Hi Scott,
In the attitude era, why did the WWF decide that Chainsaw Charlie would be a good character for Terry Funk?
Wouldn't Terry Funk (as Terry Funk) have given The New Age Outlaws even more of a rub?
Thanks.
I think that Foley talked about it in his book and said it was Funk's idea, but I'm drawing a blank at the moment otherwise. Anyone else remember?
I don't remember it being any big secret that it was Terry Funk. They may have actually said as much on the air. I think it was more of Chainsaw Charlie being an alter ego to go with Mick Foley having Mankind, Dude Love, and Cactus Jack.
ReplyDeleteI was just about to say the same thing.
ReplyDeleteIt was admitted to be Funk and was Funk's idea.
ReplyDeleteI think it was mentioned on a shoot interview, I think from Cornette, Terry Funk came up with the character partially because Kevin Dunn said that no one in the WWF audience would know who Terry Funk is since they didn't old NWA/WCW or a small promotion like ECW.
ReplyDeleteThough I'm probably not remembering what was said correctly.
I remember Foley's story being that Funk suddenly came up with the name "Chainsaw Charlie" and then said: "I have no idea where that came from". It literally sounds like it was just a bizarre idea that came out of Terry Funk's batshit crazy mind with no context whatsoever, but Vince actually liked it enough to run with it.
ReplyDeleteI'm no tough guy or anything, but the more I heard about Kevin Dunn, the more I want to punch him in the face.
ReplyDeleteI have "More Than Hardcore", Funk's autobiography. He mentions he was supposed to debut jumping out of a box, and Bruce Pritchard asked if he wanted to come out as anything.
ReplyDeleteThe exact quote is:"Before my brain could fully process the question, my lips blurted out, "Chainsaw Charlie! Get me a chainsaw, so I can go out there!" I can't explain it. It just popped into my mind."Of his big debut:"I came out of that box with my chainsaw and my stocking over my head, and the crowd, expecting some great surprise, let out a sound that seemed strangely reminiscent of escaping gas. I had visions of coming out to a tremendous roar, but that wasn't exactly the reaction I got."
I never watched or really followed Terry Funk growing up. I didn't really even see him wrestle until his ECW run or the Chainsaw Charlie program. But I have to say that every time I see the guy in an old clip or on YouTube, he impresses me with a promo or his ring-work.
ReplyDeleteA true legend. Is he in the WWE Hall of Fame?
Yeah, anyone who knew who Funk was understood that he was Chainsaw Charlie. Anyone who didn't konw of Funk wouldn't have been any more impressed by him as Terry Funk. Thus, no rub was lost by having him play an alter ego.
ReplyDeleteI'd say get in line, I'm pretty sure it's a long one too. Is there anyone in the WWE/WWF history more hated then Dunn? Even Russo has a few fans compared to Dunn.
ReplyDeleteDunn wouldn't let Lawler have Lance Russell induct him into the HoF for the same reason. Instead Lawler had to be inducted by someone who only interacted with him for what, 10 or 15 minutes?
ReplyDeleteOn the James Guttman/club wwi podcast interview he refers to chainsaw as his idea but wrestlers always say everything was their idea, unless it's a total flop, in which case they usually say raven came up with it...
ReplyDeleteOk, but I think he forgot, that Funk was as Funk in the WWF in 1997...
ReplyDeleteYes, of course. His brother and I believe his father are also.
ReplyDeleteYep, apparently, Dunn's problem is that he always wanted to be some Emmy-award winning producer and is embarrassed to be associated with wrestling, but since he'll never find a job that pays better than WWE (or will hire him at all, for that matter), he sticks with it and compensates by trying to make wrestling as un-wrestling as possible.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the commentators referred to him as Terry Funk frequently, and Road Dogg called him Terry Funk in his pre-match spiel at WM14.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't watching at this point...was the tenure a success or not? It was obviously not the greatest gimmick ever, but he still ended up winning the tag belts and appearing at Rumble/Wrestlemania...would be interested to hear some opinions from people.
ReplyDeleteAnd hence Exhibit #1,204 why the WWE HOF is a joke.
ReplyDeleteYep this is exactly what I was thinking.
ReplyDeleteTheir feud with the Outlaws was fun and produced some killer matches. It didn't last long, not too long after WM, Vince made Foley fight Funk in a hardcore match.
ReplyDeleteI believe the gimmick went away quietly after Wrestlemania and it was back to being Terry Funk, but I would say that while he had some fun matches with Foley and the Outlaws, outside of it struck me soon after that he was mainly as a guy with name recognition to help put the new, younger talent over. I think it can be argued that Vader was in the same spot during that time period as well.
ReplyDeleteNot that I have a problem with that, but opinions may vary.
