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WWE News: Hall Of Fame Star Terry Funk Says Goodbye To ECW Fans Amidst Health Concerns

By Shawn Lealos
Published on: 14:19 PST, Sep 18, 2016

Terry Funk is one of the true legends of professional wrestling, including stints in WWE, NWA, ECW, and more. Funk is also a crossover star who has seen success in Hollywood as well. According to Cageside Seats, Terry Funk is dealing with serious medical issues and he made an appearance over the weekend that makes some fans believe that he might be dying.

Funk, 72, was supposed to appear at Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore show but Dreamer announced that Funk was not medically cleared to appear because of a serious illness. However, Terry showed up anyway and just went into the ring to talk to fans. From the looks of the video, Terry Funk didn’t want to leave the ring after he finished talking to fans.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVj7h68sErE

Tommy Dreamer made his name in ECW and Terry Funk was the veteran that helped get ECW noticed by fans across the world. Funk came into ECW as a former NWA World Champion and someone who got some time in during the Hulk Hogan WWE-era with his brother Dory Funk Jr. Terry Funk was one of the men who made ECW mean something.

“I don’t want to leave here tonight,” Funk said at the start of his speech. Terry then said that when he leaves the ring, he will probably never return to that ring again. This appearance took place at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia and he made it clear that he loved ECW fans more than any other wrestling promotion fans, calling them the best in the world.

Over his career, Terry Funk held the NWA World Championship one time and was a two-time WCW World Champion. Terry also held the WCW TV title and numerous NWA regional championships. In the WWE, Funk held the tag team titles once with Cactus Jack when he went by the persona of Chainsaw Charlie. The WWE inducted Terry Funk into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009.

Terry Funk also had a career outside of the WWE and professional wrestling. He appeared in movies like Road House, The Ringer, and Over the Top, and his home life was put on display in the documentary Beyond the Mat, which also featured Mick Foley and Jake “The Snake” Roberts. It was in that documentary that it was clear how much pain Funk was always in.

As of September 12, Terry Funk was still scheduled to appear at an Old School Wrestling show in Odessa, Texas. However, that appearance was likely an autograph signing opportunity, as they also have Road Warrior Animal coming next year as well. Terry could still honestly make autograph signing sessions to continue to make a living but his in-ring career has to be coming to an end for the former WWE star.

The entire situation with the House of Hardcore show was that Terry Funk was supposed to be in the corner of Tommy Dreamer. This means that Terry would likely be involved physically and at his age that is a danger, especially with him suffering from medical problems.

Related WWE Reports By the Inquisitr

Terry Funk has not announced what his ailments are. However, the WWE Hall of Fame superstar sure sounded like he would never make it back to the ECW Arena after this appearance, making it sound like the worst case scenario for Terry Funk might be to come.

[Featured Image by WWE]

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