[1997-08-02-ECW-Monaca, PA] Terry Funk vs Shane Douglas

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

They are on Shane's home turf, so Funk is the heel and Douglas gets the hero's welcome. This could have been great if Douglas decided to work underdog instead of doing his usual heel Franchise act, but Shane dominated most of this and Funk was the one who worked for sympathy. Since this is a particularly bloodthirsty suburban crowd, maybe that worked for the best, because they got lots of crowd pleasing moments. But it still seemed like the roles were backwards. Funk heeled in spots, but didn't go over the top with it like he normally does. Normal payback spots that go to a babyface like the double chair stuff went to Funk instead. I realize Funk was the babyface and Douglas the heel in the big picture, but it seems like they could have flipped things more for one night and given the crowd what they wanted. They sort of started doing that when Francine and Sabu got involved, but this match was all over the place in terms of face/heel alignment.

[Dylan Waco]

I recently rewatched this and got the impression that Funk wanted to wrestle one way and Shane the other. The first time I watched it I was really impressed by the fact that Funk seemed to flip on a dime, but on second watch I see a lot of what you were saying here. A part of me wishes I had pushed for the Funk/Sabu house show match which is better

[WingedEagle]

This definitely could've been a lot more. You had the crowd going one way and the match going another. Would've been quite the scene if they worked what was given to them.

[Kevin Ridge]

Funk knows his part here as the second he steps through the ring entrance he is playing a heel. Douglas seemed to casually acknowledge the fans, who were very much behind him in his hometown but then wrestled mostly like Franchise. We have seen the Harts go to Canada and play up more to their country. Shane could have done more to try be the face with the heavy fan support.

[peachchaos]

Worth noting that Pittsburg was their biggest venue at the time and after realizing the reaction Douglas received here, ECW booked him to go over at the N2R PPV in front of this crowd.

 

This match is nothing special outside of showcasing Funk's turn-heel-at-the-drop-of-a-dime routine. Douglas...not quite as adaptable, but even in a bizzaro world, The Franchise could never be a smiling babyface.

[soup23]

This building looks like the one that should be called the igloo. Fun crowd dynamic too with Funk jawing at them from the onset. Pretty fascinating match to watch knowing the crowd dynamic and the way the match was performed. I think this match shows the difference between Funk as a worker and Douglas. I don't hate Douglas as a worker but am also not a fan. Funk is not someone that is a realistic GOAT candidate for me but certainly levels above Shane and it shows here. Funk knew the crowd and the finish and tried to work a match feeding off of that. Douglas refused and it resulted in a fairly fun match still but disappointing given what it could have been. Sabu running out the end and hitting his move given Funk the pinfall victory gave him a stake claim and also let Funk mug it up one more time.

[BackToBionic]

I legit LOL'd when Funk fought the old lady for her Franchise banner...and she won!

[PeteF3]

A sampling of crowd chants: "NUR-SING-HOME!" "STEERS-AND-QUEERS!" "TEX-AS SUCKS!" And people think Full Sail can be annoying. Well, that aside, I was looking forward to this, with the Bizarro World crowd dynamic, but this ended up being pointless because of Shane's refusal to work as a babyface. He finally throws a few token attempts towards the end, like asking the crowd if they want one more belly-to-belly, but that's it. Sabu runs in for no reason other than Paul E. couldn't be bothered to book a sensible finish and Funk retains his title.