[2000-01-24-WCW-Nitro] Terry Funk vs Bam Bam Bigelow (Hardcore)

[soup23]

Some pretty generic hardcore action here. Bigelow looks like a bruiser to a degree and its crazy seeing old Terry bump but that was about the highlights. Knobbs and Fit as a tag team in matching outfits made me sad. Someone has a sign to bring back Owen. Classy. *1/2

[Loss]

Bigelow is now a gun for hire apparently, taking $15,000 from the NWO to put the hurt on Terry Funk, despite Arn Anderson's pleading. Bigelow drags him around with a noose and this is a brutal display for sure, almost uncomfortably so, which is mostly a credit to Funk's convincing selling, not so much that they crossed a line in taste level. I don't know if $15,000 makes WCW seem low-rent or not when Dusty and Tully were fighting for $100K in JCP and The Rock is on the other channel talking about his $20,000 shirts, but that's probably not a big deal. It's still a lot of freakin' money. I am actually enjoying this Terry Funk run. These two match up well, and Funk is working stiff. Finlay and Knobs try to come to Funk's aid and Bigelow singlehandedly fights them off at first, which makes him look great, before succumbing to a chairshot, and Finlay and Knobs rolling Funk on top of Bigelow for the win.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Ok starting watching full Nitros at this point a couple nights ago, I remember liking this period as kid but this was a pretty lame episode. Bobby Heenan was a shell of himself. He kept calling Tank Abbott a handful, Tony no sold it because it wasn't funny but he kept at it . Brutal. I usually enjoy Hall/Nash/Steiner antics but not very funny.

 

In the year 2000 Terry Funk was the number 2 babyface in the second biggest national promotion. Can you believe that? Nash puts a hot out on Funk. Bigelow drads Funk by the neck with a belt pretty brutal and is focused on destroying Funk's shoulder. Good basic psychology with hope spots mixed. Findlay & Knobs are a team and help Funk! God knows why? Funk will have back up on Thunder. Please be Flair!

[GSR]

Bigelow has been paid $15,000 by Commissioner Nash to take out Funk. Arn Anderson had tried to talk him out of it, but he said that he’d wrestle his own mother for $15,000! Match is fought under hardcore rules and Bigelow jumps Funk backstage with a chair. He ties a noose around his neck and drags him to the ring whilst also cracking his arm and shoulder with more chair shots. Bigelow misses with a diving head butt off the top as Funk moves out the way, then starts jabbing him with rights. Clothesline with the left (which is the arm Bam Bam has been targeting) sends Bigelow over the top rope to the floor but Funk doesn’t sell that arm at all. Grrr!!! Asai moonsault to the floor by Funk and at least he doesn’t nearly kill himself like against Bret. Funk with a bunch of chair shots to the back of Bigelow, he head butts him, starts selling his own head and eventually knocks himself out. The crowd’s response to this, to start laughing! Diving head butt off the top connects this time. Bam Bam goes for a second when out comes Fit Finlay and Brian Knobbs in matching army fatigues. He handles them both, goes for another head butt but Knobbs puts a chair between Funk and Bigelow and Bam Bam head butts that instead. They pull Funk on top and the referee counts the three for the win. Afterwards Funk gets on the mic and tells Nash he’ll have to kill him to get rid of him.

 

A typical ‘hardcore’ match from the period with Bigelow as the NWO’s ‘hired gun’ trying to take out Funk. It’s uncomfortable seeing him take all those chair shots at 55, even if they were to the arm, shoulder and back. For someone who is such a great seller, the fact that he didn’t sell the left with that clothesline really bothered me. He also needs to drop that moonsault from his arsenal.

[Stiva]

A pretty nondescript brawl that was a disappointment following a hot opening where Bam Bam attacks Funk in the back before trying a noose around his neck and dragging him to the ring (!). After that though, this was pretty tame. Bam Bam as a hired gun is a fine enough idea but if the extent of his mercenary skills are hitting guys in the arm with chairs and getting outwitted by Brian Knobbs then I'd suggest Kevin Nash spend his money elsewhere. Old Man Funk continues to be a mixed bag of lunacy with the moonsault looking downright crazy every single time but it really feels like all of his matches are just that spot, framed around slow brawling but it may be that these two just don't match very well. He can definitely still talk though since the ending promo was full of fire and strong hype for Thunder.