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The second match-up in the first round of the Cageside Seats (CSS) Pro Wrestling Tournament is officially in the books and we have our first upset. Owen Hart (219 votes), a nine seed, knocked off Buddy Rogers (135 votes), an eight seed.
We continue our tournament with a match pitting number four seed Terry Funk against number 13 seed Bob Backlund.
Funk is one of the most revered pro wrestlers in history, mostly due to his unbelievable longevity. His career began in 1965 and is still going today, as he makes sporadic appearances on the independent scene wrestling at the advanced age of 67. He was involved in many memorable angles throughout his career with a number of wrestlers, like Ric Flair and Mick Foley. He gained fame for wrestling a strong southern style before adopting a more hardcore approach later in his career.
Backlund came to fame in the late 1970s with the World Wide Wrestling Federation, where he was essentially champion from 1978 to 1983 and defended his title against basically every top pro wrestling star at the time. Years later, he would return to the company and have another memorable run as a crazy, out of touch old man who could still wrestle with the best of them, even getting a short lived (three days, actually) title reign.
These two met in the ring a few times early in their careers, with Backlund notably going over on Funk to win the NWA Western States Heavyweight Championship in 1974. Will Funk get his win back all these years later?
Cast your vote in this opening round match-up and take a look at the updated bracket after the jump. For the complete round one schedule click here.
Bracket artwork by: June M. Williams