Sad news hit last Wednesday when Terry Funk died at the age of 79 on August 23, 2023. Funk was an inspiration for many in today’s wrestling business. One such man is CM Punk. AEW taped Dynamite and Collision together last week prior to heading to the UK for All In, so Punk was in the building on that evening. Punk gave a speech paying tribute to Funk after the show, and AEW shared the video.
Punk delivered his words holding a sign, “Terry Funk Forever.”
CM Punk: Ladies and gentlemen, I love coming to work, and I get excited every day to see two different generations, one that I’m in the middle of, Sting and Darby Allin. I appreciate coming to work and seeing all of you staying late, hanging out with all of us, letting us entertain you.
One of the big reasons I would say that I’m here, maybe that Sting’s here, maybe that Darby’s here, there’s a little piece of this man (Terry Funk) in each and every single one of you here today. I stand on the shoulders of giants, and, today, we lost one, Terry Funk.
No matter what religion you believe, maybe you don’t have a religion, one thing I believe is that you are never truly gone as long as the people who looked up to you remember you and continue to tell stories long after you’re gone.
My heart is heavy tonight, because Terry is gone. But, I can still smile, because Sting is still here. Bret Hart is still with us, and, damn it, I text him every day. There’s a lot of legends that are still here, but we have to give respect to people that paved the way. Let me hear one time for Terry Funk.
(Crowd erupts in, “Terry,” chants.)
Terry Funk Forever.
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