Terrance Dee "Terry" Funk was an American professional wrestler. Widely considered one of the most influential
and greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Funk was known for the longevity of his career – which spanned more than 50 years and included multiple short-lived retirements – and the influential hardcore wrestling style he pioneered in the latter part of his career.
Funk as NWA World Heavyweight Champion in 1976
Funk with brother Dory (1973)
Professional wrestlers Pedro Morales (left), Terry Funk (center) and Dory Funk Sr (right) in 1973.
Funk alongside fellow Texan wrestler Kevin Von Erich in 1985
Hardcore wrestling is a form of professional wrestling where disqualifications, count-outs, and all other different rules do not apply. Taking place in usual or unusual environments, hardcore wrestling matches allow the use of numerous items, including ladders, tables, chairs, thumbtacks, barbed wire, light tubes, shovels, glass, baseball bats and other improvised weapons used as foreign objects. Although hardcore wrestling is a staple of most wrestling promotions, where they are often used at the climaxes of feuds, some promotions specialize in hardcore wrestling, with many matches performed in this manner.
Bull Curry was an innovator in hardcore wrestling.
Abdullah the Butcher during a hardcore match
A ring using barbed wire instead of ropes; this was first popularised by FMW in the 1990s.
Sabu putting Rhino through a table in Extreme Championship Wrestling