to wrestle. Whereas Laller, I

1359
01:42:24.960 --> 01:42:29.680
told you that the son of a
bitch didn't have enough to come on down

1360
01:42:29.760 --> 01:42:32.520
here. I tell way to set
if the man has everybody on his side,

1361
01:42:32.600 --> 01:42:35.359
we would like to use this if
they take it away later on.

1362
01:42:35.520 --> 01:42:40.479
So please watch your language, will
you huh? Because for crown out loud,

1363
01:42:40.560 --> 01:42:43.199
we can't use the thing that he's
swearing like. I don't give a

1364
01:42:43.279 --> 01:42:46.399
damn. I came up here for
a tructice to prove some son of a

1365
01:42:46.680 --> 01:42:49.880
bitch and face. And I'll tell
you what. I came to prove that

1366
01:42:50.000 --> 01:42:54.239
Lawler didn't have the guts. I
knew that he wouldn't come in the ring

1367
01:42:54.359 --> 01:42:57.800
lance. You tell me where he
is. He wouldn't show up for nothing,

1368
01:42:58.079 --> 01:43:00.600
just a little after one o'clock right
now, little to just watch it

1369
01:43:00.680 --> 01:43:03.800
and please try to get in a
damn ring in and go ahead and count

1370
01:43:03.880 --> 01:43:09.279
him out. I'm not chuting.
I'm not that this thing you asked me

1371
01:43:09.399 --> 01:43:12.119
to bring a can turn him on
the son of a bitch. I ay,

1372
01:43:12.239 --> 01:43:15.880
come on, old you people.
That lord did not have the guts

1373
01:43:15.960 --> 01:43:20.920
to come down here before an imfy
arena. And he doesn't. Now you

1374
01:43:21.279 --> 01:43:24.920
go ahead and counting out. If
you don't, I'll count him out,

1375
01:43:24.920 --> 01:43:27.800
all right. Well you just asked
us to bring the cameras down. That's

1376
01:43:27.840 --> 01:43:30.239
what I did. We're here,
now you I'm not a wary I'm here.

1377
01:43:30.479 --> 01:43:32.760
I know. I'm gonna go ahead. Is he under the ring?

1378
01:43:32.880 --> 01:43:38.159
Lance? Oh, he's not under
the ring? He isn't nothing he has?

1379
01:43:38.399 --> 01:43:42.960
Is Terry at work? Boss?
He is? I mean where he

1380
01:43:43.239 --> 01:43:47.520
is? Damn saying that is not
join. But I'm set me in the

1381
01:43:47.640 --> 01:43:53.239
ring. I'm gonna cunt him out. One two, three, four,

1382
01:43:53.840 --> 01:43:58.359
five, six, seven, eight
nine ten. He's out. I'm gonna

1383
01:43:58.359 --> 01:44:01.319
go ahead and declare myself to win
aroun Now, okay, the man was

1384
01:44:01.399 --> 01:44:06.000
a coward, that he didn't have
the juts, that he didn't have anything

1385
01:44:06.079 --> 01:44:11.000
and he didn't have the intestinal fortitude. He is a son of a bitch.

1386
01:44:11.279 --> 01:44:14.840
All right, well listened, Okay, you proved your boy. You're

1387
01:44:14.920 --> 01:44:19.720
ship long enough? All right?
Shipped from the people of Memphis. I've

1388
01:44:19.760 --> 01:44:24.520
heard enough ship from everybody about how
good this man is supposed to be.

1389
01:44:25.079 --> 01:44:27.880
Why are you, George, just
although he may have gotten tied up and

1390
01:44:28.000 --> 01:44:30.159
driving or something like that. I
don't clock right now. Yeah, I

1391
01:44:30.279 --> 01:44:35.039
know it's after one. Now I'm
standing around here like an idiot, like

1392
01:44:35.079 --> 01:44:41.079
a fool. I'm a fool.
I'm an idiot. So you prove it's

1393
01:44:41.159 --> 01:44:45.039
kind of funny. He thinks it's
funny leaving me sitting around here like gims.

1394
01:44:45.239 --> 01:44:46.119
I knew that the man didn't have
enough guts to get up here in

1395
01:44:46.159 --> 01:44:49.600
the first place. Yeah, you
tell me. I tell you that there's

1396
01:44:49.600 --> 01:44:54.239
a good possibility that he got tied
up some way. It wasn't coming in

1397
01:44:54.319 --> 01:44:59.079
here. I great, your playing
got in on shot. I am Marilla.

1398
01:44:59.159 --> 01:45:02.600
I understand, And yeah I know
that. Why don't you go ahead?

1399
01:45:02.600 --> 01:45:09.760
Why don't you think? Don't you
go ahead? Why don't you I'm

1400
01:45:09.840 --> 01:45:14.000
not will you not got stuff?
All? Look, you're the one that

1401
01:45:14.399 --> 01:45:19.560
me Lance Russell played a huge role
in getting this over, and you treat

1402
01:45:19.640 --> 01:45:24.119
me with, hey, well wait, just I didn't Okay, I didn't.

1403
01:45:24.119 --> 01:45:27.079
I wouldn't mean anything personal boy it
except give the guy a chance.

1404
01:45:27.159 --> 01:45:30.600
It's just a couple of minutes past
the time you asked me to come down

1405
01:45:30.680 --> 01:45:33.479
here and bring the camera man down
here. And we're here and I'm hearing

1406
01:45:33.560 --> 01:45:38.039
the event that Laula. We set
up to show it and have the match

1407
01:45:38.119 --> 01:45:41.399
in there. Now we've done our
part of the thing. And the fact

1408
01:45:41.399 --> 01:45:46.199
that he's not here isn't my wall. Huh uh? Over here? Who's

1409
01:45:46.319 --> 01:45:51.439
there? Behold boss, I'm gonna
get over here and get here. I'm

1410
01:45:51.479 --> 01:46:02.199
gonna get you. Come on there, I'm gonna what is idiot? Terry

1411
01:46:03.560 --> 01:46:10.439
grabbed the Keeam's hat on the way
over. He's wearing al It is a

1412
01:46:10.560 --> 01:46:14.479
regular wrestling attire with a crown or
the lance. That's the problem. You

1413
01:46:14.560 --> 01:46:17.600
don't even stop here. There's no
one here, and Lawler's looking around like

1414
01:46:17.720 --> 01:46:21.479
the place is full, and he
is apparently obviously ready to go. He's

1415
01:46:21.520 --> 01:46:28.039
got his full of tire and he
is set because he can get over.

1416
01:46:28.800 --> 01:46:31.880
Come on, come on, come
on, what are you? God?

1417
01:46:32.520 --> 01:46:35.800
What do you got in there.
You gotta got a knife. You got

1418
01:46:35.840 --> 01:46:43.880
a pencil? He said, you
got a knife? Put his cape and

1419
01:46:43.920 --> 01:46:47.239
his crown on for this empty arena
battle. What an idiot? Well here

1420
01:46:48.359 --> 01:46:53.600
proved we honestly don't know why Terry
Funk's wearing wrestling gear either. I know

1421
01:46:53.680 --> 01:46:57.800
they should be wearing they should be
worried. Well, how do you win

1422
01:46:57.880 --> 01:47:00.760
if there's no referee? That's all
to be determined. I guess Okay,

1423
01:47:03.399 --> 01:47:05.520
Terry Funk talking about no one's here
to help me, and there's certainly no

1424
01:47:05.520 --> 01:47:10.079
one here to help you already in
the ring. Jerry Lawler now coming up

1425
01:47:10.159 --> 01:47:17.520
to the U and uh, imagine
standing in an empty arena with Terry funking

1426
01:47:17.560 --> 01:47:21.079
night daty one and he's screaming the
yelling son of a bitch to you like

1427
01:47:21.199 --> 01:47:28.560
that's awesome. You can go ahead, Lawler, You go ahead. You

1428
01:47:28.560 --> 01:47:30.239
can leave right now. If he
wants to piece of ship, there's no

1429
01:47:30.359 --> 01:47:39.920
officials. You're a fucking count.
Terry Funk trying to get Lawler to come

1430
01:47:40.319 --> 01:47:45.039
say that he's giving it up.
I don't John Jacking talking ship circling each

1431
01:47:45.079 --> 01:47:47.840
other in the ring. I don't
need talk Lawler. I don't need to

1432
01:47:47.920 --> 01:47:53.520
talk. Could have fooled me,
Terry you know, Oh he's done,

1433
01:47:53.600 --> 01:47:57.680
is fucking talking home video. Unbelievable. I said before I came all the

1434
01:47:57.680 --> 01:48:04.720
way from Mamarilla. I would came
from Amarilla where you come from? Funk,

1435
01:48:04.920 --> 01:48:10.000
just spin it. Here they go, they lock up. This is

1436
01:48:10.039 --> 01:48:18.600
a canvas, the plywood. Lawler
c w ring there and outside ofts the

1437
01:48:18.600 --> 01:48:24.159
floor, slips under the bottom rope
and slams the table out of his mind.

1438
01:48:24.880 --> 01:48:28.079
It's out of his mind, down
on the floor. Lawlor in the

1439
01:48:28.159 --> 01:48:32.079
ring. So you have never seen
this, this obviously what a treat.

1440
01:48:32.359 --> 01:48:35.159
Funk telling Lawler to back up and
let him in the ring, and now

1441
01:48:35.479 --> 01:48:40.600
Terry Funk back in the ring again. I didn't even know if there's one

1442
01:48:41.239 --> 01:48:48.439
uner. Oh yeah, table Laller
and Funk going at full tribute spot to

1443
01:48:48.520 --> 01:48:53.520
his mentor for the first time.
It's take down there from Lawler. They

1444
01:48:53.640 --> 01:49:00.800
roll under the roup to the floor
and they're throwing. The fucker takes a

1445
01:49:00.880 --> 01:49:04.520
header on the seats, the empty
seats. He's such a pushing over as

1446
01:49:04.560 --> 01:49:14.279
many chairs. That was the idea
that no worries he trips over ship.

1447
01:49:14.359 --> 01:49:18.840
He's so clumsy. That's the best
thing. He's a crazy, psychotic individual.

1448
01:49:18.880 --> 01:49:23.960
But he's so clumsy, so true. Everything looks like he's just a

1449
01:49:24.079 --> 01:49:30.600
bumbling fool when he falls. He's
a boogiey board, for God's sake.

1450
01:49:30.000 --> 01:49:32.279
And he pulled as many chairs on
his own head as he could on the

1451
01:49:32.319 --> 01:49:41.199
way down. Oh Jesus, like
one lawlor through the throne on bread King

1452
01:49:41.239 --> 01:49:46.239
of the Ring Andy three shot at
he really zoomed one home. Funk created

1453
01:49:46.279 --> 01:49:53.960
a ton of distance now after being
fucked up in the seats. I think

1454
01:49:54.119 --> 01:49:57.399
that that guy in yellow is being
like a tour guide for the places,

1455
01:49:57.439 --> 01:49:59.600
like, oh ship, what the
is going on? I can't bring people

1456
01:49:59.640 --> 01:50:01.760
here, saying come on back up
here? And Funk grabs one of the

1457
01:50:02.239 --> 01:50:09.640
identification standards. So Funk has a
sign that says the section on it.

1458
01:50:09.720 --> 01:50:14.439
And what do they call those things
on? What they call it? That's

1459
01:50:14.479 --> 01:50:17.960
all I call it. In the
ring, Terry Funk coming up now,

1460
01:50:18.079 --> 01:50:23.800
his face bleeding. That's wrestling forms. Just that Funk has color putting him

1461
01:50:23.800 --> 01:50:27.399
down in the chair. See that
does he? Where is it? I

1462
01:50:27.399 --> 01:50:30.760
don't see any color that much.
So Terry's in the ring, swinging the

1463
01:50:30.800 --> 01:50:38.640
section four side and hitting Loller in
the head with it Flunk, Funk brother,

1464
01:50:40.119 --> 01:50:44.920
what brother? What Funk? Now
to the floor, Funk pile drives

1465
01:50:44.960 --> 01:50:47.920
Laller in the concrete, bangs it
in. Blood running down Funk's nose and

1466
01:50:48.000 --> 01:50:54.159
through his head. He's cut.
But Lawler down on the floor. I

1467
01:50:54.199 --> 01:51:00.640
don't think blood running through his head
is very you know, unique to anybody's

1468
01:51:00.680 --> 01:51:03.880
in his squeals terry squeals. Microphone
is what he's trying to make him say,

1469
01:51:04.399 --> 01:51:09.960
Oh my god, he's losing his
mut. Funk going after Lawlor at

1470
01:51:10.000 --> 01:51:14.079
the eyes. Not it's this is
where mankind got the squeal from. Yep,

1471
01:51:16.239 --> 01:51:20.920
I'm sure you can all roads lead
to Funk. Period. Yep goes

1472
01:51:21.000 --> 01:51:26.760
right back into all are end of
the seats, now knocks over the chairs

1473
01:51:26.840 --> 01:51:30.600
with Lawler's body and now Funk.
At some point this was a state of

1474
01:51:30.640 --> 01:51:35.760
the art facility. The slams down
the steps leading up to the ring have

1475
01:51:35.880 --> 01:51:39.319
all the house lights up so you
can see every chair, you can see

1476
01:51:39.319 --> 01:51:43.680
every wall. Trying to get a
club of some type. That is he

1477
01:51:43.760 --> 01:51:46.640
smacking against the ring post. What
is that? Buss off right in half

1478
01:51:46.760 --> 01:51:51.000
one of the two before two before
tub before now trying to get plants,

1479
01:51:51.079 --> 01:51:56.359
stumbles back into the chairs, but
he's back on eat and here comes that's

1480
01:51:56.359 --> 01:52:04.479
a different spike in his hands.
Four law down on the table, Funk

1481
01:52:04.800 --> 01:52:17.960
Funk standing, come on, let's
girl, Yeah, ask him? What

1482
01:52:18.920 --> 01:52:24.399
what do you ask him? Don't
kill me? The microphone? Here you

1483
01:52:26.760 --> 01:52:29.800
He takes him away from He says, you ask him, and then he

1484
01:52:29.880 --> 01:52:34.319
rolls Laller in the ring. My
god, Terry, come on, Terry's

1485
01:52:34.319 --> 01:52:38.800
got a piece of that wooden two
by four spike in his hand. Sorry,

1486
01:52:38.920 --> 01:52:44.119
two before the two before here we
go. He's gonna stab Laller with

1487
01:52:44.199 --> 01:52:48.399
it. Ohn Russell couldn't even stand
it. He goes, hey, come

1488
01:52:48.439 --> 01:52:51.479
on. While they're grabbing Funk by
the rest trying to prevent the wood from

1489
01:52:51.520 --> 01:52:57.399
stabbing his face, He's straining mightily
to keep the wooded bay, he says,

1490
01:52:57.560 --> 01:53:00.319
when he get his eye the only
time Tory Laller's ever fought off wood

1491
01:53:00.319 --> 01:53:09.720
in his life. Terry looks the
lance. Russell goes, you're trying to

1492
01:53:09.720 --> 01:53:15.760
get in here. He's so paranoid. Fixes in and now Lawler in his

1493
01:53:15.880 --> 01:53:21.760
back, throwing hands back, elbow, and Terry Funk's discombobulated. There goes

1494
01:53:21.760 --> 01:53:29.079
the knock need of thing. Oh
I think okay, Lawler just kicked Funk

1495
01:53:29.159 --> 01:53:32.319
in the arm and hid it in
the eye of the hand that was holding

1496
01:53:32.359 --> 01:53:34.680
the wood. And it looked like
Terry Funk smacked his own eye with it.

1497
01:53:36.000 --> 01:53:56.600
Oh, he's screaming, doctor Laller
holding off now his eyes hurt.

1498
01:54:00.720 --> 01:54:04.720
Okay, we'll get some. He
did a big juice job on it,

1499
01:54:08.439 --> 01:54:13.239
the victim of his own plotting in
their Lawler kicked him right in the elbow

1500
01:54:13.640 --> 01:54:18.800
and the stick stock Terry Funk right
in the eye. I am in awe,

1501
01:54:21.880 --> 01:54:30.560
cap and crown and just walks away
like well, that's awful. And

1502
01:54:30.680 --> 01:54:38.439
that, ladies and gentlemen, is
exactly why there are officials signed to matches

1503
01:54:38.479 --> 01:54:41.920
to try to keep some kind of
order rather than have the animal type of

1504
01:54:42.000 --> 01:54:45.079
thing that you saw here today.
And that's why we need to have fans

1505
01:54:45.119 --> 01:54:49.560
in the stands right right. This
thing wouldn't happen if fans were there.

1506
01:54:51.319 --> 01:54:55.840
It's pretty difficult. Okay, listen, Randy, I'm gonna I'm gonna get

1507
01:54:56.239 --> 01:54:59.880
okay, wait, that funk goes
from you, idiot to help me.

1508
01:55:00.039 --> 01:55:02.800
Lance. Please look at it.
Please look at it. Look at it.

1509
01:55:02.880 --> 01:55:10.039
Look at it. Don't be pleak
God, Lands Lands, please don't

1510
01:55:10.159 --> 01:55:17.279
please me. Getting somebody, the
son of a bitch, get somebody to

1511
01:55:17.359 --> 01:55:23.840
help me. My eyes, my
goddamn guy, my eyes. Where is

1512
01:55:23.960 --> 01:55:33.199
he? Where's it? Where you
go? Where is lallor my? Where's

1513
01:55:33.239 --> 01:55:36.600
that damn tower? And as soon
as Lawler's out of sight, he starts,

1514
01:55:36.800 --> 01:55:54.640
Oh he's yellow. Yellow, he's
yellow. Collapsed funk. This is

1515
01:55:54.720 --> 01:56:00.840
amazing. He's like fucking fucking deliverance. Where is he want? Okay,

1516
01:56:00.760 --> 01:56:04.760
come on, just forget and trust
that with a towel. Now that that'll

1517
01:56:04.800 --> 01:56:09.199
do the trick. Thanks, Lance, Come on? What is get you

1518
01:56:09.279 --> 01:56:15.159
backwards? The water is we've got
some help, some water. What he

1519
01:56:15.279 --> 01:56:17.239
did was kick your elbow and it
stands you in the eye, and I

1520
01:56:17.359 --> 01:56:29.800
think, come on behind Lance.
He went ahead and got my eyes.

1521
01:56:32.239 --> 01:56:36.000
Okay, he's yellow, he's yell
come on, come on, Terry,

1522
01:56:36.039 --> 01:56:42.159
here's yellow. Son of a bitch. Okay, I fucking love this.

1523
01:56:42.399 --> 01:56:47.680
This is so amazing. He's yellow. He's a yellow son of a bitch.

1524
01:56:54.640 --> 01:57:01.199
Fucking child being walked back. They
pause there God ended, uh,

1525
01:57:01.479 --> 01:57:09.680
so go ahead, please so much. There's so much, I mean,

1526
01:57:10.000 --> 01:57:15.880
the the the the the incredible I
mean the incredible one to eight performance of

1527
01:57:16.119 --> 01:57:24.560
of of Jerry of Terry funk Is
is really and what says in that he

1528
01:57:25.000 --> 01:57:31.520
starts off being such a aggressive,
angry, cocky guy, and the moment

1529
01:57:31.560 --> 01:57:36.399
that he gets this injury, he's
just a baby and a child and looking

1530
01:57:36.520 --> 01:57:43.000
for basically looking for his mommy.
It's phenomenal. He's a bully that just

1531
01:57:43.000 --> 01:57:46.279
got popped in the face for the
first time, right right, exactly exactly.

1532
01:57:46.520 --> 01:57:51.079
He's farcas getting beat up by Ralphie, Yes exactly. I mean,

1533
01:57:55.199 --> 01:57:58.720
I considering what they achieved in the
first match we saw, I can see

1534
01:57:58.760 --> 01:58:00.920
why they perfect you know, person
don't think it highlights the best of what

1535
01:58:01.000 --> 01:58:04.000
they can do together. But man, is this not what this should have

1536
01:58:04.079 --> 01:58:08.600
been? Like? It's not,
I mean it is, but it's like,

1537
01:58:09.199 --> 01:58:11.439
I get, I get what they're
saying. I guess as a match,

1538
01:58:11.560 --> 01:58:16.239
but in terms of a performance and
watching them, there is a significant

1539
01:58:16.279 --> 01:58:23.239
amount of calls upon a totally different
skill set. Yes, and they pull

1540
01:58:23.279 --> 01:58:26.279
it off. It's not like they
have anything to be bashful about. They

1541
01:58:26.359 --> 01:58:31.399
both completely came off as credible to
the max even when they were doing you

1542
01:58:31.479 --> 01:58:33.680
know, as we learn in the
Empty arena COVID era. A lot of

1543
01:58:33.720 --> 01:58:39.279
these matches look extremely hokey without people
reacting extremely hokey, and the guys and

1544
01:58:39.359 --> 01:58:43.760
gals weren't necessarily equipped to adjust the
way their matches looked in an empty arena

1545
01:58:43.800 --> 01:58:45.600
setting to still make them look.
You know, this is this is easily

1546
01:58:45.640 --> 01:58:48.279
the best empty arena match I've ever
seen. It's yeah, it's always going

1547
01:58:48.319 --> 01:58:54.079
to be because it's because even if
better matches move or move have happened in

1548
01:58:54.159 --> 01:58:59.039
empty arena settings, this is one
that takes full advantage of the unique opportunities

1549
01:58:59.079 --> 01:59:01.000
the environment affords. You know,
even in the Mankind Rock match, they

1550
01:59:01.039 --> 01:59:03.840
couldn't help but get to the back
and use fork lifts and do as much

1551
01:59:03.880 --> 01:59:08.119
over the top bullshit as they could
to almost get around the fact, like,

1552
01:59:08.159 --> 01:59:10.680
look, every single match, not
e rematch, but so many hardcore

1553
01:59:10.720 --> 01:59:13.159
matches in the Attitude era went to
the back and there's nobody back there.

