Yesterday (July 6), word came out that wrestling legend Terry Funk is living in a residential care facility. The 77 year has been dealing with multiple health issues.
That news spawned a wave of not only well-wishes and prayers, but also memories of Funk’s 50+ year career, and tributes to his legacy. But it seems no one checked with The Funker himself, until Tommy Dreamer did.
Last night, Dreamer sent out this tweet:
Everyone needs to relax
— Tommy Dreamer (@THETOMMYDREAMER) July 6, 2021
I just got off phone w/ Terry Funk
He is NOT in bad health
He loves everyone talking about him
Direct quote from Funker
I'm currently sitting in an assisted living place w/my thumb up my ass Whistling Dixie but I don't remember the words#Forever #ECW pic.twitter.com/5xlAYu5REh
Which is good enough for me. The ECW Original provided even more detail today on Busted Open, and that’s even better!
Dreamer says he speaks to Funk regularly. Prior to this, they last spoke on his birthday, June 30. While Funk has some memory issues that come with age, Dreamer says Terry is “sharp as a tack”. He keeps up with the business, and can talk about everything from AEW (or “from Dusty’s boys”, as Funk calls it) to WWE’s streaming deal with Peacock. The move to assisted living came because his daughters were worried about him living alone, and it does seem to have helped after “a rough patch with his health.”
That keeping up with the business bit? That’s where the update gets great. In their conversation yesterday where Terry told Dreamer to send the above tweet (or, in Funk-speak, “put it on his computer”), the old worker got to workin’:
“It was perhaps the funniest conversation because now Terry is like, ‘You know what I’m gonna do? You know what, Tommy, we’re going to make money out of this. Maybe Sika’s kid [Roman Reigns] and Paul E. [Paul Heyman], with that history, we’ll do me and you... I’m coming out of retirement. Let’s book it. Bring your Hardcore House [Dreamer’s House of Hardcore promotion], we’re gonna do it... I’m so crazy, I still think I can draw big houses.’
“I go, ‘you can draw big houses.’ And he goes, ‘I know, I’m just trying to be modest! I can outdraw - I heard the ratings are in the shitter.’ And again, this is my normal conversation with Terry. But everything was so awesome. So then I hang up, and then he calls me back and he goes, ‘This is what we’re gonna do. I’m either gonna go get arrested, or I’m thinking of taking off all my clothes, and running out in the street and beating people up. We’ll make money on this somehow.’ I go, ‘Don’t do that,’ and he goes, ‘Well, if they think I’m crazy, hell, I’ll show ‘em I’m crazy.’”
That’s what I’m Funkin’ talking about.