WWE.com Mercury Rising wasn't only designed to be an independent wrestling supershow, it was meant to honor wrestling legend Terry Funk. A grateful Funk came to the ring before a roaring crowd, thanking us for our support. He was joined by hardcore icon Sabu, who teased a fight with "The Funker" briefly, but ultimately embraced him. The surprise of Sabu showing up didn't match the shock when Mick Foley arrived, looking to pay tribute to his friend and mentor. Foley explained that even though the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony was running concurrently with Mercury Rising, there's no place he'd rather be than by Funk's side, paying his respect. The three men were set to go to the back, but they were interrupted by Earl Cooter and manager Larry Dallas. The brash pair got in Funk's face, with Cooter (in a takeoff of Dennis Stamp's speech in "Beyond the Mat") complaining that he wasn't booked for the show. Things soon turned disrespectful, and of course, the legends (and Mr. Socko) sent Cooter and Dallas packing.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