1554
01:59:13.199 --> 01:59:16.199
Anyway, it looked exactly like all
the other hardcore matches, taking very little

1555
01:59:16.199 --> 01:59:20.000
advantage of that unique, empty,
cavernous feeling of an arena with nobody in

1556
01:59:20.079 --> 01:59:23.840
it. And you know, in
these in these two cases, it really

1557
01:59:23.960 --> 01:59:27.760
it wasn't like this is a big
stipulation match. It was just Terry Funk

1558
01:59:27.840 --> 01:59:31.199
wanting to have his hands on Jerry
Lawler without all of the stupid influence that

1559
01:59:31.239 --> 01:59:34.520
the Memphis people and all his all
Jerry Lawler's sick of fans brought to the

1560
01:59:34.560 --> 01:59:36.760
table. And it was supposed to
be quick, and it was supposed to

1561
01:59:36.760 --> 01:59:39.359
be dirty. And it's a great
way to get out of it too,

1562
01:59:39.399 --> 01:59:41.880
because, like you said, you
identified it right away. We have no

1563
01:59:41.960 --> 01:59:45.720
idea how this one's supposed to end. Yeah, yeah, there's no ref

1564
01:59:45.720 --> 01:59:48.880
it's not even a match. And
I guess it was meant to be an

1565
01:59:48.920 --> 01:59:55.640
I quit situation where he, you
know, Lance Russell would would put the

1566
01:59:55.720 --> 01:59:58.600
mic in front of somebody and might
quit. But it's not like a street

1567
01:59:58.600 --> 02:00:00.000
fight or a schoolyard fight. Like, yeah, everybody knows there's going to

1568
02:00:00.039 --> 02:00:02.000
be a fight. Everyone knows there's
going to be a winner, But no

1569
02:00:02.039 --> 02:00:03.960
one could tell you what it would
take to win. No one would,

1570
02:00:04.399 --> 02:00:06.960
No one could tell you what counts
is winning. It's just when one person

1571
02:00:08.039 --> 02:00:10.479
clearly concedes to the other that they
don't want to fight, while the other

1572
02:00:10.520 --> 02:00:14.000
person is still standing there ready to
go. Yep. And it was masterful

1573
02:00:14.079 --> 02:00:17.000
because and Lawla was great about pointing
this out over the years that these two

1574
02:00:17.039 --> 02:00:20.560
promo back and forth, like you
keep screaming at me, like I'm some

1575
02:00:20.720 --> 02:00:26.039
monster for taking your eye out,
but you forget that you're the one that

1576
02:00:26.159 --> 02:00:28.560
took the fucking stick of wood and
was trying to kill me with it in

1577
02:00:28.640 --> 02:00:30.960
the first place, right, right, And it was almost just incidental that

1578
02:00:31.000 --> 02:00:33.159
you poked yourself in the eye with
it, Like I didn't even realize what

1579
02:00:33.239 --> 02:00:39.079
I had done. So everyone's protected, right, everyone stays in their lane

1580
02:00:39.199 --> 02:00:43.239
in a way that's business can keep
churning. And you better believe that Funk's

1581
02:00:43.279 --> 02:00:45.960
got a new lease on life,
because now he can do promos with an

1582
02:00:45.000 --> 02:00:49.119
eyepatch on and in two thousand and
fucking four and six and seven and eight,

1583
02:00:49.239 --> 02:00:54.079
nine and ten and twelve, at
thirteen and fourteen, he can still

1584
02:00:54.119 --> 02:00:58.239
come at Jerry Lawler remind him of
this moment and sell tickets. Did they

1585
02:00:58.359 --> 02:01:01.159
do that that many times? Well, we'll delineate exactly how many times they

1586
02:01:01.199 --> 02:01:03.800
did it, my god, But
every time they went back and forth,

1587
02:01:03.840 --> 02:01:08.000
it's like, remember the Dusty Funk
match we saw at the tail end of

1588
02:01:08.079 --> 02:01:11.840
last week's episode. Yeah, took
place in Carolina Championship Wrestling. They you

1589
02:01:11.880 --> 02:01:15.159
know, the Lawler Funk feud had
that stage to it as well, and

1590
02:01:15.279 --> 02:01:18.359
it was even more voluminous than that, you know, ladder stage two thousand

1591
02:01:18.560 --> 02:01:23.479
oughts collisions, and they did promos
for all those local matches, and you

1592
02:01:23.560 --> 02:01:28.960
better believe this is the the collateral
they had to work with so much equity

1593
02:01:29.000 --> 02:01:32.000
in this fucking thing that these two
did. My eye, Terry bringing forth

1594
02:01:32.359 --> 02:01:40.000
range here range being Terry Funk and
then being something a little different, and

1595
02:01:40.079 --> 02:01:43.680
then going right back to being Terry
Funk again, talking shit about how Lawler's

1596
02:01:43.760 --> 02:01:47.119
yella. When he realizes Lawler's nowhere
in sight anymore. Lawler doing a great

1597
02:01:47.159 --> 02:01:50.760
job, walking away like Jesus,
like this is fucked up, Like I

1598
02:01:50.800 --> 02:01:54.239
don't want going to do with this. You know, he's not celebrating,

1599
02:01:54.680 --> 02:01:57.800
right, there's no swagger, there's
always there's a bit of almost remorse in

1600
02:01:57.840 --> 02:02:01.800
his face. It's great, guys, really nailed it. And we're going

1601
02:02:01.840 --> 02:02:08.079
to turn now to Terry Funk and
Jerry Lawler's respective books for reflections on this

1602
02:02:08.199 --> 02:02:10.840
contest. And if you could warm
up your Terry voice, I'd ask for

1603
02:02:10.920 --> 02:02:20.119
you to share thoughts from the Funker. Alrightya di day. I had a

1604
02:02:20.199 --> 02:02:25.800
good feud with Lawler in Memphis,
culminating in the first empty arena match.

1605
02:02:26.439 --> 02:02:29.560
I had the idea for the match, but I couldn't tell you where the

1606
02:02:29.640 --> 02:02:34.439
idea came from. It was so
absolutely absurd, so ridiculous, that it

1607
02:02:34.520 --> 02:02:39.279
became a cult favorite. Hell,
people don't even remember that I was gone

1608
02:02:39.319 --> 02:02:43.840
from Memphis two weeks after that.
The idea of the match was that I'd

1609
02:02:43.880 --> 02:02:47.359
be saying I had been saying.
Lawler always played to the fans and drew

1610
02:02:47.640 --> 02:02:51.439
strength from them, so I wanted
a match where there would be no fans.

1611
02:02:53.279 --> 02:02:56.399
We had the rings set up and
all the chairs set up, but

1612
02:02:56.560 --> 02:03:00.359
the only people in the building were
Lawler, lands F Russell, and the

1613
02:03:00.479 --> 02:03:03.720
camera guys and me. The only
way the match could end was with one

1614
02:03:03.800 --> 02:03:09.800
guy giving up a variation of an
eye quit match. That thing continues to

1615
02:03:09.880 --> 02:03:13.560
live to this day. I think
because of the sheer foolishness of it.

1616
02:03:14.159 --> 02:03:18.079
They introduced us as we walked down
the empty aisle surrounded by empty chairs.

1617
02:03:18.560 --> 02:03:23.920
They even played up that they started
the tape before an announcer, Lance Russell

1618
02:03:24.079 --> 02:03:27.239
was ready, and Lance had to
put on it, put out his cigarette,

1619
02:03:27.960 --> 02:03:31.800
and then I came in and started
ranting about Lawler giving a profanity lace

1620
02:03:31.920 --> 02:03:38.560
promo, which doesn't seem like much
today but was a very unusual thing back

1621
02:03:38.640 --> 02:03:41.840
then. They bleeped me for TV, of course, but I was on

1622
02:03:41.960 --> 02:03:45.279
a tear, and when Lance asked
me not to cuss since they had to

1623
02:03:45.359 --> 02:03:48.760
be able to show this on TV, I looked at Lance and said,

1624
02:03:48.800 --> 02:03:54.920
I don't give a shit. Yes. A few seconds later here came Lawler,

1625
02:03:55.279 --> 02:03:58.880
and the main thing I remember about
the whole match was Lawler walking through

1626
02:03:58.880 --> 02:04:02.359
the curtains with his crown tucked under
his arm wrong and his robe and his

1627
02:04:02.560 --> 02:04:06.399
robe on, no robe, just
to cape as if there was a full

1628
02:04:06.479 --> 02:04:13.399
house there. It was the most
absurd thing I ever saw. As for

1629
02:04:13.479 --> 02:04:15.560
the match itself, it was very
strange to be wrestling when there was no

1630
02:04:15.640 --> 02:04:19.760
one making any noise. The only
sounds came from Jerry, Lawler and me.

1631
02:04:20.439 --> 02:04:24.520
I figured, since no one was
making noise, that I'd go ahead

1632
02:04:24.520 --> 02:04:29.399
and provide the noise every time Lawler
would hit me or start to come back.

1633
02:04:29.479 --> 02:04:30.720
Goud yell, oh no, no, own, God, no,

1634
02:04:31.000 --> 02:04:35.079
Jerry. I don't know how Lance
Russell could have announced that thing with a

1635
02:04:35.119 --> 02:04:42.680
straight face. It ended when I
submitted with Lawler grinding a wooden he needs

1636
02:04:42.680 --> 02:04:45.640
to watch this match. Okay,
that's the bottom lighty right right, I

1637
02:04:45.760 --> 02:04:48.520
know. And when I submitted with
Lawler, No, there was no submission.

1638
02:04:48.800 --> 02:04:53.000
Lauler grant in a wooden stake from
a broken chair in my eye,

1639
02:04:53.600 --> 02:05:00.319
I called Lawler a few more nasty
words and screamed my ma. It was

1640
02:05:00.319 --> 02:05:03.199
an absurdity. But I wish I
had the tape to put out the Empty

1641
02:05:03.279 --> 02:05:08.520
Arena match from nineteen eighty one,
first official release. Hell, I could

1642
02:05:08.560 --> 02:05:12.319
sell it at video stores and everything. Mc foley and The Rock did one

1643
02:05:12.359 --> 02:05:15.560
in nineteen ninety nine during halftime of
the Super Bowl, which might have been

1644
02:05:15.640 --> 02:05:23.159
even sillier than mine, with Lawlor
shot there at Mick. Oh god,

1645
02:05:23.600 --> 02:05:28.399
so good. Yeah, that is
that is terry to kind of misremember the

1646
02:05:28.439 --> 02:05:31.119
little details along the way, for
sure, And here's aid Jerry Lawler.

1647
02:05:32.039 --> 02:05:34.720
I get stories from time to time, but what I really wanted was to

1648
02:05:34.760 --> 02:05:38.479
get in the cover of one of
these wrestling magazines. I was like the

1649
02:05:38.600 --> 02:05:41.600
Rock, and I was like the
Rock band Doctor Hook in the Medicine Show.

1650
02:05:41.720 --> 02:05:44.960
Who next to the Beatles are my
favorite musical group of all time when

1651
02:05:45.000 --> 02:05:47.399
they sang about being on the cover
of The Rolling Stone, I wanted to

1652
02:05:47.439 --> 02:05:51.199
feel the thrill that'll get you when
you get your pitcher on the cover of

1653
02:05:51.279 --> 02:05:55.439
the Rolling Stone, except I wanted
my picture on the cover of Pro Wrestling

1654
02:05:55.439 --> 02:05:58.840
Illustrated or Wrestling Superstars. As a
matter of fact, that was part of

1655
02:05:58.880 --> 02:06:00.640
my motivation for an MPT. The
arena match I had with Terry Funk in

1656
02:06:00.680 --> 02:06:04.159
nineteen eighty one, which of course
Funk just said he got the idea for

1657
02:06:04.279 --> 02:06:08.720
and doesn't remember where, which is
one of the best known matches we ever

1658
02:06:08.800 --> 02:06:11.359
put on. Terry Funk came to
town several weeks in a row and he

1659
02:06:11.439 --> 02:06:14.319
and I had a knockdown, drag
out battles that only Terry Funk was famous

1660
02:06:14.359 --> 02:06:16.039
for. We wrestled each other week
in and week out for almost two months,

1661
02:06:16.079 --> 02:06:18.760
and somehow Terry kept coming up with
a short end of the stick.

1662
02:06:19.119 --> 02:06:21.319
Looking back, it may have had
something to do with the fact that I

1663
02:06:21.399 --> 02:06:25.279
was part owner of the wrestling company, But nonetheless Terry lost most of those

1664
02:06:25.319 --> 02:06:28.159
matches. Would not to do with
you booking the damn that's what he means.

1665
02:06:28.239 --> 02:06:30.920
Yeah, to keep our program going, Terry complained that he couldn't get

1666
02:06:30.920 --> 02:06:33.880
a fair shake. He said everybody
in Memphis was prejudiced against him. He

1667
02:06:34.000 --> 02:06:36.199
moaned that it started as soon as
he got off the plane. In my

1668
02:06:36.279 --> 02:06:40.680
town. Cab drivers would take him
on the scenic route from the airport to

1669
02:06:40.760 --> 02:06:43.800
the coliseum in charge myn arm in
a leg. Hotels would give him the

1670
02:06:43.800 --> 02:06:46.760
worst rooms. The announcers were biased, the referees were in Lawler's pocket,

1671
02:06:46.960 --> 02:06:49.760
and the fans were just playing bad. He said, the only way we

1672
02:06:49.800 --> 02:06:53.600
could have a match on an even
playing field was to have no fans and

1673
02:06:53.680 --> 02:06:56.800
no referees. There'd be no one
at all, just one cameraman and one

1674
02:06:56.800 --> 02:06:59.680
announcer. So Funk handed a folded
piece of paper to our TV one of

1675
02:06:59.680 --> 02:07:01.119
our team, the announcers, Lance
Russell and Dave Brown. Pardon me,

1676
02:07:01.239 --> 02:07:04.760
to our TV announcers Lance Russell and
Dave Brown. On the paper, Terry

1677
02:07:04.800 --> 02:07:09.600
had it written a secret day,
time and place for our match to take

1678
02:07:09.680 --> 02:07:12.800
place. We had the match to
the Mid South Coliseum. Imagine this.

1679
02:07:13.199 --> 02:07:15.159
It was a Monday afternoon before our
regular Monday night matches, so the ring

1680
02:07:15.239 --> 02:07:18.399
and seats were already set up.
The fans hadn't started arriving yet. When

1681
02:07:18.399 --> 02:07:21.359
the one camera that was allowed to
be there started rolling, there was Terry

1682
02:07:21.399 --> 02:07:25.600
Funk standing in the middle of the
ring, in front of eleven five hundred

1683
02:07:25.600 --> 02:07:29.239
empty chairs. Funk bellowed at the
one announcer in attendance, where's Lawlor?

1684
02:07:29.680 --> 02:07:32.119
Is he chicken? Is he not
going to show up? His voice echoed

1685
02:07:32.399 --> 02:07:36.439
through the massive empty arena. I
knew Lawla was yellow. The lonely Funk

1686
02:07:36.520 --> 02:07:40.479
continued, He don't want to face
me without all his friends around to help

1687
02:07:40.560 --> 02:07:43.079
him. The camera paned to the
left, and there at the back of

1688
02:07:43.119 --> 02:07:45.359
the coliseum, I stood. I
remember later thinking how stupid I looked,

1689
02:07:45.399 --> 02:07:50.159
standing there in full king regalia,
tight's crown cape, with no fans in

1690
02:07:50.159 --> 02:07:54.880
the building? Why did I wear
the crown and cape anyway? When Funk's

1691
02:07:55.159 --> 02:07:59.560
cause you're a fucking gimmick, Jerry, cause you gotta be got a gimmick

1692
02:07:59.640 --> 02:08:03.000
every day. You're not a real
person, Okay, that's why. Yeah,

1693
02:08:03.159 --> 02:08:05.880
you don't feel comfortable anyway. When
Funk saw me, he crowed,

1694
02:08:07.119 --> 02:08:09.000
well, LOOKI here, who's all
here? Here all by himself? The

1695
02:08:09.119 --> 02:08:11.199
king with no one a had behind. We'll get in here, Lawler and

1696
02:08:11.239 --> 02:08:15.680
take your whipping like a man.
Neither of us really knew what we should

1697
02:08:15.720 --> 02:08:18.920
do to start such a match.
There was no referee and no timekeeper to

1698
02:08:18.000 --> 02:08:20.119
ring the bell, so we just
locked up and went at it as if

1699
02:08:20.479 --> 02:08:24.359
it were in front of thousands of
screaming fans. We fought in the ring

1700
02:08:24.439 --> 02:08:26.960
and out into the chairs. I
had been in matches where I got very

1701
02:08:26.960 --> 02:08:30.039
little reaction from the crowd, but
never had I wrestled to absolutely no reaction.

1702
02:08:30.319 --> 02:08:33.680
Well maybe that first match I had
with in West Memphis against the Executioners,

1703
02:08:33.720 --> 02:08:35.520
but you've already heard that story.
Funk and I tumbled into the empty

1704
02:08:35.600 --> 02:08:41.159
chairs at ringside and took turns sent
seeing rather who could bowl over the most

1705
02:08:41.199 --> 02:08:45.880
seats with our bodies. It was
a really weird feeling, wrestling in complete

1706
02:08:45.920 --> 02:08:50.199
silence, almost embarrassing. We both
began making exaggerated noises when we hit our

1707
02:08:50.359 --> 02:08:52.520
hit or kicked each other, just
so that there would be some kind of

1708
02:08:52.640 --> 02:08:54.680
sound to the match. See,
I don't think it was that bad.

1709
02:08:54.720 --> 02:08:58.479
I feel like they they filled the
void quite well. Say, I agree.

1710
02:08:58.520 --> 02:09:00.479
I don't think it was bad at
all. I thought it was fine.

1711
02:09:00.880 --> 02:09:03.760
I'm sure in person it felt kind
of weird, but well, of

1712
02:09:03.880 --> 02:09:07.840
course, but maybe it's just a
degraded psychone and maybe and you know,

1713
02:09:07.960 --> 02:09:11.199
a lot of it might have been
too. The fact that there was a

1714
02:09:11.319 --> 02:09:16.039
lot of build to get used to
the fact that that there was nobody there,

1715
02:09:16.600 --> 02:09:20.680
you know, huge that that Lance
stands there and acquaints us with the

1716
02:09:20.720 --> 02:09:26.399
atmosphere, and then you get then
you get you know, uh, Terry

1717
02:09:26.479 --> 02:09:31.119
coming in there, you know,
talking to himself like I think that there's

1718
02:09:31.239 --> 02:09:35.239
a there's a lot, there's a
lot of that. That really helped out.

1719
02:09:35.560 --> 02:09:39.119
Yeah, that whole prelude with Lance
standing there with nobody around and that

1720
02:09:39.239 --> 02:09:46.239
that's huge. That's so huge to
like establishing it as as the unusual circumstance

1721
02:09:46.239 --> 02:09:50.279
you'd expect, like WW would jump
right to it, like here is now

1722
02:09:50.359 --> 02:09:56.319
a produced new concept in sports entertainment
right right there wouldn't be like this narrator's

1723
02:09:56.439 --> 02:09:58.159
voice telling us that this is as
odd to us as it is to you

1724
02:09:58.319 --> 02:10:01.359
fans. Right, Terry got the
upper hand while we fought on the floor,

1725
02:10:01.359 --> 02:10:03.119
and then he threw me back into
the ring. He picked up the

1726
02:10:03.119 --> 02:10:07.199
wooden ringsteps and smashed them into pieces. He pulled off a piece of wood

1727
02:10:07.199 --> 02:10:09.920
that was shaped like a long knife
and came at me jabbing. I blocked

1728
02:10:09.920 --> 02:10:11.039
his hand and we struggled, and
the piece of wood appeared to poke into

1729
02:10:11.079 --> 02:10:15.119
his eye. The next instant,
blood was pouring down his face through his

1730
02:10:15.199 --> 02:10:16.479
fingers. He cried, somebody helped
me, somebody helped me, and I

1731
02:10:16.479 --> 02:10:20.039
said, there's nobody here. I
need help. My eye, my eye,

1732
02:10:20.119 --> 02:10:22.600
loll or my eye. That's how
the match ended. Terry Funk on

1733
02:10:22.640 --> 02:10:24.159
his knees in the ring, blood
streaming from his eye and crying out for

1734
02:10:24.239 --> 02:10:28.279
help. That wasn't there. I
thought afterward that we could have done so

1735
02:10:28.640 --> 02:10:31.079
much more with the match. It
could have been really hardcore, it could

1736
02:10:31.119 --> 02:10:35.359
have been longer. But as I
said before, I really felt silly wrestling

1737
02:10:35.399 --> 02:10:37.840
in front of no fans, and
so what seemed like an eternity while we

1738
02:10:37.920 --> 02:10:41.000
were doing it turned out to be
a very short match in reality. Oh

1739
02:10:41.039 --> 02:10:43.399
that's another reason that you don't look
back upon it fondly. Boss. As

1740
02:10:43.399 --> 02:10:46.880
they were doing it, they kind
of thought it was taking forever. I

1741
02:10:46.960 --> 02:10:50.760
mean, that's tough. That's a
tough thing to shake. That is that,

1742
02:10:50.920 --> 02:10:54.399
it absolutely is. I mean,
but again, then you should watch

1743
02:10:54.479 --> 02:10:58.600
it because it doesn't come across like
that. But of course it's going to

1744
02:10:58.640 --> 02:11:03.840
feel like that, because everything feels
like an eternity, you know, absolutely

1745
02:11:05.039 --> 02:11:07.319
when you're in that moment and it
kind of feels and you're you know,

1746
02:11:07.760 --> 02:11:13.439
you're insecure. Yeah, ten seconds
feels like ten hours. Yes, yeah.

1747
02:11:13.479 --> 02:11:16.600
If you are accustomed as a performer
to getting a reaction to everything you

1748
02:11:16.680 --> 02:11:22.760
do right, time will seem to
stand stale if there is nary a reaction

1749
02:11:22.880 --> 02:11:24.800
to anything you do. Funk was
gone for a couple of weeks. He

1750
02:11:24.920 --> 02:11:28.720
was always a goofy sort of guy. Well not really goofy, but you

1751
02:11:28.800 --> 02:11:31.479
never knew what to expect from Terry
because he would do almost anything. How

1752
02:11:31.520 --> 02:11:33.680
many wrestlers would blade themselves that close
to their eye so as to make it

1753
02:11:33.720 --> 02:11:37.920
appear that the blood was actually coming
from the eye itself. He did an

1754
02:11:37.960 --> 02:11:39.840
interview down in Texas and sent it
to us to show in Memphis to set

1755
02:11:39.920 --> 02:11:43.279
up the big return match between the
two of us. I didn't have time

1756
02:11:43.319 --> 02:11:46.279
to preview the interview before our live
TV show that Saturday morning, so I

1757
02:11:46.359 --> 02:11:48.520
watched it live with the fans.
There was Funk wearing a big eye patch.

1758
02:11:48.720 --> 02:11:52.640
Supposedly his eye had been pretty much
put out lawler, you tried to

1759
02:11:52.680 --> 02:11:54.520
blind me, The doctor said,
I may lose my eye. I watched

1760
02:11:54.520 --> 02:11:58.720
the interview on camera, standing next
to our announcer, Lance Russell. I

1761
02:11:58.720 --> 02:12:01.399
saw that Funk's eye was all covered
up of all things black electrical tape.

1762
02:12:01.960 --> 02:12:03.840
It went all the way around his
head. I thought to myself, how

1763
02:12:03.920 --> 02:12:09.119
can anyone watching this believe he's really
injured when he has electrical tape wrapped around

1764
02:12:09.159 --> 02:12:11.800
his head. The only thing I
could think to say when Funk's interview ended

1765
02:12:11.880 --> 02:12:15.159
was tell the truth. I told
Lance Russell. I hoped I never had

1766
02:12:15.199 --> 02:12:18.520
to go to the doctor in Texas
if they put electrical tape on a wound.

1767
02:12:18.960 --> 02:12:22.920
Let's take a look, shall we, I think we should. Let's

1768
02:12:22.960 --> 02:12:28.239
pull up disc seven. Disc seven, as you prepare yourself again. This

1769
02:12:28.439 --> 02:12:31.439
is an interview that Terry Funk filmed
while returning to Texas after the Empty Arena

1770
02:12:31.479 --> 02:12:35.680
match was shot and word began to
spread in Memphis television about it. It

1771
02:12:35.680 --> 02:12:41.920
would have aired the Saturday after that
Monday afternoon filming. And of course there's

1772
02:12:41.000 --> 02:12:48.319
return business to be done and return
conflicts to unfold between these two and the

1773
02:12:48.399 --> 02:12:50.159
matters were about to discover gets so
hot that they take it on the road

1774
02:12:52.119 --> 02:12:56.319
and the Jerry Lawler Terry Funk feud
spills all the way down into Florida as

1775
02:12:56.359 --> 02:13:01.279
well, much like the feud between
Terry Funk and Dusty Roads in Florida spilled

1776
02:13:01.319 --> 02:13:07.079
over into Georgia Championship Wrestling. As
we discussed last week, All right,

1777
02:13:07.319 --> 02:13:13.079
where am I going? One twenty
three? Please? We're going to see

1778
02:13:13.119 --> 02:13:18.720
a promo from Memphis Television Terry Funk
with the aforementioned ipatch on talking about the

1779
02:13:18.880 --> 02:13:26.920
fallout and consequences of the empty Arena
showdown much more? Sure? Go,

1780
02:13:26.800 --> 02:13:30.159
well, you'll play this one through
a couple of promos, so this goes

1781
02:13:30.199 --> 02:13:35.000
about seven minutes, three to one
end play. Yes, I heard after

1782
02:13:35.079 --> 02:13:41.880
that match with Lawler. Sure I'm
missing some teeth, Yes, I've got

1783
02:13:41.960 --> 02:13:48.880
permanent damage to my eye. But
have you seen Jerry Lawler? Has anybody

1784
02:13:48.079 --> 02:13:54.039
seen him? Does he have enough
judge to come back against me? Again?

