[1991-08-17-WWA] Terry Funk vs Bob Backlund

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Not really a good match, but Funk's antics made it interesting - not just his usual crazy man schtick, but also the way he worked holds. I loved him resting his knees on Backlund's face during the test of strength. This match was slow moving, but never felt slow moving, if that makes any sense.

[PeteF3]

Funk's Howdy-Doody-centered promo is fantastic. Slow match but this would have gotten over like gangbusters in 1980 in MSG and is an interesting (and promising) glimpse at how this match would have gone had the WWF brought Funk in at the time. Funk does a clean job, which is refreshing to see, and Scott Dickinson pays for it after the match. Not a great match when all is said and done, but both guys looked good and worked hard.

[Kevin Ridge]

Funk was his crazy self at start of match. Tough to get through the rest though. It’s probably better than the Backlund/Lawler match from one of the other yearbooks. Backlund’s style is really out of place in the 90’s.

[soup23]

I would love for Parv to watch this match. I still don't know if it was good or not but it was engaging and thought-provoking. Funk comes out like a madman and I expected his usual crazy brawl with backlund mixing up and doing his jumping around shine spots. Instead we get the typical Funk antics but then a match that legitimately consisted for most of its duration with a test of strength. Funk really milks it though and made little touches to keep it interesting. Really fun match to watch and analyze.

[garretta]

I'm not sure if this is the worst match on the entire '91 Yearbook so far, but it's pretty close. The only thing saving me from really going to town on it is that Terry was recovering from a legit injury and probably couldn't go at more than half-speed. He did what he could with his mouth to keep this from being a complete bore, and the crazy man stuff is always fun to watch, but it isn't enough to be the meat and potatoes of a whole bout like it has to be here. A match like this would have been crapped on at MSG in 1980 or at any other time you care to name, and Terry would have been a one-and-done if this had been all he had to offer.

 

Backlund and his ring rust made this even worse. The only thing remotely interesting on his side of the ledger is that Cruise and his partner did a great job explaining and putting over his bitterness toward the WWF, which would explain his heel turn three years later. Talking about how he could beat guys like Hogan, Piper and Sid after just one match in two years might seem like a little much, but they had to say something positive about him; the only move I really remember him executing is the winning rollup.

 

Thank heaven Cruise had a lot to talk about, or this match would have been unbearable. I wonder if he and Odorizzi began mentioning the heat late in the bout in an effort to excuse the seeming lethargy on behalf of Backlund and Funk.

 

I'm not sure I believe the story about the referee being assigned this match out of the blue just for showing up, but it sure sounded interesting.

 

Maybe a rematch when Funk's healthier and Backlund's shaken off the rust might interest me. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like we're going to get one. Maybe the tag that came before this match with Lawler and Corny will be a bit better; it sure can't be much worse.

[JKWebb]

I've been watching a lot of Backlund lately, so I was pretty pumped when I saw this pop up. I was let down for the most part. I thought Funk made things interesting from time to time (particularly his work on the arm of Backlund and when he put his weight on his face), but just not enough for me to say this was actually good. Bummer.

[dawho5]

I liked how Funk seemed to take more than a little delight in pissing off the crowd by working the match the way he did. I did not like the 7 or 8 flips over the ropes for no apparent reason. Funk makes this almost worthwhile. I didn't hate it, nor would I put it as the worst match on the 91 YB. I did, however have the thought that it would have been much better even 2 or 3 months later when both would have been more able to go. It did bring up the idea that as wrestlers you have to make the crowd buy into your match, not buy into what the crowd wants. Funk using that ridiculous method of control that the crowd was clearly doing "boring" chants in response to in order to get boos may have been an early usage of the more "meta" type heeling.

[WingedEagle]

I thought this was tremendous fun.  Funk isn't the GOAT candidate for me that he is for others but everything he did here from the time he entered the gym, from working the crowd, ref, ring announcer and seemingly every person who made eye contact with him was captivating.  The early action with him flying around for Backlund kept you hooked and then I actually found their headlock and test of strength work quite active and engaging the whole way.  The play by play wouldn't read like something I'd usually go for but this was an incredibly fun ride.  ***1/2