As older fans might remember, Terry Funk had a brief run in WWE from 1985 to 1986. During that time, he had a token cowboy gimmick that saw him wear a cowboy hat and carry a branding iron to the ring. His run wasnt particularly successful (despite a few title matches and a WrestleMania appearance), and it was obvious that WWE werent using him to his fullest. Frustrated, Funk left WWE and ended up wrestling for IWA Japan, a fledging promotion that was trying to cash-in on the hardcore wrestling market. You can probably guess where this is going. Funk participated in the now infamous King Of The Deathmatch Tournament, which has come to be regarded as one of the biggest moments of his career, and has gone on to become one of the shining examples of hardcore wrestling at its finest. Funk wrestled in some of the most outrageous matches ever, including a No-Ropes-Barbed-Wire-Exploding-Barbed-Wire-Boards-&-Exploding-Ring-Time-Bomb-Death-Match against his protégé Cactus Jack. The violence unleashed by both of these men elevated them both to the highest echelons of hardcore wrestling stardom. Funks success in Japan allowed him to further cultivate this image as a legendary hardcore wrestler, and that reputation followed him wherever he went, leading him to becoming immortalized as one of, if not the best hardcore wrestler of all time.
Alexander Podgorski is a writer for WhatCulture that has been a fan of professional wrestling since he was 8 years old. He loves all kinds of wrestling, from WWE and sports entertainment, to puroresu in Japan.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queen's University in Political Studies and French, and a Master's Degree in Public Administration. He speaks English, French, Polish, a bit of German, and knows some odd words and phrases in half a dozen other languages.