1785
02:13:54.640 --> 02:14:03.039
I am the meanest man in professional
wrestling day have to pull me off

1786
02:14:03.159 --> 02:14:09.760
a lawyer while I was beating on
a man's body while he was laying there.

1787
02:14:09.319 --> 02:14:16.239
This week, they're going to have
a fence around the ring, and

1788
02:14:16.359 --> 02:14:22.359
few people remember what I'm saying to
you, because I'm speaking the truth,

1789
02:14:24.039 --> 02:14:31.079
you will never see Jerry Lawler wrestle
again. So if you want to be

1790
02:14:31.199 --> 02:14:35.600
there for his retirement match, well
make sure you come down there, because

1791
02:14:35.800 --> 02:14:39.279
I'm going to take the man and
I'm going to hurt him so bad that

1792
02:14:39.439 --> 02:14:43.439
he will not be able to wrestle
again. If I have to, I'll

1793
02:14:43.479 --> 02:14:46.560
break one leg. If he gets
up and hops to me, I'll break

1794
02:14:46.640 --> 02:14:50.600
the other leg. If he comes
calling on his belly, I'll kick him

1795
02:14:50.600 --> 02:14:56.479
in the head. Believe me,
Jerry Lawler is going to pay, and

1796
02:14:56.600 --> 02:15:01.239
he's going to pay dearly for what
he did to me. He's crying.

1797
02:15:01.600 --> 02:15:05.960
I love I can't and my family
loves me, my brother loves me.

1798
02:15:07.640 --> 02:15:13.600
But I have no respect for anybody
like Lawler. I have a definite hatred

1799
02:15:13.720 --> 02:15:18.680
for the man, and I'm gonna
take that sickness out of my mind.

1800
02:15:20.800 --> 02:15:24.640
That's the pre h that's the pre
tape. Now it's a different stories.

1801
02:15:24.680 --> 02:15:30.399
We're about to find out. You're
still playing right ye. When Terry Funk

1802
02:15:30.479 --> 02:15:33.880
makes his way back to the w
MC Channel five studios in Memphis, I

1803
02:15:33.960 --> 02:15:41.760
believe this is the first time we
see Terry Funk in Memphis since the match

1804
02:15:41.800 --> 02:15:54.399
here. He is here today.
Let's fucking go I came here for perfect

1805
02:15:56.159 --> 02:16:05.159
I came here to go ahead and
not before friends, big ass white patch

1806
02:16:05.239 --> 02:16:18.720
on his eye, cowboy hat on. Why don't this is where that comes

1807
02:16:18.720 --> 02:16:33.159
from? There's a tag match going
on in the ring. Terry just invades

1808
02:16:33.159 --> 02:16:39.079
the announced position. Now he's throwing
ship at the ring. He took his

1809
02:16:39.280 --> 02:16:43.840
shirt off. He's getting in there, and he started to fund people up.

1810
02:16:48.440 --> 02:17:11.399
The chaos this man creates. That's
exactly Oh oh, squealing again.

1811
02:17:11.159 --> 02:17:16.120
I love the squealing. Look at
him, sucking b who's he beating up?

1812
02:17:16.479 --> 02:17:22.680
These are nameless you brons? Who
are the mask guys? I couldn't

1813
02:17:22.680 --> 02:17:30.319
tell you. Funk just taking on
these j Broni's pumping jabs in their face.

1814
02:17:30.879 --> 02:17:33.079
They're trying to fight him, but
they can't even them close to touching

1815
02:17:33.159 --> 02:17:39.639
him. That's wild. Screaming like
a fucking banshee while he tosses these guys

1816
02:17:39.639 --> 02:17:58.280
over the rose. Get what a
chop? Oh yeah, excellent? Where's

1817
02:17:58.360 --> 02:18:07.840
lawlor? I can't laying it out
there? All the mask guys of the

1818
02:18:07.920 --> 02:18:13.280
Nightmares. Jesus. That was before
Terry Funk showed up on the floor of

1819
02:18:13.319 --> 02:18:18.159
the studio, imagining one of like
the ten people here. How disturbing to

1820
02:18:18.239 --> 02:18:22.879
have this guy walk this close to
you? Yeah, that I patch on

1821
02:18:24.879 --> 02:18:50.079
there. We go back to the
to Lance Russell's position. Ye, you

1822
02:19:05.760 --> 02:19:09.239
the airline people told him that Funk
was coming in on a plane and told

1823
02:19:09.319 --> 02:19:13.040
him to get out of town.
Now looking to punch the chair. He's

1824
02:19:13.120 --> 02:19:16.440
hitting that chair as hard as he
can with his fence. Now, what's

1825
02:19:16.479 --> 02:19:18.479
it go do, Terry, Terry, He's gonna hit himself in the head

1826
02:19:18.520 --> 02:19:24.479
of the chair. Oh, over
and over. He's so fucking pissed,

1827
02:19:24.719 --> 02:19:54.920
insane, like dropping to his knees, screaming, Oh my god, I'm

1828
02:19:56.000 --> 02:20:11.040
moving here. Look at his face. There is horse Country seem like so

1829
02:20:11.239 --> 02:20:39.879
much talking about it later very yeah, let's break aw is that thought?

1830
02:20:41.959 --> 02:20:46.280
Oh? I mean he's just I
mean he's looking in the camera and he's

1831
02:20:46.319 --> 02:20:52.280
a complete psychopathic He's he he he
really, I mean that that's just it.

1832
02:20:52.399 --> 02:20:56.319
He's suspending his own disbelief, all
right, that's what he's doing.

1833
02:20:56.879 --> 02:21:09.600
Yes, And he is you know, reminding, not reminding. He's he's

1834
02:21:11.280 --> 02:21:13.879
It's just something that you never do. I don't think i've ever I would

1835
02:21:13.920 --> 02:21:18.120
ever be able to see it unless
we really we did what we were doing

1836
02:21:18.200 --> 02:21:26.559
here. I don't think I ever
would have realized how amazing that what he's

1837
02:21:26.680 --> 02:21:31.520
doing is, like the fact that
he can really make you believe he is

1838
02:21:31.760 --> 02:21:37.879
nuts, he's absolutely insane. And
here's the thing. This coming from the

1839
02:21:39.000 --> 02:21:45.440
same guy who can make the entire
wrestling public of Japan feel like he was

1840
02:21:46.520 --> 02:21:50.559
the nicest, most gregarious human being
to ever walk the face of the earth.

1841
02:21:50.600 --> 02:21:54.040
He's doing that at the exact same
time that he's doing these things in

1842
02:21:54.079 --> 02:21:58.600
Memphis with Jerry Lawler and doing the
things we saw last week in Florida with

1843
02:21:58.680 --> 02:22:01.680
Dusty Rhodes. Yep. I mean, he is showing that he can be

1844
02:22:03.079 --> 02:22:07.239
six pro wrestlers at once, exactly, and others have been able to be

1845
02:22:07.319 --> 02:22:11.879
two. Others have maybe been able
to even be three or four. I

1846
02:22:11.920 --> 02:22:15.319
don't think anybody besides Terry Funk has
been able to be six. Absolutely not,

1847
02:22:15.600 --> 02:22:18.360
no way. And we're seeing it, and it's like, and they're

1848
02:22:18.399 --> 02:22:22.280
all happening in vacuums. People in
Florida don't know this is going on in

1849
02:22:22.360 --> 02:22:24.639
Memphis. People in Memphis don't know
this is going on in Florida. People

1850
02:22:24.639 --> 02:22:28.479
in Tokyo. Don't necessarily know this
is going on in either place. This

1851
02:22:28.639 --> 02:22:31.600
is to say nothing, of course, of the fucking trails he's blazing in

1852
02:22:31.680 --> 02:22:37.159
Houston and stuff. And this is
the same guy who is the clean cut,

1853
02:22:37.319 --> 02:22:43.840
relatively speaking, technical NWA World Heavyweight
Champion yep for a couple of years

1854
02:22:43.920 --> 02:22:48.079
and right around the bi centennial yep. This is the same guy with the

1855
02:22:48.200 --> 02:22:52.680
boyish blonde hair in nineteen seventy one
in Japan that we observed when Dory Funk

1856
02:22:52.760 --> 02:22:56.760
Junior was over there defending the NBA
title. Remember that Terry yep. Remember

1857
02:22:56.840 --> 02:23:01.479
the Terry with his picture on the
gridiron at West Texas State University. Is

1858
02:23:01.520 --> 02:23:05.639
the next you know, kling caught
all American son a Dory Funk Senior coming

1859
02:23:05.719 --> 02:23:09.520
to make a good run Waho McDaniel
like run if he's lucky in the pro

1860
02:23:09.600 --> 02:23:13.879
wrestling ranks. This fresh faced young
boy named Terry, that guy who could

1861
02:23:13.920 --> 02:23:18.840
get that essence across could also be
a guy that walks into a TV studio

1862
02:23:18.879 --> 02:23:22.680
of Memphis, Tennessee and convinces everyone
that he's completely out of his mind.

1863
02:23:22.079 --> 02:23:24.639
Ye. And I'm so glad you
said it the way you did, because

1864
02:23:26.319 --> 02:23:28.520
if I explained it to you verbally, or if I read to you what

1865
02:23:28.639 --> 02:23:31.959
happened wouldn't come across. The genius
of Terry Funk doesn't come across. You've

1866
02:23:33.000 --> 02:23:35.360
got to watch the tape. When
it comes to Terry, you do,

1867
02:23:35.600 --> 02:23:39.280
you really do, because it's not
just what he's doing, it's the context

1868
02:23:39.319 --> 02:23:41.319
he's doing it. And it's like
when you realize his surroundings, when he's

1869
02:23:41.360 --> 02:23:45.479
carrying on this way, you realize
how good he is because he's not feeding

1870
02:23:45.520 --> 02:23:48.280
off any particular energy. He's not
taking any audience cue as to what to

1871
02:23:48.360 --> 02:23:52.000
lean into. He's just going out
there and they're basically silent. I mean,

1872
02:23:52.040 --> 02:23:54.200
they start to make noise the crazier
he gets because they're a little concerned,

1873
02:23:54.239 --> 02:23:58.239
honestly, And it's kind of fun
in a TV studio setting to fuck

1874
02:23:58.239 --> 02:24:00.360
with a guy who's going that nuts
and pointed at him because you know he

1875
02:24:00.399 --> 02:24:01.520
won't hit you and stuff. So
there's a little bit of that going on,

1876
02:24:03.239 --> 02:24:05.200
but for the most part, it's
just like, let's just stand back

1877
02:24:05.280 --> 02:24:11.799
and and let this guy keep going
till he feels he's done. The lapse.

1878
02:24:11.879 --> 02:24:18.840
Chunk Boss, it's jaw very much
so. A bunch of crack open

1879
02:24:18.479 --> 02:24:24.040
Disc six again. Disc six again, head over to one thirty seven fifty

1880
02:24:24.159 --> 02:24:26.959
three and I'm gonna lay little groundwork. You heard Lance Russell there in that

1881
02:24:28.000 --> 02:24:31.040
clip as Terry Funk hits the studios
in Memphis looking for Jerry Lawler, saying

1882
02:24:31.040 --> 02:24:33.040
that in fact, Lawler was give
me the time code again, one thirty

1883
02:24:33.079 --> 02:24:37.600
seven fifty three. Okay, Jerry
Lawler was indeed in Florida, which is

1884
02:24:37.639 --> 02:24:41.440
a territory that he would visit a
bed after getting over as a baby face

1885
02:24:41.479 --> 02:24:43.079
in the mid seventies at the time
that Terry Funk showed up looking to confront

1886
02:24:43.159 --> 02:24:46.479
him with an eyepatch on over the
Empty Arena match here in nineteen and eighty

1887
02:24:46.559 --> 02:24:50.159
one. And in fact, as
I mentioned, Funk and Lawler would take

1888
02:24:50.200 --> 02:24:54.479
their few to Florida. Dory Funk
Junior was booking down there for Eddie Graham

1889
02:24:54.239 --> 02:24:58.440
and got a tape of the match, the Empty Arena match. Actually,

1890
02:24:58.479 --> 02:25:01.319
I think he got a tape of
the earlier five Star No. DQ brawl

1891
02:25:01.000 --> 02:25:05.120
and showed the match on television down
there, and indeed seated interest in seeing

1892
02:25:05.159 --> 02:25:07.479
Funk and Lawler tie it up down
there in Florida, and they move some

1893
02:25:07.559 --> 02:25:13.159
tickets down there, and part of
the campaign to get the Florida public interested

1894
02:25:13.200 --> 02:25:18.840
in this feud between Lawler and Funk
was Funk leaning in to his history as

1895
02:25:18.840 --> 02:25:22.440
a heel in that area, having
gone to Florida really since he broke into

1896
02:25:22.479 --> 02:25:26.879
the business in sixty five in bits
and spurts, of course, his family,

1897
02:25:26.920 --> 02:25:31.760
being closely acquainted with Eddie Graham,
and really deeply understanding how that wrestling

1898
02:25:31.840 --> 02:25:35.840
territory worked for the entirety of his
life in the business. Now he's got

1899
02:25:35.879 --> 02:25:39.680
to go down there and try to
adjust a little bit the story with Jerry

1900
02:25:39.760 --> 02:25:43.479
Lawler to sell fully to the Florida
public. And it comes up with this

1901
02:25:43.680 --> 02:25:50.200
perhaps his most famous promo, in
which he decides to use some motor oil.

1902
02:25:52.360 --> 02:25:54.799
Let's put it that way, Oh
boy. This is from his book

1903
02:25:54.799 --> 02:25:58.280
Before We Hit Play. Yep.
Lawler and I were also set to do

1904
02:25:58.319 --> 02:26:01.920
a match in Florida, and I
did a promo for it that became rather

1905
02:26:01.000 --> 02:26:05.280
famous in wrestling circles. The shot
opened with me standing in a shower stall

1906
02:26:07.079 --> 02:26:11.280
holding a can of motor oil.
Jerry Lawler wants to become a Floridian,

1907
02:26:11.520 --> 02:26:15.360
not a transplant. The King wants
to become a real Floridian. Well,

1908
02:26:15.399 --> 02:26:18.479
I would like to know exactly how
it feels to be a true Florida Cracker.

1909
02:26:18.959 --> 02:26:22.520
So I have Quaker State super Blood
motoroil, I said, pouring the

1910
02:26:22.680 --> 02:26:26.200
oil over my head. This is
shoot motor oil. He's pouring on his

1911
02:26:26.280 --> 02:26:30.399
head, boss, And I'm going
to show you people how it feels to

1912
02:26:30.440 --> 02:26:33.120
be a true Florida Cracker. And
right here I have five pounds a dirty,

1913
02:26:33.159 --> 02:26:37.319
filthy dirt, and that's exactly what
it is. I started dumping the

1914
02:26:37.399 --> 02:26:41.440
dirt on my now oily head as
I continued, and I've got this dirt

1915
02:26:41.639 --> 02:26:43.559
entirely over my body. And now
I know what it feels like to be

1916
02:26:43.600 --> 02:26:48.760
a dirty, stinky, greasy Florida
Cracker. And it's something I never want

1917
02:26:48.799 --> 02:26:52.840
to feel again. And all that
oil was an incredible pain in the ass

1918
02:26:52.920 --> 02:26:54.799
to get out. I got that
shit in my eyes too, and I

1919
02:26:54.879 --> 02:26:58.680
nearly got blinded. I washed and
washed my hair, I went home and

1920
02:26:58.680 --> 02:27:03.120
went to and the next morning,
my damned pillowcase had oily splotches all over

1921
02:27:03.200 --> 02:27:05.520
it, and VICKI had to throw
away the whole pillow. I thought it

1922
02:27:05.559 --> 02:27:07.559
was an original idea at the time, but it didn't make the match a

1923
02:27:07.600 --> 02:27:11.000
particularly big draw, so it became
another one of my deals. It didn't

1924
02:27:11.000 --> 02:27:15.159
work. Now that might seem like
a contradiction to what I was talking about

1925
02:27:15.159 --> 02:27:18.040
earlier about not wanting just to insult
the fan base. But the difference is

1926
02:27:18.159 --> 02:27:20.319
I was never one of those who
went out every week and just ranted about

1927
02:27:20.319 --> 02:27:24.559
how lousy the people were, because
I had more focus on my opponent and

1928
02:27:24.600 --> 02:27:26.959
how to cut a promo the best
fit that situation. So he earlier had

1929
02:27:28.040 --> 02:27:30.959
explained that this spoke about how he
wasn't much on just going into the ring

1930
02:27:31.079 --> 02:27:33.520
or on television, taking a mic
and saying you people suck, this town

1931
02:27:33.680 --> 02:27:37.680
sucks, everything about you sucks.
He would much rather tailor's promo to the

1932
02:27:37.719 --> 02:27:41.959
wrestler he's going up against and saying
things unique to that wrestler, and he

1933
02:27:41.079 --> 02:27:46.000
was the best at that. Here, I think he's trying to sort of

1934
02:27:46.079 --> 02:27:48.680
say, I know why you might
think that's a violation of that rule because

1935
02:27:48.680 --> 02:27:52.360
he's talking more about Florida wrestling fans
and people. Yeah, he has about

1936
02:27:52.440 --> 02:27:56.079
Jerry Lollard necessarily, and he sees
it as a bit of a different grade

1937
02:27:56.120 --> 02:27:58.200
of a gradation of that. But
it acknowledges that it might seem like a

1938
02:27:58.280 --> 02:28:03.760
contradiction. I was always throwing ideas
out there. I guess I figured eventually

1939
02:28:03.840 --> 02:28:05.760
something would work. I was like
a weather man. If I kept talking,

1940
02:28:07.040 --> 02:28:11.319
eventually I'd say something that was right. And the beautiful thing about people

1941
02:28:11.399 --> 02:28:15.959
is that they tend to remember when
I'm right and forget how many times I've

1942
02:28:16.000 --> 02:28:20.559
been wrong. The Lessons of Funk. Indeed, that's hit play on this

1943
02:28:20.680 --> 02:28:24.559
famous promo Terry Funk doing what it
takes in a shower stall. You can

1944
02:28:24.600 --> 02:28:28.159
see the tile behind him. So
weird, No Shirren on can of motor

1945
02:28:28.200 --> 02:29:15.639
oil three two one play. Its
face is now coated tan true. Now

1946
02:29:15.719 --> 02:29:20.799
he's pulling the dirtle over the motor
oil. It's caking on him like brownie

1947
02:29:20.840 --> 02:29:31.600
batter. It's like it's turning into
like the color Oh my god. Yeah,

1948
02:29:33.319 --> 02:29:35.360
you can tell. Its eyes are
killing. We can barely keep him

1949
02:29:35.399 --> 02:29:45.680
open. Yeah, Jerry Law a
little better sound here. Wants to become

1950
02:29:46.280 --> 02:29:52.399
a real Floradi and not a trans
plant. The King wants to become a

1951
02:29:52.600 --> 02:30:01.920
flor Well. I would like to
know exactly how it to be a true

1952
02:30:01.399 --> 02:30:09.639
Florida cracker. So I becomes the
Quaker state, thus state super wid higher

1953
02:30:09.719 --> 02:30:18.879
death. Here, Oh, I
show you people can't stand how it feels

1954
02:30:18.639 --> 02:30:26.600
to be a true Florida Crackers.
Here, I have five pounds of dirty,

1955
02:30:28.040 --> 02:30:31.879
filthy dirt, and that's exactly what
it is. Oh. I have

1956
02:30:33.120 --> 02:30:41.399
got this dirt entirely all over my
body, and now I know what it

1957
02:30:41.760 --> 02:30:48.920
feels like to be a dirty,
stinky, crazy Florida Cracker. And it's

1958
02:30:50.000 --> 02:30:54.159
something that I never want to feel
like again. What I would like to

1959
02:30:54.280 --> 02:31:01.319
do is the Gillan's bed fool Jerry
layd to this guy of a batch to

1960
02:31:01.440 --> 02:31:11.559
where he would go ahead at him, eyes fully closed over his body and

1961
02:31:11.760 --> 02:31:18.399
paying five bounds of dirt and pour
that over his body that turn him into

1962
02:31:18.680 --> 02:31:33.879
a dirty, filth taking Florida Cracker. All right, we can stop there.

1963
02:31:35.799 --> 02:31:45.440
Thoughts his most disgusting thing. I
mean, uh h, it went

1964
02:31:45.479 --> 02:31:48.600
in his mouth, it went in
his eyes, and then you put dirt

1965
02:31:48.639 --> 02:31:52.200
on it like he's just he's trying
to kill himself. Are you pretty much

1966
02:31:54.920 --> 02:32:01.959
just revolting? You know? In
fact, if obviously, but revolting of

1967
02:32:01.000 --> 02:32:05.399
all the differences we talked about last
week between Terry Funk and Dusty Rhodes.

1968
02:32:05.440 --> 02:32:09.120
Perhaps the greatest difference is what each
of them individually means when they say they

1969
02:32:09.239 --> 02:32:13.799
do it for the craft. Yeah, oh yeah. Or Terry has clearly

1970
02:32:13.879 --> 02:32:18.920
done this kind of pouring motor oil
over your head for the craft of the

1971
02:32:18.959 --> 02:32:20.760
business. For Dusty, it's done
for the craft. Macaroni and cheese,

1972
02:32:22.799 --> 02:32:28.639
ge damn right. But I just
you think he's nuts. You think he

1973
02:32:28.719 --> 02:32:33.920
might be a little nuts this guy. You can you can go into method

1974
02:32:33.959 --> 02:32:35.239
acting all you want. What's that
about? What did he just do?

1975
02:32:37.239 --> 02:32:41.319
I don't know what he just did. What he just did was was just

1976
02:32:41.520 --> 02:32:48.719
absurd, Like that's not even method
acting, Like that's that's I mean,

1977
02:32:48.760 --> 02:32:52.719
I don't know how. I mean, I know it's not good, but

1978
02:32:52.840 --> 02:32:58.319
I can't imagine that, you know, I don't know how. I just

1979
02:32:58.360 --> 02:33:03.879
don't know. I don't know how
bad it is for you, like again,

1980
02:33:03.040 --> 02:33:09.280
to have that shit in your eyes
and in your mouth, dude.

