10 Most Effective Wrestling Blade Jobs Ever

5. ...As Does Terry Funk

Austin McMahon
FMW

Keep your eyes peeled for an announcement of an AEW event held in an open-air venue; Kenny Omega, desperate to atone for the events of Revolution 2021, wants to run back an Exploding Barbed Wire Death match.

And with good reason; despite several great twists on the format, in which the suspense element was subverted with a killer double explosion sequence, Omega Vs. Jon Moxley will only be remembered for the finish. The dud explosion was horrendous, an embarrassment: the two men did as poor a job of cosplaying Onita and Terry Funk as Bray Wyatt did Mick Foley.

The infamous Terry Funk Vs. Atsushi Onita match, at the FMW 4th Anniversary Show, was the first to introduce the Time Bomb wrinkle to the mega-fad of the explosions match. It was remarkably effective.

Funk was the perfect worker for the stip; one of if not the best sellers ever, his way of building suspense and "involuntarily" staggering towards the wired explosives deepened the heft of the attraction, and Onita's heroism in protecting him from ostensible death was enough to add an extra five figure crowd onto the next two major FMW shows. By '95, his "Farewell" match opposite Hayabusa drew an amazing 58,250 to Kawasaki Stadium.

Before he was nicknamed 'Mr. Liar' for reneging on his retirement vows, Onita cradled Funk's blood-splattered face to increase the promotion's white-hot run well into the mid-'90s.

 
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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!