What a sad, sad week it has been in the world of professional wrestling. First Terry Funk then Bray Wyatt. Woof. I discuss both men in the questions below. And of course we have All In this weekend as well, with over 80,000 fans jamming Wembley for a non-WWE show which is crazy. No time to waste, let’s dive right in.
Chad A kicks us off with…”Favorite Terry Funk match or promo? Mine will always be the empty arena match in Memphis with Lawler”
For a feud, I LOVED the Flair feud in 1989. That first promo at Wrestle War immediately following Flair beating Steamboat was amazing. Also hoping someone could find the allegedly lost promo where he called Mick Foley a satchel ass. This one is also great:
And to this day, I still laugh that apparently his voice mail greeting was him just yelling TERRY FUNK as loud as he could. The world needs more people like Terry Funk.
Andrew S asks…”Why did WWE never let Bray Wyatt hit his full potential?”
I think it was a real challenge to use Bray in a way that wouldn’t isolate some of the fan base. He was a character a lot of folks absolutely loved and others absolutely hated. And not in a ‘we’re going to boo John Cena even though he’s a babyface’ kind of way. There was also the challenge that coming out of a feud was Wyatt or more specifically the Fiend guys were generally worse off, not better. He was a really interesting performer in so many regards, and I really can’t think of anyone else I’ve ever seen that had such a reaction from fans.
Aaron P ponders…”This is a week full of bad news for Wrestling Fans young and old: First Terry Funk passes away, now Windham Rotunda (AKA Bray Wyatt). Thankfully none of their deaths were wrestling related (Funk simply died of old age at 79, and Rotunda’s death was by a heart attack related to a bout with COVID-19). The question I have for you is this: Do you think the wrestling promotions are getting better or worse at ensuring the long-term health of their Superstars?”
I think it’s getting better. You see guys held out for concussions, matches being stopped due to injuries. This doesn’t happen constantly but far more often than in years past when guys would simply “tough it out” and risk further damage or long term troubles later in life. It’s by no means perfect (and there’s way too many unneeded dangerous stunts with stuff like glass and barbed wire for my tastes), but yes, definitely improving.
The great Paul K brings up some memories with…”I bet you already knew about this, but there’s a Famicom game with Popeye in it that’s meant to teach Japanese kids English. …which is funny because Popeye’s English isn’t very good…. heh.”
I had no idea. Really hoping one of the clues is “Blow Me…” and the next one is “…down.”
My old friend Mark M wants to know…”What is the air speed velocity of a laden swallow?”
Insufficient information to answer this question.
John W jams with…“I’ve never sent in questions before but after reading your latest post and being a fan of Extreme, I have two questions. What are your thoughts on their 4th album “Waiting for the Punchline?” and did you like Van Halen’s III album w/ Gary Cherone on vocals?”
“Waiting for the Punchline” is a weird album, and probably my least favorite Extreme release. That said, I love the title track and there are a few others that I enjoy as well. I also get where they were going with “There is No God” (that being that God 100% exists, which if you really look at the lyrics follows in line with their Christian leanings in other songs such as the fantastic “Rise n Shine” from “III Sides to Every Story”), but I can’t get behind a song that basically chants that over and over. To your other question, I loved Van Halen III. I thought I was the only person on the planet that did since it got a lot of backlash from fans, but I’ve discovered that’s not the case recently. Apparently there were a lot of songs that exist in some form from the follow up to that album but no one seems to know where they are, which is a shame as per Gary they were more along the lines of a typical Van Halen release than the more experimental III.
Tim P pulls up to the dinner table with…”Proper cheese in a grilled cheese sandwich?”
Mrs. Deal makes a five cheese grilled cheese that is out of this world. No idea what all is in it and I dare not ask – I’d rather just enjoy the delicious mystery.
And that makes me hungry, so I think I’ll go ask her to make me one. I’ll see you all on Sunday for the live chat on Facebook of All In. And keep those questions coming in!