1981
02:33:09.120 --> 02:33:15.000
Indeed, indeed, and so they
would tussle in Florida. They would tussle

1982
02:33:15.159 --> 02:33:18.559
many more times in Memphis, but
for the most part, by eighty two,

1983
02:33:18.319 --> 02:33:22.079
the feud between Terry Funk and Jerry
Lawler in this country had subsided of

1984
02:33:22.120 --> 02:33:26.559
course, Funk closes out eighty three
with the All Japan retirement kind of takes

1985
02:33:26.639 --> 02:33:30.840
a little bit of a break from
being full time in the wrestling business,

1986
02:33:31.079 --> 02:33:35.520
pursuing rolls like Over the Top and
then later Roadhouse going to work for Vince

1987
02:33:35.559 --> 02:33:41.079
McMahon nineteen eighty five after the national
expansion. Much like the Dusty Rhodes program,

1988
02:33:41.200 --> 02:33:43.920
it's sort of like a bastion of
some of the last great feuds of

1989
02:33:43.959 --> 02:33:50.079
the territorial era, this program here
with Jerry Lawler. However, because it

1990
02:33:50.239 --> 02:33:54.399
used to be better. Yep,
you can continue to sell this feud thirty

1991
02:33:54.440 --> 02:33:58.399
years after it happened. Of course, because the gentlemen involved were well acquainted

1992
02:33:58.520 --> 02:34:03.879
enough about what makes wrestling worth a
damn that they kept the magic alive as

1993
02:34:03.920 --> 02:34:07.079
best as they possibly could. They
did not seed that ground. They did

1994
02:34:07.159 --> 02:34:13.920
not turn over and say, you
know, this is all a bunch of

1995
02:34:13.959 --> 02:34:18.840
bullshit. Jerry Lawler here in this
clip talks about how important that element of

1996
02:34:18.920 --> 02:34:24.239
things were between him and Terry Funk. This is from the two Man Power

1997
02:34:24.280 --> 02:34:28.000
Trip of Wrestling podcast where Jerry Lawler
was a guest talking about the feud with

1998
02:34:28.120 --> 02:34:31.719
Terry Funk and what was most important
to preserve about the feud, and that

1999
02:34:31.840 --> 02:34:35.840
allowed them to cash them checks together
much much later in their respective careers.

2000
02:34:39.920 --> 02:34:45.440
Just our stuff would kind of it
was like the Andy Kaufman stuff. It

2001
02:34:45.600 --> 02:34:48.840
just kind of happened. It wasn't
that we sat down and spent days or

2002
02:34:48.920 --> 02:34:54.840
weeks or months planning this stuff out. When we did that live TV every

2003
02:34:54.959 --> 02:35:00.520
single Saturday morning in Memphis for twenty
straight years. Stuff just happened. And

2004
02:35:00.520 --> 02:35:03.520
and and we didn't. We didn't
sit and write guys promos. You know,

2005
02:35:03.600 --> 02:35:07.479
the guys went out and they did
their own They cut their own promos.

2006
02:35:07.520 --> 02:35:09.639
And Terry Funk has always been one
of the best in the history of

2007
02:35:09.719 --> 02:35:15.920
this business at cutting promos, and
so that that just came about. And

2008
02:35:16.040 --> 02:35:18.280
the fact that Terry went out one
day on his own, you know,

2009
02:35:18.440 --> 02:35:20.920
just this is his promo. And
he said, you know, I hate

2010
02:35:20.959 --> 02:35:24.799
to come to Memphis, Tennessee.
I mean, I hate the city.

2011
02:35:24.000 --> 02:35:26.959
I hate everything about it. I
hate Jerry Lawler most of all. But

2012
02:35:28.280 --> 02:35:31.040
he said, when I step off
the plane in Memphis, Tennessee, everybody

2013
02:35:31.159 --> 02:35:35.280
recognizes me and they start treat me
like crap. He said, you know,

2014
02:35:35.360 --> 02:35:37.520
nobody will carry my bags at the
at the airport, I get into

2015
02:35:37.520 --> 02:35:41.319
the taxi cab. The guy when
he realized who I turned me to the

2016
02:35:41.360 --> 02:35:45.559
Mid South Coliseum. You know,
he drives me all over Memphis just to

2017
02:35:45.639 --> 02:35:46.879
run up a big bill. He
said. Then when I get to the

2018
02:35:46.920 --> 02:35:50.799
building, you know, I get
treated with no respect whatsoever. He said.

2019
02:35:50.879 --> 02:35:54.760
Everybody is on Jerry Lawler's side.
All the are for him. They're

2020
02:35:54.959 --> 02:35:58.000
all against me. They're ring announcers
for him, they're all against me.

2021
02:35:58.319 --> 02:36:01.520
The reference, he's got the referees
in his pocket. And he said,

2022
02:36:01.600 --> 02:36:05.680
So what I would love to do. I would love to get Jerry Lawler

2023
02:36:07.000 --> 02:36:11.399
in a ring without any sands on
his side, without any police or security

2024
02:36:11.440 --> 02:36:16.000
there that's on his side, where
it would just be me and no referee

2025
02:36:16.079 --> 02:36:18.319
that he's got paid off, and
and and and that's how that whole thing

2026
02:36:18.399 --> 02:36:22.040
came about. He just made an
interview like that, and we said,

2027
02:36:22.399 --> 02:36:26.079
hey, why don't we want the
idea, Why don't we just turn to

2028
02:36:26.159 --> 02:36:30.200
the coliseum before the fans are there, and we'll, you know, we'll

2029
02:36:30.319 --> 02:36:33.879
we'll have a match at the empty
arena. Match and and so that,

2030
02:36:33.079 --> 02:36:37.399
you know, that's how that thing
happened. And and it just it grew

2031
02:36:37.520 --> 02:36:41.319
legs. I mean, it went
all over the place is and and it's

2032
02:36:41.360 --> 02:36:46.479
a testament to uh, to Terry
and and and myself and in the fact

2033
02:36:46.559 --> 02:36:50.120
that you know, we're still so
old school that we don't you know,

2034
02:36:50.239 --> 02:36:56.920
we don't want to let we don't
want to I mean, disillusion the fans

2035
02:36:58.760 --> 02:37:03.360
or or take away from something that
the majority of people really believed in and

2036
02:37:03.479 --> 02:37:07.639
really got behind and really really enjoyed. It's it would be a shame to

2037
02:37:07.719 --> 02:37:13.000
do anything nowadays to diminish that and
where people are gonna look back and go,

2038
02:37:13.120 --> 02:37:15.440
oh, guys, that was it
wasn't what I thought it was.

2039
02:37:15.559 --> 02:37:20.159
So you know, Terry, I
hope he doesn't really hate me, but

2040
02:37:20.639 --> 02:37:24.799
you know, he wouldn't tell anybody
anybody anywhere, especially on any kind of

2041
02:37:26.239 --> 02:37:31.600
media, that he that he doesn't
hate me, you know. So that's

2042
02:37:31.760 --> 02:37:39.520
that's just a testament to the professionalism
of Terry Funk. And there it is

2043
02:37:39.600 --> 02:37:43.799
that seed of doubt about don't you
know what, I don't know if the

2044
02:37:43.840 --> 02:37:46.719
motherfucker actually does actually hate me.
Wow, I mean, Lawler has to

2045
02:37:46.799 --> 02:37:52.319
leave that possibility open. Ah,
that's so amazing. Funk would tell our

2046
02:37:52.360 --> 02:37:54.799
a video and a shoot interview that
he does love Lawler and thinks he's a

2047
02:37:54.840 --> 02:37:58.440
great talent and a great mind for
the business and everything. But you better

2048
02:37:58.479 --> 02:38:01.840
believe he still throws that little rejoinder
in there, that little twist of the

2049
02:38:01.879 --> 02:38:05.680
knife. And I don't know when
he called into the podcast, I didn't

2050
02:38:05.680 --> 02:38:09.159
sense a lot of love there.
I mean, but again, just like

2051
02:38:09.680 --> 02:38:13.719
Dusty said, he's always working.
He's a worker. I'm so glad you

2052
02:38:13.799 --> 02:38:18.479
said that. The work. If
they're working, you and you and you

2053
02:38:18.600 --> 02:38:20.760
they're working with he's a worker.
He's a worker, worker, it's all.

2054
02:38:20.799 --> 02:38:26.639
He is. Telegent worker. Thank
you. Terry the worker, Terry

2055
02:38:26.680 --> 02:38:31.040
the Worker. So the eighties go, Funk does the movies, he does

2056
02:38:31.079 --> 02:38:35.399
the NWA program with Flare in eighty
nine, and his stock is up to

2057
02:38:35.479 --> 02:38:37.159
a really high level, pretty much
higher than it's ever been in his American

2058
02:38:37.159 --> 02:38:41.639
wrestling career at least, and down
in Memphis, Jerry Lawler is still kind

2059
02:38:41.680 --> 02:38:43.760
of chugging along. We know that
Memphis hung on longer than pretty much all

2060
02:38:43.760 --> 02:38:48.280
of the other wrestling territories in part
because it's top star. Jerry Lawler,

2061
02:38:48.319 --> 02:38:50.920
because he had points in the office, never really left and certainly hadn't come

2062
02:38:50.920 --> 02:38:56.479
to WWF yet. So we go
to nineteen ninety as we turned the calendar

2063
02:38:56.520 --> 02:38:58.920
to a new decade in pro wrestling, and the USWA is mid South.

2064
02:39:00.200 --> 02:39:05.319
Was that pardon me is? The
Memphis Wrestling territory was renamed eventually is running

2065
02:39:05.360 --> 02:39:09.639
strong and much like when Dusty was
seeking an opponent to draw with on the

2066
02:39:09.680 --> 02:39:13.280
Indies, kind of post the spotlight, seeking an opponent rather to get his

2067
02:39:13.399 --> 02:39:16.440
son over in the PWF company that
he found it after leaving the NWA and

2068
02:39:16.479 --> 02:39:20.440
the WWF with Jerry Lawler in his
USWA, Who you're going to call,

2069
02:39:20.559 --> 02:39:26.200
boss when it comes time to pop
a house in your respective territory? You

2070
02:39:26.319 --> 02:39:30.440
got to call the Funker under the
bright lights of Vince's you know, and

2071
02:39:30.559 --> 02:39:33.440
the WCW's hegemony in the business.
Yes, you do call the Funker,

2072
02:39:33.920 --> 02:39:39.440
And you open disc seventeen and you
go to two O three forty four,

2073
02:39:39.360 --> 02:39:43.639
in which on October eighth, nineteen
ninety in the USWA, the Funker returns

2074
02:39:43.680 --> 02:39:48.280
to Memphis to get back at Jerry
Lawler after all these years, almost a

2075
02:39:48.319 --> 02:39:52.239
full decade after they had if I'm
not mistaken, after they had last touched

2076
02:39:52.440 --> 02:39:56.200
in the city Terry Funk and Jerry
Lawler are back at each other's throats in

2077
02:39:56.280 --> 02:40:00.479
the nineties, and it's a different
it's a different look in a differ field,

2078
02:40:00.520 --> 02:40:03.079
but in so many ways it's still
a quintessential Lawler versus Funk. Blood

2079
02:40:03.120 --> 02:40:07.319
less than hatred. So when you're
ready, I am very much ready.

2080
02:40:07.600 --> 02:40:13.719
I am ready. That's at play
in three two one, play the funker

2081
02:40:15.239 --> 02:40:22.799
candy, you know, wine champion
Lawler because I am meaner than our rattlesnake,

2082
02:40:24.760 --> 02:40:30.040
tougher than shoe leather, else stagerous
in a hollow. I'd sport man.

2083
02:40:30.600 --> 02:40:35.719
Can I can't take you? Can
eighty five of these morons on here

2084
02:40:37.280 --> 02:40:46.840
and beat you all at once.
Get a joy pass three notch if you

2085
02:40:46.959 --> 02:40:50.200
will from Terry Funk. Who's now, where's fun going? He's going up

2086
02:40:50.680 --> 02:40:58.360
a leaner nineties funk here? Yep, it's in the people rampaging around trying

2087
02:40:58.360 --> 02:41:00.559
to get that old school heat.
One guys at his face, this guy

2088
02:41:00.639 --> 02:41:07.799
means business him looking at him,
he's piste. The reference turned around and

2089
02:41:07.799 --> 02:41:11.879
saw the bow tie Lawler with a
very ninety splash of color on the Singlet

2090
02:41:15.799 --> 02:41:26.559
I know it's get those streaks,
Yeah, yeah, the bumb equipment still

2091
02:41:28.000 --> 02:41:31.520
still vestiges of the old Memphis audience. He just threw a chair at the

2092
02:41:31.559 --> 02:41:41.600
cameraman. Yeah, so Funk had
come us w WA heavyweight champion. That

2093
02:41:41.760 --> 02:41:45.040
that title we passed around like crazy. I remember Lawler like basically claimed to

2094
02:41:45.079 --> 02:41:48.719
have won it, like thirty something
times. Undertaker won it. I remember

2095
02:41:48.799 --> 02:41:54.680
that when they were walking together.
Papa Shango Laila would just be in the

2096
02:41:54.719 --> 02:41:56.440
u s w A and just take
on anybody he could get for a you

2097
02:41:56.479 --> 02:41:58.559
know, a moment in time.
This is the same us w A were

2098
02:41:58.600 --> 02:42:03.040
vinced first he'll turn in ninety four, right right, So Terry Funk's in

2099
02:42:03.079 --> 02:42:07.040
the ring. Redman Tobacco sponsoring this
USWA broadcast, as the center of the

2100
02:42:07.159 --> 02:42:11.600
ring indicates collar and elbow tie up
now, And this is the same way

2101
02:42:11.600 --> 02:42:15.840
they started the empty arena magic Yeah
right, it's right back. It's like

2102
02:42:15.959 --> 02:42:18.399
riding a bike with these two man. Funk throwing big lefts over the back

2103
02:42:18.440 --> 02:42:24.040
of the referee and then stumbles of
course through. Oh he freaked out the

2104
02:42:24.079 --> 02:42:26.360
front row on that one. Who's
that guy. I'm pretty sure that's Scott

2105
02:42:26.399 --> 02:42:35.159
Levy. I think that's Raven.
Wow, that's embarrassing, just standing there

2106
02:42:35.200 --> 02:42:39.520
with his arms folded watching the match. Fun climbs back in now and it's

2107
02:42:39.559 --> 02:42:41.719
like old times. It's just like
here we go. You know what to

2108
02:42:41.760 --> 02:42:46.319
do. It's Funk Lawler. It
worked in you know, front of twelve

2109
02:42:46.360 --> 02:42:48.959
thousand in Mid South Coliseum. It's
going to work here in the smaller building.

2110
02:42:50.000 --> 02:42:54.159
Looks big. What's that reface?
Tall? Yeah? Ano the ring?

2111
02:42:54.239 --> 02:42:56.680
Oh, the ring? Yeah,
yeah, it doesn't look like your

2112
02:42:58.079 --> 02:43:03.840
typical you know, twelve by twelve. Yeah. Order. Terry Funk is

2113
02:43:03.879 --> 02:43:07.479
the wild man from the Double Cross. Yeah, Funk looks different now.

2114
02:43:07.520 --> 02:43:13.680
He's kind of got like a he
he looks like the love child of Jake

2115
02:43:13.840 --> 02:43:18.559
Roberts and al Snow. Yeah,
very good. First whip and Funk takes

2116
02:43:18.559 --> 02:43:20.280
the buckle and then throws his body
over the ropes as best he can.

2117
02:43:24.639 --> 02:43:28.399
This is when he started doing the
the stringy hair look. Yes, very

2118
02:43:28.479 --> 02:43:35.600
much so. Alther has gotten rid
of the concerning go tee. There's nothing

2119
02:43:35.680 --> 02:43:45.079
more like suggestive of law I mean
you know very well what he's after when

2120
02:43:45.120 --> 02:43:48.959
he has that go tee. Absolutely
all right, clockwork earns three ways yeah,

2121
02:43:50.159 --> 02:44:03.479
yeah, just like just hedonism,
right, like curlicular so Funk hatches

2122
02:44:03.520 --> 02:44:05.680
up to Lawler, throws him on
the floor, raising hell on the outside

2123
02:44:05.680 --> 02:44:11.280
of the ring. Now boom,
Lawler's head right into the post holding up

2124
02:44:11.280 --> 02:44:18.840
the ringside ropes. Arry, see
look at that, Look at that lady

2125
02:44:18.920 --> 02:44:24.159
up screaming. Still a little bit
of that Memphis spirit left in me to

2126
02:44:24.280 --> 02:44:31.159
make you left over? Absolutely ooh
funk DDT's Lawler on the floor and it

2127
02:44:31.280 --> 02:44:37.840
made a nice sound. Look at
him, think kicking the camera guy,

2128
02:44:41.479 --> 02:44:45.399
just raising hell everywhere he goes.
And this is Terry Funk's existence. Now

2129
02:44:45.920 --> 02:44:48.360
he'll come down, there'll be you
know, four hundred people there. He

2130
02:44:48.360 --> 02:44:50.399
doesn't give a fuck. That's Terry
Funk in the nineties. Just give me

2131
02:44:50.440 --> 02:44:54.719
a payday exactly. So you know, I want to make sure the check

2132
02:44:54.799 --> 02:44:56.280
clearers don't want to have any of
them rubber checks. I want I hadn't

2133
02:44:56.319 --> 02:45:00.239
made the town, and I want
to have made the town, and you

2134
02:45:00.319 --> 02:45:05.360
made sure the checks were it made
a rubber right as she does. Every

2135
02:45:05.399 --> 02:45:11.559
wrestler needs someone on payroll to make
sure the checks aren't rubber right, screaming

2136
02:45:11.600 --> 02:45:20.920
as the fight enters the people,
it's like they're not doing a hell of

2137
02:45:20.959 --> 02:45:24.959
a lot, but they're just like, no, they're just humming into each

2138
02:45:24.959 --> 02:45:30.079
other. Yeah, this is the
Memphis brawl, This is the Memphis style.

2139
02:45:30.239 --> 02:45:35.440
This is the building blocks of really
what ECW was, right because,

2140
02:45:35.520 --> 02:45:39.319
as we'll talk about, particularly when
we get to the stage where we talk

2141
02:45:39.360 --> 02:45:43.479
about Terry Funk ushering in the entire
existence of ECW, which is kind of

2142
02:45:43.520 --> 02:45:48.920
a career accomplishment. Yeah, it
was based on Eddie Gilbert's obsession with how

2143
02:45:48.319 --> 02:45:52.600
the Memphis territory would book angles and
do brawls, and Eddie Gilbert was the

2144
02:45:52.639 --> 02:45:58.719
original booker for Todd Gordon. The
original ECW, it was called Eastern Championship

2145
02:45:58.719 --> 02:46:01.639
Wrestling, And in fact, the
Funk Lawler Feuders are about to find out

2146
02:46:03.639 --> 02:46:07.399
was brought to that part of the
country in the early nineties when Todd Gordon

2147
02:46:07.520 --> 02:46:13.239
was getting his first germinations of an
idea of doing a Northeast based independent promotion.

2148
02:46:16.520 --> 02:46:18.719
And so in a weird way,
what we were seeing with Lawler and

2149
02:46:18.799 --> 02:46:22.040
Funk here is not just them epitomizing
what it meant to go against each other,

2150
02:46:22.399 --> 02:46:28.600
but a style that would define wrestling
in the nineties. Inasmuch as you

2151
02:46:28.639 --> 02:46:33.280
consider what ECW did differently defining I
mean, that's pretty that's pretty remarkable.

2152
02:46:33.760 --> 02:46:35.840
And we know it's Funk, that
doesn't I mean, Funk is there,

2153
02:46:35.559 --> 02:46:41.040
he's at the vanguard for ECW.
Meanwhile Lawler is ddt'd Funk in with chair

2154
02:46:41.120 --> 02:46:46.280
and Funk scrambled out of the ring
and now Lawler is choking him the ringside,

2155
02:46:46.600 --> 02:46:58.760
retaining rope. Sa fucking Now.
You know, I always look around

2156
02:46:58.079 --> 02:47:05.280
and perverted mind. I'm always wondering
how many of these fans went back and

2157
02:47:05.600 --> 02:47:13.760
just got fucked and had sex,
Like who who here? Was? Is

2158
02:47:13.840 --> 02:47:18.639
like so turned on by this and
just is like feeling really really hot,

2159
02:47:22.680 --> 02:47:26.959
wanting to just fucking get drilled.
God help us. Well, Funk just

2160
02:47:26.040 --> 02:47:31.280
got drilled down onto the ringside anounced
table and again tables right chairs, Yeah,

2161
02:47:33.319 --> 02:47:37.280
oh my god. A funk seated
on a table, picks up a

2162
02:47:37.360 --> 02:47:39.680
chair, throws it up in the
air to try to catch Lawla behind him.

2163
02:47:39.680 --> 02:47:45.000
It lands on his own head.
Yeah, just tossing chairs, being

2164
02:47:45.079 --> 02:47:50.799
choked with cables. He's it's like, the the amount of I don't,

2165
02:47:50.920 --> 02:47:56.159
I don't know he I imagine he
must have had some inkling of you know,

2166
02:47:56.360 --> 02:48:00.760
not hurting people with the weapons,
but the way he loss his stuff.

2167
02:48:01.159 --> 02:48:07.360
Yes, without really looking like he
has any concern is unbelievable. Yeah,

2168
02:48:07.399 --> 02:48:11.040
he couldn't possibly know, like if
he's going to hit somebody because he

2169
02:48:11.040 --> 02:48:13.879
doesn't look. Yeah. Back in
the ring, a long are off the

2170
02:48:13.920 --> 02:48:16.280
rope knocks Fun out of the ring
again. Funk has got in and out

2171
02:48:16.319 --> 02:48:22.399
of this ring forcibly about forty five
times. In this match, Funk again

2172
02:48:22.559 --> 02:48:28.360
lays splay on the table. Christ
what a what A? What a champ?

2173
02:48:28.639 --> 02:48:31.760
So of course, just like what
six seven months after he piledro flare

2174
02:48:31.799 --> 02:48:37.719
on the table in the NWA.
Oh what do we got? What is

2175
02:48:37.799 --> 02:48:43.520
that? It's like styrofoam, a
canvas or some sort of board. Yeah,

2176
02:48:43.520 --> 02:48:46.200
it looks like a canvas like you
paint with. Oh Funk. Oh.

2177
02:48:46.840 --> 02:48:50.920
E Laller gets it and absolutely obliterates
it over Terry Funk's head. It's

2178
02:48:52.000 --> 02:48:56.159
kind of like when he crowned Warrior
with the piece of art inninety six.

2179
02:48:56.760 --> 02:49:00.319
Whiler covers after that big shot and
gets two and this is E. C

2180
02:49:00.559 --> 02:49:03.920
W coming. You know, it's
just a little hints of it. Referee

2181
02:49:03.920 --> 02:49:09.079
did absolutely nothing when Jerry Lawler smashed
that thing over his head. Memories in

2182
02:49:09.479 --> 02:49:15.239
He's in Jerry's pocket. That's right, I'm still coming alive. Ducksta larryed

2183
02:49:15.280 --> 02:49:18.959
and hooks a middle ring sleeper hold
on the king. King is fading here

2184
02:49:20.000 --> 02:49:28.239
in the us W. A referee
is like in side, Yes, close

2185
02:49:28.239 --> 02:49:30.479
as well. He said he's in
his pocket, right, He's trying to

2186
02:49:30.520 --> 02:49:35.680
take that literally. Lawler dropped to
two knees in this sleeper. Funcus,

2187
02:49:35.159 --> 02:49:43.799
can I have some cash? I
want to had and put this pig to

2188
02:49:43.879 --> 02:49:52.840
sleep. I put the pig to
sleep and had a Memphis biscuit. Jerry

2189
02:49:52.920 --> 02:50:00.440
with his creepy Memphis breakfast diners like
Colin moment at the diner's Sweetheart. He

2190
02:50:00.520 --> 02:50:03.440
has his own table. Yep,
God help us. He has to have

2191
02:50:03.600 --> 02:50:07.879
two and a half fried eggs.
Can't do three, won't do two,

2192
02:50:09.000 --> 02:50:13.200
has to do two and a half. Gravy Oh yes, yes, he

2193
02:50:13.360 --> 02:50:18.280
likes to have right. He likes
to have the home fries with gravy on

2194
02:50:18.399 --> 02:50:26.559
them. And he likes to have
two different pieces of toast. Speaking of

2195
02:50:26.639 --> 02:50:30.120
which, he just almost had his
arm drop three times in the sleeper of

2196
02:50:30.159 --> 02:50:33.159
the funker, but was able to
hold up. Still fight left in the

2197
02:50:33.239 --> 02:50:37.280
King here in nineteen ninety and you
know What the best thing is too,

2198
02:50:37.360 --> 02:50:43.120
is he never actually finishes it,
all right, He always leaves the same

2199
02:50:43.120 --> 02:50:46.319
amount uneaten. Yeah, he always
hit the same amount. He gets two

2200
02:50:46.319 --> 02:50:50.000
and a half eggs and he leaves. He leaves like one whole egg.

