GUNTHER Not Interested In WWE NXT Return, Mick Foley Reflects On Terry Funk’s Stardom
In a recent interview with Haus of Wrestling, GUNTHER declared that he is unwilling to return to WWE NXT and is laser-focused on climbing the ranks of the main roster.
GUNTHER is just a week and a half away from breaking the record for the longest WWE Intercontinental Title reign held by the Honky Tonk Man. GUNTHER said,
“I don’t think right now, I think I move forward. I’ve spent my time in NXT, and one day, I think, it will be nice to return and do a match again. But as of right now, my focus is elsewhere. I’m on the run of a lifetime right now, and I can’t really divert my focus to other things.”
On a recent edition of his “Foley is Pod” podcast, Mick Foley remembered Terry Funk’s stardom in Japan and how much of a legend the late Hall of Famer was in that country.
Funk was famous for the longevity of his career which spanned more than five decades and included multiple short-lived retirements, and the influential hardcore wrestling style he pioneered in the latter part of his career. Foley said,
“There were matches like the one we had January 10, 1995 and you look back and think, ‘Wow, what was I doing in front of that small crowd?’ I know we were trying to create a moment that would put the promotion on the map because we saw the media contingent out there. That’s a really powerful force in Japanese wrestling, but I still look at it and go, ‘Man, I think I was crazy.’ But Terry was 20 years older than me. If anything, he was the guy that needed toning down, not me. Everything I did, the stuff I’m known for doing, he was doing as well and doing it 20 years my senior. Yeah, well ‘legend’ gets thrown around a lot, as does the word ‘iconic,’ but he was legendary and he was iconic in the culture. So after that huge farewell when he came back, he was never quite the same, but he was still idolized to the point where when we did the finals of the King of the Deathmatch tournament, he left by ambulance and there were hundreds of people surrounding the ambulance all saying his name.”
Funk passed away on August 23, 2023, at the age of 79, at a Phoenix-area hospital.
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