NWA Classics 24/7 #15

Terry & Dory Funk v Jose Lothario & Mil Mascaras (Houston Wrestling, 1/7/79)

This was one of those matches you watch and think, "man, I wonder if Terry Funk is the best wrestler ever at that thing." The thing in question in this match was his struggle to get out of a headlock/front facelock. The match starts out with Dory Funk being armdragged around at half speed before throwing a few short forearms, and that's followed by ten whole minutes of Terry trying to escape a headlock. And what a fun ten minutes they were. The way he tries to shake himself free, how he'll try and lift Lothario's leg off the floor while grinding a forearm across his face, how he'll literally attempt to jump out the ring just to get away -- it made a ten minute segment built around the simplest of holds feel like something you had to watch. Then when he finally manages to tag out he spends the next few minutes bent over on the apron de-cauliflowering his ears. As the match went on he also started getting surly as fuck, and that was a different yet equal kind of awesome. Dory was actually pretty fun in that regard as well, but Dory is low-key surly and when he stooges it's pretty subdued. With Terry, nothing is low-key and nothing is subdued. There was this bit after the opening headlock where Dory chucked Lothario to the floor and as Terry walks over to him you're ready to bet your mortgage on him sticking a boot in. Except he doesn't, and even pats Lothario on the back before helping him back in. That was nice of him, right? Very sporting. Then Dory, the fucking enabler, chucks Jose out again and at this point Terry is like "yes, I in fact DO demand recompense for the cauliflower ear!" All of the Terry/Jose parts were great, actually. That shouldn't really be surprising, but sometimes you'll get two guys on opposite ends of a tag match and they don't quite match up like you want them to. Luckily this had plenty of Terry v Jose and it culminated with them throwing jabs and Terry being left jelly-legged. You know a singles match would rule and you pray to the old gods that one exists. You also pray for that neverending well of untapped Terry Funk footage, for your thirst is yet unquenched.