2201
02:50:50.440 --> 02:50:54.280
There he writes down the tip on
the receipt and then he writes a heart

2202
02:50:54.360 --> 02:50:58.479
on it. Yep for the sweetheart. Oh, depend on who it is

2203
02:50:58.639 --> 02:51:03.079
leaves his number. He may leave
his number. That is definitely raven.

2204
02:51:03.280 --> 02:51:05.120
Look at him, you looked right
at you, idiot. Just what you

2205
02:51:05.239 --> 02:51:09.760
weren't expecting. On the lapsed funk, just what I didn't need. Speaking

2206
02:51:09.760 --> 02:51:15.200
of VCW, there's a raven like
it's all coming together as the eighties become

2207
02:51:15.239 --> 02:51:18.239
the nineties. Here backdrop on the
pile driver. Attemp Terry Funk hits the

2208
02:51:18.280 --> 02:51:22.479
canvas and now it's the king looking
up the pile driver. Oh, and

2209
02:51:22.559 --> 02:51:30.159
he spikes Funk tough drops him down. This must not be in Tennessee,

2210
02:51:30.200 --> 02:51:31.600
the ring announcers making reference to the
fact that the pile driver, of course

2211
02:51:31.680 --> 02:51:35.959
illegal in Tennessee. We know this
from the Kerry von Eric eighty eight SuperClash

2212
02:51:35.040 --> 02:51:39.280
match. We're not in Tennessee,
apparently because that's two in a row from

2213
02:51:39.280 --> 02:51:46.040
the King. Maybe we're an amarilla, perhaps cover by Jerry. After two

2214
02:51:46.159 --> 02:51:48.360
and no, he holds up.
He doesn't want to pin Funk yet,

2215
02:51:48.200 --> 02:51:52.079
he wants to put the final nail
in this coffin. So even in a

2216
02:51:52.159 --> 02:51:56.959
no DQ match, the the pile
driver would be illegal, No DQ,

2217
02:51:56.120 --> 02:51:58.840
it's legal. He did it to
like Kaufman for example, although I wonder

2218
02:51:58.840 --> 02:52:05.239
if the Coffin match made it illegal. Another one, cover one, two,

2219
02:52:05.440 --> 02:52:11.000
and Funk like seventy six gets his
foot on the rope because it's fucking

2220
02:52:11.079 --> 02:52:20.840
general East. Lawler missed the fist, sure did back up. Now Funk

2221
02:52:20.879 --> 02:52:24.520
throwing the lefts. I love the
way he throws those punches, man.

2222
02:52:24.719 --> 02:52:28.639
Yep, it's like over the top
a piston like. Funk has removed some

2223
02:52:28.719 --> 02:52:31.280
of the tape from his wrist and
he's choking Lawler with it. God damn

2224
02:52:31.280 --> 02:52:41.719
it. Ref Irish whips. Referee
Tony Falk runs him over with a clothes

2225
02:52:41.760 --> 02:52:45.159
line. That's the Funker right though
I'm looking at he's fucking beating on him.

2226
02:52:46.120 --> 02:52:48.879
A ref pissed him off, so
now he's gonna fuck the ref up.

2227
02:52:48.319 --> 02:52:52.319
Yep, just push him over.
He's gonna stomp his head. Oh,

2228
02:52:52.920 --> 02:52:56.600
Lawlin from behind rolls up Terry Funk. No reugh account, brother,

2229
02:52:58.000 --> 02:53:01.520
Why is he rolling up? Terry? What rolling me up? Brother?

2230
02:53:01.559 --> 02:53:05.879
They concerned in the nineties. Back
Duck underneath Waller with the downtown right hand.

2231
02:53:05.959 --> 02:53:07.879
Funk stumbles again. Yeah, he
fucking falls out of the ring.

2232
02:53:11.319 --> 02:53:13.319
Funk is liable to spill out of
the ring at any moment in any match.

2233
02:53:15.879 --> 02:53:18.200
How it's back to the eighty one
steps because it's a count out victory

2234
02:53:18.280 --> 02:53:24.920
here for for the king. Oh, actually, I think referee Tony Fox

2235
02:53:24.959 --> 02:53:28.719
is clearing the laller of the victory
due to just qualification. Funk just attacked

2236
02:53:28.719 --> 02:53:37.000
the ship up because he got beat
up, like that's lame free, explaining

2237
02:53:37.040 --> 02:53:41.239
that Lawler does not win the championship. Funk throws a chair in the ring

2238
02:53:41.319 --> 02:53:43.399
and Tony Fowk has to block it
with the belt. They have Funk throw

2239
02:53:43.559 --> 02:53:48.159
chairs, speaking of ec W,
He's just like see again, that's just

2240
02:53:48.239 --> 02:53:52.440
it, Like you you really get
a fend for yourself. He's yeah,

2241
02:53:52.479 --> 02:53:54.959
the chairs coming, you better be
ready. He's lowing them, you know,

2242
02:53:56.239 --> 02:54:01.479
right, Oh, Laila reciprocate and
scares the ship and his little kid

2243
02:54:03.440 --> 02:54:11.079
threatened to reciprocate ye security active at
ringside. It's another example of how they

2244
02:54:11.159 --> 02:54:13.959
brought the chaos into the nineties.
This christ, let's go to Disc eighteen,

2245
02:54:15.479 --> 02:54:18.639
the SKA teen. It's gonna take
us to a promotion called the Tri

2246
02:54:18.760 --> 02:54:20.600
State Wrestling Alliance the t w A. Have I ever talked to you about

2247
02:54:20.639 --> 02:54:26.799
the t w A before? No? No, Is this the audience Lumberjack

2248
02:54:26.879 --> 02:54:33.840
match? Sure is. We're starting
right at the beginning with the fucking WrestleMania

2249
02:54:33.879 --> 02:54:39.319
one for Nintendo Graphics. It's gonna
say, it looks like someone fucking we

2250
02:54:39.479 --> 02:54:50.319
got eight bit graphics here, dude, dude, So it's the t w

2251
02:54:50.520 --> 02:55:05.799
A. Dude, dude. Pom
Pom Pom Pom Pom king yep, Arch

2252
02:55:05.840 --> 02:55:11.040
second, nineteen ninety one, play
in three two one play. A promoter

2253
02:55:11.120 --> 02:55:15.399
by the name of Joel Goodheart started
the Tri State Wrestling Alliance based out of

2254
02:55:15.399 --> 02:55:18.479
Philadelphia in nineteen and ninety. I
believe it was, and it was.

2255
02:55:18.760 --> 02:55:24.479
It was truly the precursor to e
c W. Like literally, this kind

2256
02:55:24.479 --> 02:55:28.959
of looks like the ECW Arena in
Philly. It's actually a different building called

2257
02:55:28.000 --> 02:55:33.559
Penn Hall that was a bit more
spacious had a little more ringside area between

2258
02:55:33.600 --> 02:55:37.799
the rail and the ring. But
it just looks like ECW already, doesn't

2259
02:55:37.799 --> 02:55:39.920
it. Yeah, it does,
It definitely does. It's like it's not

2260
02:55:41.840 --> 02:55:52.280
like a real arena. It looks
almost thanks. Oh even some pyro they

2261
02:55:52.319 --> 02:55:56.479
set off there. Oh they spent
the big bucks. So the King comes

2262
02:55:56.520 --> 02:56:01.760
out to Philly now or TWA winter
a challenge too? What am a loser?

2263
02:56:07.360 --> 02:56:13.479
So the feud has gone from Memphis
to Florida now to Philly, and

2264
02:56:13.559 --> 02:56:16.559
it's kind of a weird thing.
The legend of the Terry Funk Jerry Lawler

2265
02:56:16.680 --> 02:56:20.799
Memphis brawl style match and feud is
that Jimmy Garvin and the ring announcers.

2266
02:56:22.920 --> 02:56:26.559
No, that's promoter Joel Goodheart,
it's them. I don't know. I

2267
02:56:26.559 --> 02:56:33.520
think it's Jimmy Garvin, take your
pick future ECW referee in there, as

2268
02:56:33.559 --> 02:56:39.399
well as e TDWA in the apron. Yeah. And so if you think

2269
02:56:39.399 --> 02:56:45.399
of ECW as a Philadelphia based wrestling
operation, I mean it's truly the outgrowth

2270
02:56:45.440 --> 02:56:48.799
of TWA. They were really Joel
Goodheart was really the first to see like

2271
02:56:48.840 --> 02:56:52.200
a circuit like this based in Philly. A lot of these fans, you

2272
02:56:52.239 --> 02:56:56.639
see here would become the ECW Arena
regulars. Wow. And this is Terry

2273
02:56:56.719 --> 02:57:01.360
Funk with bulldog brower leading him to
the ring of all people. Excuse me,

2274
02:57:03.079 --> 02:57:07.000
old grizzled letter, the old grizzled
veteran, I should say, old

2275
02:57:07.079 --> 02:57:18.840
grizzled letcher is what it is?
Oh, this is the dark Funker.

2276
02:57:18.879 --> 02:57:22.000
He's got like black leather head to
toe now and it looks like one of

2277
02:57:22.000 --> 02:57:28.200
the blackjacks, really does. I's
cut the stringy hair in the back too.

2278
02:57:30.399 --> 02:57:39.559
It's like the roadhouse haircut, just
without the volume. Yep, jaw

2279
02:57:39.680 --> 02:57:43.760
jacking with some ring siders. Is
Terry Funk is And I'm making a guest

2280
02:57:43.799 --> 02:57:52.040
appearance as the camera operator on THEO
A side of the ring. There Terry

2281
02:57:52.079 --> 02:57:56.479
Funk enters the ring. So this
is it's it's really interesting. It's like

2282
02:57:58.920 --> 02:58:01.959
the Funk lollard thing is now a
decade old, so it's legendary enough that

2283
02:58:03.040 --> 02:58:09.360
it's actually a draw on the US
independence. Like nobody in Philly saw this

2284
02:58:09.360 --> 02:58:13.079
stuff when it happened. Nobody what
belt has he got? I could not

2285
02:58:13.159 --> 02:58:20.319
tell you that all are and some
neon green man in case you forgot it

2286
02:58:20.399 --> 02:58:26.520
was the nineties. I mean Jesus
Christ. Think casew had these color ropes

2287
02:58:26.520 --> 02:58:31.959
too, with it a getting blue, yellow and red the sky the sky

2288
02:58:31.040 --> 02:58:37.920
blue, but the light blue canvas. Yeah, it's white. That's blue,

2289
02:58:37.159 --> 02:58:41.680
white and red some red white and
blue I guess is not yellow.

2290
02:58:41.680 --> 02:58:45.559
You're right. Yeah, So Jill
Goodheart's talking to Funk. We can't quite

2291
02:58:45.600 --> 02:59:15.840
hear him. Oh my god,
that's an eacy w chat right there,

2292
02:59:15.920 --> 02:59:20.239
the Terry chat. Yep. So
that's saying something too. We have yet

2293
02:59:20.280 --> 02:59:24.440
to see a Funk Lawler match with
the people are going Terry Terry, Are

2294
02:59:24.520 --> 02:59:28.399
we have we not at all?
No, they take it to Philly and

2295
02:59:28.440 --> 02:59:37.200
they see something different right at twas
at the old NWA logo on the side

2296
02:59:37.399 --> 02:59:43.600
before a cool one on the apron. Yeah. And it's interesting because not

2297
02:59:43.680 --> 02:59:46.840
only would Terry Funk be kind of
as we're hearing embrace like the baby face

2298
02:59:46.879 --> 02:59:52.600
when they took this few to Philadelphia, but Cherry Lawler one of the biggest

2299
02:59:52.600 --> 02:59:56.639
fucking heels to the ECW audience when
he showed up in ninety seven to work

2300
02:59:56.680 --> 03:00:00.239
that short program with Tommy Dreamer and
was calling it extremely crappy wrestling. Remember,

2301
03:00:00.440 --> 03:00:05.000
Hey, there's Lad, I remember
that Lad. Unbelievable. Go to

2302
03:00:05.239 --> 03:00:09.319
wa I didn't know he went to
that level down there and taking the Amtrak

2303
03:00:09.440 --> 03:00:24.120
down a phil must l sounds and
we are underway. Also in Winter Challenge

2304
03:00:24.159 --> 03:00:28.840
to this card here in nineteen ninety
one. Yeah, the Chikh versus Abdullah

2305
03:00:28.840 --> 03:00:35.520
the Butcher. I'm glad they're pushing
the new guys and Nick Boley, Cactus

2306
03:00:35.639 --> 03:00:39.360
Jack, Pinzetti Gilbert in the Falls
count Anywhere match. Jesus, this is

2307
03:00:41.120 --> 03:00:46.280
Terry Funk and Nick Foley sharing a
locker room for pretty much the first time,

2308
03:00:48.760 --> 03:00:54.639
and again sharing in that Philly street
fight ECW style ethos from even before

2309
03:00:54.680 --> 03:00:58.760
the existence of ECW. It's a
locker room that has kind of the same

2310
03:00:58.799 --> 03:01:01.559
spirit to it. Yeah, block
up in the right hand. Funk sends

2311
03:01:03.000 --> 03:01:05.680
sent through the ropes to the floor, and the lumberjacks are all over Terry

2312
03:01:05.680 --> 03:01:07.120
Funk and he's swinging on him.
You better believe he's swinging on him.

2313
03:01:09.840 --> 03:01:13.680
The lumberjacks don't appear to be wrestlers, well, they actually they are there.

2314
03:01:13.719 --> 03:01:16.399
It's audience. It said that in
the opening thing. It's an audience

2315
03:01:16.719 --> 03:01:22.879
lumberjack match. I don't know if
that's how legit that is. It seems

2316
03:01:22.000 --> 03:01:26.200
very unsafe, but I guess J. T. Smith in there, who

2317
03:01:26.399 --> 03:01:41.079
was the early Babyfaces in Philly of
ECW's predecessor companies. Funks back out with

2318
03:01:41.159 --> 03:01:52.280
the people calling for a time out. Terry picks one fan in particular,

2319
03:01:52.360 --> 03:01:56.079
to go right up to him get
in his faith. Of course, the

2320
03:01:56.200 --> 03:02:00.879
Lumberjacks start hassling Funk again, trying
to pushing back in the ring, and

2321
03:02:00.920 --> 03:02:11.040
they succeed. Funk comes up kicking
the ropes, furious they've succeeded in forcing

2322
03:02:11.120 --> 03:02:16.239
him back into the fray. He's
just tremendous. Also, Ivan Cola,

2323
03:02:16.360 --> 03:02:20.520
first Manny the raging Bill Fernandez on
this card. So we're just picking up

2324
03:02:20.520 --> 03:02:33.840
all the all stars all over the
mic. Not sure what he said,

2325
03:02:33.879 --> 03:02:41.360
but it's probably an insult to the
people of Philadelphia. Probably doesn't matter anyway,

2326
03:02:43.840 --> 03:02:46.920
Coler and Elbow to the corner now, Funk just a different vibe about

2327
03:02:46.959 --> 03:02:50.479
this one. I don't know.
It's not an audience full of people looking

2328
03:02:50.520 --> 03:02:54.040
for the lawl or comeback. No, I mean, we're talking about angry

2329
03:02:54.079 --> 03:03:01.360
wrestling fans here in Philadelphia. The
Terry chance a right hand it again.

2330
03:03:01.399 --> 03:03:03.559
Funk through the ropes. No,
but this time he slid back in because

2331
03:03:03.559 --> 03:03:07.959
he doesn't want anything to do with
the lumberjacks. That takes a tool out

2332
03:03:07.959 --> 03:03:26.319
of Terry Funk's toolbox that he can't
bump to the floor. Oller sucks.

2333
03:03:26.440 --> 03:03:31.920
Chance, what a different world that's
becoming. Ah, I fucking love it.

2334
03:03:33.760 --> 03:03:37.920
It's Funk sending Lawlor sailing through the
ropes to the floor. The lumberjacks

2335
03:03:37.959 --> 03:03:41.079
immediately on the king, loading his
neon ass back on the apron, and

2336
03:03:41.159 --> 03:03:45.680
Funks standing on an old Look at
Funk. He can't the man can't stand

2337
03:03:45.719 --> 03:03:48.520
on his feet for a second.
He's upside down half the time. Of

2338
03:03:48.600 --> 03:04:05.840
course, Oh, Funker throws him
to the floor again, and Lawler preemptively

2339
03:04:05.920 --> 03:04:09.959
tried to pie face one of the
lumberjacks on his way into the railing back

2340
03:04:11.040 --> 03:04:13.239
in, and now Funk going out? What's he doing? Always that's EACW

2341
03:04:13.399 --> 03:04:18.120
guy right there, that's the hat
guy. Yeah, the Hawaiian shirt,

2342
03:04:18.159 --> 03:04:20.440
always in the front row. So
look at this, the raw material here

2343
03:04:20.920 --> 03:04:28.159
of ECW. Fascinating times due it
really is. It's amazing, It is

2344
03:04:28.200 --> 03:04:41.920
amazing. But of course it was
before anybody would consider themselves full time twa.

2345
03:04:41.079 --> 03:04:45.879
You know, it wasn't enough of
a circuit where you worked reliably just

2346
03:04:45.920 --> 03:04:48.639
for this outfit. It was one
of several indies that guys like Lawler and

2347
03:04:48.719 --> 03:04:54.639
Funk would take, you know,
shots in based on their schedules. There's

2348
03:04:54.680 --> 03:04:58.639
Funk going to work, spinning around, dropping to his knees, taking the

2349
03:04:58.719 --> 03:05:07.719
barrel of closed fists from the king
ladder opressed by Lawler gets too, Funk

2350
03:05:07.799 --> 03:05:11.079
kicking out with such impact that Lawler
hit the floor and the lumberjacks do their

2351
03:05:11.120 --> 03:05:16.000
part. It's extremely easy, and
in fact, they load Lawla right into

2352
03:05:16.000 --> 03:05:18.920
the waiting clutches of Terry Fun.
And you better believe it's legal in the

2353
03:05:20.000 --> 03:05:24.079
City of Brotherly Love cover by Cherry
two. Now Lawler gets his foot on

2354
03:05:24.079 --> 03:05:26.319
the rope like a bitch. I
he ain't putting his foot on the rope

2355
03:05:26.319 --> 03:05:33.959
in Memphis, I'll tell you that
way. Funk looks so lean. I

2356
03:05:35.120 --> 03:05:41.159
know, it's very weird. All
those episodes ago, he talked about how

2357
03:05:43.120 --> 03:05:48.280
wacky he would get a fear about
having a cardiac episode like his dad.

2358
03:05:48.760 --> 03:05:52.120
Yeah, yeah, that's so scared
of it. One time he had a

2359
03:05:52.159 --> 03:06:01.479
panic attack, ended up in the
emergency room. H Funk basically crossing himself

2360
03:06:01.479 --> 03:06:05.680
across the top rope so he can
stand on Jerry Lawler with both feet as

2361
03:06:05.680 --> 03:06:13.600
a Lawler seeks refuge under the bottom
rope. It's like Terry Funk, second

2362
03:06:13.639 --> 03:06:26.680
Bulldog Brower is even getting some cheap
shots in on the King, all their

2363
03:06:26.760 --> 03:06:35.840
tries rolling free and no, sir, not gonna happen. Come on,

2364
03:06:35.079 --> 03:06:58.079
funk it out of there, Come
on, Funk. I'd invite you to

2365
03:06:58.120 --> 03:07:03.559
consider that a Funk picks another fan
to start shoving lubber jacks, grab him

2366
03:07:03.559 --> 03:07:09.959
by the waist and pull him free. Even to considered, this is weeks

2367
03:07:09.000 --> 03:07:13.799
before Hogan faces slaughter in La.
Think about where we're at right now in

2368
03:07:13.840 --> 03:07:20.360
wrestling. Oh my god, that's
that's not fair to think this was going

2369
03:07:20.399 --> 03:07:26.680
on somewhere else in the country when
we were that age. Holy shit.

2370
03:07:26.159 --> 03:07:30.760
I can see myself picking up an
aftermag in ninety one and seeing like photo

2371
03:07:30.840 --> 03:07:35.639
spreads of this Jerry Lawler doing business. Oh yeah, and didn't you tell

2372
03:07:35.680 --> 03:07:41.440
me you became acquainted with Lawler from
PWI coverage. Yes, yeah, yeah,

2373
03:07:41.600 --> 03:07:50.959
I was. That's that's primarily where
I learned about him, because I,

2374
03:07:52.040 --> 03:07:56.440
well, I should say, yeah, like I he first appeared to

2375
03:07:56.559 --> 03:08:03.040
me on on WTV as he as
the ring announcer or and I am commentator

2376
03:08:03.600 --> 03:08:09.879
in late ninety two, but I
became familiar with him as a wrestler,

2377
03:08:11.159 --> 03:08:15.280
and I had no idea he was
a wrestler until I started reading PWI and

2378
03:08:16.200 --> 03:08:22.360
specifically I got to learn about those
bloody brawls with the Moondogs. Yes,

2379
03:08:24.360 --> 03:08:28.760
I just remember being fascinated by like
the title wins that they would list that

2380
03:08:28.799 --> 03:08:31.879
he'd had and PW I in this, you know, because they put the

2381
03:08:31.959 --> 03:08:39.000
USWA rankings right next to the WWF
and ww rankings, and so endlessly curious

2382
03:08:39.040 --> 03:08:43.079
about this, this Jerry Lawler who
seemed to be wrestling these huge names.

2383
03:08:43.360 --> 03:08:52.840
Yeah, and this is Lawlor.
Kind of after it's clear that the gig

2384
03:08:52.920 --> 03:08:56.680
is up in the Memphis territory,
spreading his wings and taking paydays everywhere he

2385
03:08:56.719 --> 03:09:01.920
can get him. Yeah. The
apron Funk has run headfirst into the buckling

2386
03:09:01.959 --> 03:09:05.719
and collapses to the floor as Terry
Lawler, after landing a fist drop off

2387
03:09:05.760 --> 03:09:09.319
the ropes earlier, has taken firm
control of the contest. The Lumberjacks kind

2388
03:09:09.319 --> 03:09:13.600
of swarming around Terry Funk, but
looks like Bob Brower is keeping them mostly

2389
03:09:13.680 --> 03:09:20.440
away from his charge. Yeah,
psychology, there was involving bulldog Bob Brower

2390
03:09:20.479 --> 03:09:24.600
with Terry Funk. It's like making
Gary hardest manager in eighty nine. It's

2391
03:09:24.639 --> 03:09:26.840
like, sorry, Terry Funk doesn't
need any help on the stick. Okay,

2392
03:09:26.879 --> 03:09:30.520
he doesn't need a second No,
I know he doesn't, right,

2393
03:09:30.600 --> 03:09:48.680
what do they I don't understand what
they're thinking with that? Can hear all

2394
03:09:48.680 --> 03:09:54.799
those East Coast accents that the cameras
are picking out? No Lawler running start

2395
03:09:56.159 --> 03:09:58.959
right hand to the to the chin
of Funk, who hangs on to the

2396
03:09:58.000 --> 03:10:03.520
top rope with one hand and teetering
trying to prevent himself from crashing down to

2397
03:10:03.600 --> 03:10:13.920
the concrete, saying teetering. Oh, could have been teeto wing too.

