Terry Funk Shoots On How Ric Flair "isn't Even Close To The Greatest," And More

TERRY FUNK SHOOTS ON THE "IDIOT BOSS" WHO CAME UP WITH CHAINSAW CHARLIE, HOW RIC FLAIR "ISN'T EVEN CLOSE TO THE GREATEST," AND MORE
by WorldWrestlingInsanity.com @ 2008-05-12 09:39:42

The 115th edition of JG’s Radio Free Insanity is on the air and available right now at WorldWrestlingInsanity.com (Flash and MP3 download) This week's show features the legendary Terry Funk.

James Guttman welcomes listeners to the show and starts off by talking about this week's guest. On ClubWWI.com, James has interviewed his brother, Dory Funk Jr. He's also interviewed people who love him (Dennis Stamp.) In fact, he's one of the most universally respected and praised stars in the business. Terry Funk is arguably the biggest legend in wrestling history and has a presence that can't be denied. JG mentions how long he's wanted to bring Terry to ClubWWI.com. In fact, in 2005, when Guttman's first book, World Wrestling Insanity, came out, Funk was one of the stars to contribute quotes. Now, three years later, he joins the Club.

Funk's ClubWWI.com shoot lasted for 55 minutes and included a ton of talk. Some topics discussed include: Why He's Not in TNA, Vince McMahon's Theory on Wrestling, Mick Foley on Smackdown Commentary, The One Time He Retired, Fake Retirements, Mel Phillips, The Inspiration Behind Chainsaw Charlie, UFC's "Scripted" Reality Show, Hogan Knows Best, His Dusty Rhodes Impression, The Only Time He Ever Retired On His Own, His Return at XPW "Cold Day In Hell," Sabu, Raven, Sandman, Hogan Knows Best, His DVD Club (FunkUDVD.com), The Rock, His First Day of Training and More.

Don't forget, You can hear over 110 stars have come to ClubWWI.com ...the moment you sign up (for less than $5 a month.) Other guests include: Jesse Ventura, Jerry Lawler, Vince Russo, Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan, Kevin Nash, The Iron Sheik, Sid Vicious, Paul Bearer, Bruno Sammartino, Sean Mooney, Scott D'Amore, Tito Santana, Al Snow, Tod Gordon, Charlie Haas, Tom Prichard, Jacques Rougeau, Tammy Sytch, Too Cold Scorpio, Ole Anderson, Kid Kash, Ivan Koloff, Jackie Gayda, John Heidenreich, Jimmy Hart, Jimmy Valiant, Bad News Brown, Nick Bockwinkel, Dory Funk Jr, Diamond Dallas Page, Rob Conway, Sylvain Grenier, Buff Bagwell, Christian Cage, Jazz, Demolition Ax and Smash, Koko B. Ware, Ricky Morton, Dustin Rhodes, Damian Demento, Fred "Shockmaster" Ottman, Cpl. Kirchner, One Man Gang, Scott Steiner, Shawn Stasiak, Ted DiBiase, Ivory, Chris Masters, Elix Skipper, Kamala, Samoa Joe, Giant Bernard, Bill DeMott, Juvi "Juice" Guerrera, Nora "Molly Holly" Greenwald, Nick Dinsmore, Harley Race, Bull Buchanan, D-Lo Brown, Road Warrior Animal, Missing Link, Slick, Nidia, George Steele, Christy Hemme, Disco Inferno, Paul Ellering, Vito, Steve Blackman, AJ Styles, Chris Daniels, Dennis Stamp, Shawn Daivari, Kevin Sullivan, B.G. James, Ron Killings, Zach Gowan, Dan Severn, Earl and Dave Hebner, Spike Dudley, Rodney Mack, Larry Zybszko, Rick Steiner, Mae Young, and many, more.

Terry Funk is ready to embark on another big moment in his career as he returns to the ring for XPW's return to the ring. Yup. The ultra-violent hardcore cult promotion, XPW, returns for a Cold Day in Hell with the Funker as the guest referee in the main event. James speaks highly of the company and fills in any younger fans who might not know about them. Essentially, they took the gritty and violent ECW…and did it up even grittier and more violent. If you ask a non-fan to tell you about "hardcore wrestling," they'd probably think of something along the lines of XPW. If you haven't yet seen it, you owe it to yourself to do so.

Tickets to XPW Cold Day In Hell on May 24th are available on BVDVD.com. Big Vision also has a cavalcade of wrestling and entertainment DVDs available on the site. The man behind BVDVD, Kevin Kleinrock, was on ClubWWI.com last year, plus many of the titles have been reviewed by ZAH on the Cub. On top of that, you can check out FunkUDVD.com for an exclusive offer to get five free DVDs.

JG then tells listeners that there won't be a Raw Insanity this week again. He apologizes but with his daughter's birth scheduled for any day now, things have gotten busier than ever. James would rather skip a Raw Insanity than an uncut shoot interview so he had to make the choice. The good news? A brand new uncut interview, that truly embodies "Insanity" is set for Wednesday. On top of that, you can log into the Club right now for Orlando Jordan's "Club OJ" audio show, where he shoots on the Ultimate Warrior, his opponent on June 25th, for the first time.

With that, James cues up clips from Terry Funk's shoot.

