[1978-07-15-AJPW] Terry Funk vs Abdullah the Butcher

[paul sosnowski]

If anyone has a better copy of this footage, please let me know!!!

 

[EnviousStupid]

Watching this, I'm reminded of a passage in Foley's autobiography Have A Nice Day! A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks:

'Terry then looked at me and said in his soft, West Texas mumble, “Cactus Jack, Norman tried to be an angel out there, but you wouldn’t let him, because you were not the devil. People can talk about your bumps all they want, but until you learn to be the devil in the ring, you will never fully be all that you can.” I nodded in agreement with Terry, who seemed pleased to have had me sit for a spell underneath his learning tree.'

Funk's matches, at least during this run in All Japan, tend to live and die on this simple dynamic. The heel acts in dastardly ways, while Terry sells his ass off and gets the crowd fully invested in the action. It's a big reason why his 2/3 falls match with Lewin the following year has never clicked for me; Terry can be the best face in peril in the world, but if the heel can't match him as stark opposition, the drama falls flat for me. This match, even in the worst video quality I've come across, easily excels in this dynamic. Abdullah's shtick is perfect for embracing "the devil" here: closed punches obscured from the referee, introducing his trademark fork into the fight, taking said fight to the outside, just classic heel stuff of the time. The visual of Terry busted open isn't really here from the footage we have, but the effort is clearly effective in drawing heat and sympathy. The reaction to Terry's kickouts get louder each time, until finally the Funker pushes back. His punches start landing, no longer wild swings and misses. He finds his rhythm and the crowd are fully behind him like he's Stallone in one of the Rocky movies. Now it's Terry's turn to dish out the punishment, throwing Abdullah to the outside and turning this into a wild brawl. The comeback is less a babyface triumphing over evil than it is a good guy driven to violence, and it still works given the prior work done. Terry using the fork is the kind of payoff that something like this absolutely deserved. The match does end prematurely, building to a tag the following week, so they don't deliver on a proper finish here.

Nothing amazing, but two masterful wrestlers in the roles they play is always worth seeking out.