2398
03:10:16.040 --> 03:10:22.079
I said, whoa Oh, Refri
had fucking waffled and errant left from a

2399
03:10:22.159 --> 03:10:28.280
wild swinging Terry Funk puts the official
down. I think that's not Jim Malino,

2400
03:10:30.040 --> 03:10:33.520
John Finnegan. I think through the
ropes to the floor goes uh Bawler

2401
03:10:33.600 --> 03:10:39.520
Brower gets a cheap shot in on
the King, could then pick him up

2402
03:10:39.520 --> 03:10:45.600
like a hammock. Oh, Jerry
Lawler planking at ringside will Terry Funk just

2403
03:10:45.639 --> 03:10:56.159
continues stomping the US Christ referees out
cold and Funks stomping his head. The

2404
03:10:56.280 --> 03:11:03.680
fucking Terry Wrestling alliance. That right
now Terry over at Lawler choking him aggressively

2405
03:11:03.760 --> 03:11:11.399
with a belt. He's got him
dog collared here, lumberjacks trying to pick

2406
03:11:11.479 --> 03:11:13.639
up Jerry Lawler's feet to prevent him
from hanging to death here in Philly.

2407
03:11:15.920 --> 03:11:18.040
And look at this. Funk's trying
to get over the ropes to go after

2408
03:11:18.159 --> 03:11:24.239
Lawler and the lumberjacks like crowdsurfing.
He's now on the floor and he is.

2409
03:11:24.239 --> 03:11:35.280
He's swinging. It's like a mad
animal again. Terry Funk back to

2410
03:11:35.399 --> 03:11:48.879
choking Jerry Lawler with this this belt
around his throat. That sounds to a

2411
03:11:50.000 --> 03:11:54.559
groan. Yeah, you can't do
that in this day and age. And

2412
03:11:54.639 --> 03:11:58.680
now it looks like Funk is choking
one of the lumberjacks with the belt while

2413
03:11:58.760 --> 03:12:05.159
Brower loads up Cherry Lawler or with
the right hand. That's a huge change

2414
03:12:05.200 --> 03:12:07.600
from Memphis in the eighties to Philly
in the nineties. Is they went from

2415
03:12:07.680 --> 03:12:13.000
going nuts when Lawler won by count
out in eighty one, didn't they say

2416
03:12:13.079 --> 03:12:16.000
the end? That's a big difference
from Memphis in the eighties to Philly in

2417
03:12:16.040 --> 03:12:18.559
the nineties. They went nuts for
Jerry Lawler winning by count out in eighty

2418
03:12:18.600 --> 03:12:24.479
one, oh for sure. And
here they are feeling a sense of no,

2419
03:12:24.600 --> 03:12:28.440
this is not what wrestling is going
to be. And pretty soon you're

2420
03:12:28.440 --> 03:12:33.120
going to see a ECW that has
absolutely notice qualifications or countouts to prevent this

2421
03:12:33.239 --> 03:12:37.399
kind of reaction. We're seeing it
in the Petrie Dish right now, if

2422
03:12:37.399 --> 03:12:45.399
you will, through the lens of
the Terry Funk Jerry Lawler feud later laid

2423
03:12:45.399 --> 03:12:48.559
out in the canvas, Brower hovering
over him, Lawler choking referees as if

2424
03:12:48.639 --> 03:12:52.440
that's going to do him any good
at all. At this point with a

2425
03:12:52.520 --> 03:13:13.920
belt, the Brower hoisting whatever belt
it was, the Terry Funk board of

2426
03:13:13.959 --> 03:13:16.760
the ring. Funk could care less. He's on the floor, swinging,

2427
03:13:18.280 --> 03:13:24.319
stumbling on chairs in the ring.
That's right, Come on, Jerry Lawler

2428
03:13:24.319 --> 03:13:26.680
a is still trying to collect himself
on his knees and look, oh,

2429
03:13:26.840 --> 03:13:33.000
Brower hit some of the belt,
bare lap, but hit him. It's

2430
03:13:33.040 --> 03:13:46.680
fucking chaos though. This is nuts. Yeah, there's just a feeling of

2431
03:13:46.760 --> 03:13:52.760
like, you know, like aggressive
male wrestling fans coming out to just scream.

2432
03:13:52.920 --> 03:14:00.079
You know, they're they're they're so
over whole comania. Wow, is

2433
03:14:00.079 --> 03:14:07.600
that what you're sensing? Fascinating points
This is that crowd. Terry Funk has

2434
03:14:07.639 --> 03:14:11.000
chased personnel up the aisleway as Jerry
Lawler finally gets back to his feet,

2435
03:14:11.079 --> 03:14:15.239
turns Brower around, hits him with
the belt and no one gives a fuck.

2436
03:14:15.399 --> 03:14:28.000
It's such a different Brower on his
knees, begging off Lawler throwing big

2437
03:14:28.120 --> 03:14:31.200
downtown right hands and yeah, the
people are making noise, but it's like,

2438
03:14:35.079 --> 03:14:46.399
ah, Funk throws another chair in
the ring of Lawler. Lawler's trying

2439
03:14:46.399 --> 03:14:48.719
to aim a chair to toss from
the ring, and Funk is using the

2440
03:14:50.000 --> 03:14:52.000
front row as a human shield.
Look at him? Is look at that

2441
03:14:54.840 --> 03:14:56.159
He jumps the rail and gets as
close to a bunch of little kids as

2442
03:14:56.200 --> 03:15:01.280
he can. That's the Funk.
It's kind of funny, like it's like

2443
03:15:01.440 --> 03:15:05.200
they're playing up Terry Funk is the
heel, but he's clearly not right.

2444
03:15:07.639 --> 03:15:11.559
Yeah that They clearly booked that sequence
of Lawla going after Brower as a baby

2445
03:15:11.600 --> 03:15:15.479
face pop for Jerry, and they
were just sort of like indifferent to it,

2446
03:15:16.639 --> 03:15:22.559
and there's Terry funk fist pumped up
in the front row getting a round

2447
03:15:22.559 --> 03:15:26.479
of applause because he created the chaos
and the fans know it. Yep.

2448
03:15:26.719 --> 03:15:31.319
The fans are now maturing to the
point that they can tell the difference between

2449
03:15:31.360 --> 03:15:35.280
who's playing support and who's actually leading
the dance and creating the most excitement.

2450
03:15:37.840 --> 03:15:41.159
And Lawler held up his end.
But you start to see this respect for

2451
03:15:41.239 --> 03:15:46.399
what Terry Funk does that's sort of
meta. It's a respect for what he's

2452
03:15:46.440 --> 03:15:50.239
doing, even as he does what
he always did tod be heel to be

2453
03:15:50.280 --> 03:15:56.000
a crazy heel. They're respecting him
for that game. So Lawler tosses another

2454
03:15:56.079 --> 03:15:58.360
chair to the floor, barely missing
Funk. Funk takes this chance, try

2455
03:15:58.399 --> 03:16:09.079
to slip in and Lawler shds another
cheer. Adam, It's not unlike any

2456
03:16:09.120 --> 03:16:11.639
heel that becomes a face in the
eyes of the fans over the years.

2457
03:16:11.680 --> 03:16:15.200
You know, it's like this guy's
been so good for so long and making

2458
03:16:15.239 --> 03:16:20.040
people hate him and creating a sense
of violence and excitement that we're going to

2459
03:16:20.079 --> 03:16:22.520
start to cheer for him. And
they're going nuts for Terry. Yep,

2460
03:16:24.399 --> 03:16:26.079
Terry's got his back. Against the
ringside wall with his arm up, and

2461
03:16:26.120 --> 03:16:28.840
the people are just like with him. It's like they're his people here in

2462
03:16:28.879 --> 03:16:35.840
Philly. I would have thought that
Philadelphia would be the city for the man

2463
03:16:35.879 --> 03:16:41.120
from Memorial of Texas. I know, it is such a weird thing to

2464
03:16:41.239 --> 03:16:48.639
think about, because it's it's not
what you would consider it's so nineties all

2465
03:16:48.639 --> 03:16:50.879
of a sudden. Yeah, you're
in the lapsed Funk. It's felt so

2466
03:16:52.079 --> 03:16:56.840
seventies up to this point. Yep. But Funk still finding some fans flipping

2467
03:16:56.879 --> 03:17:01.719
of the bird to talk shit to
his garbage flying through the air. They're

2468
03:17:01.719 --> 03:17:09.000
trying to hit Terry Funk with bottles
and bags and whatnot. I just this

2469
03:17:09.120 --> 03:17:11.280
is getting very disturbing. All of
a sudden, this crowd is a different

2470
03:17:11.399 --> 03:17:16.040
feel. Yeah, well it's again. They're interested in the violence. They're

2471
03:17:16.120 --> 03:17:28.319
not interested in anything else but the
destruction of human physicality. Joel Goodhart with

2472
03:17:28.360 --> 03:17:35.079
the announcement saying Terry's been disqualified.
Jerry Lawler wins and ah mostly booze.

2473
03:17:35.600 --> 03:17:41.639
Yep, they're interested in the violence. Boss. Very interesting. Yep,

2474
03:17:41.520 --> 03:17:46.319
that's what it's all about. Makes
sense. I mean, that's why they'd

2475
03:17:46.360 --> 03:17:50.000
be That's why this match would sell
outside of Memphis because of its reputation for

2476
03:17:50.079 --> 03:17:52.920
bringing complete, crazy, out of
control violence. M It's not only people

2477
03:17:52.920 --> 03:17:56.040
in Philadelphia have an emotional attachment to
Jerry Lawler like they do in Memphis,

2478
03:17:56.079 --> 03:18:01.319
and they want to come see him
so we can triumphant make sure Terry Funk

2479
03:18:01.399 --> 03:18:05.399
gets his They're just here almost agnostic
to who wins are and loses. They

2480
03:18:05.440 --> 03:18:09.479
didn't have a favorite, and it
ended up it ends up being Terry Funk.

2481
03:18:13.399 --> 03:18:15.680
It's just since Jerry Lawler standing in
the ring with his hands on the

2482
03:18:15.760 --> 03:18:18.879
ropes looking at these people, you
can tell he's like assessing, like what

2483
03:18:18.120 --> 03:18:20.319
is making these people tick? Like, look at these fucking people. This

2484
03:18:20.440 --> 03:18:26.760
is a different deal. Yeah,
it's very it's it's it's it's not your

2485
03:18:28.600 --> 03:18:33.159
others. He's right, other's pointing
and laughing at people. It's having that

2486
03:18:33.280 --> 03:18:37.959
time of his life. Yep,
telling a fan, I got something for

2487
03:18:37.000 --> 03:18:41.479
you, you can shine my boots
while they're playing Heel. He's he's playing

2488
03:18:41.559 --> 03:18:56.000
He's playing heel here, this is
wild. While they're walking around like fucking

2489
03:18:58.120 --> 03:19:03.639
like the nWo in ninety six,
just taking taking garbage. That's saying what

2490
03:19:05.799 --> 03:19:09.479
kind of sounds like it. How
about a haircut? Jerry, One of

2491
03:19:09.520 --> 03:19:30.360
the fans says, so much talking
by the announcers of the promoters, thank

2492
03:19:30.399 --> 03:19:35.079
you and please drive safely. Jill
Goodheart tells these twa faithful as Lawler continues

2493
03:19:35.079 --> 03:19:39.280
to stand in the apron hands on
hips like what have I gotten myself into?

2494
03:19:39.159 --> 03:19:43.959
What is making these people tick?
It's a different kind of wrestling,

2495
03:19:43.000 --> 03:19:50.120
A different expectation is the referees make
their way out. So that's a different

2496
03:19:50.159 --> 03:19:54.280
feel. The Lawlor Funk futures feel
become to take on a much different meaning.

2497
03:19:56.239 --> 03:19:58.920
And as Jerry Lawler would transition into
working for Vince mcmahn of the WA

2498
03:20:00.040 --> 03:20:03.040
Ye f in nineteen ninety three kind
of a starting as a co promotional relationship

2499
03:20:03.079 --> 03:20:07.079
with the U. S w a
H. Terry Funk would very much begin

2500
03:20:07.200 --> 03:20:13.239
to incorporate that fact into his attack
lines on Lawler when they would cross paths

2501
03:20:13.319 --> 03:20:18.159
next. So here's Terry on that. On that phone confrontation, we played

2502
03:20:18.200 --> 03:20:24.719
some sound from earlier bringing up Jerry
Lallard that as he enters the nineties becomes

2503
03:20:24.760 --> 03:20:26.440
a little bit more of a corporate
animal than the one he faced in the

2504
03:20:26.479 --> 03:20:33.559
eighties. You guys, look at
me look at me, Look at me.

2505
03:20:33.719 --> 03:20:37.239
Look what lunger is done to me
over the years. Your eyes,

2506
03:20:37.319 --> 03:20:41.360
I've had to worry about that guy. Oh my eye, yeah, my

2507
03:20:48.879 --> 03:20:58.159
day. I'll tell you why that, Because why is that? Because I

2508
03:20:58.319 --> 03:21:03.760
had such pain from from that injury
and I grabbed it and I said,

2509
03:21:03.760 --> 03:21:09.000
oh my eye, my eye,
yeah, because you broke what that's wrong

2510
03:21:09.079 --> 03:21:13.799
with? You broke the steps and
broke up a big chunk of sharps shard

2511
03:21:13.840 --> 03:21:16.479
of wood, and you were going
to stab me with it, and somehow

2512
03:21:16.600 --> 03:21:18.520
when I blocked it, it stuck
the stick in your own eye. You

2513
03:21:20.040 --> 03:21:22.959
people for teams to seem to forget
about the fact that you were trying to

2514
03:21:22.040 --> 03:21:26.360
stab me with the stick and it
backfired on you and you stuck your own

2515
03:21:26.399 --> 03:21:28.760
eye, and then you blame me
for trying to put your eye out.

2516
03:21:30.879 --> 03:21:33.399
I still can't you know. That's
that's that's you know. You sit there

2517
03:21:33.440 --> 03:21:39.079
and talk about all of this crap
and ship and everything else, and here

2518
03:21:39.200 --> 03:21:41.559
you are. You're the one that
goes ahead and me, I see buried

2519
03:21:41.680 --> 03:21:46.200
vision to this DNA and you did
it to me, And people wonder why

2520
03:21:46.760 --> 03:21:56.200
that I truly dislike you, that
is why? Well, what do you

2521
03:21:56.280 --> 03:22:01.920
got to say about that, Say
something about that. I got to yourself,

2522
03:22:03.079 --> 03:22:07.319
not me. I got a couple
of good teammates. They're going to

2523
03:22:07.399 --> 03:22:09.680
help me in the rings. And
you got a couple of idiots they're going

2524
03:22:09.719 --> 03:22:13.760
to help you try to hurt me. I know what you call him.

2525
03:22:13.879 --> 03:22:16.280
You call him my own son.
I know what's going on. You call

2526
03:22:16.360 --> 03:22:18.280
him my own son, Grandmaster sex
Ay, an idiot, and you're calling

2527
03:22:18.600 --> 03:22:22.680
dangerous Doug Gilbert, who is the
brother of Eddie Gilbert hot stuff Eddie Gilbert.

2528
03:22:22.680 --> 03:22:30.239
And what's your kid's name again?
Grand master? What? Okay?

2529
03:22:30.719 --> 03:22:35.760
Okay? His real name is Brian
Christopher. That's right, that's right.

2530
03:22:37.319 --> 03:22:41.079
But he was Grandmaster Sex Well you
kind of you kind of like can that

2531
03:22:41.239 --> 03:22:46.879
he was? What did you name
him? No? No, I did

2532
03:22:46.959 --> 03:22:54.440
not name him. Who named him? Imagine somebody in the w W It

2533
03:22:54.600 --> 03:23:01.840
was your kids? I named you
Ryan Christopher Lawler is his real name?

2534
03:23:01.760 --> 03:23:07.799
Okay? And then along comes w
W and you allow them to control your

2535
03:23:09.000 --> 03:23:15.440
life. Yes, I haven't allowed
them to control my life. No.

2536
03:23:15.760 --> 03:23:18.719
I don't drive way way, way
way. Wait, wait, drive you

2537
03:23:18.840 --> 03:23:28.440
know way a brand new way.
Hold on, I don't live in a

2538
03:23:28.520 --> 03:23:35.799
goddamn mansion. Wait a minute,
I live in a chicken house. Well,

2539
03:23:35.840 --> 03:23:43.639
who was Chainsaw Charlie in the w
W? Who was he? Yeah?

2540
03:23:43.440 --> 03:23:46.559
He was who I had to be. Oh, why you let the

2541
03:23:46.719 --> 03:23:52.680
w W control your life? Not
for very long? God damn it.

2542
03:23:52.319 --> 03:23:58.559
Okay, Well, I gotta admit
you don't try to live off that persona

2543
03:23:58.159 --> 03:24:03.159
like a lot of people do after
they're out of the w W. You

2544
03:24:03.239 --> 03:24:07.479
went back to being to hear that. I'm glad to hear that. I

2545
03:24:07.600 --> 03:24:11.440
am too, Well, I'm glad
to do that. You know, we're

2546
03:24:11.520 --> 03:24:16.520
on this telephone talking and you know
what, the people don't really realize it

2547
03:24:16.600 --> 03:24:22.000
says that I don't like you.
I think you've made it half like you.

2548
03:24:22.360 --> 03:24:26.360
I think you've made that clear and
clean that the people and uh,

2549
03:24:28.920 --> 03:24:31.440
all over the world, all over
the world, let's say it, all

2550
03:24:31.479 --> 03:24:33.639
over the world. That's right,
we're all over the world now. I

2551
03:24:33.879 --> 03:24:39.520
still live in the and in the
Panhandle of Texas. That's my heaven.

2552
03:24:41.920 --> 03:24:46.760
All over the world, all over
the world. You heaven, all over

2553
03:24:46.879 --> 03:24:50.760
the world. You I can what
do you want to do? You want

2554
03:24:50.799 --> 03:24:54.680
to hell, I've been to Africa
before. Yeah, well, good for

2555
03:24:54.760 --> 03:25:01.159
you. I'm living I wouldn't want
you ask what you said. No,

2556
03:25:01.319 --> 03:25:07.159
I said, we're being heard,
being heard. Said I lived all over

2557
03:25:07.200 --> 03:25:09.120
the world. No, no,
no, I said, we're all over

2558
03:25:09.200 --> 03:25:11.799
the world right now. No,
No, I heard you. You said

2559
03:25:11.280 --> 03:25:13.920
I lived all over the world.
I know what you say. No,

2560
03:25:15.120 --> 03:25:18.760
I did not say that. I
said this phone call that you're calling us,

2561
03:25:18.959 --> 03:25:22.920
but we're being heard? How much? How much am I I'm calling

2562
03:25:24.000 --> 03:25:30.600
you? I'm paying for this goddamn
thing. I fucking can't. I love

2563
03:25:30.680 --> 03:25:31.479
it. I love it. I
love it. I love it. I

2564
03:25:31.520 --> 03:25:37.559
love it. I love it because
you allow WWE to control your life.

2565
03:25:37.719 --> 03:25:43.440
And Luller goes quiet, and then
it comes with chainsaw Charlie Yes and yeah,

2566
03:25:43.760 --> 03:25:46.719
I could only stand it for fucking
six months basically, and I'm gone,

2567
03:25:46.760 --> 03:25:52.360
yeah, amazing. How much is
thread into that? I mean,

2568
03:25:52.399 --> 03:25:56.680
he's clearly joking with him a little
bit. They're clearly having a little fun

2569
03:25:56.719 --> 03:26:01.239
together. But then Terry'll say something
to get to Jerry to respond with just

2570
03:26:01.280 --> 03:26:05.200
a tinge of annoyance in his voice. And I'm here for it, and

2571
03:26:05.280 --> 03:26:07.799
as a wrestling fan, I will
be here for it till the day I'm

2572
03:26:07.799 --> 03:26:13.520
in the grave. And it's that
dynamic that interplay, that that flame that

2573
03:26:13.639 --> 03:26:18.600
continues to flicker and never dies down
between Jerry Lawler and Terry Funk. That

2574
03:26:18.680 --> 03:26:22.600
allowed them to push this feud not
only into places like USWA and TWA in

2575
03:26:22.959 --> 03:26:26.639
the early nineteen nineties, but even
into the two thousands. Boss, we

2576
03:26:26.760 --> 03:26:31.760
have one sample of that moment,
chant this shit, and I think you'll

2577
03:26:31.799 --> 03:26:35.440
be pleasantly surprised at how favorably it
compares to the Terry Funk Dusty Roads match

2578
03:26:35.479 --> 03:26:39.600
from the two thousands. Those were
rough, yes, that we were able

2579
03:26:39.600 --> 03:26:41.520
to observe, that one not ending
on quite as high a note, but

2580
03:26:43.360 --> 03:26:46.120
Lawler staying a little more spry when
we come to a match between the two

2581
03:26:46.239 --> 03:26:50.079
here from May third, two thousand
and three. It took place in the

2582
03:26:50.280 --> 03:26:54.760
three p W promotion, which was
one of many outfits attempting to make up

2583
03:26:54.040 --> 03:26:58.040
the market share the ECW had after
going out of business, of course in

2584
03:26:58.040 --> 03:27:01.440
two thousand and one. It was
a group led Blue Mini and Jasmine Saint

2585
03:27:01.520 --> 03:27:05.840
Clair and was a short lived operation. They were running shows at the famed

2586
03:27:05.879 --> 03:27:11.280
DCW Arena until XPW got sort of
an exclusive on that deal. Of course,

2587
03:27:11.319 --> 03:27:16.840
the XPW another attempt to capture what
ECW had after they went under,

2588
03:27:16.280 --> 03:27:22.680
and of course every attempt to resurrect
the spirit of ECW throughout the two thousands,

2589
03:27:22.479 --> 03:27:26.440
you gotta call Terry Funk, of
course, and so from XPW to

2590
03:27:26.479 --> 03:27:31.079
three PW to so many other organizations, Terry Funk would that the hardcore homecoming

2591
03:27:31.159 --> 03:27:35.239
show that went against the first one
night stand that WWE did had Terry Funk

2592
03:27:35.280 --> 03:27:37.680
on it as well. As we'll
get too further down the line here in

2593
03:27:37.719 --> 03:27:43.440
The Lapsed Funk, it's a decade
of Terry sort of going around trying to

2594
03:27:43.559 --> 03:27:46.239
keep anything propped up that he can
that's not WWE, I think, in

2595
03:27:46.239 --> 03:27:50.479
a lot of ways, to keep
the wrestling ecosystem alive that he's so well

2596
03:27:50.639 --> 03:27:54.479
leveraged and played off of in the
eighties, to keep himself gainfully employed and

2597
03:27:54.520 --> 03:27:58.719
well paid in the industry, while
at the same time not having to tie

2598
03:27:58.840 --> 03:28:03.200
himself down to any one particular boss
for any particular length of time. So

2599
03:28:03.280 --> 03:28:07.319
we're going to go now to disc
thirty five, and we're going to take

2600
03:28:07.360 --> 03:28:11.399
in the final match of this installment
of The Lapsed Funk, one last taste

2601
03:28:11.920 --> 03:28:16.000
of how the fumes of the electricity
that we saw in Memphis in the eighties

2602
03:28:16.040 --> 03:28:22.159
and even the mid seventies would continue
to be a source of energy for Turn

2603
03:28:22.239 --> 03:28:24.600
Funk and Jerry Lawler even until two
thousand and three. If you're ready,

2604
03:28:24.600 --> 03:28:30.280
we'll hit play. Is that the
very beginning, very beginning, all right?

2605
03:28:31.440 --> 03:28:54.040
Pre two one play. There's the
funker Wow bandana around his head,

2606
03:28:54.159 --> 03:29:03.920
Terry Funk T shirt just fall.
Mhm, all our ties on the announcing

2607
03:29:05.360 --> 03:29:24.639
h on a dead or alive.
He's fucking through the goddamn towel at him.