Foley was doing the alter-ego angle at the time, I think Funk wanted to do the Chainsaw Charlie thing to play off of that. They didn't really try to hide who he was - and it wasn't long after his debut they were just outright saying he was Terry Funk just fucking around because he's crazy...by Wrestlemania he was pretty much just Terry Funk, not sure if they were calling him Chainsaw Charlie but he wasn't dressing the part.
ReplyDeleteKiller?!
ReplyDeleteRose tinted glasses my friend, those matches were terrible.
The match with Mick Foley on Raw which led to the heel turn was the shit.
The first time I ever saw Terry Funk was the night he attacked Flair after the Steamboat match at Wrestlewar. That's one table spot I'll NEVER forget.
ReplyDeleteI dug them.
ReplyDeleteI get the feeling Funk saw Leatherface on some FMW shows and wanted to steal the gimmick. Or he was just a Texas Chainsaw Massacre fan. Either way, it feels kinda right, doesn't it? It played into the whole "alter ego" thing that Foley had going on.
ReplyDeletenot tryin to shyt on ur opinion, i thought theywere bad in 98.
ReplyDeleteOn the bright side I'm sure I heard rumours that Triple H and Stephanie aren't a big fan of his so hopefully this is true.
ReplyDeleteHe was pretty much Funk at WrestleMania, wasn't he? The whole time he was pretty much acknowledged as Funk in a tongue-in-cheek kinda way.
ReplyDeleteI think you might be in the minority on that opinion, pal.
ReplyDeleteNah, more like Evidence 1204 as to why Kevin Dunn should be fired and/or assassinated. Yesterday.
ReplyDeleteIn early Jan/Feb 1998 (I was a kid) I went to a RAW taping in NorCal. I wasnt that smartened up; I was familiar with ECW only through the internet and Apter mags and new their big names could jump to WWF/WCW.
ReplyDeleteAnyway I saw Cactus and Chainsaw beat somebody and crazy Chainsaw used a moonsault for the victory.
A couple of matches later I was in the snack bar (very small arena). Billy Gunn was chatting it up with some fans, fully gimmicked out and had a large crowd around him.
I recognized some guy on the pay phone who could have been a wrestler though he was much older and not "gimmicked out". But I soon recognized it was Terry Funk from my magazines and when he was done with his phone call he signed me an autograph (signed Terry Funk of course although hje wasnt exactly going by that gimmick in WWF).
I think they acknowledged Chainsaw as Terry Funk more towards the end of that run in March/April hence why I had to put 2 & 2 together, but I guess thanks to Kevin Dunn thats why it didnt just smack me in the face.
Since then Ive gone back and watched his classic matches with Flair and other classic matches hes had but it was a kind of funny incident at the time.
I would call it a moderate success, as long as you didn't expect him or his success/overness to be at a level he could achieve 10-15 years earlier (to say nothing of the 70s). The matches with the Outlaws helped to give them some more credibility, which always helps. And the hardcore matches certainly fit in with the increasingly more aggressive style the WWF was doing at the time. He was a solid short-term addition, IMO.
ReplyDeletePart of the reason it was short-term was because his body could take only so much intense punishment at his age. He apparently hurt his back pretty bad at WM, hence being cuffed and not having to move much during the cage match with the Outlaws the next night.
And his match with Foley occurred about 5 or 6 weeks after WM, I think May 4th.
gimcicjk infridgment
ReplyDeletehow amazing is it that Funk is so secure about himself (and I guess his "legacy") that he has no problem openly admitting something like this? (I am sure dozens of others workers would have tried to sugar coat that story)
ReplyDeleteyeah, Kevin Dunn seems like a moron.
ReplyDeleteUm, the shit is good.
ReplyDeleteThe shits is bad.
Funk don't give a fuck.
ReplyDeleteso he is basically just like Vince?
ReplyDeleteTerry also has a pretty solid business acumen. I think that he wanted to come up with something that Vince could trademark so that he wouldn't be restricted later if he wanted to go somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteUm... I know that. I liked the foley/Funk Raw match. The Outlaws/Foley-Funk matches were the shits.
ReplyDeleteDont try to correct me.
Yessir, I was there live for it in 2009, easily my favorite HOF Class. Austin, Steamboat, the Von Erichs, and the Funks.
ReplyDeleteAnd Koko B. Ware, I guess.
Can we correct your punctuation?
ReplyDeleteAPA Format? Fuck off. Knock my views on wrestling, Fine. Im replying from a phone the majority of the time.
ReplyDeleteSorta but not really OT, but I can't help but think of this song every time I read about Terry Funk
ReplyDeletePeelander-Z - "Terry Punk!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bR5sOhG9jfU