James Guttman says that the word "legend" is used to describe many retired stars, but this week's guest embodies the word…beats it up and brands the Double Cross Ranch logo on it. He introduces Terry Funk to the show and Terry says that he's retired a few times. However, whenever you run out of tread, you have to get a new set. JG likens Funk to the Godfather movie quote that every time he gets out, they pull him back in. Funk laughs and James gives him a chance to talk about the big XPW reunion show that he'll be taking part in on May 24th. The Funker will return to the ring as a guest referee for the tag main event between Nate Webb and Raven vs. Homeless Jimmy and Sabu.

"I really feel good about it. I really do. Because XPW's last show, I was on the first show of the XPW and I don't know if you know that or not….The thing I really like about it is that Sabu and Raven are there. These two guys are really what wrestling is about and I know you think, 'What's this guy trying to tell me?' They're about all that's left of that hardcore style and the individual that feels that wrestling is way of life and you're your own boss and you can call your own shots. And these guys have that and they've been successful through the years. Not too many guys have, as far as independents are concerned. So, it's going to be great to be back in that ring and especially to be in there with Sabu and Raven."


- ClubWWI break -

James brings up the story of how Jim Herd wanted to change his gimmick. Funk quickly jumps in.

"He should have changed his gimmick!"

Guttman laughs and asks if that ever happened to Terry. Did a promoter ever want to change his gimmick?

"Sure. It wasn't the promoter, but it was the boss. The boss went ahead and changed Terry Funk's gimmick. The boss changed his gimmick to Chainsaw Charlie. The boss changed his gimmick to Dr. Knows-It-All with a mask on. You know who the boss was, right? Who was it? Who was it?"

JG walks right into it and mistakenly says, "Vince McMahon." (JG Note: I had to bite my tongue not to say Tony Danza.)

"No! Terry Funk was the boss! The idiot that was me made both those bad decisions."

Terry and James begin laughing and Funk repeats that it was he who made the decision to change his own gimmick twice. He told Vince, "I want to be Chainsaw Charlie. What an idiot deal that was! But at least I knew that was an idiot after a while and I got away from it."

- ClubWWI break -

Guttman brings up the 1989 WCW year where Terry Funk had amazing matches with Ric Flair. He asks Terry about his opinion on Flair, especially in light of his recent retirement.

"Honestly, and again, he's quite a piece of talent. Really, when I say a great piece of talent, he's a great in-ring performer. Do I consider him the greatest? Oh hell no, I don't consider him the greatest. He's not even close to the greatest. That's for damn sure. He's way down the line compared to the greatest. You know who the greatest is, don't ya?"

JG - smartened up from the previous question - answers, "I'd guess…you?"

"You damn right!"

Funk's ClubWWI.com shoot lasted for 55 minutes and included a ton of talk. Some topics discussed include: Why He's Not in TNA, Vince McMahon's Theory on Wrestling, Mick Foley on Smackdown Commentary, The One Time He Retired, Fake Retirements, Mel Phillips, The Inspiration Behind Chainsaw Charlie, UFC's "Scripted" Reality Show, Hogan Knows Best, His Dusty Rhodes Impression, The Only Time He Ever Retired On His Own, His Return at XPW "Cold Day In Hell," Sabu, Raven, Sandman, Hogan Knows Best, His DVD Club (FunkUDVD.com), The Rock, His First Day of Training and More.

Don't forget, You can hear over 110 stars have come to ClubWWI.com ...the moment you sign up (for less than $5 a month.) Other guests include: Jesse Ventura, Jerry Lawler, Vince Russo, Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan, Kevin Nash, The Iron Sheik, Sid Vicious, Paul Bearer, Bruno Sammartino, Sean Mooney, Scott D'Amore, Tito Santana, Al Snow, Tod Gordon, Charlie Haas, Tom Prichard, Jacques Rougeau, Tammy Sytch, Too Cold Scorpio, Ole Anderson, Kid Kash, Ivan Koloff, Jackie Gayda, John Heidenreich, Jimmy Hart, Jimmy Valiant, Bad News Brown, Nick Bockwinkel, Dory Funk Jr, Diamond Dallas Page, Rob Conway, Sylvain Grenier, Buff Bagwell, Christian Cage, Jazz, Demolition Ax and Smash, Koko B. Ware, Ricky Morton, Dustin Rhodes, Damian Demento, Fred "Shockmaster" Ottman, Cpl. Kirchner, One Man Gang, Scott Steiner, Shawn Stasiak, Ted DiBiase, Ivory, Chris Masters, Elix Skipper, Kamala, Samoa Joe, Giant Bernard, Bill DeMott, Juvi "Juice" Guerrera, Nora "Molly Holly" Greenwald, Nick Dinsmore, Harley Race, Bull Buchanan, D-Lo Brown, Road Warrior Animal, Missing Link, Slick, Nidia, George Steele, Christy Hemme, Disco Inferno, Paul Ellering, Vito, Steve Blackman, AJ Styles, Chris Daniels, Dennis Stamp, Shawn Daivari, Kevin Sullivan, B.G. James, Ron Killings, Zach Gowan, Dan Severn, Earl and Dave Hebner, Spike Dudley, Rodney Mack, Larry Zybszko, Rick Steiner, Mae Young, and many, more.



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