2608
03:29:28.799 --> 03:29:48.239
Bunk with the microphone piss on w
w A Aller stands there and takes

2609
03:29:48.280 --> 03:30:28.159
it. M hm m m one
more time. M hm, hi Lama,

2610
03:30:28.719 --> 03:30:37.319
fuck you h took out my eye, asshole, Terry Funk says as

2611
03:30:37.360 --> 03:30:48.159
he drops the mic. So I
think the where's this one again? Where

2612
03:30:48.280 --> 03:30:50.159
is this Philly? Philly? Oh
yeah, forget it. Let me this

2613
03:30:52.000 --> 03:30:54.479
he's getting. He's got no chance, Lawlor, yep, no chance at

2614
03:30:56.680 --> 03:31:00.440
that germ of preference for Terry Funk
that we detected there and Phil in nineteen

2615
03:31:00.520 --> 03:31:05.280
ninety one and the twa ye it's
now fully baked in two thousand and three.

2616
03:31:05.360 --> 03:31:09.120
They are not for the King,
not at all. They're here to

2617
03:31:09.200 --> 03:31:11.440
see it one more time. Terry
Funk and Jerry the King Lawler are locking

2618
03:31:11.479 --> 03:31:18.920
it up while they're still pretty lean
compared to how Fatty would get later.

2619
03:31:20.120 --> 03:31:26.159
Yeah, pumping the left jab was
lee. I remember, like later nineties,

2620
03:31:26.280 --> 03:31:31.239
in the early two thousands. Yeah, this is back when he had

2621
03:31:31.280 --> 03:31:37.600
like that curl on his forehead.
Just such a grotesque individual post facelift.

2622
03:31:37.639 --> 03:31:45.360
I'm pretty sure lock it up separation. Funk now stalking in a T shirt

2623
03:31:46.920 --> 03:31:50.559
and now he's got the black,
white and red striped pants that he would

2624
03:31:50.639 --> 03:31:56.159
most be known for in the nineties. Front headlocked by Jerry Lawler's, Terry

2625
03:31:56.159 --> 03:32:00.959
Funk seeks refuge between the atop and
middle rope. Here goes Funk. Ready

2626
03:32:03.040 --> 03:32:13.879
take a punch and do the Terry
Funk thing. Yeah ha, Terry cat

2627
03:32:13.959 --> 03:32:20.680
the son of a bitch off me
h? Are you? The refere says,

2628
03:32:22.280 --> 03:32:37.639
Wow, Terry's gonna kick the ref
for off. I don't know,

2629
03:32:37.719 --> 03:32:41.120
man, Do you think two people
that are feuding today can go to an

2630
03:32:41.120 --> 03:32:46.159
arena in twenty five thirty years and
pick up where they left off like this?

2631
03:32:46.319 --> 03:32:48.120
Oh, No, one's gonna give
a shit about seth Rowins in thirty

2632
03:32:48.200 --> 03:32:54.319
years Colorelloo to the arm, drag
goes the Funker. It's, you know,

2633
03:32:54.520 --> 03:32:58.319
showing why he was NBA champion.
All are carrying his hands really high

2634
03:32:58.399 --> 03:33:03.399
protecting his said Terry. Funk reaches
for his face in the corner. Referee

2635
03:33:03.440 --> 03:33:13.639
trying to get between these two.
Terry, it's taking place at a then

2636
03:33:13.719 --> 03:33:18.639
you call the Electric Factory, which
I heard Terry say in a shoot interview

2637
03:33:18.680 --> 03:33:22.079
that this promotion was doomed because they
had to keep running this one building and

2638
03:33:22.200 --> 03:33:31.319
that was a bigation. Remember Jasmine
Saint Clair, right, is the porn

2639
03:33:31.360 --> 03:33:37.639
star in ECW. Was that Jasmine
Saint Clair? She was the porn star

2640
03:33:37.680 --> 03:33:43.959
who did ECW for She was the
behind this promotion, along with the Mimi

2641
03:33:43.520 --> 03:33:48.399
who dated her for a little while. Bunker working over the left arm.

2642
03:33:48.520 --> 03:33:54.200
Now it's different. It's it's lawlor
kind of selling the holds of Terry.

2643
03:33:54.280 --> 03:33:58.000
It's not the brawl. Yeah yeah, Actually there's been a lot of pure

2644
03:33:58.040 --> 03:34:01.559
wrestling here. Look at Martin's CORSESEI
down there on the white shirt and the

2645
03:34:01.639 --> 03:34:03.840
tie. Oh yeah, he used
to come to three p W all the

2646
03:34:03.920 --> 03:34:13.520
time. It was his favorite promotion. Actually, Funk just working the arm

2647
03:34:13.559 --> 03:34:18.559
on the canvas here. I know
this. I'm surprised that you fans aren't

2648
03:34:18.559 --> 03:34:31.239
booing yet. You fucked up big
time, bald spot up. Terry's oh

2649
03:34:31.399 --> 03:34:43.799
fully re seated up the middle.
Now what's that say? Stuff is neck

2650
03:34:43.879 --> 03:34:46.319
or something that? When I heard, I think, so that's a full

2651
03:34:46.399 --> 03:34:50.680
fucking cradle here, by funk.
He's got one arm hammer locked and he's

2652
03:34:50.719 --> 03:34:52.920
threading the other one, trying to
pull all their shoulders down like this in

2653
03:34:54.000 --> 03:34:58.680
Japan, right exactly. This isn't
an NBA title defense in seventy six.

2654
03:35:01.920 --> 03:35:09.360
You know, Jerry Longer, not
Jack Briscoe, right right, That's one

2655
03:35:09.399 --> 03:35:13.120
thing about Lawler, I got to
say the big thing about it, though,

2656
03:35:13.159 --> 03:35:18.440
I don't you know it was Uh, do I know that Terry Funks

2657
03:35:18.479 --> 03:35:26.959
wrestling Jerry Lawler or not me exactly? Just because I know it doesn't mean

2658
03:35:26.000 --> 03:35:35.879
that, oh, I don't know. Jack Briscoe knows it. I don't

2659
03:35:35.920 --> 03:35:39.719
know if you know, I don't
know. I don't know if I know,

2660
03:35:43.040 --> 03:35:46.799
I don't know, if I know, I don't know if I'm coming

2661
03:35:46.920 --> 03:35:50.840
back. I don't think you are, Jack. I can't think of.

2662
03:35:50.079 --> 03:35:56.719
Maybe. In the WWF episode,
Funks still working the hammer lock Lawler stands

2663
03:35:56.760 --> 03:35:58.159
up back into the ropes, looking
for the clean break referee, looking to

2664
03:35:58.159 --> 03:36:01.959
get it granted, but is cranking
that Kimora, essentially trying to rip the

2665
03:36:01.959 --> 03:36:05.639
shoulder out of the King. This
is a totally different approach between these two

2666
03:36:05.680 --> 03:36:09.280
than we've seen thus far. Absolutely, and you know for sure, like

2667
03:36:09.440 --> 03:36:13.920
it's very it's clean, and you
know, like there's not Lawler pulls the

2668
03:36:13.959 --> 03:36:18.079
referee between and I think what we're
seeing is what it looks like when Funk

2669
03:36:18.120 --> 03:36:22.280
whistles Lawler. Both go into the
ring with the full expectation that Lawla will

2670
03:36:22.319 --> 03:36:24.879
be the heel and Funk will be
the face. You saw Lawler go over

2671
03:36:24.920 --> 03:36:28.440
the referees back with the right.
You see Terry doing the stumble cell like

2672
03:36:30.319 --> 03:36:33.520
like Lawla was doing in the eighty
one match, pumping the jab is the

2673
03:36:33.639 --> 03:36:37.360
King. Look at ye Funk flailing
about, trying to stay on his feet,

2674
03:36:39.000 --> 03:36:41.959
ricochets off the ropes, takes a
right and hits the deck. Funk

2675
03:36:41.000 --> 03:36:46.799
bumping real well. In two thousand
and three, still bumps well against Dusty

2676
03:36:46.879 --> 03:36:48.879
too for that matter, you know
pretty much. I mean Dusty was doing

2677
03:36:48.959 --> 03:36:56.079
nothing, man, Yeah, it's
just the same. This guy goes fuck

2678
03:36:56.360 --> 03:37:11.079
w W f O fuck them so
funny. There we go. Funk launches

2679
03:37:11.079 --> 03:37:16.559
a chair out of the ring like
a fucking rocket, no warning it's coming

2680
03:37:16.639 --> 03:37:20.959
at all. I know, I
know, it's just like a lawler cuts

2681
03:37:22.000 --> 03:37:26.840
him off for the way back then
with nice apperco Think about having that goes

2682
03:37:26.879 --> 03:37:31.520
the Funker. I hope you can
find this one on YouTube to follow along

2683
03:37:31.559 --> 03:37:43.399
with fans fan calling for law and
order from Murphrey. John Finnegan is Oller

2684
03:37:43.479 --> 03:37:48.319
pastes him again with the right hand. Think about lawlor style, man like

2685
03:37:48.440 --> 03:37:50.239
you can do it for the rest
of your life. You punch, you

2686
03:37:50.280 --> 03:37:54.000
punch, you punch well, I
mean it's true. I mean, just

2687
03:37:54.159 --> 03:37:58.520
fucking holds that fist out all the
time. Throw a drop kick in there

2688
03:37:58.559 --> 03:38:01.040
on an occasion. Yep. Works
as a heel, works as a face.

2689
03:38:03.399 --> 03:38:05.639
That's one thing I say about Jerry. You know, Terry Funk may

2690
03:38:05.680 --> 03:38:07.760
have needled him for being controlled by
WWE, but he was always able to

2691
03:38:07.879 --> 03:38:16.959
keep his independent bookings. Yeah.
Yeah, Jerry loved working. I mean,

2692
03:38:18.600 --> 03:38:22.920
it's not like he's only taken shots
before big crowds. He's just he's

2693
03:38:22.920 --> 03:38:24.799
every weekend he wants to be out
there. When he's not commentating raw,

2694
03:38:26.360 --> 03:38:31.040
He's just one of them. Absolutely, Oh, Funk's been busted open.

2695
03:38:31.079 --> 03:38:33.000
He wow getting color. In two
thousand and three, this poor guy,

2696
03:38:33.079 --> 03:38:37.840
look at him? What color you
get color anything? It's the right hands,

2697
03:38:37.840 --> 03:38:43.000
I guess j R. Right there
watching the matter. Hat Yeah,

2698
03:38:43.280 --> 03:38:48.159
yeah, love you, Terry.
One of the audience members says, well,

2699
03:38:52.200 --> 03:38:58.239
oh, oh wow. Fu crowned
with a steel chair by Lawlor on

2700
03:38:58.280 --> 03:39:01.479
the outside. He's got it wrapped
around his throat and he's swinging. I

2701
03:39:01.520 --> 03:39:03.600
mean, Terry Funk is Randy the
ram. Oh my god. Have you

2702
03:39:03.680 --> 03:39:07.639
ever seen a one trick pony?
Hey, look, it's the fan from

2703
03:39:07.680 --> 03:39:11.920
the nineteen ninety one TBA show.
He's still there, hat on in the

2704
03:39:11.920 --> 03:39:16.680
Hawaiian shirt, Funk acting like this
chair strangling him. I have seen a

2705
03:39:16.799 --> 03:39:22.479
hon trick pony in a veil running
wild tree of that. You ever seen

2706
03:39:22.520 --> 03:39:28.559
a hundred bony, then you've seen
Terry Funk. It's the lapsed Funk,

2707
03:39:31.079 --> 03:39:39.760
Tim Sheridan. So he's old ECW
original front row fans, they're not so

2708
03:39:39.879 --> 03:39:43.639
with the chair still around Funk's neck
like a necklace. In two thousand and

2709
03:39:43.680 --> 03:39:48.159
three, Jerry Lawler comes and smacks
him with another chair, Jesus hitting him

2710
03:39:48.159 --> 03:39:52.920
across the back him the head.
No, No, Lawler's leading the chair

2711
03:39:52.920 --> 03:39:58.479
against the rope's sand. Oh Funk
there, leaving a blood splat on the

2712
03:39:58.559 --> 03:40:03.440
seat of that steel throws it at
the fucking camera guy. That's right.

2713
03:40:05.000 --> 03:40:09.120
I love how he's like when he's
hurt, he's just like he's just content

2714
03:40:09.280 --> 03:40:11.079
to create a moment of chaos,
even if it does nothing to his opponent.

2715
03:40:11.239 --> 03:40:16.040
Like he's he's like a you know, a wounded animal, you know,

2716
03:40:16.280 --> 03:40:20.479
right back in the ring. Now
are both principles. Terry Funk is

2717
03:40:20.559 --> 03:40:24.799
busted. He has taken severe punishment
with the steel chair on the outside,

2718
03:40:24.840 --> 03:40:28.360
and Jerry Lawler is laying in closed
fists, bloodying his own fist in the

2719
03:40:28.440 --> 03:40:39.479
process. All are inviting Funk to
throw and then jabbing the shit out of

2720
03:40:39.559 --> 03:40:41.959
him. Look at Funk. Look
at the battle warrior he is. Look

2721
03:40:41.959 --> 03:40:46.399
at him, Oh taking those shot. Look how he sells scot Wide base

2722
03:40:46.920 --> 03:40:50.719
and this, I'll look at that
just fucking falls down. He's doing the

2723
03:40:50.799 --> 03:40:54.000
hump in the canvas cell for made
one. I know he starts hitting his

2724
03:40:54.040 --> 03:41:00.600
own cut. Is he wants more
to collar, Yes he does. He

2725
03:41:00.639 --> 03:41:03.959
doesn't want that fucking wound to clot
yet he's not ready. I invite you

2726
03:41:05.040 --> 03:41:09.079
to remember the Terry Funk that cut
the promo with the motor oil, and

2727
03:41:09.360 --> 03:41:13.559
remember the Terry Funk that cut the
promo with the eye patch on how young

2728
03:41:13.639 --> 03:41:18.479
he looked. Now look at him, fucking guy, I look at him

2729
03:41:18.479 --> 03:41:20.840
convulsing on the mat. Uh.
Aller comes off the middle rope of the

2730
03:41:20.879 --> 03:41:22.840
fist, drop to the back of
the head. That's got to do it.

2731
03:41:24.559 --> 03:41:41.680
Aller turns Funk over cover on two. Oh, what are you learn

2732
03:41:41.760 --> 03:41:50.360
how to hook the leg? Asshole? That all are holding Funk's head up?

2733
03:41:50.399 --> 03:41:56.280
You think he looks good? Huh
wow? Peppering him with shots and

2734
03:41:56.399 --> 03:42:01.239
it's a total reverse role reversal here. Yes, this is Funk, his

2735
03:42:01.360 --> 03:42:07.920
baby face clutching the top rope to
stand all they're getting so much mileage.

2736
03:42:07.959 --> 03:42:13.920
I'm just throwing hands. I'm nutshot
left of the balls by Terry Funk.

2737
03:42:13.000 --> 03:42:24.799
Puts down the King there he is, you fucking son of a bitch,

2738
03:42:24.840 --> 03:42:31.079
asshole, beat your asshole out,
your cocking in my ass, you piece

2739
03:42:31.159 --> 03:42:39.319
of ship's slapping the shit out of
King. Bug at him, you step

2740
03:42:39.920 --> 03:42:46.760
of a bitch. Oh my god, what's he gonna do on the table.

2741
03:42:48.639 --> 03:42:50.280
Oh you know, you know,
I know what he's gonna do.

2742
03:42:52.399 --> 03:42:56.879
All's laid out on the table.
Funks down after him. No, come

2743
03:42:56.920 --> 03:43:03.559
on, Terry put him through it. He said, it's weirdos in the

2744
03:43:03.680 --> 03:43:09.559
crowd. Man, you c F
n W T shirt and already laying a

2745
03:43:11.200 --> 03:43:22.600
Funk launches a chair like a projectilet
Jerry Lawler's head. Terry now putting the

2746
03:43:22.680 --> 03:43:35.040
necklace on a the king, my
god, and then he launches a chair

2747
03:43:35.200 --> 03:43:46.239
at the other chair. Violence never
stops between these two. Oh no,

2748
03:43:46.440 --> 03:43:48.959
up to the table. Someone screams, fuck that entertainment ship. Here we

2749
03:43:50.079 --> 03:43:52.680
go. He's gonna pile drive Lawlor
to the table. They're trying to pedigree.

2750
03:43:52.719 --> 03:43:54.600
And what do he do? What
did he fall? Fell to his

2751
03:43:54.760 --> 03:44:00.959
niece? Did he fall? Oh? My god? Funny too, boss,

2752
03:44:01.120 --> 03:44:05.719
Tell the people, you know.
Obviously he couldn't get Lawler up on

2753
03:44:05.840 --> 03:44:09.920
the table, and so he goes
for a leg drop and it just it

2754
03:44:11.120 --> 03:44:15.559
just it breaks, it falls and
it doesn't even look like he made contact

2755
03:44:15.639 --> 03:44:18.799
with Lawler. I know. It
collapses entirely under Terry Funk's own butt.

2756
03:44:20.319 --> 03:44:22.879
Right well, Lawler just hanging at
the other end of the table unmolested,

2757
03:44:26.319 --> 03:44:30.000
and now Funk's not the same.
You can't say the same for some of

2758
03:44:30.120 --> 03:44:31.559
his girlfriends. You know, it's
just a rare curre, it's indeed.

2759
03:44:33.920 --> 03:44:37.520
So Funk loads a table into the
ring, goes back out after Lawler,

2760
03:44:37.600 --> 03:44:43.120
but Lawler's quick to jab him with
pieces of the table. Now these two

2761
03:44:43.159 --> 03:44:48.280
are still battling. It's unbelievable in
front of like what fifty people, Oh

2762
03:44:48.639 --> 03:44:56.760
the business. So now we've lapped
the nineties thirst for violence and now it's

2763
03:44:56.840 --> 03:45:01.479
like a thirst four like participation.
I don't know how else to put it.

2764
03:45:03.760 --> 03:45:15.520
I mean, it's it's I don't
know. There it is huddle of

2765
03:45:15.520 --> 03:45:18.920
blood of the canvas, Funk convulsing
as the king looks to capitalize on the

2766
03:45:18.959 --> 03:45:22.079
pile driver. What does someone say, like, hey, won't you guys

2767
03:45:22.120 --> 03:45:28.639
do twenty minutes? Right? Like? Hello, really, why don't you

2768
03:45:28.639 --> 03:45:35.680
go ahead and do twenty minutes?
Terry chancer up his funk slowly builds himself

2769
03:45:35.760 --> 03:45:46.639
back up. Oh, Terry said, hey, can we go twenty minutes

2770
03:45:46.719 --> 03:45:52.159
out there? And then I went
ahead and did it when I had and

2771
03:45:52.239 --> 03:45:56.559
took another pile driver? Is what
he did? Here we go Oh fuck,

2772
03:45:56.959 --> 03:46:01.200
oh that's it is. I get
him. In two thousand and three,

2773
03:46:01.319 --> 03:46:07.600
Man, why is Terry doing this
for that? Right there? Wow,

2774
03:46:07.760 --> 03:46:11.000
you nailed it right there by Lawler
two now and again Funk lifts the

2775
03:46:11.040 --> 03:46:16.440
shoulder and they respond positively. Still
life in the funker here in two thousand

2776
03:46:16.440 --> 03:46:22.440
and three. Remember how I said
a Slaughter was getting ready to wrestle Hogan

2777
03:46:22.520 --> 03:46:26.559
before? Yes, how about the
fact that Hogan's getting ready to wrestle Vince

2778
03:46:26.600 --> 03:46:31.639
here? Oh my god, just
think of the different eras. Think of

2779
03:46:33.799 --> 03:46:35.239
the different places you were in in
your life in those two years, and

2780
03:46:35.319 --> 03:46:43.000
these two are still battling. That's
so insane. To the floor, goes

2781
03:46:43.000 --> 03:46:48.360
the bloody Terry Funk, after absorbing
two stiff pile drivers. By the king,

2782
03:46:52.040 --> 03:47:01.879
I noticed Lawler's not getting any color. Nope, Lawler's showing Funk's face

2783
03:47:01.959 --> 03:47:05.959
to the crowd. You like that? See if a real man can do

2784
03:47:07.040 --> 03:47:09.760
this? Well, Lawler says he's
gonna load up Funk for a pile driver

2785
03:47:09.879 --> 03:47:18.559
on the fucking concrete. Oh god, Funk is too bottom heavy. It's

2786
03:47:18.639 --> 03:47:20.479
scary as hell. It is.
He's old, man, What do you

2787
03:47:20.760 --> 03:47:26.959
know? Ah, fucking Kyle drove
Terry Funk on the concrete before twenty five

2788
03:47:26.079 --> 03:47:39.799
people. You can't do that,
come on, such a fucking asshole.

2789
03:47:46.040 --> 03:47:48.200
Oh I wants to spit out him
and he does, takes a swig of

2790
03:47:48.280 --> 03:47:54.520
water and sends a squirt at this
fan that keeps talking shit. He sis

2791
03:47:54.639 --> 03:48:15.280
Jah is better than you, whetish
bulldog whipped your ass? What the fans

2792
03:48:15.319 --> 03:48:20.479
like? He's shaking. Look at
Terry, he's up. He's like.

2793
03:48:20.000 --> 03:48:26.520
Lawler's having dialogue with these fans and
Terry is on the floor suffering. You

2794
03:48:26.559 --> 03:48:35.040
might as well, yeah, Brier
king pitch. Oh it's a different world

2795
03:48:35.120 --> 03:48:39.280
now, man. This is not
the Mid South Coliseum at all, but

2796
03:48:39.399 --> 03:49:07.879
an evolution. Uh. Lawler's got
the stick. Oh great, Terry a

2797
03:49:07.920 --> 03:49:24.559
good front of mine. Oh you
know what if you I love when they

2798
03:49:24.639 --> 03:49:31.639
do that when they say you hate
Vin sick man. But it's like if

2799
03:49:31.639 --> 03:49:39.840
they have a chance to yeah,
and if you're gonna really hate dish,

2800
03:49:41.959 --> 03:49:50.719
Lawler stunts hup, wow Stunner on
the funker, Jerry Lawler laughing his ass

2801
03:49:50.760 --> 03:49:56.879
off. They're applauding that one.
I mean, I even you know,

2802
03:49:56.360 --> 03:50:09.440
even uh uh if the move that
you because even the people who actually hate

2803
03:50:09.559 --> 03:50:15.079
w are like they still like Steve
Austin. Yeah, that's why he blew

2804
03:50:15.159 --> 03:50:18.399
up because he was so against the
grain of what w W have had been

2805
03:50:18.440 --> 03:50:22.840
off, like you should have done
uh another kickout by Terry Schunk pedigree,

2806
03:50:22.840 --> 03:50:24.680
he should have a pedigree that would
have pissed them off. The good call.

2807
03:50:26.239 --> 03:50:28.079
You know, this is two thousand
and three, so we're like in

2808
03:50:28.200 --> 03:50:33.719
the you know, right in the
heat of the of the Reign of terror.

2809
03:50:43.760 --> 03:50:46.520
Someone just said, hit him with
the pedigree. Here we go another

2810
03:50:46.559 --> 03:50:50.000
stunner from law or no Funk kids
him with the low blow. Yeah,

2811
03:50:50.920 --> 03:51:00.920
still signs of life and the bloody
battle Funker and then here I fuck with

2812
03:51:01.040 --> 03:51:05.319
a stunner. Other tries the rocks
out cover too long. He's got his

2813
03:51:05.399 --> 03:51:13.959
foot on the rope, yep ground
the table full circle from the seventy six

2814
03:51:13.000 --> 03:51:16.239
foot on the rope. Jerry,
why don't you set it on fire too?

