A sad health update on Terry Funk (Updated)

On a recent episode of Don Muraco’s Magnificent Podcast, the host shared that fellow WWE Hall of Famer Terry Funk has dementia. Funk is living in an assisted living home for those suffering from the impairment.

Mike Johnson of PWInsider confirmed the sad news, reporting “Terry has been dealing with issues for some time that have gotten progressively worse over the last year in the wake of the passing of his wife Vickie.”

Neither Muraco nor Johnson mention a specific cause of or diagnosis for the 77 year old’s condition.

Funk’s legend is born both from the length of his career - after debuting for the NWA in Texas in 1965, he wrestled for more than 50 years - and the hardcore style he helped pioneer in the 1990s. Retirement finally stuck for The Funker after a 2017 six-man tag he worked with the Rock n’ Roll Express against Doug Gilbert, Jerry Lawler and Lawler’s late son Brian in North Carolina.

Prior to this, the last update on Funk came via a Twitter video from the man himself after Dustin Rhodes asked fans to pray for the wrestling legend. In that video, Terry said he was getting “lame-brained”, and asked that people stop sending him autograph requests.

Whether prayers or well-wishes are your thing, we ask that you join us in sending them Terry Funk’s way.

Update: Team Funk has issued a statement via Twitter, which does not specifically mention dementia, but does say he’s dealing with “multiple health issues”, including one or ones which “affect his mind”.