2815
03:51:16.559 --> 03:51:28.799
He's working on it. Okay.
Someone just screamed, bring it back

2816
03:51:28.920 --> 03:51:37.120
to the fucking old days. He's
trying bio driver by Terry Funk, spikes

2817
03:51:37.200 --> 03:51:41.360
Lawler tough no cover by the Funker
to note he pulls him up. That's

2818
03:51:41.479 --> 03:51:48.600
right because there's a table still to
be used, and the funker is gesturing

2819
03:51:48.680 --> 03:51:54.520
to it crazy. He is on
you, son of a bitch, Come

2820
03:51:54.559 --> 03:51:58.760
on you, son of a bitch. Table is not fully folded out,

2821
03:51:58.879 --> 03:52:01.159
just one leg is up, so
it's like bridged over here and now funks

2822
03:52:01.159 --> 03:52:05.239
at a pile drive Lawler onto it. All their blocks backdrop, funk drops,

2823
03:52:07.319 --> 03:52:09.799
all are using that table to steady
himself. As a matter of fact,

2824
03:52:09.879 --> 03:52:20.239
see backdrops Terry Funk to get free. All are in position for one

2825
03:52:20.280 --> 03:52:24.280
of his own pile drivers now on
the table. No, don't pile drive

2826
03:52:24.319 --> 03:52:28.159
him on the table. Funk's upside. I got he fucking did it on

2827
03:52:28.280 --> 03:52:31.879
the table and his head a hit. Get Terry. Look at these fucking

2828
03:52:33.440 --> 03:52:43.280
Jesus just dead roadkill cover by Lawler. One two fuck moves up. Look

2829
03:52:43.319 --> 03:52:56.680
at this I kicked out. That's
the thing. No matter the decade or

2830
03:52:56.719 --> 03:53:01.000
how jaundice the audience, Terry's gonna
get him chanting his name at some point.

2831
03:53:01.559 --> 03:53:05.840
He's just gonna keep doing ship until
it registers. I didn't say give

2832
03:53:05.920 --> 03:53:11.000
him twenty minutes. It's give him
thirty. Give these old timers thirty minutes.

2833
03:53:11.040 --> 03:53:13.440
Consider it done. As Lawler hooks
up another pile driver, No,

2834
03:53:13.559 --> 03:53:18.559
this time, Funk back drops out
Lawler lands pulls down sunset flip Funk rolls

2835
03:53:18.559 --> 03:53:24.079
all the way forward. That's the
thing. Two throwing funk pins Lawler had

2836
03:53:24.159 --> 03:53:45.000
long last Funk pins Lawler the Fluke
roll up roller. It does, you

2837
03:53:45.079 --> 03:53:48.840
know, it can't help but break
my soul when you're slipping them off.

2838
03:53:48.680 --> 03:53:54.719
You know when you see this guy
who hit him like like this is right,

2839
03:53:54.079 --> 03:54:01.959
Like he's gonna go home now and
tell VICKI about how he busted open

2840
03:54:01.840 --> 03:54:09.040
Martin Scorsese back there, he's making
a movie about Terry Funk. Like Funk

2841
03:54:09.239 --> 03:54:11.399
the little bit of a shock of
hair, Funk still has it. His

2842
03:54:11.479 --> 03:54:16.000
hairline is all crusted with blood.
No, so he's just laying on the

2843
03:54:16.079 --> 03:54:20.520
ropes, flipping off Jerry Lawler as
much as he can. If this is

2844
03:54:20.559 --> 03:54:24.040
the last time we meet Lawler,
I'm gonna get every middle finger and I

2845
03:54:24.120 --> 03:54:28.239
can look at him. I wanna
shove middle fingers up your ass, you

2846
03:54:28.440 --> 03:54:37.239
fucking idiot. They're up there facing
off, and Funk's drop dropping trow because

2847
03:54:39.440 --> 03:54:45.799
why his fucking visage. Look at
Funk. The state of Terry Funk here

2848
03:54:45.879 --> 03:54:54.000
on the lapsed Funk as the feud
with Jerry Lawler. Somehow, improbably continues.

2849
03:54:54.079 --> 03:54:58.840
It's a long way from nineteen seventy
six for the NWA title, isn't

2850
03:54:58.840 --> 03:55:24.600
it, Boss, It's a long
way. Here's the functor. Funk wants

2851
03:55:24.639 --> 03:55:50.559
to end this feud right now.
Started. That's what you want, people,

2852
03:55:52.040 --> 03:55:56.280
But I just don't get a body
there. It goes the King.

2853
03:55:58.200 --> 03:56:05.479
The roles fully reversed, the business
very much changed. Wow, they get

2854
03:56:05.520 --> 03:56:11.079
a fucking moving ramp is what they
have. Jesus fucking Christ. Still,

2855
03:56:11.200 --> 03:56:16.399
somehow a strange constant is Terry Funk
versus Jerry the King Lawler as he embraces

2856
03:56:16.520 --> 03:56:26.040
ringside fans and is caked over,
bloodied state. We love you, Funk,

2857
03:56:26.520 --> 03:56:31.239
and we love you up the mover's
ramp. Like you said, yep,

2858
03:56:31.399 --> 03:56:33.959
Dary Funk, look at the walk, look at the light. He

2859
03:56:35.159 --> 03:56:39.200
can't even like he just he's he
right now. All he wants to do

2860
03:56:39.440 --> 03:56:43.959
is die. He's like, please
just let me what an idea? Give

2861
03:56:43.000 --> 03:56:46.559
me the mic? One more word
here from the Funker in two thousand and

2862
03:56:46.600 --> 03:57:01.879
three. Yeah, because he read
to that, Let's just move the whole

2863
03:57:03.040 --> 03:57:07.319
damn thing out next time. The
man them into Philadelphia and falls count anywhere

2864
03:57:07.360 --> 03:57:18.879
in Philadelphia, where the post station, the zoo, wherever the hell that

2865
03:57:18.079 --> 03:57:24.520
so months ago, I'll follow God
Damn is that appoint that? Yep,

2866
03:57:24.479 --> 03:57:30.360
I'll take it all plight theater that
does it. Wherever that son of a

2867
03:57:30.440 --> 03:57:33.559
bitch wants to go, I'll follow
him. Terry Funk said here in two

2868
03:57:33.600 --> 03:57:37.040
thousand and three upon picking up a
victory over the King all those years after

2869
03:57:37.120 --> 03:57:41.239
the feud started, and has mentioned
they would go uh to Memphis again.

2870
03:57:41.319 --> 03:57:43.440
In two thousand and four, the
Observer had this it him and what has

2871
03:57:43.479 --> 03:57:46.799
to be a wrestling first, an
angle that is apparently that has been legendary

2872
03:57:46.879 --> 03:57:50.159
for two decades, even though it
was a flop when it happened, turned

2873
03:57:50.159 --> 03:57:54.399
out to be a big draw more
than twenty three years after it was shot.

2874
03:57:54.879 --> 03:57:58.360
Wow. The angle was from the
famous nineteen eighty one Terry Funk first

2875
03:57:58.399 --> 03:58:01.520
Jerry Lawler MT Arena match at the
Mid South Colosseum in Memphis. At the

2876
03:58:01.559 --> 03:58:03.879
time, Funk was a heel who
challenged Lawler to show up bring TV cameras

2877
03:58:03.920 --> 03:58:07.440
so there would be no biased officials
protecting him like normally happened in Memphis.

2878
03:58:07.639 --> 03:58:11.399
The match itself wasn't very good,
since a match with no crowd is going

2879
03:58:11.440 --> 03:58:15.040
to be a struggle for even the
best workers. But it became legendary because

2880
03:58:15.040 --> 03:58:16.840
of its uniqueness, all the swearing
on the tape by Funk and the camp

2881
03:58:16.879 --> 03:58:20.319
be announcing by Lance Russell. It
ended when a jagged piece of wood from

2882
03:58:20.319 --> 03:58:24.159
a broken table leg that Funk broke
off, was taken away by Lawler,

2883
03:58:24.440 --> 03:58:28.479
used on nutna quite used on Funk's
eye, and ended with Funk screaming about

2884
03:58:28.479 --> 03:58:31.399
his eye, which he'd hurt from
getting Hardway juice early in his career.

2885
03:58:31.959 --> 03:58:35.639
With the idea it legitimized the business
and being blinded and later blaming Lawler for

2886
03:58:35.719 --> 03:58:39.719
a loss of partial vision in the
eye. He's actually done a similar angle

2887
03:58:39.799 --> 03:58:41.959
years earlier in Florida with Dusty Rhodes
over the eye, of course, with

2888
03:58:43.120 --> 03:58:46.000
no gait. The idea of this
match was not to become a classic piece

2889
03:58:46.040 --> 03:58:48.479
of videotape, but to draw for
a house show rematch. However, when

2890
03:58:48.479 --> 03:58:50.760
they brought the match back, it
didn't draw. Well. This is back,

2891
03:58:50.799 --> 03:58:54.639
of course in eighty one he's talking
about. Nevertheless, as time went

2892
03:58:54.719 --> 03:58:58.799
by, Funk did become one of
Lawler's most legendary opponents. In Memphis,

2893
03:58:58.920 --> 03:59:01.479
right up there with Jack Key Fargo, Nick Bockwinkle, Austin Idol, Jimmy

2894
03:59:01.559 --> 03:59:05.239
Valiant, Joe LaDou, buildun D, and Andy Kaufman. On August twenty

2895
03:59:05.239 --> 03:59:09.079
eighth in Memphis, after weeks of
promos built around Funk doing old school videotape

2896
03:59:09.079 --> 03:59:13.239
promos from his ranch sent in talking
about wanting revenge for what happened twenty three

2897
03:59:13.319 --> 03:59:16.959
years ago, the feud was brought
back for its one hundredth or so incarnation.

2898
03:59:18.440 --> 03:59:22.840
Funk now is a baby face at
sixty vowed revenge teaming with longtime TV

2899
03:59:22.879 --> 03:59:26.959
announcer Cory Macklin against Lawler fifty four
and Jimmy Hart Now fifty eight. No

2900
03:59:26.120 --> 03:59:30.360
question this crowd was drawn by the
main event, since the semifinal was Kamala

2901
03:59:30.440 --> 03:59:33.600
and Coco Ware over buildun D and
Kevin White, who they tried to market

2902
03:59:33.639 --> 03:59:37.040
as a star doing eighties fabulous ones
music videos for with ticket prices being rolled

2903
03:59:37.079 --> 03:59:41.079
back to eighties level ten dollars and
five dollars in cheap concessions, a hot

2904
03:59:41.159 --> 03:59:45.639
dog, coke and popcorn combo for
three bucks in cheap parking. Oh my

2905
03:59:45.799 --> 03:59:48.559
god, they drew more than five
thousand, two hundred fans four thousand and

2906
03:59:48.559 --> 03:59:52.319
eight three to one, paying thirty
thousand dollars. It had to be the

2907
03:59:52.360 --> 03:59:56.120
biggest crowd in three years for a
non ww pro wrestling event in the United

2908
03:59:56.159 --> 04:00:00.440
States, let alone one that wasn't
geared towards Hispanic audience. It was the

2909
04:00:00.520 --> 04:00:03.079
largest crowd for a locally based wrestling
show at the Coliseum in Memphis since the

2910
04:00:03.159 --> 04:00:07.239
death of Jarrett Lawler Promotion in nineteen
ninety seven. You have to go back

2911
04:00:07.239 --> 04:00:11.000
to nineteen ninety four nostalgia show,
which drew three hundred and seventy seven fans,

2912
04:00:11.360 --> 04:00:15.120
headlined by a ten way match with
Lawler, Idol Funk, Brian Christopher,

2913
04:00:15.239 --> 04:00:18.719
Eddie Gilbert, Doug Gilbert, Coco
Wear Valiant, Tommy Rich and Moondog

2914
04:00:18.760 --> 04:00:22.399
Spot for the last local show that
drew more people. The big angles leading

2915
04:00:22.479 --> 04:00:26.319
up were Laller entering Corey Macklin on
TV with a pile driver, Macklin returning

2916
04:00:28.000 --> 04:00:31.600
swinging baseball bats, and chasing Lawler
and Hart out of the studio, like

2917
04:00:31.680 --> 04:00:37.360
the nineteen eighty nine angle in fact
that Rick Flair did with Terry Funk and

2918
04:00:37.479 --> 04:00:39.879
his promos, Funk sent in Funk
kept holding what he claimed was the original

2919
04:00:39.920 --> 04:00:45.200
piece of wood from nineteen eighty one. The match itself saw Funk now sixty

2920
04:00:45.239 --> 04:00:48.520
finally pull out the piece of wood
just before he could take out Lawler's eye.

2921
04:00:48.559 --> 04:00:50.319
Heart through powder and Funk's eye.
Lawler got the piece of wood and

2922
04:00:50.399 --> 04:00:54.760
used it on Funk, who juiced
heavy. He was using it until Valiant

2923
04:00:54.799 --> 04:00:56.920
got the wood from Lawler. Funk
then made a comeback on Lawler, chasing

2924
04:00:58.000 --> 04:01:01.559
him outside the ring and the ring. Heart was choking Macklin with tape when

2925
04:01:01.639 --> 04:01:05.360
Valiant hit Hart with the gimmick and
Macklin pinned Heart. In the post match,

2926
04:01:05.440 --> 04:01:07.760
Lawler knocked down Valian and Macklin Heart
started whipping them with a belt while

2927
04:01:07.799 --> 04:01:11.319
Funk walked off, making people think
he was going back heel. In the

2928
04:01:11.440 --> 04:01:16.319
end, Funk came back out with
a branding iron on fire. As he

2929
04:01:16.399 --> 04:01:18.280
got to the ring, Heart and
Lawler ran off hard escape, but Macklen

2930
04:01:18.319 --> 04:01:20.719
tripped Lawler as he was trying to
escape, and he fell on the ropes

2931
04:01:20.719 --> 04:01:24.360
in a position where a guy would
be set up waiting for the sixty one

2932
04:01:24.520 --> 04:01:28.959
nine. Funk then branded Lawler on
the button. Lawler sold it big and

2933
04:01:28.079 --> 04:01:35.639
ran off to end the show.
One more piece of footage here on this

2934
04:01:37.600 --> 04:01:43.440
Funk versus Lawler episode, because the
aforementioned flame would lick the head of the

2935
04:01:43.479 --> 04:01:50.239
funker us click that link if you
dare. God, hold on, here

2936
04:01:50.319 --> 04:01:56.680
we go. Oh my good lord, Am I going right into it?

2937
04:01:58.000 --> 04:02:01.000
Or do I need to wait for
you one second? Yeah? Yeah,

2938
04:02:11.440 --> 04:02:18.520
here we go a play. Here
we go. Knock that Buondo off his

2939
04:02:18.680 --> 04:02:28.159
nouse. Fun So Funk was working
over Lawla in the corner. Two referees

2940
04:02:28.239 --> 04:02:30.920
dragged Funk out of the corner.
He takes out the referees. Of course

2941
04:02:30.959 --> 04:02:37.959
he does over to Jerry. Now
he's been he was handy. Get ready

2942
04:02:39.000 --> 04:02:43.319
for free. Jesus Christ could be
more obvious. Here comes the patented Lawler

2943
04:02:43.399 --> 04:02:46.799
fireball, one last burst of heat. I feel like this is going to

2944
04:02:46.840 --> 04:02:54.319
be bad. Oh oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,

2945
04:02:54.719 --> 04:03:07.879
oh my god. Uh h,
you're reel in here. Funk hits

2946
04:03:07.920 --> 04:03:13.879
the floor. My eye, my
eye as it open, singed, stumbling.

2947
04:03:13.239 --> 04:03:18.799
You saw it. You saw the
smoke like his his his head was

2948
04:03:18.879 --> 04:03:24.959
smoking. Yep, the same ref
as the original. Oh what a what

2949
04:03:26.120 --> 04:03:37.799
a what a business man? I
can't King Lawler thoughts on that fireball.

2950
04:03:39.200 --> 04:03:45.680
I mean I just it's in twenty
fifteen Jackson, Tennessee. You can see

2951
04:03:45.680 --> 04:03:50.639
you don't need that. It's you
know, like we don't need that.

2952
04:03:50.159 --> 04:03:56.719
At this stage, they'd leaned into
it. I remember being ringside and Terry,

2953
04:03:56.799 --> 04:04:00.920
your hair is on fire. You
probably doesn't remember that. That really

2954
04:04:01.280 --> 04:04:07.040
pisses me off. I am still
sitting here with one side of my hair

2955
04:04:07.879 --> 04:04:13.799
shorter than the other. That really
pissed me off. And that's the only

2956
04:04:13.920 --> 04:04:20.239
reason I'm coming back. Speak speaking
of coming back, is it true?

2957
04:04:20.280 --> 04:04:22.719
I mean, you know, it
takes an old man a long time to

2958
04:04:22.840 --> 04:04:28.479
grow hair. Okay, it took
me seventy goddamn years to grow the hair

2959
04:04:28.639 --> 04:04:33.120
that I got on top of my
head, and it took you seven and

2960
04:04:33.200 --> 04:04:39.280
a half seconds to go ahead and
burn the shit off. You're really intelligent

2961
04:04:39.399 --> 04:04:43.040
lawler. That's really brave. That
really has something to do with wrestling.

2962
04:04:43.840 --> 04:04:48.479
What does that have to do with
wrestling? I don't know what you want

2963
04:04:48.440 --> 04:04:56.239
another told. That's not a headlock, that's not a body scissors say that's

2964
04:04:56.440 --> 04:05:01.760
that's really the most stupid thing that
I have ever had done to me in

2965
04:05:01.879 --> 04:05:07.399
the world of wrestling. You ruin
my hair in two seconds. You ruin

2966
04:05:07.559 --> 04:05:16.000
my hair and I've grown for years, wait and have my beautiful hair.

2967
04:05:16.440 --> 04:05:24.639
And then you killing my cat has
said, my cat has that's the stupidest

2968
04:05:24.719 --> 04:05:28.239
thing that I've ever I've ever had
done to me in my entire right.

2969
04:05:28.639 --> 04:05:33.239
Well, I'm it's not the first
time. It's not the first time,

2970
04:05:33.760 --> 04:05:39.600
you idiots. And then what you
just saw there. It was the final

2971
04:05:39.840 --> 04:05:46.959
one on one confrontation match between Terry
Funk and Jerry Lawler October twenty fourth,

2972
04:05:46.000 --> 04:05:50.479
twenty fifteen in Jackson, Tennessee.
Jerry Lawler lets loose the patented fireball,

2973
04:05:50.920 --> 04:05:56.000
and one could say, not only
did Terry Funk fail to get even,

2974
04:05:56.559 --> 04:06:01.239
he walked head first into even more
permanent disfigure. That night in Tennessee,

2975
04:06:03.479 --> 04:06:05.959
they would face off the final time
across the ring from each other in promos

2976
04:06:07.920 --> 04:06:11.879
that we've been hearing from the phone
call that Terry Funk made into Jerry Lawler's

2977
04:06:11.920 --> 04:06:16.719
podcast. It was in promotion of
a pair of bouts on September twenty second

2978
04:06:16.760 --> 04:06:22.319
and twenty third, twenty seventeen in
Spartanburg, South Carolina. For BTW got

2979
04:06:22.399 --> 04:06:26.920
that right, Raleigh and Spartanburg.
I should say it was Ricky Morton,

2980
04:06:26.000 --> 04:06:31.719
Robert Gibson and Terry Funk defeating Brian
Christopher, Jerry Lawler's late son Doug Gilbert,

2981
04:06:31.559 --> 04:06:37.799
the brother of ECW progenitor in so
many ways in Memphis Wrestling acolyte Eddie

2982
04:06:37.799 --> 04:06:43.879
Gilbert and Jerry Lawler a pair of
tag team matches in twenty seventeen, the

2983
04:06:43.959 --> 04:06:50.440
final time Terry Funk and Jerry Lawler
would share a ring together. But of

2984
04:06:50.520 --> 04:06:54.280
course it's never over, is it. It's never over between the Funker and

2985
04:06:54.440 --> 04:06:58.600
Jerry Lawler. No, because for
Terry Funk, there is no such thing

2986
04:07:00.079 --> 04:07:15.760
as finality. Oh man, here
we go. Man. This is Bunkers,

2987
04:07:15.840 --> 04:07:20.879
Texas on the Double Cross Branch.
As far as you can see to

2988
04:07:20.959 --> 04:07:26.520
the left, that's my property.
In any direction, as far as you

2989
04:07:26.719 --> 04:07:33.079
can see, that is my property. I have a gated inference so I

2990
04:07:33.239 --> 04:07:39.559
can keep anybody out that I want
to, and believe me, I live

2991
04:07:41.120 --> 04:07:52.680
a life of solitude or accept for
one individual. Jerry Lawler has taken up

2992
04:07:52.959 --> 04:08:00.600
residents in my mind, and he's
been in my mind for the last twenty

2993
04:08:00.719 --> 04:08:07.879
years, over two decades since he
destroyed some of the vision in my right

2994
04:08:09.000 --> 04:08:16.360
eye. I had a call from
Memphis Tennessee in the hospital. It was

2995
04:08:16.440 --> 04:08:24.280
from Cory Mack, and he was
blabbering and blubbering and bullying like an idiot.

2996
04:08:24.399 --> 04:08:26.959
And he said to me, oh, Terry, oh, Terry,

2997
04:08:28.120 --> 04:08:31.799
I need your help. I want
you down here now, please come,

2998
04:08:33.040 --> 04:08:37.959
Terry. And I said to him
why. He said, because Jimmy Hard

2999
04:08:39.040 --> 04:08:45.000
and Jerry Lawler had beat the hell
out of him. I said to him,

3000
04:08:45.280 --> 04:08:50.440
Cory, don't worry. I will
be there. Like I said on

3001
04:08:50.639 --> 04:08:58.840
the night of the twenty eighth of
August in the Mid South Colisseum, I

3002
04:08:58.040 --> 04:09:05.559
will be there. Not because I
love you, Cory Mack, because I

3003
04:09:05.799 --> 04:09:11.600
hate Jerry Lower, not because I
love Memphis, Tennessee are the people in

3004
04:09:11.840 --> 04:09:18.840
Memphis, but because I hate Jerry
Lawler with a passion. Take a look

3005
04:09:18.920 --> 04:09:24.559
at the man. Look at his
facelifts that he has. He looks like

3006
04:09:24.920 --> 04:09:33.799
Bob Berker. What I am going
to do is I am going to give

3007
04:09:35.280 --> 04:09:43.239
Lawer an extreme makeover on the twenty
eighth. I'm gonna give him a two

3008
04:09:43.600 --> 04:09:50.399
fisted makeover. I'm gonna lower his
eyes, I'm gonna riden his nose,

3009
04:09:50.000 --> 04:09:58.879
I'm gonna fatten his lips, and
I'm gonna realign his teeth, and then

3010
04:09:58.040 --> 04:10:05.920
I'm gonna pull every transplanted hair out
of his hair. And then I'm gonna

3011
04:10:05.079 --> 04:10:13.079
put my foot so far, so
far up here, so far up here,

3012
04:10:13.799 --> 04:10:18.520
so far up his poo poo.
He'll have to go to the hospital

3013
04:10:18.600 --> 04:10:24.520
to get it out. Roller.
There has to be a finality to this,

3014
04:10:26.959 --> 04:10:30.520
and it's gonna be the night of
the twenty eighth, you know,

3015
04:10:31.159 --> 04:10:50.719
good for nothing eggs. Second,
dumb man, we did it our way

3016
04:10:50.840 --> 04:10:58.200
because we love it that way.
We love it that way. I have

3017
04:10:58.319 --> 04:11:01.040
this wonderful I've got a feeling,
and I've had it all my life.

3018
04:11:01.280 --> 04:11:05.399
When it's time to go, I
think it's now it's time to go.